Space Communication Technologies (SCT), Oman’s national satellite operator, has awarded a contract to Airbus Defence and Space for OmanSat-1 a state-of-the-art fully reconfigurable high throughput OneSat telecommunications satellite and associated system. SCT is the lead centre for Oman’s National Satellite Programme, building satellite communications infrastructure to create capabilities to serve both the public and private sectors.

The fully digital, in-orbit reconfigurable OmanSat-1 will deliver high Ka-band capacity primarily over Oman including its economic waters and the whole of the Middle East, East Africa and Asia. The fully reconfigurable design will allow SCT to meet customer needs for high-throughput services including Government and private networks, oil and gas, banking, broadband, maritime and aero connectivity. SCT aims to be one of the major players in those markets.

Airbus will deliver an end-to-end fully integrated solution, including design and manufacture of the satellite, highly capable ground segment software components as well as the launch service. This is the 10th satellite under contract for Airbus’ OneSat spacecraft product line.

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