Bengaluru-based private space technology company Ethereal Exploration Guild, also known as The Guild, unveiled The Anchorage on 16 October 2026. The 150-acre rocket development and testing facility is in Space City, Tirupati district, Andhra Pradesh, about 40 km from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre (SDSC-SHAR) at Sriharikota. It will support development, testing, manufacturing and refurbishment of the company’s fully reusable medium-lift launch vehicle, Razor Crest Mk 1 (RCM1).
Reusable launch vehicles
A reusable launch vehicle is designed to recover and use again one or more of its stages after flight. The RCM1 is being engineered for recovery and reuse of both its booster and upper stage. Reuse requires vehicle hardware to withstand repeated flight and operating cycles; The Anchorage is being developed to support testing and refurbishment as well as manufacturing. The company plans to progress from testing individual engine components to integrated propulsion systems and complete rocket stages.
Rocket propulsion architecture
The RCM1 propulsion system comprises two semi-cryogenic engines. Pegasus is an 80-kilonewton upper-stage engine, while Stallion is a 1.2-meganewton gas-generator booster engine intended for lift-off and atmospheric ascent. Semi-cryogenic propulsion uses liquid oxygen with a hydrocarbon fuel. Pegasus incorporates the company-developed Full-Flow Segregated Cooling Cycle (FSCC) and a dual-thrust-chamber architecture. The company describes FSCC as an engine feed cycle developed for upper-stage reusability.
Static testing and qualification
A static-fire test operates a rocket engine while it is held in a test stand, allowing engineers to measure its performance without a launch. The commissioned Pegasus Horizontal Static Test Facility is rated for pressure-fed engine testing at 210 bar. Pegasus’s first hot-fire test is scheduled for November 2026. Phase 1 plans include the Pegasus static test facility and a vertical test facility. The Guild has invested US3 million in The Anchorage and plans an additional US4–5 million for Phase 1.
Important Facts for Exams
- Satish Dhawan Space Centre is the Indian Space Research Organisation’s spaceport at Sriharikota.
- A newton is the SI unit of force; one meganewton equals one million newtons.
- A bar is a unit of pressure equal to 100,000 pascals.
- Rocket stages contain propulsion and other systems that operate during distinct portions of a launch vehicle’s flight.
The Anchorage is located in Tirupati district, Andhra Pradesh, approximately 40 km from SDSC-SHAR. Pegasus and Stallion are the two engines specified for the RCM1 propulsion system.
