India has entered the global near-space race with Vijayawada-based startup Red Balloon Aerospace launching the country's first indigenous commercial super-pressure stratospheric balloon, a high-altitude platform that could eventually offer cheaper alternatives to satellites.On Wednesday, the company's VISTA platform ascended nearly 25 km above Earth from Vijayawada as part of "Mission SANA", carrying payloads from seven national and international partners, including propulsion technology demonstrations, biological experiment systems, onboard computing platforms and navigation validation systems. The company said all payload missions were completed successfully.The launch places India among only five countries, alongside the US, France, Japan and China, with indigenous stratospheric super-pressure…