On Wednesday, the company’s VISTA platform ascended nearly 25 km above Earth from Vijayawada as part of “Mission SANA“, carrying payloads from seven national and international partners, including propulsion technology demonstrations, biological experiment systems, onboard computing platforms and navigation validation systems. The company said all payload missions were completed successfully.
The launch places India among only five countries, alongside the US, France, Japan and China, with indigenous stratospheric super-pressure balloon capabilities.
Sireesh Pallikonda, COO of Red Balloon Aerospace, said the company has built 75-80% of the value chain in-house, including balloon design, material development, fabrication and load-bearing systems, while importing some raw materials, polymers and navigation chips.
Founded in 2025 by former Skyroot Aerospace executives Sireesh Pallikonda and Dr CVS Kiran, Red Balloon Aerospace said it achieved operational commercial flight within eight months of inception, which it claims is among the fastest development timelines globally in the near-space sector.