Oman has selected the Airbus OneSat platform for its first national telecommunications satellite, marking a major step in the country’s ambitions to become a regional satellite operator. The new spacecraft, named OmanSat-1, will be built, launched and supported by Airbus Defence and Space under a comprehensive turnkey contract awarded by Space Communication Technologies (SCT), the national satellite operator.
OmanSat-1 will be a fully digital, software-defined Ka-band satellite capable of delivering high-throughput connectivity across Oman, its economic waters, and a wide region spanning the Middle East, East Africa and Asia. By choosing the reconfigurable OneSat platform, SCT gains the flexibility to adjust coverage, move beams, modify power and reassign frequencies in orbit—allowing capacity to shift dynamically with commercial and government needs.
SCT CEO Eng. Salim Al Alawi said the agreement marks a milestone for the Sultanate: “This contract will finally put the name of Oman in space as one of the regional players in satellite operations.” As a government-owned company under ITHCA Group and the Oman Investment Authority, SCT manages all technical and operational aspects of the National Satellite Program, with OmanSat-1 representing the organisation’s most significant investment to date.
OmanSat-1 is also strategically important for aviation. Airlines in the region are rapidly upgrading in-flight connectivity systems that depend on high-bandwidth satellite links. The new satellite will support passenger Wi-Fi, crew communications, real-time aircraft health monitoring, flight operations planning, and access to live weather data—critical capabilities for modern fleets.
Oman’s Minister of Transport, Communications and Information Technology, H.E. Eng. Said Bin Hamoud Almaawali, said the partnership with Airbus will boost efficiency, strengthen knowledge transfer and help develop national capabilities in the satellite sector.
Airbus will supply the satellite, ground software and launch services, drawing on its experience in GEO satellites and LEO constellations, with support from European space agencies. OmanSat-1 becomes the tenth OneSat on order and will now move into the manufacturing and integration phase ahead of launch.
