Bengaluru-based Akashalabdhi Space has successfully conducted a high-altitude flight test of an experimental inflatable structure. This technology is intended as a precursor for future orbital factories and expandable space habitats.
The company flew a 250-litre rigidizable inflatable structure aboard a high-altitude balloon to approximately 30km. The mission, conducted through the Tata Institute of Fundamental Research’s National Balloon Facility, also carried two research payloads. One payload investigated microbial processes for consolidating lunar and Martian soil into construction materials, while the other was an experimental perovskite solar-cell payload to assess its response to low atmospheric pressure and temperatures.
During the test, the inflatable module unexpectedly absorbed landing impact without anticipated damage, a key finding for future missions involving hardware recovery from space. The flight aimed to test how the expandable structure behaves when deployed, inflated, and rigidised without continuous internal pressure, potentially offering larger working volumes for space infrastructure.
While the flight provided valuable engineering data for refining the technology, the company is awaiting confirmation on two parameters before declaring all mission objectives achieved. Akashalabdhi Space plans a larger orbital mission for March using Skyroot’s Vikram-2 rocket, which will include material-development experiments in microgravity.
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Source: timesofindia.indiatimes.com
