- Bengaluru-based aerospace startup Astrobase Space Technologies has unveiled a rocket engine named ‘EVEREST’.
- According to the company, this is India’s first privately developed 80-tonne class Full-Flow Staged Combustion (FFSC) engine.
- Powered by liquid oxygen and liquid methane, the engine is capable of generating up to 800 kilonewtons of thrust and has been developed for reusable, medium-lift launch vehicles.
- The development of EVEREST is considered a significant step towards advanced propulsion technology within India's private space sector.
- FFSC technology is employed in engine systems to achieve high performance and superior fuel efficiency. In this technology, both the fuel and the oxidizer pass through separate pre-burner stages before reaching the main combustion chamber.
- Despite its complex architecture, this configuration helps enhance the engine's efficiency, performance, and thrust control.
- According to the company, EVEREST has a specific impulse of approximately 340 seconds and is capable of throttling between 50 and 110 percent.
- The ability to control thrust across such a wide range is particularly useful for reusable rockets.
- Engine thrust often requires rapid adjustment during various flight phases as well as during landing and recovery; EVEREST’s capability in this regard can help meet the requirements of such missions.
- The development of this engine is expected to boost the prospects of creating larger and more capable launch systems within India's private space industry.
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