Astrobase Technologies FFSC Rocket Engine Everest India Funding
Bengaluru-based Astrobase Technologies was selected in June 2026 as part of the first cohort to receive funds under IN-SPACe’s Technology Adoption Fund scheme.
The startup is developing an indigenous medium-lift launch vehicle. In August, Astrobase unveiled Everest, an 80-tonne-class, 800 kN full-flow staged combustion engine, making India the fourth country to develop and build an FFSC engine, after the United States, Russia and China.
Astrobase was cofounded by CoinDCX cofounder Neeraj Khandelwal and former ISRO scientist Devakumar Thammisetty. Thammisetty spent 13 years at ISRO working on cryogenic engines, including the CE-20. Khandelwal cofounded cryptocurrency exchange CoinDCX in 2018.
Filling the Medium-Lift Gap
Astrobase targets a gap in India’s launch market between small-lift vehicles and heavy-lift launch vehicles. The company is building its methane-based propulsion capabilities first, before scaling vehicle development. It has built what Khandelwal described as “India’s first methane-based engine test facility” at its Ananthapur facility, which spans 22.5 acres.
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Khandelwal pointed to countries including the UAE and Saudi Arabia that are developing or relying increasingly on satellite infrastructure, while many of them do not have independent launch capabilities. Astrobase has already partnered with Italian company Impulso, which aggregates satellites and acts as a logistics partner for satellite companies. The partnership is intended to help build India as a launch destination for satellite companies in Europe and other markets.
The Road to Orbit
The company targets its first orbital flight by the end of 2028 and ultimately wants India to send 1,000 tons of payload into space annually by 2035. Its Bengaluru manufacturing facility spans around 44,000 square feet. The company currently has one engine production line and plans to scale to five to seven lines, each producing five to 10 Everest engines per year.
Astrobase currently has around 70 people and expects the team to reach around 300 by the time of the first launch.
“You cannot develop such frontier technologies if you are dependent on vendors,” Khandelwal said, explaining the company’s decision to keep engine design and manufacturing in-house while working with more than 100 vendors in India for raw materials and components it does not manufacture itself.
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