Oman's ambitious bid to develop a commercial rocket launch site to put the country at the centre of the region's growing space sector is taking shape, even after a recent test mission setback.
Oman's plans to carry out a second rocket launch from its under-construction spaceport were called off on Sunday after engineers discovered a technical problem shortly before lift-off.
The Duqm-2 mission was expected to launch a 12-metre experimental suborbital rocket from Etlaq Spaceport, the Middle East's first commercial launch site, in the remote coastal desert of Duqm.
But a fault was found in the rocket’s actuator, a device that helps control systems on the launch vehicle.
Sayyid Azzan bin Qais Al Said, chief executive of the spaceport, said the mission had still met many of its goals.
“We achieved many objectives of the Duqm-2 mission, including planning the mission, navigating regulatory processes, designing ground infrastructure and building an integration hangar,” he said.
The Kea-1 rocket, developed by Stellar Kinetics, a private company from New Zealand, was meant to travel into suborbital space on a short test flight.
'Building momentum'
A company representative said the rocket had performed well in all steps before the final countdown, including preparing the launchpad, filling the rocket’s tanks and integrating the two payloads from international partners.
“Over the next four months we anticipate a series of subsequent launches to continue on the research and development pathway,” they said.
“As the programme builds momentum, we expect to see a steady stream of both experimental and commercial Stellar Kinetics vehicles launching from the Etlaq Spaceport."
Start-ups involved
The Duqm-2 mission involved start-ups from the UK and Taiwan, who developed small satellite payloads to ride on the rocket.
A team from Jupiter, a UK-based space start-up, built a small satellite called Jovian-O and an Earth observation device.
Ieuan Carney, a PhD student at the University of Surrey, said being a part of the mission was exciting. “Although the payload didn’t get to deploy, it’s something we were prepared for because we know space projects often have setback in the early stages,” he said. “We’re still so proud of what we’ve done, developing a payload and fitting it on to a rocket.”
Sight Space from Taiwan developed a tiny satellite designed to measure stress and environmental conditions during the launch process.
Etlaq momentum
This was the second of five launch attempts planned at Etlaq Spaceport this year.
The first in April was meant to see a 1-metre rocket lift-off but it was delayed and has not yet taken off.
An attempt Stellar Kinetics is expected in October involving the Kea-2 rocket.
A Kuwaiti start-up will try to launch its experimental rocket in November, and a fifth attempt will be made, again by Stellar Kinetics, in December.
The spaceport’s first test flight was in December 2024, when a 6.5-metre rocket blasted off on a high-altitude test flight.
Etlaq is the Middle East's first commercial spaceport and is being positioned as a fast-track launch site for start-ups.
It offers quick access to rocket testing, while plans for construction of a full-scale orbital spaceport are progressing ahead of a scheduled 2027 opening.
This year's five launch attempts are being made possible by the new Genesis programme at Etlaq, which involved creating temporary but fully operational facilities at the spaceport. This allows companies to plan and execute high-altitude missions in as little as 13 weeks.
The streamlined process is designed to cater to the growing demand from private companies, in contrast to the practice in countries such the US, where launch approval from the Federal Aviation Administration can take months.
The Genesis operations occupy only about 10 per cent of the spaceport's capacity.
The rest of the site is being reserved for the much larger, permanent orbital-class complex, which will feature three launch complexes and four pads, designed to support small, medium and heavy-lift vehicles.
Construction on the full orbital spaceport is expected to begin next year, with commercial operations scheduled to start at the end of 2027.
