India's Astrobase Space Technologies unveils EVEREST, the country's first privately built 800 kN full-flow staged combustion rocket engine

Summary

Bengaluru-based Indian startup Astrobase Space Technologies unveiled EVEREST on August 8, an 800 kN liquid-oxygen-methane rocket engine that the company describes as India's first privately developed full-flow staged combustion (FFSC) engine. Full-flow staged combustion is the propulsion architecture used by SpaceX's Raptor engine, which powers the Starship vehicle. Astrobase plans a full-engine hot-fire test in late 2026 and a first flight of its reusable launch vehicle in December 2028. CEO Neeraj Khandelwal said EVEREST is "not a standalone technology demonstration" but "the foundation of an industrial capability that India will increasingly need." Three Indian outlets covered the announcement; no international space press is in the feed. India's space sector has seen rapid private-sector growth since the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) opened launch infrastructure to private operators in 2023, and the country has produced several reusable launch vehicle startups targeting the commercial satellite market.

The split

Coverage is entirely Indian and unanimously positive, drawing on Astrobase's own announcement and Khandelwal's prepared statements. News9Live led with the technical specifications; ETV Bharat and SMEStreet focused on the industrial and national-capability framing. No independent technical verification of the engine's performance claims was available in the feed, and no comparative context from global launch competitors or ISRO appeared. International space industry or aerospace engineering coverage is absent.

By the numbers

• 800 kN, rated thrust class of the EVEREST engine
• 2, propellants: liquid oxygen (LOX) and methane
• 2026, planned year of full-engine hot-fire test
• 2028, Astrobase's target year for first reusable launch vehicle flight

Why it matters

Full-flow staged combustion is one of the most thermodynamically efficient rocket propulsion architectures, and until recently was used only by the Soviet RD-180 family and SpaceX's Raptor. An Indian private company achieving this milestone, if validated in hot-fire testing, would represent a material advance in India's commercial launch sector and could reduce dependence on foreign upper-stage engines for the country's growing satellite launch market.

What to watch

• Results of Astrobase's planned 2026 full-engine hot-fire test and any performance data released
• Whether Astrobase secures ISRO or commercial satellite launch contracts ahead of the 2028 first-flight target
• Competitive response from other Indian private launch startups (Skyroot, Agnikul, etc.)