Oman selects Airbus for reconfigurable OmanSat-1

Questions and Answers: 

What is OmanSat-1? OmanSat-1 is a fully reconfigurable, high-throughput Ka-band telecommunications satellite for Oman, capable of adjusting coverage and capacity while in orbit.

Who is building the satellite? Airbus Defence and Space in Toulouse, France is responsible for the design, manufacture, ground segment software, and launch of OmanSat-1.

What is the purpose of the satellite? It will provide telecommunications services across Oman, the Middle East, East Africa, and Asia, supporting government networks, private communications, broadband, maritime, and aero connectivity.

MUSCAT, Oman - Space Communication Technologies (SCT), Oman’s national satellite operator, has awarded a contract to Airbus Defence and Space in Toulouse, France for OmanSat-1, a fully reconfigurable high-throughput OneSat telecommunications satellite and associated system. SCT is the lead center for Oman’s National Satellite Program, building satellite communications infrastructure to serve both the public and private sectors.

The fully digital, in-orbit reconfigurable OmanSat-1 will deliver Ka-band capacity primarily over Oman, including its economic waters, and across the Middle East, East Africa, and Asia. The reconfigurable design will enable SCT to meet customer needs for high-throughput services across government and private networks, oil and gas, banking, broadband, maritime, and aero connectivity. 

Related: Airbus signs multi-satellite contract with Intelsat for OneSat flexible satellites

Said Bin Hamoud Almaawali, Minister of Transport, Communications and Information Technology of the Sultanate of Oman, said, "We value the partnership with Airbus Defence and Space, and emphasize the critical national role of Space Communication Technologies Company as the national operator and executive arm for this project. This partnership ensures the achievement of the highest levels of efficiency, facilitates knowledge transfer, and builds national capabilities in this vital sector."

Salim Al Alawi, CEO of SCT, 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 ability to access new markets due to the flexibility in beam forming."

OneSat info

Airbus OneSats can be fully reconfigured while in orbit, adjusting coverage, capacity, and frequency ‘on the fly’ to meet evolving mission requirements. The design builds on Airbus’ ultra-reliable Eurostar geostationary telecommunications satellites and the company’s constellation expertise with OneWeb. Development of the OneSat programme is supported by the European Space Agency, as well as the French Space Agency (CNES), the UK Space Agency, the German Space Agency (DLR), and the Spanish Space Agency (AEE).

Space Communication Technologies is a government company owned by ITHCA Group under the umbrella of the Oman Investment Authority. The company is mandated to carry out all technical, operational, and contractual work for the OmanSat-1 project to meet the Sultanate's requirements for satellite telecommunications services.