Step one
Suborbital demonstrator
A test vehicle validating propulsion, flight control architecture and lightweight cryogenic structures in flight.
Sovereign access to low Earth orbit.
Built for small payloadsA launch vehicle designed around the small satellite class, optimised for cadence rather than record mass.
Oxygen and methaneA clean, affordable propellant pair, compatible with renewable methane supply chains.
Free of extra-European dependencyDesign and supply chain shaped from the start to stay outside ITAR constraints.
Mission
Small satellites wait for a ride. We intend to end that wait.
The market for satellites under 500 kg keeps growing, driven by Earth observation, low orbit connectivity and sovereign applications. In Europe, light payloads still depend largely on sharing a fairing aboard heavier vehicles, with the orbit and schedule constraints that come with it.
OTRAG™ is developing a light launch vehicle for that segment: the customer's own orbit, a short lead time, and a cost driven by serial production rather than by unit performance.
Approach
Fly early, learn fast, reuse everything.
The programme advances through successive demonstrators. Each step qualifies the building blocks of the next one in real flight conditions: flight data, software models, cryogenic procedures and supplier qualifications all carry over from one vehicle to the following.
This progression lets us validate architectural choices before industrial commitment, and lowers programme risk at every milestone.
Step two
Two-stage demonstrator
Qualification of the core orbital flight functions, from stage separation to in-flight relight.
Step three
Operational vehicle
Commercial service, with a cost reduction path built on cadence and partial recovery.
Technology
Three engineering commitments.
The detail of our architectures, test campaigns and results is proprietary. These are the principles we state publicly.
Oxygen and methane
A dense, affordable propellant pair that keeps engine circuits clean and allows relight. It also opens a path to renewable methane.
Redundancy over perfection
We favour a redundant propulsion architecture, managed by flight software able to reconfigure thrust, over betting on the reliability of a single component.
Integrated manufacturing
Design, manufacturing and testing are carried out in house or with European partners, to keep control of schedule, cost and intellectual property.
Specifications, performance figures and programme schedule are shared with partners and investors under a non-disclosure agreement only.
Applications
Who we fly for.
Our future customers share the same need: a precise orbit, a schedule that holds, and a value chain that stays in Europe.
- Earth observationOptical and radar constellations, fast replacement of a failed spacecraft.
- Connectivity and space IoTIncremental deployment of low Earth orbit constellations.
- Science and technologyOrbits that rideshare rarely serves, and in-flight demonstrations.
- Sovereign missionsInstitutional programmes requiring a European chain end to end.
Careers
We are hiring the founding engineering team.
We are looking for engineers who want to see hardware fire on a test stand rather than sit in a specification. Experience in launch is welcome, not required. Fluent French or English, based in or willing to relocate to Paris.
Apply with a CV and a short note on something you have designed, built or broken.
- Propulsion engineerLiquid rocket engines, combustion, thermal design, engine testing.Paris
- Fluid systems engineerCryogenic feed lines, valves, pressurisation, cleanliness and safety.Paris
- Structures engineerTanks, composite and metallic primary structures, mechanical qualification.Paris
- Avionics engineerEmbedded electronics, harness, sensors, telemetry, ground segment.Paris
- Flight software and GNC engineerGuidance, navigation and control, real time embedded software, simulation.Paris
- Test and operations engineerTest stand build-up, instrumentation, launch operations, safety procedures.Paris
- Quality and certification leadConfiguration management, supplier audits, regulatory and range interfaces.Paris
- Internships and PhD projectsPropulsion, materials, embedded intelligence. Applications open year round.Paris
Suppliers
Building a European supplier base.
We are qualifying suppliers across the following areas, with a strong preference for European sources and for partners able to work at prototype volumes before scaling. Send a capability statement and we will come back with a scoped enquiry.
Precision machining
Small to medium parts in stainless, aluminium and high temperature alloys, tight tolerances, short lead times.
Additive manufacturing
Metal printing, post-processing, heat treatment and non-destructive inspection.
Tanks and welding
Pressure vessel fabrication, advanced welding processes, pressure and leak testing.
Cryogenic fluid components
Valves, regulators, seals, fittings and instrumentation rated for cryogenic service.
Composite structures
Filament winding, tooling, bonded assemblies and dimensional inspection.
Electronics and harness
PCB assembly, connectors, harness manufacturing, environmental screening.
Test services
Vibration, thermal, pressure and metrology laboratories, calibration services.
Industrial gases and logistics
Liquid oxygen and methane supply, storage equipment, specialised transport.
Engineering services
Simulation, structural and thermal analysis, certification support.
The company
OTRAG™ at a glance.
Orbital Transport Group is a research and development company within the ZEE technology group. Its work spans propulsion, flight control systems and materials.
Paris
headquarters, programme management and engineering
ZEE group
part of a European deep technology group
In-house R&D
intellectual property developed and owned internally
Get in touch.
Industrial partners, laboratories, institutions and investors: detailed programme documentation is shared after a non-disclosure agreement.
Engineering applications: careers@otrag.fr
Suppliers: suppliers@otrag.fr
General enquiries: contact@otrag.fr
Press: press@otrag.fr
75019 Paris, France