Chennai’s Inbound Aerospace Joins Australia’s Space Angel Group for Flight Testing

Chennai-based Inbound Aerospace has signed a five-year memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Australia-based Space Angel Group to explore collaboration on spacecraft testing and recovery. 

The agreement covers flight testing, drop testing, high-altitude and near-space testing, recovery operations, spaceport infrastructure, and mission planning.

The companies signed the agreement during the recent Bengaluru Space Expo, organised by the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) with ISRO, IN-SPACe, and NewSpace India. Under the MoU, they will assess how Space Angel’s spaceport, test-range, runway, and recovery infrastructure can support testing and demonstrations of Inbound Aerospace’s spacecraft, re-entry vehicle, and lifting-body systems.

The partnership also covers joint technology development, demonstrations, and pilot missions. The companies plan to explore market expansion across India and Australia. They also intend to pursue bilateral research and innovation funding, including government grants and university collaborations.

For Inbound Aerospace, the agreement supports its work on the return segment of orbital logistics. The IIT Madras-incubated company is developing an autonomous, unmanned and recoverable spacecraft for low-Earth-orbit (LEO) missions. Planned applications include microgravity research, in-orbit technology demonstrations, in-space manufacturing, and payload return.

The company aims to return hardware, samples, and manufactured products from LEO. Inbound Aerospace describes its spacecraft platform as a reusable system designed for orbital missions.