In the capital-heavy world of aerospace, the entry barrier isn’t just gravity—it’s cost. Rising from a small village in Uttar Pradesh with a singular vision, Jainul Abedin founded Abyom SpaceTech and Defence in 2020 to tackle the industry’s most formidable barrier: The prohibitive cost of single-use rockets.
Abedin’s journey is a masterclass in entrepreneurial pivot; he has successfully transitioned from a technical specialist to a multitasking CEO navigating the complexities of venture capital, law, and hardware R&D. By converting a necessity low-cost testing infrastructure into a commercialised “plug-and-play” launch service, he has turned a critical bottleneck into an asset.
In an interview with Forbes India, Abedin talks about bridging the gap between audacious dreams and operational reality, his mission to build reusable rocket technology and his long-term vision of becoming an astronaut someday. Edited excerpts:
Q. How did your journey in the space sector begin?
Everyone has this dream to explore the vast expanse of the universe. Even I had the same dream. I was born in a small village in Uttar Pradesh and there weren’t many paths available to help me move forward in this field. But I had a dream to work only in this sector.
While I was growing up, I started doing research and understood the first barrier to entering this industry is cost because this sector is very capital intensive. And the high cost is because of single-use rockets. Then I started reading about companies that work in this sector, which is when the bug of building a reusable rockets caught hold of me, and I founded Abyom in 2020.
Click here for Forbes India 30 Under 30 2026 list
Q. What specifically drew your interest to the space industry?
I found out that no one was working on reusable rockets in India, even though this challenge was not new. For instance, Blue Origin and SpaceX have already had a journey in reusable rockets. I thought I should start at an early stage and start with a team to solve this problem. That’s when this crazy idea came into my mind: Let’s build our own rocket and go into space. In 2020, after opening up the sector, the government was looking to bring young minds into the sector, and they invited four individuals across India. Fortunately, I was among the young minds there who were discussing ideas with the panel from Isro. And I thought that was a great opportunity.
Q. So, you want to be an astronaut someday?
That’s true. But I know it’s not an easy job. It takes a minimum of 10 to 15 years to build rockets. Isro and SpaceX have taken 20 years. So, I thought let’s start now and start building technology that is crucial. We have seen only 2-3 astronauts like Shubhanshu Shukla, Kalpana Chawla, and Rakesh Sharma who inspired our whole generation. But in the future, more people will venture into space and there will be a small contribution from my end as well to this journey.
Q. How did you build your first team?
I started building a team in 2019. The first idea was to discuss this with my batchmates, who were preparing to get into IITs and some were dreaming about becoming IAS officers. And I convinced some to join hands with me to start this space technology startup. I started building a team from the age of 19; I started posting on LinkedIn. Later, I started reaching out to Isro scientists as well, who I thought, could guide me. For the initial 2-3 years when we started the team, we were working remotely because of the Covid-19 pandemic. But, at the same time, we trained about 5,000 engineers by getting Isro scientists and professors from across India. After the pandemic, we moved to Hyderabad, where we started working full time.
Q. Do you prefer working from the product side or being the face of the startup?
I have transitioned into a very different person. When I started, I was a very technical person. But as the startup grew, I realised, the growth cannot come only from the technical field. So, I started studying business, finance and law. And now I feel that I should bring in more capable people from different domains who have more knowledge than me so that I can also devote my time to raising funds because that has been a challenge. I have to balance both now, being the face of the company and giving hands on time.
Q. What has been the most significant challenge that you’ve encountered?
We know that we are building this technology [reusable rockets] for the first time in India. And we know that we will face a lot of challenges. The second [challenge] is getting investments and people on board because investors have different kinds of approach. Sometimes, the terms are signed upon but the investment gets delayed. Sometimes, they delay for six to eight months by saying they will update us.
Q. What is the game plan with the plug-and-play launch pad services?
When we started building our first rocket engine in 2022, the most challenging part in the whole industry was testing rocket engines. In India, Isro has its own launch facility. I thought if we go to Isro, it would take six to eight months to test a rocket. Apart from Isro, IIT- Madras and IISC Bangalore have small testing facilities. So, I thought let’s build our own plug-and-play facility—a 20-feet container that has all the requirements to fire a rocket engine. And it became a benchmark when we tested our own rocket engine. And now many institutions have reached out to us to replicate the same thing. So, we thought we could make our R&D product into our commercial product. The government has funded us, and now we want to commercialise this.
Q. Whom do you look up to in the space sector?
APJ Abdul Kalam, because he has gone through many challenges in life. I take inspiration from the people at Pixxel, Skyroot and AgniKul; and I look forward to their insights.
First Published: Jan 13, 2026, 19:03
Subscribe Now