FGN-TUG-S01 Orbital Transfer Vehicle

The FGN-TUG-S01 is Fergani Space’s orbital transfer vehicle (OTV) and the world’s first spacecraft to ignite a hybrid rocket engine in orbit. It was launched November 28, 2025, from Vandenberg Space Force Base aboard SpaceX Falcon 9 Transporter-15, separating from the rocket approximately 81 minutes after launch.

On December 6, 2025, the FGN-TUG-S01 activated its main hybrid propulsion system for a 35-second burn, raising its orbit from a 530 km circular trajectory to an elliptical orbit with a 720 km apogee — the first in-space ignition of a hybrid engine in history. Later the same day, the vehicle successfully deployed the CubeSat FRG-10D1.

Hybrid propulsion combines elements of solid and liquid rocket technology, offering inherent safety advantages (fuel and oxidizer stored separately), lower cost than all-liquid systems, and throttleability. Fergani’s hybrid engine is designed to transport satellites from rideshare injection altitudes of approximately 500 km up to higher mission altitudes above 1,000 km, and to extend mission lifespans via on-orbit maneuvering.

All critical OTV subsystems — flight computer, avionics, power distribution units, and thermal control — were designed and manufactured entirely by Fergani Space, demonstrating full vertical integration in orbital transportation.