News · Government, Defense & Space

Inbound Aerospace plans first spacecraft launch in 2028

By Startup Enthusiast · 28 September 2026

What they do

Inbound Aerospace, incubated at IIT Madras, is building reusable spacecraft that return to Earth and land at a chosen spot

It targets a prototype launch in the second half of 2028 and is weighing Falcon 9, Skyroot's Vikram and Japanese rockets

It is preparing a seed round of $11 million to $25 million to book that launch and fund research

Inbound Aerospace aims to launch a prototype spacecraft in the second half of 2028.
It is choosing between SpaceX's Falcon 9, Skyroot's Vikram and some Japanese rockets.
It recently finished a 1 km drop test of its steerable parachute.
Next come tests from 3 km, 8 km and 30 km.
The spacecraft has reached TRL 4 (early lab-tested stage of technology readiness).

Most return capsules use round parachutes that cannot steer to an exact landing point.
Inbound uses a rectangular, steerable parachute, like those used in skydiving.
Precise landings could help pharma and materials research that needs low gravity.

Inbound builds reusable upper-stage vehicles that fly on their own once in orbit.
They use their own propulsion and return to land at a set point.
It expects around $3 million to $4 million in revenue per launch in the long run.
It may also sell its parachute technology for defence and emergency use.
It is a Chennai startup incubated at IIT Madras.

Product: Autonomous and reusable re-entry vehicles for returning payloads from orbit.
Customers: Space research, microgravity manufacturing, and commercial space research users that need payload return services.
How it makes money: B2B space technology provider likely monetizing spacecraft development and re-entry mission services.
What sets it apart: Reusable autonomous re-entry spacecraft designed for cost-effective, repeatable, safe payload return.
Operations: Will use the funding to accelerate R&D, validate subsystems, and reach critical design review milestones.