(MENAFN) Türkiye’s pioneering orbital transfer vehicle has commenced operations in space, marking a historic leap for the nation's aerospace ambitions, Baykar announced in a recent statement.

Fergani Space's entirely domestically-produced spacecraft, designated FGN-TUG-S01, lifted off November 28 from Vandenberg Space Force Base in California aboard SpaceX's Falcon 9 Transporter 15 mission.

The launch sequence initiated at 1844GMT and culminated successfully with payload separation occurring 81 minutes post-liftoff as the vehicle detached from the rocket.

This deployment represents a pivotal advancement in Fergani Space's orbital transportation and maneuvering expertise.

The nation's inaugural domestically-engineered space tug boasts the world's first hybrid rocket engine designed for orbital ignition—with its maiden planned hybrid engine burn scheduled after stabilizing in its designated mission orbit.

FGN-TUG-S01's economical and secure hybrid propulsion architecture will facilitate satellite repositioning across varying orbits while prolonging their operational lifespans.

Successfully executing this mission will establish a groundbreaking precedent for Fergani Space's upcoming constellation deployments, which involve positioning satellites at multiple altitude ranges.

Türkiye’s first indigenous OTV will ferry Fergani satellites from lower orbits approximately 500 kilometers (310 miles) altitude to elevations exceeding 1,000 kilometers (621 miles), placing them in their operational trajectories.

The spacecraft incorporates vital systems including flight computers, avionics, power distribution units, and thermal management infrastructure—all engineered domestically at Fergani Space facilities.

Türkiye will become the first nation globally to conduct hybrid engine trials in orbital conditions with this vehicle.

Selcuk Bayraktar, CEO of Fergani Space, stated Tuesday that the company deployed its second satellite into service three weeks prior and that the country's first domestically-produced orbital transfer vehicle now stands operational.

"Our OTV, a product of domestic engineering, will initiate Türkiye's mobility in space," he said.

Bayraktar emphasized that the mission will establish foundational infrastructure for Türkiye’s indigenous global positioning system, dubbed "Ulugbey."

"This mission will form the base for our Ulugbey GPS goal and pave the way for our future satellite constellations," he said. "We aim to provide independent positioning and space logistics capabilities to Türkiye and its allied countries with more than 100 satellites in five years."

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