TAMPA, Fla. — An order for Oman’s first geostationary communications satellite has lifted the global tally for this year to six, matching all of 2024 with a month still to go but still well below the industry’s former double-digit annual pace.
Space Communication Technologies (SCT), Oman’s state-backed operator, announced a contract Nov. 24 with Airbus for OmanSat-1.
The Ka-band satellite will be based on Airbus’ software-defined OneSat platform, enabling reconfigurable connectivity over the Middle East, East Africa and Asia.
Financial details were not disclosed. The contract includes a knowledge-sharing partnership as Oman joins other Middle Eastern nations pursuing greater space sovereignty and a more diversified economy in anticipation of a post-oil future.
“We will work hand in hand with Oman’s Space Communication Technologies to help them deliver their national satellite programme and develop their sovereign capabilities to serve their future customers,” Alain Fauré, head of space systems at Airbus, said in a statement.
Oman hailed its entry into the space sector last year after a Chinese rocket launched OL-1, a remote-sensing optical satellite developed jointly by China and local startup Oman Lens.
An earlier Omani satellite developed with Poland’s SatRev was lost in the failed 2023 launch of Virgin Orbit’s now-defunct LauncherOne rocket.
SatRev has remained closely engaged with Oman since then, including developing a ground station to support the country’s expanding space ambitions.
In February, Spain’s PLD Space also signed an agreement to launch its Miura 5 small launch vehicle from a new spaceport in Oman as soon as 2027.
Global tally
There have been five other commercial orders this year for communications satellites destined for geostationary orbit (GEO), Novaspace senior consultant Alix Rousseliere confirmed:
| Announced | Satellite | Customer | Manufacturer |
| February | Thor-8 | Space Norway | Thales Alenia Space |
| March | JSAT-32 | SKY Perfect JSAT | Thales Alenia Space |
| April | Chungwha-1 | Chunghwa Telecom | Astranis |
| June | EchoStar-26 | EchoStar | Maxar Space |
| September | Koreasat-7 | KT Sat | AscendArc |
| November | OmanSat-1 | Space Communication Technologies | Airbus |
Chungwha-1 and Koreasat-7 were ordered from a new breed of GEO manufacturer producing smaller, more tailored satellites closer to the size of a dishwasher than a school bus. Half of the six commercial GEO communications satellites ordered last year were 1,000 kilograms or less.
Still, this level of activity remains a far cry from when manufacturers routinely secured 15 to 20 large, multi-ton GEO orders annually.
The shift reflects declining demand for TV broadcasts from space, the rise of flexible digital payloads and growing competition from broadband megaconstellations in low Earth orbit.
