Akashalabdhi Tests Inflatable Space Module At 30 Km, Targets Orbital Mission In March 2027

A Bengaluru space startup has flown an inflatable module to 30 km and brought it back in one piece. Akashalabdhi Space tested the inflatable structure on a high-altitude balloon, and says it landed safely without the damage the team had expected. The test is part of its programme to build technology for living and working in orbit.

CEO Siddarth Jena says the ability of the structure and its protective systems to withstand landing loads matters for future missions that recover experimental hardware from space. The flight also carried an IISc experiment on using microbes to turn lunar or Martian soil into building material, and a test of solar cells from Switzerland’s Perovskia Solar in near-space conditions. Akashalabdhi says its next step is an orbital mission in March 2027 with larger payloads.

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