India’s private space industry has taken another significant step towards high-performance reusable launch systems with Bengaluru-based Astrobase Space Technologies unveiling EVEREST, an 800-kilonewton liquid oxygen–methane Full-Flow Staged Combustion rocket engine.
EVEREST has been designed as a high-thrust propulsion system for reusable launch vehicles and represents one of the most technologically ambitious rocket-engine programmes currently being pursued by an Indian private company.
Astrobase describes the engine as India’s first privately developed high-thrust Full-Flow Staged Combustion, or FFSC, engine. Importantly, the unveiling represents completion and integration of engine hardware; the programme’s next crucial milestone is a full-engine hot-fire test, which will determine whether the complete propulsion system performs as intended under operating conditions.
Official material published by IN-SPACe has previously listed Astrobase as developing an 800 kN LOX-methane FFSC engine for reusable launch systems, with a throttle capability ranging from 50% to 110%.
EVEREST Produces 800 kN of Thrust
Astrobase’s engine uses liquid oxygen, or LOX, and liquid methane as propellants — a combination commonly referred to as methalox.
According to the company’s published technical specifications, EVEREST is designed to produce 800 kN of vacuum thrust, equivalent to an approximately 80-tonne-class engine.
The engine is designed for repeated operation and has a 50% to 110% throttling range, allowing thrust to be reduced or increased depending on different phases of a mission. Astrobase also says core engine components are produced using additive manufacturing or 3D-printing technologies.
The company has cited a specific impulse of approximately 340 seconds for the engine.
Such characteristics are particularly relevant to reusable rockets. A reusable first stage requires not only high thrust during ascent but also the ability to precisely control engine power during manoeuvres and the final stages of recovery.
Why Full-Flow Staged Combustion Matters
EVEREST’s most noteworthy characteristic is not simply its thrust. It is the Full-Flow Staged Combustion architecture chosen for the engine.
A rocket engine must pump enormous quantities of fuel and oxidiser into its combustion chamber at very high pressures. In conventional engine cycles, a portion of the propellant may be burned separately to power the turbopumps.
Full-flow staged combustion takes a much more sophisticated approach.
The fuel and oxidiser streams are routed through separate preburners before entering the main combustion chamber. In principle, virtually the entire propellant flow passes through the engine’s turbines before reaching final combustion.
This architecture can offer advantages including high performance, efficient turbopump operation and favourable characteristics for reusable engines.
But those advantages come with considerable engineering difficulty.
The engine must control extremely high pressures, temperatures and turbopump speeds while simultaneously managing oxygen-rich and fuel-rich combustion environments. Materials, seals, turbines, cooling systems and combustion stability all become demanding engineering challenges.
That complexity explains why FFSC engines remain rare compared with gas-generator and conventional staged-combustion engines.
A Significant Step — But Hot-Fire Testing Comes Next
The distinction between an integrated engine being unveiled and a fully qualified propulsion system is important.
EVEREST’s appearance as completed integrated hardware is an important manufacturing and engineering milestone. However, the engine must now demonstrate its performance through full-scale firing.
Astrobase has indicated that the next major programme milestone will be the full-engine hot-fire test, followed by further development leading towards vehicle integration and ultimately orbital flight.
The company’s own development roadmap lists full-scale engine hot-fire testing before stage static-fire tests, recovery demonstrations and an eventual orbital launch.
Therefore, claims that India has already fielded an operational FFSC engine should be treated carefully. EVEREST is presently a developmental engine entering the critical integrated-testing phase, rather than a flight-qualified engine.
IN-SPACe Backing for the 800 kN Engine Programme
EVEREST is also receiving support under the Government of India’s effort to accelerate commercialisation of indigenous space technologies.
Astrobase was selected under IN-SPACe’s Technology Adoption Fund, or TAF, for development of its indigenous 800 kN LOX-methane engine.
The company announced in June that the selection followed a technical evaluation by IN-SPACe and that propulsion testing was being conducted through its infrastructure in Andhra Pradesh.
The broader Technology Adoption Fund has an outlay of ₹500 crore and has been established to help Indian non-government entities move early-stage space technologies towards commercial products.
