Bengaluru, August 8, 2026: Space tech startup Astrobase Space Technologies has unveiled India’s first privately built 800 kilonewton (kN) Full-Flow Staged Combustion (FFSC) LOX-Methane rocket engine, making it only the fourth private company to achieve this feat.
Named ‘Everest’ the engine has been developed after years of trial and error, as it involved complex engineering that has only been commercialsed by SpaceX’s Raptor engine so far.
This remains a big achievement for India, which has proved it has what it takes to achieve technological criticality.
This technology is known to be highly efficient, as it does not waste any propellant. With a strong fuel and oxidiser split between two turbines, the result is a rocket that produces more thrust with the same amount of propellant, as it remains cooler, lasts longer and can be used multiple times as well. Developing this technology can be extremely complex, as it requires handling highly reactive hot oxygen gas and a precise pressure to ensure that both the streams combine perfectly in the main gas chamber.
“All critical propulsion design authority, system engineering, manufacturing knowledge, software, test data and mission configuration will remain under Indian control. The next major milestone for the programme will be the full-engine hot-fire test, followed by vehicle integration and orbital launch development,” Astrobase Space Technology said.
Co-founded by Devakumar Thammisetty, a former propulsion scientist at ISRO and IIT-Bombay alumnus Neeraj Khandelwal, Astrobase was founded in 2024 to enhance India’s space travel dreams, with this FFSC rocket engine being the first piece of the puzzle.
The company has been a primary recipient of the IN-SPACe’s Technology Adoption Fund (TAF), supporting the development of its 800kN staged combustion engine.
