Oman Selects Airbus OneSat for First National Satellite
Share
Oman has selected Airbus OneSat for the country’s first national telecommunications satellite, which will service the mobility sector, among others. The agreement places Space Communication Technologies (SCT), Oman’s national satellite operator, at the center of a long-term plan to build flexible, high-capacity communications services for both public and private users. With OmanSat-1, Oman positions itself as a new regional player in satellite operations with a platform built to support future growth.
A National Satellite Vision Comes to Life
Space Communication Technologies, the lead for Oman’s National Satellite Program, recently awarded Airbus Defence and Space the contract to design, build and launch OmanSat-1, a fully digital and reconfigurable Ka-band satellite that delivers high throughput capacity. The satellite will serve Oman, its economic waters and a wide region across the Middle East, East Africa and Asia, giving SCT a foundation to support a broad range of users across government, businesses and key national services, including in-flight connectivity.
“It is a privilege to sign such a contract, which will finally put the name of the Sultanate of Oman in Space, as one of the regional players for satellite operators.”
– Salim Al Alawi, Space Communication Technologies
The project moves SCT closer to its goal of becoming a major regional satellite operator. As a government company under the ITHCA Group and the Oman Investment Authority, SCT manages all technical, operational and contractual responsibilities for the program. OmanSat-1 represents its most important investment so far and reflects its mission to provide secure, integrated and reliable satellite services.
This coverage also matters for aviation. Airlines across these regions continue to expand high bandwidth in-flight connectivity, which depends on strong and flexible satellite links. OmanSat-1 will give carriers additional options for both passenger Wi-Fi and crew communications. The added capacity supports real time aircraft health monitoring, operational planning and the delivery of weather data, all of which play a growing role in airline operations.
Oman’s Minister of Transport, Communications and Information Technology H.E. Eng. Said Bin Hamoud Almaawali said the partnership with Airbus “ensures the achievement of the highest levels of efficiency, facilitates knowledge transfer, and builds national capabilities in this vital sector.”
“Our selection of OneSat […] will mean that SCT will operate the latest Software Defined Satellite with full flexibility, and high throughput Ka-band.”
– Salim Al Alawi, Space Communication Technologies
Flexibility Well-Suited to the Aero Market
Airbus will design, manufacture and deliver OmanSat-1 as part of a complete package that includes the satellite, ground software and launch service. Because it is fully digital and can be reconfigured while in orbit, operators can adjust coverage, move beams, modify power and reassign frequencies as demand shifts. This adaptability is especially useful for aviation, where route density and in-flight connectivity needs vary by time of day, season and fleet mix.
SCT CEO Eng. Salim Al Alawi said, “It is a privilege to sign such a contract, which will finally put the name of the Sultanate of Oman in Space, as one of the regional players for satellite operators. Our selection of OneSat, manufactured by Airbus, will mean that SCT will operate the latest Software Defined Satellite with full flexibility, and high throughput Ka-band, and offer competitive services to most of the verticals in the targeted markets, and the ability to access new markets due to the flexibility in beam forming.”
OneSat draws on Airbus’ experience with geostationary satellites and low-Earth orbit constellations. The program receives support from the European Space Agency, the French Space Agency, the UK Space Agency, the German Space Agency and Spain’s Space Agency. Airbus will now begin building the spacecraft and integrating the ground systems before preparing the satellite, the tenth on order for Airbus OneSat, for launch.