Muscat: The first launch of a space rocket from Oman’s Etlaq spaceport in Duqm is expected to take place this December, Dr Saoud al Shoaili, Director-General and Head of the National Space Programme at the Ministry of Transport, Communications, and Information Technology (MTCIT), has said.
The aim of Etlaq is to have the first launch by the end of this year, Al Shoaili, told the Middle East Space Monitor.
“Launching from the near equator means satellite can reach the orbit more efficiently as it requiring less fuel and ultimately reducing the launch cost. This makes Oman highly attractive for satellites launch as well as economic potentials of the spaceport,” he said.
This is just the beginning, over time, this project has the potential to grow into a full-fledged spaceport. Our neutrality ensures that no foreign entity can interfere with or control their assets, he explained.
The Etlaq Space Launch Complex will be based in the port town of Duqm, as the project is overseen by the Sultanate’s National Aerospace Services Company (Nascom).
Promoting scientific research
The space rocket launch platform will be used to promote scientific research and to promote international collaboration in the space sector.
“We have two main goals with the Duqm launch land: to build a launch centre for commercial, professional and educational rocket users to assemble, test and launch from,” Nascom said earlier this year.
“The launch centre will be globally accessible for expanding rocket companies, and locally available for educational research programmes.”
The spaceport will provide rocket and satellite launch services for researchers and commercial purposes and rocket assembly and testing facilities. The project will include also multiple research and development centres.
According to Nascom, Duqm’s equatorial positioning makes it an ideal spot for launches, as rockets can take advantage of the Earth’s rotational speeds.
National asset
“Internationally verified studies have identified that Wilayat Al-Duqm’s equatorial positioning places it in the top 5 most efficient rocket launch latitudes in the world,” the Company said.
“Considering the data, and our own site analysis, we acknowledge the location as an important national asset for Oman which must be developed.
A national asset as such will continue to increase in importance over the next two decades as global industries look for solutions in space.”
The project to establish a space research centre in the country was first announced in September of last year.
Muscat’s ambitions to emulate the UAE’s success in space faced a set-back in January, 2023, when a rocket carrying the Sultanate’s first ever satellite failed to reach its orbit.
The Aman satellite was launched from Britain’s Spaceport, Cornwall; however, the system experienced an unspecified “anomaly, ending the mission prematurely”, according to Virgin Orbit whose “LauncherOne” rocket was used for the launch.
Last year, the ministry unveiled the National Space Programe, in an effort to boost the contribution of the digital economy to the local GDP and to establish Oman as a global space hub.
Through its space programme, Oman will be able to conduct ground-breaking research, collecting high-resolution satellite photos, which will be further digitally evaluated utilising Computer Vision, Machine Learning, and AI technologies created by TUATARA in collaboration with ETCO, an Oman-based emerging technology innovator.
-- Fahad Al Mukrashi is a journalist based in Muscat.
