Türkiye’s Fergani Space Technologies, founded by Selçuk Bayraktar, chairman and chief technology officer of Turkish defence company Baykar, has successfully launched its second domestically developed satellite, FGN-100-d2, marking another milestone in the company’s constellation project.
According to a statement by Baykar, the FGN-100-d2 satellite was launched on Saturday from the Cape Canaveral SLC-40 Base in the United States. The 104-kilogram satellite, Türkiye’s largest private-sector satellite to date, was carried into orbit as part of SpaceX’s Bandwagon-4 mission.
Approximately 74 minutes after liftoff, the satellite successfully separated from the launch vehicle and entered its target orbit, transmitting its first telemetry data to officially begin operations.
The launch was closely monitored in real time by Bayraktar and his team from the Space Observation and Control Center at the Özdemir Bayraktar National Technology Center in Istanbul.
Fergani Space had previously launched its first satellite, the 102-kilogram FGN-100-d1, on January 14 2025 from the Vandenberg Space Force Base in the US as part of SpaceX’s Transporter-12 mission. That satellite had also successfully reached orbit and begun transmitting telemetry data about 62 minutes after liftoff.
Bayraktar said the successful deployment of FGN-100-d2 represents another key step in building the Uluğ Bey Global Positioning System, describing it as a 100-kilogram-class test satellite developed entirely through national engineering capabilities.
Founded in 2022, Fergani Space employs 135 engineers and technicians. Bayraktar said the satellites’ engineering, systems, and design were developed entirely in-house using the company’s own resources, with an expected operational lifespan of five to seven years.
“Our goal is to reach more than 100 satellites within five years and independently provide our Uluğ Bey Global Positioning System to Türkiye and all friendly and allied regions,” Bayraktar said.
He added that the company is also developing an orbital transfer vehicle, which will soon be launched for testing along with a small satellite. “Our team continues to work on designing a fully independent launch vehicle to enable Türkiye’s own access to space,” he said.
Operating at an altitude of about 510 kilometres in low Earth orbit, the FGN-100-d2 travels at 7.6 kilometres per second and circles the Earth roughly 15 times per day.
Developed entirely by Fergani engineers using domestic resources, the satellite features national avionics systems, locally integrated software, a green propulsion system, structural design, and environmental testing. It will test capabilities related to on-orbit operations, telemetry and telecommand communications, positioning, and payload data transmission.
