Hyderabad startup completes India’s first in-house reusable rocket engine test

Hyderabad-based Abyom SpaceTech completed India’s first fully indigenous reusable liquid rocket engine qualification test campaign.

Hyderabad: Hyderabad-based Abyom SpaceTech and Defence has completed India’s first reusable liquid rocket engine qualification test campaign developed entirely in-house, the company said on Wednesday, May 27.

The tests were conducted at the company’s Commercial Test Facility (CTF) in Shamirpet in Medchal-Malkajgiri district near Hyderabad.

The deep-tech startup said the successful campaign marks a key milestone in the development of its Flight Ready Cryogenic Engine (FRE) and HOPE VTVL reusable rocket programme.

Incubated at BITS Pilani Hyderabad campus

Abyom SpaceTech and Defence develops dual-use space and defence technologies and was incubated at the Technology Business Incubator of BITS Pilani Hyderabad campus.

According to the company, the reusable rocket engine test is a step toward developing indigenous reusable launch capabilities for civil and strategic applications.

“The reusable rocket test marks a major step toward low-cost space launches, strengthens dual-use defence capabilities, reduces reliance on foreign propulsion technology, and lays the groundwork for India’s future orbital and suborbital missions,” the company said in a statement.

Founder and CEO Jainul Abedin said the achievement validates a fully indigenous reusable propulsion ecosystem being developed in India.

“This is not just an engine test — it is a validation of a fully indigenous reusable propulsion ecosystem being built indigenously in India,” he said.

The company said the entire testing ecosystem, including engine systems, control architecture, instrumentation and data acquisition systems, was developed in-house without reliance on imported infrastructure.

Abyom said its patented Commercial Test Facility platform gives it end-to-end control over testing infrastructure and enables rapid engine development and proprietary management of test data and procedures.