A response plan has been activated after the failure of the launch of Oman’s first satellite, confirmed Oman’s Emerging Technology Company (ETCO).
Abdulaziz Jaafar, Chief Executive Officer of ETCO, shared the following, “We have already activated our recovery plan and along with our partners, SatRev and TUATARA we are looking for the next launch opportunity to continue Aman’s mission.”
In an earlier statement, the company shared that the mission was fully insured, citing the incident as a potential risk in the space industry.
Satellite “Aman'' was set to launch this Tuesday on board Virgin Orbit’s launch from Cornwall in the United Kingdom.
Earlier, Virgin Orbit confirmed the satellite’s integration into the launching rocket, which was meant to be deployed through an aircraft in a process known as air-launching.
However, a technical malfunction prevented the rocket launcher’s deployment into orbit during the firing of the second stage engine.
Chief Executive Officer of Virgin Orbit, Dan Hart, stated the following regarding the mission’s failure, “We will work tirelessly to understand the nature of the failure, make corrective actions, and return to orbit as soon as we have completed a full investigation and mission assurance process."
The satellite was a result of a collaboration between Oman’s ETCO, data analysis and solutions provider TUATARA, and nanosatellite manufacturer SatRevolution.
The nanosatellite, known as a cube satellite or a CubeSat, was meant to launch into low earth orbit. While images and data collected would be transmuted to ETCO’s ground station in Oman.
It is unknown when the satellite will re-launch.
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