Astrobase Unveils EVEREST: India’s First Privately Built 800 kN FFSC Rocket Engine

Astrobase Space Technologies, a Bengaluru-based private space firm, announced the debut of EVEREST, an 800 kN full-flow staged-combustion (FFSC) LOX-methane engine. The reveal comes weeks after the sector’s launch of Vikram-1, the nation’s first privately developed orbital rocket. Astrobase positions the engine as a cornerstone for reusable medium-lift launch vehicles, aiming to enable “launch-on-demand” missions within 15 days of a national request.

The Hindu

EVEREST delivers 800 kN of thrust, a specific impulse of 340 seconds, and a throttle range of 50 %–110 %. Designed for reusable launchers, the engine supports precision control, faster turnaround, and improved economics. Astrobase intends to manufacture and hot-fire-test roughly 20 units before its first orbital flight, after which vehicle integration and launch development will follow.

The Hindu

With EVEREST, India joins Russia, the United States and China as the fourth nation possessing FFSC engine technology, and Astrobase becomes the fourth commercial company worldwide to achieve a high-thrust FFSC engine. The project receives backing from IN-SPACe’s Technology Adoption Fund (TAF), a program created to enable private firms to pursue advanced, technically demanding space technologies.

The Hindu

Neeraj Khandelwal, co-founder and CEO of Astrobase, emphasized the global significance of the achievement. The next steps outlined by Astrobase include a full-engine hot-fire test, subsequent vehicle integration, and ultimately an orbital launch.

The Hindu

• “The engine, named EVEREST, has been developed by Astrobase making it only the fourth commercial company to successfully develop a high thrust flow FFSC engine globally,” — Neeraj Khandelwal, co-founder and CEO, Astrobase Space Technologies

The Hindu