Astrobase Space Technologies, a Bangalore-based space Start-Up, has announced a major investment of ₹800 crore to substantially expand its rocket-testing infrastructure in Andhra Pradesh.

The company formalised this commitment by signing a memorandum of understanding with the Andhra Pradesh Economic Development Board on November 12, 2026.

This agreement was executed during the 31st CII Partnership Summit held in Visakhapatnam, with Andhra Pradesh Industries Minister TG Bharath and Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu present at the signing. Under the expansion plan, Astrobase will acquire an additional 339 acres of land adjacent to its existing site at Thimmasamudram in the Sri Sathya Sai district.

Adding this land will expand the total footprint of the facility to approximately 360 acres, creating one of the largest private rocket-testing hubs in the region.

The ₹800-crore capital outlay is designed to support a comprehensive suite of launch-vehicle development, ground testing, and validation operations.

Planned infrastructure upgrades include specialised test stands for static hot-fire trials of rocket engines and full-scale development and testing of integrated rocket stages.

Crucially, the expanded grounds will facilitate stage-level 'hop' tests and broader validation work specifically tailored for next-generation reusable launch-vehicle systems.

Hop tests require a rocket stage to perform a controlled vertical lift-off, hover or translate briefly, and execute a precision landing, enabling engineers to scrutinise propulsion performance and recovery mechanisms before attempting high-altitude orbital flights.

Astrobase chief executive and co-founder Neeraj Khandelwal noted that the larger site would enable critical testing programs and help accelerate reusable launch-vehicle development.

He added that the expansion marks a significant milestone in the company's journey to build advanced space transportation capabilities from India, stating, "The next frontier is to translate this strength into the ability to transport payloads to space more frequently, reliably and at scale."

Beyond technological advancement, the project is projected to generate substantial regional employment, creating roughly 500 direct jobs alongside 1,000 indirect employment opportunities. This major expansion builds upon Astrobase's existing operational footprint in the Anantapur region, which the firm characterises as a private high-thrust engine-test site.

According to company specifications, the current site spans roughly 21 to 22 acres and is engineered to handle thrust outputs reaching hundreds of tons alongside extreme exhaust temperatures exceeding 3,000°C.

Maintaining dedicated, in-house testing infrastructure provides the Start-Up with complete autonomy over its testing schedules, allowing for rapid hardware iteration without external bottlenecks. At the core of Astrobase's propulsion roadmap is the indigenous Everest engine, a liquid-oxygen-and-methane powerplant utilising advanced full-flow staged-combustion technology.

Full-flow staged combustion is a highly efficient, closed-cycle engine architecture pursued by only a select few aerospace entities globally, making Everest India's first private engine of this class.

Astrobase classifies Everest as an 800-kilonewton-class engine, noting that its clean-burning methalox propellant combination is specifically chosen to minimise coking and support rapid rocket reusability. The firm's proposed two-stage launch vehicle architecture is tailored for medium- and heavy-lift orbital missions, capable of carrying payloads ranging between 8 and 26 tons.

In this planned vehicle configuration, four Everest engines will power the reusable booster stage, while a single engine will propel the upper stage. However, industry observers note that these figures represent active engineering development plans and design specifications rather than a currently operational launch system.

The Andhra Pradesh announcement closely follows Astrobase's separate proposal to invest ₹500 crore in neighbouring Karnataka to establish a dedicated manufacturing unit in Bangalore.

Planned on a 10-acre plot at the Adinarayana Hosahalli Phase II Special Economic Zone, the Bangalore facility is projected to produce up to 40 rocket engines annually and generate over 1,250 jobs.

This Karnataka manufacturing hub will house advanced additive manufacturing systems, precision fabrication units, non-destructive testing bays, quality-control infrastructure, and assembly lines for both engines and complete rocket stages.

Together, the Bangalore manufacturing plant and the Thimmasamudram testing complex are built to drive the parallel development of the Everest engine and the AB220 medium-lift launch-vehicle program.

Viewed alongside one another, these twin investments illustrate an end-to-end industrial strategy integrating design, component fabrication, propulsion assembly, and full-scale ground testing.

For any emerging orbital launch provider, robust ground-testing infrastructure is indispensable, as individual engines, structural stages, and integrated avionics must endure repeated, rigorous trials before being certified for flight.

While the expanded Andhra Pradesh complex will afford Astrobase the physical space and safety buffer required for complex propulsion and recovery trials, the company has not yet disclosed a formal construction timeline or operational target dates for each new test stand.

Astrobase's ambitious capital commitments underscore the rapidly expanding role of private enterprise within India's modernised space ecosystem.

Backed by a leadership team that includes former Indian Space Research Organisation scientists, the company is capitalising on structural reforms initiated when the Indian government opened the space sector to private participation in 2020.

This regulatory environment was further codified through the Indian Space Policy 2023, which established a clear framework for non-government entities to engage across the entire value chain of space activities.

Within this framework, the Indian National Space Promotion and Authorisation Centre, known as IN-SPACe, acts as the single-window nodal agency responsible for authorising, regulating, and promoting private-sector access to space infrastructure.

Looking toward the long term, Astrobase has articulated an ambitious corporate target to build the capacity to transport 1,000 tons of payload to orbit annually from Indian soil by 2040, with an interim milestone of 100 tons by 2032.

While that 1,000-ton figure remains an aspirational long-term target rather than existing launch capacity, the Andhra Pradesh test facility expansion lays vital physical groundwork toward achieving frequent, economical access to space.

Ultimately, whether this ₹800-crore infrastructure investment translates into reliable, repeatable commercial launches will hinge on sustained engineering execution, timely regulatory clearances, continued capital financing, and successful flight demonstrations.

Agencies