Under the scheme, startups and MSMEs can receive support of up to 60% of project cost, subject to a maximum of ₹25 crore per project, while larger companies can receive support covering up to 40%.
Engine Manufacturing and Testing Being Built in India
Astrobase’s ambitions extend beyond developing an individual rocket engine.
The company is attempting to establish an integrated Indian launch infrastructure covering propulsion development, engine manufacturing, testing, launch-vehicle assembly and eventually launch operations.
Official IN-SPACe industry material describes Astrobase as developing reusable launch systems powered by proprietary LOX-methane FFSC engines.
The company was founded in Bengaluru in 2024 and operates manufacturing and integration infrastructure for propulsion systems. IN-SPACe documentation also notes its use of industrial metal additive manufacturing for rocket-engine components.
Astrobase says propulsion design authority, engineering knowledge, software, manufacturing data, testing information and mission configuration for its launch system will remain under Indian control.
That aspect could have strategic significance if the technology eventually matures into an operational launcher, since propulsion remains one of the most difficult capabilities to acquire in the global space industry.
Reusable Medium-Lift Launch Vehicle Planned
EVEREST is intended to power a reusable two-stage launch vehicle being developed by Astrobase.
The company’s current published specifications describe a rocket using LOX-methane propulsion and FFSC engines, with a four-metre-class payload fairing and a reusable first stage designed for Return-to-Launch-Site recovery.
The engine’s wide throttling range would be especially useful during such recovery operations.
Instead of discarding the first stage after launch, a reusable booster must control its trajectory, decelerate and perform a powered landing or recovery manoeuvre.
This requires engines capable of reliable restart, deep throttling, precision control and repeated exposure to demanding thermal and mechanical loads.
Successful qualification of EVEREST would therefore be only one part of a much larger development effort involving tanks, avionics, guidance systems, structures, stage integration, recovery systems and launch infrastructure.
Around 20 Engines Planned Before First Orbital Mission
Astrobase plans an extensive development programme before attempting its first orbital flight.
The company has indicated that approximately 20 engines could be manufactured and tested before the inaugural orbital mission, allowing engineers to accumulate operating data and progressively refine the propulsion system.
That approach would allow testing of engine durability, throttling, start-up sequences, shutdown behaviour, turbopumps, combustion stability and reusable operating cycles before committing hardware to an orbital vehicle.
The company is also pursuing a launch-on-demand concept aimed at reducing the preparation time for dedicated missions, including potential strategic or national requirements.
If eventually demonstrated operationally, rapid launch capability could have applications in replacing satellites, deploying urgent payloads and supporting responsive space missions.
Part of India’s Rapidly Expanding Private Space Ecosystem
EVEREST is emerging at a time when India’s private space ecosystem is expanding rapidly following reforms that opened large parts of the space sector to non-government participation.
The Government said in June 2026 that India had developed an ecosystem of more than 400 space startups, supported by initiatives including the Indian Space Policy 2023, a ₹1,000 crore space-sector Venture Capital Fund and the ₹500 crore Technology Adoption Fund.
IN-SPACe has become the key institution responsible for promoting and authorising private space activity while facilitating access to technologies, expertise and infrastructure.
Private companies are now working across launch vehicles, propulsion, satellites, Earth observation, communications, in-space technologies and ground infrastructure.
References
IN-SPACe – Indian Space Industry Delegation Profile: Official IN-SPACe material identifies Astrobase’s 800 kN LOX-methane Full-Flow Staged Combustion engine, reusable launch programme and associated technical specifications.
Government of India / PIB – IN-SPACe Technology Adoption Fund: The ₹500 crore TAF supports indigenous space technologies, including assistance of up to 60% of project cost for eligible startups and MSMEs.
Astrobase Space Technologies – Official Product Information: Engine specifications include 800 kN vacuum thrust, LOX-methane propellants, FFSC architecture, reusability and throttling capability.
Astrobase – IN-SPACe TAF Selection: The company’s official announcement confirms its selection for government support for the indigenous 800 kN LOX-methane FFSC programme.
