NEWS: Bengaluru-based space company Astrobase unveiled India’s first privately built 800 kN Full-Flow Staged Combustion (FFSC) LOX-Methane rocket engine, named EVEREST.

ABOUT

• EVEREST: 800 kN thrust FFSC engine designed for reusable medium-lift launch vehicles.
• Global Milestone: India became the 4th country after Russia, the USA and China to develop FFSC engine technology.
• Private Sector: Developed by Astrobase with support from IN-SPACe’s Technology Adoption Fund.

KEY FEATURES

• Thrust: 800 kN
• Specific Impulse: 340 seconds
• Throttle Range: 50%–110%
• Fuel: LOX-Methane
• Application: Reusable medium-lift launch vehicles.

ABOUT FFSC TECHNOLOGY

• Uses both fuel-rich and oxidiser-rich combustion cycles to drive turbopumps.
• Exhaust gases are fed back into the main combustion chamber, improving propellant efficiency.
• Enables higher efficiency and performance compared with conventional staged-combustion engines.

SIGNIFICANCE

• Strengthens India’s private space sector and indigenous propulsion capability.
• Supports development of reusable launch vehicles and commercial space missions.
• Potentially enables launch capabilities of up to 30 tonnes to Low Earth Orbit (LEO).