Tehiru

Tehiru is an Israeli-American aerospace startup developing a reusable air-launched small satellite launch vehicle with a hybrid rocket propulsion architecture and an electric-powered landing recovery mechanism — combining three unconventional choices in a single design philosophy aimed at cost-efficient, flexible access to LEO for payloads up to 550 kg.

The air-launch approach deploys the rocket from a carrier aircraft at altitude (typically 10-12 km), gaining several advantages over ground launch: launch infrastructure is reduced to aircraft hangars rather than purpose-built pads, the launch location is flexible (any airfield with aircraft range), the starting altitude above most atmospheric drag reduces gravity losses, and orbital inclinations are selectable by varying aircraft heading rather than fixed by geographic latitude.

Virgin Orbit's LauncherOne (2021-2023) was the most advanced commercial air-launch program before its bankruptcy, demonstrating both the technical feasibility and commercial challenges of the architecture. Stratolaunch's Roc carrier aircraft continues with hypersonic testbed missions.

Hybrid propulsion (solid fuel with liquid or gaseous oxidizer injection, or liquid fuel with gaseous oxidizer) sits between solid rocket simplicity and liquid propellant flexibility: hybrids offer throttling capability and stop-restart capability unavailable to solids, without the complexity of full liquid propellant turbopump systems. SpaceShipTwo uses a hybrid motor, as do some experimental vehicles. Tehiru's specific hybrid formulation and oxidizer choice are proprietary.

The electric landing mechanism represents the reusability innovation — using electric motors (rather than the hydraulic or pneumatic actuators common in landing leg systems) to extend landing legs and potentially power a controlled final descent phase, reducing the mass and complexity of recovery hardware. The 550 kg LEO payload target competes with Rocket Lab Electron (300 kg), Virgin Orbit LauncherOne (300 kg, retired), and at the lower end of Firefly Alpha (1,030 kg). Tehiru's Israeli roots provide access to MAFAT (Defense R&D Directorate) funding channels and Israel's deep aerospace engineering heritage from IAI, Elbit, and Rafael defense programs.