The Minister for Industry and Technology of Turkey, Mehmet Fatih Kacır, has announced that the Eurasian country will reach the Moon in 2027 using a hybrid rocket engine developed entirely in-house, stating that Türkiye will become the first country in the world to use this technology in deep space.
The announcement was made during the International Defence, Aviation and Space Industry Fair SAHA 2026, currently taking place in Istanbul, where Turkey has unveiled – among other innovations – its first intercontinental ballistic missile, with a range of 6,000 km.
“Turkey will be the country to reach the Moon using its own domestically manufactured hybrid rocket engine in 2027. And it will be the first country to use this technology in deep space, making history with this technology in space,” Kacır stated during a signing ceremony for projects to develop satellite technologies held at the SAHA 2026 fair.
“The launch of this project will not only make Turkey one of the few countries to reach the Moon, but will also enable Türkiye to develop and manufacture spacecraft capable of placing satellites into orbit — a need that is likely to grow in the future — and to offer this service to the world with significant added value,” he added in comments reported by the Turkish newspaper Hürriyet.
“One of our priorities is the Lunar Programme”
Kacır stated that the Turkish government’s objective is to rapidly transfer all the advances achieved in the defence and aviation industries to other strategic technology sectors. “Undoubtedly, space technologies are at the forefront of strategic sectors. Space occupies a very privileged position both for its economic significance and its strategic value within Turkey’s National Technology Initiative and the 2030 Industry and Technology Goals,” he emphasised.
The minister also highlighted that the global space economy already exceeds $600 billion annually, and is expected to reach $1 trillion “in just a few years”: “Just as Turkey has managed to become the 11th largest global exporter in the defence sector, our aim is to become one of the world’s leading players in the export of both products and services in the field of space technology,” he stated.
“It is not possible to be fully independent in the defence and aviation sectors without also being so in space technologies. One of our priority projects in this regard is the Lunar Programme,” added Kacır.
Turkey seeks total technological independence in space
“Another important objective of our National Space Programme is, of course, independent access to space. At present, we develop and manufacture our satellites using our own resources. However, we launch them into space from the territory of another country, using rockets developed by third parties. “Our aim is to achieve a level of access to space that is fully independent,” the minister stated.
In this regard, Kacır highlighted the progress made by the Turkish company ROKETSAN in this field and assured that Turkey is on track to join the select group of countries capable of launching their own satellites using rockets based on their own technology.
As for the other factor – space launches from facilities in another country – to address, the Turkish minister confirmed that construction has already begun on a spaceport in Africa, specifically in Somalia, a country allied with Turkey.
“We hope to complete this infrastructure swiftly; we will build a spaceport that meets Turkey’s needs and which, in line with the growing demand for access to space at an increasingly affordable cost, will be capable of meeting the growing global demand,” the minister concluded.
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Edited and reviewed by:
Pablo Gómez is a specialist in Turkey and has been editor-in-chief of Hispanatolia since 2011. He has been analysing current affairs and geopolitics in Turkey and the surrounding region since 2006.
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