Bengaluru-based startup Ethereal Exploration Guild has unveiled The Anchorage, a 150-acre rocket development complex in Andhra Pradesh, India. Located in Space City, roughly 40 kilometers from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre at Sriharikota, the site will support its reusable launch vehicle program. The project combines commissioned engine testing infrastructure with facilities planned for manufacturing, stage qualification, and refurbishment.
New Infrastructure for Engine Testing
The operational centerpiece is the Pegasus Horizontal Static Test Facility, designed to evaluate propulsion hardware before complete engine firings. It can test components, ignition systems, thrust chambers, and turbomachinery, alongside integrated engine configurations. The company says its pressure-fed testing capability reaches 210 bar, the highest rating of its kind in India.
The facility supports Pegasus, an 80-kilonewton engine intended for the upper stage of the company's Razor Crest Mk 1 rocket. Pegasus incorporates an internally developed Full-Flow Segregated Cooling Cycle and two thrust chambers. This design seeks to address the demanding thermal conditions associated with recovering an upper stage from orbit for repeated use.
The company plans Pegasus's first hot-fire test at The Anchorage in November 2026. That milestone would generate propulsion data, although ground testing does not itself establish operational flight readiness. Results from these trials are expected to inform design improvements and subsequent qualification work.
Developing a Reusable Launch Vehicle
Razor Crest Mk 1, or RCM1, is a medium-lift rocket being developed to recover both its booster and upper stage. Its propulsion system combines Pegasus with Stallion, a 1.2-meganewton semi-cryogenic engine intended to power liftoff and atmospheric ascent. Both engines are undergoing development ahead of the vehicle's planned operations.
For Stallion, Ethereal Exploration Guild is developing a separate vertical test installation at The Anchorage. The proposed facility will accommodate individual engine firings before progressing to tests involving multiple engines operating together. These trials will help engineers examine the behavior of clustered propulsion systems used in the booster.
Manufacturing and Stage Qualification
The complex is also expected to support tests of assembled rocket stages rather than engines alone. Planned qualification activities will integrate propellant tanks, feed systems, structures, avionics, controls, and flight software. Examining these systems together should help identify issues that cannot be detected through isolated component tests.
Manufacturing plans include tank fabrication, machining, forming, welding, additive manufacturing, and post-processing equipment. The company also intends to produce critical cryogenic flow components on-site. Bringing production closer to testing could enable engineering teams to incorporate qualification findings more directly into subsequent designs.
The site is additionally being planned around maintenance after future missions, an essential element of the company's reuse strategy. Refurbishment facilities would inspect returned hardware, assess component condition, and support repairs or replacements. Requalification would then determine whether recovered stages are ready for another mission.
Supporting Long-Term Rocket Development
Co-founder and CEO Manu J. Nair described the complex as part of a longer-term effort to establish infrastructure for repeated rocket operations. The approach involves developing manufacturing, qualification, and maintenance capabilities alongside the launch vehicle. Its location near Sriharikota also puts the facility close to India's principal spaceport.
Co-founder and CTO Prashanth Sharma highlighted the different engineering questions addressed by engine tests and full-stage qualification. The company's testing strategy will progress from individual propulsion components to engine clusters and integrated stages. Findings from each stage are intended to inform hardware validation and future design decisions.
The Anchorage provides Ethereal Exploration Guild with a dedicated base for its fully reusable rocket development program. While its high-pressure Pegasus test facility is commissioned, the larger Stallion installation, manufacturing capabilities, and refurbishment infrastructure remain under development or planned. The scheduled Pegasus hot-fire test in November 2026 will mark the next announced milestone in that process.