{"id":"f-73cd9b4b27-45e7edea-37eb-5e7b-b8f3-15bdf81b971c","title":"Astrobase cleared to build rocket engine test facility in Andhra Pradesh","description":"Astrobase has gotten PESO clearance to build India’s first high-thrust LOX-LNG rocket engine test facility in Andhra Pradesh. The startup is developing a reusable launcher, and is aiming for an orbital flight by 2029.","timestamp":1765975638,"category":"business","headline":"Astrobase cleared to build rocket engine test facility in Andhra Pradesh","modifiedHeadline":"Astrobase to Build Rocket Test Site in Andhra","subCategories":["scid_fda2861b"],"region":"IN","bundleMetaData":{"bundleId":"b162fe12-9cac-4117-a958-cc0604a457de","bundleTitle":"Science Simplified","cardData":null},"iabCategoryId":"472","fcSummary":"Astrobase, a Bengaluru-based startup, gets approval to build a high-thrust rocket engine test facility in Andhra Pradesh. It is developing a reusable launcher and aims for an orbital flight in 2029. Several indian startups are developing small reusable launchers.","summary":"Astrobase gets clearance for India's first high-thrust rocket engine test facility in Andhra Pradesh, aiming for an orbital flight by 2029.","ctaUrl":"https://trends.glance.com/newz/astrology/IN/en/news9/f-73cd9b4b27-45e7edea-37eb-5e7b-b8f3-15bdf81b971c","sourceUrl":"https://www.news9live.com/science/astrobase-cleared-to-build-rocket-engine-test-facility-in-andhra-pradesh-2912708","bannerImage":"https://g-mob.glance-cdn.com/public/fc/image/mQHuwPK03RT0.webp","content":"

New Delhi: Bengaluru-based New Space Startup Astrobase has received approval by the Petroleum and Explosives Safety Organisation (PESO) to build the first

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high-thrust LOX-LNG Rocket Engine Test Facility in Andhra Pradesh. The facility sprawls across 21.5 acres, and is being constructed for full-scale in-house propulsion testing. In Bengaluru, Astrobase has set up an end-to-end rocket engine production facility with assembly, integration and subsystem testing under one roof. This assembly factory, spread across 46,000 square feet is operational. Astrobase is developing a full-flow staged combustion engine with 3D-printed core components, providing 800 kN of thrust. A sub-scale hot fire test was successfully conducted in September 2025.

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Aerial view of the rocket engine test facility. (Image Credit: Astrobase).

Astrobase was founded in 2024 by co-founder of CoinDCX Neeraj Khandelwal and ex-ISRO scientist Devakumar Thammisetty. Thammisetty has over 13 years of experience in rocket propulsion, with a focus on cryogenic systems and has contributed to the upper stage of the GSLV, as well as the ambitious Gaganyaan human spaceflight programme. Astrobase is aiming to develop a reusable launcher. Astrobase plans to conduct a full-scale test of its engine along with a static fire test in 2026, moving to a vertical takeoff vertical landing ‘hop’ demonstration in 2027, validating the capabilities for recovering the booster, leading up to an orbital flight in 2029.

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The race to recoverable rockets

There is tremendous demand to launch small satellites, and to cater to this demand a number of New Space startups across the country are developing small reusable launchers. Ahmedabad-based Omspace is developing the Infinity One rocket, Pune-based Astrophel Aerospace is developing the Astra rocket, Hyderabad-based Abyom is developing the Small Reusable Launch Vehicle, Bengaluru-based EtherealX is developing the Razor Crest and Chenna-based Agnikul Cosmos is developing the Agnibaan launcher with a recoverable booster. The Vikram I by Skyroot Aerospace is designed to be expendable. Reusing the first stage or booster can bring down the cost to access space significantly.

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Astrobase cleared to build rocket engine test facility in Andhra Pradesh

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