Space Odyssey

Jainul Abedin wants to be an astronaut someday. He is quite certain about that. What he is also certain about is that when he does finally go to space, it won't be aboard a single-use rocket.

- By Samreen Wani

Jainul Abedin (25)

Founder & CEO, Abyom

The 25-year-old has always dreamt about exploring the vast expanse of the universe. As it happens so often, conventional career paths fail to sustain these childhood dreams. But not for Abedin. The only difference is that he made his childhood aspirations his business venture.

Although his small village in Kushinagar, Uttar Pradesh, provided everything—from friends and family, a good school and even the occasional inter-village cricket match—the founder and CEO of Abyom says it offered no such resource to fulfil his space aspirations.

While completing his education, including a stint in Kolkata, Abedin began researching the space industry in 2016. A pivotal moment occurred in the Class 9, when he learnt about Dr Avul Pakir Jainulabdeen Abdul Kalam, whose name resonated with his own, sparking his ambition to do “something new” beyond the engineering path pursued by his batchmates.