Launch · Government, Defense & Space

Astrobase unveils India's first FFSC rocket engine

By Startup Enthusiast · 7 September 2026

What they do

Astrobase builds mid-to-large partially reusable orbital rockets with an FFSC engine

It unveiled the EVEREST engine and won a ₹25 crore TAF grant from IN-SPACe

If its hot-fire test succeeds, India will be the fourth country to test an FFSC engine

Astrobase Space Technologies unveiled the EVEREST engine, India's first fully integrated FFSC (full-flow staged combustion) engine, on 8 August 2026.
The engine is an 800 kN methane-oxygen (methalox) FFSC engine.
The startup raised a $10M seed round led by BanyanCo at a valuation of ~$72M.
Founders invested over ₹100 crore into propulsion, test infrastructure and manufacturing.
IN-SPACe selected Astrobase under its Technology Adoption Fund (TAF) in June 2026, one of three from 43 applicants.
The TAF grant covers most project costs (capped at ₹25 crore per project) with no equity, only royalty on future sales.
Astrobase completed a sub-scale hot-fire test in September 2025 and high-speed turbopump trials in January 2026.
The company plans a full-scale integrated hot-fire test later in 2026 and an orbital flight in 2028–29.

Only SpaceX's Raptor engine has flown to orbit using FFSC technology.
If Astrobase's hot-fire test succeeds, India will become the 4th country (after USSR, US, China) to test an FFSC engine, and Astrobase the 8th entity globally.
India's private space sector is growing: Skyroot Aerospace completed its first orbital launch in 2026, and Agnikul Cosmos is preparing an orbital attempt with a reusable design.
The government launched a ₹500 crore IN-SPACe fund and a ₹1,000 crore VC fund for space-tech in 2025.

Astrobase builds mid-to-large partially reusable orbital rockets with an FFSC engine.
Its core product is the EVEREST engine, an 800 kN methalox FFSC engine.
The rocket is 4 metres in diameter, clusters 7 EVEREST engines, and carries 3–10 tonnes to orbit.
It offers three configurations: expendable, partially reusable, and fully reusable.
Target launch cost is ~$300/kg by the early 2030s.
The company operates a launch-on-demand model with turnaround within ~15 days.
It uses metal 3D printing for core engine components.
Astrobase has a 46,000 sq ft design/assembly/integration facility in Bengaluru and a 21.5-acre propulsion test site near Anantapur, Andhra Pradesh with a 200-tonne thrust stand.