Airbus has won a contract to design and build OmanSat-1, the first dedicated national communications satellite for Oman, awarded by Space Communication Technologies (SCT), the country’s national satellite operator.
The contract was announced on Nov. 24 and marks a significant step for the Gulf state, which has a population of about 5.5 million. OmanSat-1 will deliver high-throughput Ka-band capacity primarily over Oman and its economic waters, as well as across the wider Middle East, East Africa and parts of Asia.
Under the agreement, Airbus will deliver a fully integrated end-to-end solution, covering the satellite’s design and manufacture, ground segment software and launch services. The satellite will be based on Airbus’ fully reconfigurable OneSat platform, allowing flexibility in beam shaping and service allocation to meet demand from government users and commercial sectors including oil and gas, banking, broadband, maritime and aeronautical 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,” SCT Chief Executive Salim Al Alawi said in a statement. He added that the selection of OneSat would allow SCT to operate “the latest software-defined satellite with full flexibility, and high throughput Ka-band.”
The order represents the 10th satellite contract for Airbus’ OneSat product line. The most recent OneSat order prior to OmanSat-1 was placed by Thailand’s Thaicom in 2023. The programme has faced delays and additional charges, and no OneSat spacecraft have yet been delivered. Inmarsat, now part of Viasat, placed the first OneSat order in 2019 for three satellites — GX7, GX8 and GX9 — which Viasat has said are expected to enter service in 2027.
