How Red Balloon Aerospace is building India’s near-space infrastructure
Founded by former Skyroot Aerospace executive CVS Kiran, the spacetech startup is developing platforms for communications, disaster response, remote connectivity, and other near-space applications.
Before a payload goes to space, it needs to be tested in near-space conditions. But access to such facilities is limited in India, says CVS Kiran, who spent years building space vehicles designed to reach orbit.
The few facilities available are oversubscribed, with long waitlists that can add to development timelines.
Kiran, a former scientist at Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre and former VP at Skyroot Aerospace, saw an opportunity in the space between aviation and satellites.
“Between where aircrafts end and satellites begin lies an entire domain that's largely unused, close enough to be affordable, and high enough to be persistent,” he says.
That led him to co-found Red Balloon Aerospace in 2025. Based in Mangalagiri, Andhra Pradesh, the spacetech startup is building platforms for what it sees as the near-space infrastructure layer, using stratospheric airships, aerostats, and super-pressure balloons.
“Red Balloon Aerospace exists to ensure that India owns, operates, and leads in the near-space domain, through indigenous platforms, deeptech engineering, and a long-term vision for near-space as national infrastructure,” Kiran, who is the CEO, tells YourStory.
Building the platform
The startup’s primary platform is HELIX, an autonomous stratospheric airship designed for persistent and long-endurance near-space operations.
On May 27, Red Balloon Aerospace launched VISTA, its super-pressure balloon, to test core subsystems that will also be used in HELIX. Launched from the Indira Gandhi Stadium in Vijayawada, the mission placed India among the five countries—the United States, France, Japan, and China being the others—with indigenous hydrogen-powered stratospheric balloon capabilities. The company is also preparing to fly ALTIS, its tethered aerostat, which will serve as another testbed for systems that will feed into HELIX.
The company says it designs its envelope film (an ultra-thin, flexible polymer used to construct the gas-retention skin of high-altitude stratospheric balloons) and reinforcing structure in-house.
“We own our envelope film and reinforcing structure design, end-to-end in-house, which let us go from starting operations in November to first flight in under a year,” Kiran says.
The startup is developing VISTA, ALTIS, and HELIX as a modular platform family. The platforms are being designed for applications, including communications and V2X, disaster response, remote connectivity, and domain awareness.
The company is developing materials, avionics, navigation systems, payload interfaces, communication systems, and mission software as building blocks that can be carried across its platforms.
Red Balloon Aerospace operates its own facility in Vijayawada, Andhra Pradesh, and plans to build a larger facility as an extension. It serves both business-to-business (B2B) and business-to-government (B2G) clients.
For commercial customers, the company uses a rideshare model, where multiple payloads can be carried on a single mission.
“Commercially, partners come to us today for various applications through our rideshare model, where a single mission carries multiple payloads at once,” Kiran says. Government applications could include sovereign connectivity, earth observation, and disaster response.
The startup has also acquired international B2B clients that are expected to fly payloads with the company soon.
Building a near-space category
India's private space industry has moved into a broader participation phase, says Kiran, but he believes near-space still needs to be recognised as a distinct category.
The near-space environment begins in the stratosphere, between 20 km and 50 km above Earth, while geostationary Earth orbit (GEO) is located at 35,786 km. Between aviation and orbital space, near-space platforms can operate at altitudes where conventional aircraft and satellites have different limitations.
“What is still ahead of us is building clear recognition of near-space as its own category, distinct from satellites and aviation, so policy and investment conversations engage with it directly,” Kiran says.
He believes India has the engineering talent, capital, and government support needed to compete globally once the category gains wider recognition.
Red Balloon’s team has more than seven decades of combined experience in lighter-than-air (LTA) technology and stratospheric platforms. Kiran says the company is also adding subject-matter experts across key technical areas as its mission cadence increases.
The company is currently bootstrapped and is planning a funding round, although details have not yet been finalised.
It competes with international companies such as Tucson-based World View and Moriarty-based Sceye. Kiran says Red Balloon's advantage lies in its team and its control over the technology it is developing.
“We own our full value chain, from envelope film and reinforcing load bearing members to the systems that process what our platforms capture,” he says. “That ownership, combined with how fast we move and the infrastructure we have already built, puts us years ahead of anyone else in India.”
For now, the company is focused on building flight heritage across its VISTA, ALTIS and HELIX platforms, while developing the infrastructure and technology it believes can establish near-space as a new category for India's private space industry.