Muscat: Building on its plans to launch its maiden space satellite, tentatively set for 2024, Oman is preparing to appoint an international consultant to advise the government on the development of a national space strategy for the Sultanate.
On Tuesday, the Ministry of Transport, Communications and Information Technology (MTCIT) floated a tender inviting qualified international consultants to bid for the advisory services contract. The selected bidder will assist the Ministry in the formulation of a space policy, which will underpin the crafting of a national strategy for the space sector.
According to the Ministry, a thriving space industry is imperative to Oman’s future socioeconomic development. “Due to the importance of current essential services aided by space / satellite technologies (eg: telecommunications, earth observations, environmental monitoring and protection, border monitoring and national security, meteorological services, etc) the country aims to reap the advantages of the sector in a strategic and well-coordinated approach,” the Ministry said in its tender invitation.
A National Space Policy, the Ministry points out, will enable the government to, among other things, shape the strategic focus and contours of a future industry around space. In addition to attracting investment into the sector, it will also help in the development of national technical and industrial capabilities in various areas across the industry. Additionally, it will support international cooperation in the field of space, it stated.
Late last year, the Ministry revealed that the government is targeting the launch of the country’s first space satellite around 2024.
Earlier, the wholly government-owned Space Communications Technology LLC (SCT) said it has been given the mandate to develop and implement the Sultanate’s maiden satellite communications project.
A key part of Muscat-headquartered SCT’s remit is to build national satellite communications infrastructure and develop the required capabilities to serve the immediate to long-term telecommunications needs of the public and private sectors. It said its foremost mission is to launch Oman’s first satellite by 2023/2024. The satellite will incorporate the latest technologies and will be built by leading players in the satellite construction industry.
“This project is considered as one of the strategic projects that Oman is planning, namely, to launch the first national satellite system with national, regional and global coverage, however with the primary TT&C (telemetry, tracking, and control subsystem) to be located in Oman,” the agency said at the time.
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