TÜRKİYE’S FIRST HYBRID-ENGINE ORBITAL TRANSFER VEHICLE REACHES SPACE

FGN-TUG-S01, Türkiye’s first indigenously developed orbital transfer vehicle, has begun its mission in space. The vehicle is poised to make history as it prepares to ignite the world’s first hybrid engine in orbit.

CALIFORNIA
28 NOVEMBER 2025

Founded by Baykar Chairman and CTO Selçuk Bayraktar, Fergani Space developed its first orbital transfer vehicle, FGN-TUG-S01, entirely with its own resources and indigenous capabilities. The vehicle was successfully launched on 28 November 2025 from Vandenberg Space Force Base in California, USA.

INDIGENOUS OTV BEGINS MISSION
During the mission, which commenced aboard the SpaceX Falcon 9 Transporter-15 rideshare launch at 21:44 Turkish time, the rocket’s first and second stages separated seamlessly. Approximately 81 minutes after payload separation, at 23:05 Turkish time, FGN-TUG-S01 successfully detached from the rocket, officially beginning its journey in space. This milestone represents a significant step forward in Fergani Space’s in-space maneuvering and transportation capabilities.

A WORLD FIRST: HYBRID ENGINE TO BE IGNITED IN ORBIT
The indigenous OTV brings together two significant and unprecedented developments. FGN-TUG-S01, Türkiye’s first-ever orbital transfer vehicle, is powered by the world’s first-ever hybrid rocket engine. Upon successfully entering mission orbit, it will ignite its hybrid engine for the first time as planned. This maneuver will be the first-ever orbital ignition of the hybrid rocket engine in both Turkish and global space history. The indigenous OTV will, thanks to its safe and low-cost hybrid propulsion system, make it possible for satellites to be transported to different orbits, prolonging their mission life.

TÜRKIYE MAKES ITS MARK ON INTER-ORBITAL LOGISTICS
FGN-TUG-S01 is poised to represent a milestone for Fergani Space’s future constellation missions, which will feature satellites at various altitudes. The indigenous OTV will take Fergani Space satellites from low altitude (approximately 500 kilometers) to higher mission altitudes (1000+ kilometers). The critical systems of the vehicle, Türkiye’s first-ever OTV, including flight computer, avionics systems, power distribution units and thermal control infrastructure, have been designed and manufactured indigenously by Fergani Space engineers. With this mission, Türkiye will have become the first country to test a hybrid engine in orbit, cracking open the door to a new era in space technologies.

“OTV TO KICK OFF OUR SPACE MOBILITY CAPABILITY”
The indigenous OTV’s launch was monitored live from the Özdemir Bayraktar National Technology Center by Fergani Space CEO Selçuk Bayraktar and the company’s engineering team. Following the successful launch, Bayraktar said: “Founded in 2022, Fergani Space continues its work today with a team of 135. Our second satellite recently began its mission. And today, our country’s first orbital transfer vehicle—developed entirely with our own resources—has reached space. We carry out all our projects, from design to engineering and production, using our own capabilities. Our orbital transfer vehicle—an achievement of Turkish engineering, including its flight computer as well as its power and avionics systems—will kick off our nation’s space mobility capability.”

“THE GOAL: INDEPENDENT ACCESS TO SPACE”
Stressing that the latest mission creates critical infrastructure for the indigenous global positioning system Uluğbey, Bayraktar described his future vision as follows: “This mission will create the infrastructure of the Uluğbey Global Positioning System and pave the way for our satellite fleets in the future.  Our goal is to make Türkiye and its friends and sister nations capable of independent positioning and space logistics capabilities within the next five years with more than 100 satellites. Over the next years, we are planning to gain independent access capability from Earth to space with the launch systems that we are currently developing. May this project be beneficial and auspicious for our homeland, our nation, and all of our friends and brothers and sisters.”