For decades, satellite launch services in India and worldwide have been dominated by a handful of government-run agencies. Most of global orbital launches have reportedly been funnelled through one country and executed by one company, leading to an increasingly centralised space industry.
As global space ambitions and geopolitical dynamics shift, India’s need for indigenous, affordable, and reusable launch technology is more urgent than ever. Against this backdrop, the space launch market has bifurcated into two categories—small-lift rockets for tiny payloads and heavy-lift vehicles reserved for the biggest, costliest missions.
Yet, medium-lift rockets—capable of launching four to 25 tonnes—represent the ideal middle ground for commercial and government payloads alike. Seizing this opportunity is Bengaluru-based startup EtherealX, whose advancements could drastically reduce launch costs, decentralise orbital access, and place India at the forefront of this sector in space, filling a gap even ISRO has yet to address fully.
Ethereal Exploration Guild (EtherealX) claims its upcoming rocket, Razor Crest, will be the world’s first fully reusable medium-lift launch vehicle. It aims to disrupt the global satellite launch industry by recovering not only the booster but also the upper stage of a rocket, something no one has done before.
In an interview with AIM, Manu J Nair, co-founder and CEO of EtherealX, explained how this isn’t just a technical milestone; it’s a strategic necessity.
The Not-So-Small Case for Medium-Lift
In recent years, global attention has focused mainly on small satellite launchers, with companies like Skyroot Aerospace and Agnikul Cosmos from India leading the charge. EtherealX, however, is aiming much higher.
“The market that we are going for is the medium lift segment,” Nair said. “That’s where SpaceX is operating, and that’s what we’re looking at.”
Nair pointed out that ISRO’s Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle (GSLV) rocket, with an eight-tonne capacity, “was on the lower payload capacity side of a medium-lift rocket”. EtherealX sees a wide-open market opportunity here, especially since most competitors either lack rocket reusability altogether or are only able to recover the booster stage.
“When you look at the Falcon 9, they’re recovering the booster stage. In our case, we’re also bringing the upper stage back,” he added.
Why Waste the Burning Heat?
Bringing back the upper stage is a feat that has eluded even the likes of SpaceX. “The reason why it has never been done before was one fundamental issue, which was the re-entry heat,” Nair said. While others used heat shields, EtherealX chose an unconventional route.
“We thought, why fight the re-entry heat when we can redirect and utilise it in a different way to run our engines?” he said. The company has developed a new rocket feed cycle that does just that.
The result is a cost structure that could undercut industry giants. “We can operate anywhere between $340-$2,000 per kg, which is one-eighth of what SpaceX is currently doing, one-twenty-first of the global launch price average,” Nair explained.
From Bengaluru to Orbit
Though firmly grounded in India, EtherealX has its sights set globally. “We’ve signed $110 million worth of launch MoUs from global aggregators for launches starting in 2027,” Nair pointed out. Some of these have been from Europe, Japan, and more, creating what Nair noted is “a very healthy mix”.
The company was also among the few Indian startups selected for the Indo-US Space and Defence Collaboration Programme, and is planning collaborations across the private and government sectors. Nair is a vocal advocate for “multi-polarising” launch infrastructure. “What better place than India?” he asked, noting the country’s geographical and geopolitical advantages.
He further pointed out that Europe is geographically handicapped because it can only do polar launches. So, for Leo missions, they won’t launch with China or Russia. Instead, they look forward to partnering with India.
First Rockets, Then Everything Else
EtherealX’s first launch is slated for March 2027. However, before that, a series of key tests are planned, including “cluster firing of upper stage engines” and “a hop test towards the end of next year”. Notably, the company’s most powerful engine, a 1.2 meganewton semi-permanent engine, is already out for manufacturing.
Despite operating in a high-risk industry, Nair sees India’s private space sector maturing rapidly. “The only difference right now between having that SpaceX-like company and us being that SpaceX-like company is going to be that journey towards having that kind of access to capital,” he said.
Nevertheless, he believes that capital is flowing into deep tech like never before, and not just from investors. “For the first time in our country’s history, we have a very sector-focused government venture fund,” he highlighted.
Nair believes Bengaluru, with its engineering talent and ecosystem, is poised to become a global space hub. Former ISRO chairman S. Somanath also previously acknowledged Bengaluru’s leadership in space innovation at the Invest Karnataka 2025 event.
“There are small satellite-building companies, but I hope to see a four-tonne or six-tonne class communication satellite built by an Indian company and launched from Bengaluru,” he said.
Making, Reusing, In India
Even as it eyes global expansion, EtherealX remains committed to the ‘Make in India’ initiative. “Most of our work is done indigenously,” Nair said. However, certain high-precision, large-volume manufacturing tasks are still outsourced, though the startup plans to bring these processes in-house over time.
Thanks to India’s decades-old space heritage, component sourcing has been simplified. “You have a laid-out distribution network of vendors,” Nair said. “You don’t have to interact with a foreign entity.”
Ultimately, Nair stressed that the difference between success and failure for a rocket startup comes down to some fundamental aspects. He pointed out that if the launch vehicle doesn’t have the right capacity to operate with the correct average payload over every single trip, the chances of success may drop.
Hence, he further stressed the importance of research and development in each company. So, with one foot in Bengaluru and another reaching for the orbit, EtherealX is hoping to rebuild the global launch industry, one reusable stage at a time.
