26 Space Firms, RO74M Raised: Oman Drafts Its First Space Law

Oman's space economy has gone from a handful of pilot projects to a sector with real balance sheets. According to a National Space Programme Achievements 2023-2025 report released by the Ministry of Transport, Communications and Information Technology (MTCIT), the number of companies operating in the sector jumped from 11 in 2023 to 26 by the end of 2025, a 136% increase, as Muscat Daily reported. Alongside the numbers, MTCIT confirmed it has begun drafting the Sultanate's first dedicated Omani Space Law, as Oman Observer reported on September 27, 2026.

📊 Key Takeaways

• Space-sector companies grew from 11 (2023) to 20 (2024) to 26 (2025), a 136% rise, according to Times of Oman.
• Private-sector investment in space activities surged 270%, from RO 20 million in 2023 to RO 74 million in 2025.
• Employment across government and private space organisations rose from 152 to more than 400 people.
• MTCIT has started drafting an Omani Space Law and supporting regulatory frameworks to give investors more legal certainty.
• Oman's first specialised space accelerator ran a 15-week programme for 10 startups, with seven graduating with market-ready products and services.
• Flagship projects, including the OmanSat-1 communications satellite and the Etlaq launch site at Duqm, are moving from planning into implementation, with roughly 65% of projects under the national space policy now under way.

🚀 A Sector That's Nearly Tripled in Two Years

The growth curve is steep by any regional standard. Companies working in space communications, remote sensing, satellite manufacturing and launch services more than doubled between 2023 and 2024 alone, before climbing further to 26 by the end of 2025, according to figures MTCIT shared in the achievements report and carried by Muscat Daily. Private investment tracked an even steeper trajectory, rising from RO 20 million in 2023 to RO 65 million in 2024 and RO 74 million in 2025, a cumulative 270% jump, as Times of Oman detailed. Jobs directly and indirectly tied to the sector climbed from 152 to over 400 over the same period.

H.E. Eng Said bin Hamoud al Maawali, Minister of Transport, Communications and Information Technology, described the milestone as part of a broader positioning effort, according to Oman Observer.

⚖️ Why a Space Law, and Why Now

Up to now, Oman's space activities have been governed mainly through the 2023 National Space Policy and Executive Programme and Royal Decree 90/2020, which created the National Center for Space, Advanced Technology and AI. Those instruments set direction, but they were never designed as a standalone legal code covering licensing, liability, launch approvals or foreign investment protections for space companies.

MTCIT says the new Omani Space Law is meant to close that gap: aligning the Sultanate with its international treaty obligations, giving investors clearer rules on ownership and risk, and creating what the ministry calls a "balanced and enabling environment" for the sector's next phase, as Oman Observer reported. The timing matters: MTCIT's own data shows roughly 65% of projects under the national space policy are now in active implementation, meaning contracts, satellites and launch infrastructure are moving faster than the legal scaffolding around them.

🛰️ From Accelerator to Orbit: Seven New Startups

The report also put a number on Oman's push to build homegrown space talent rather than just import satellites and launch contracts. The Oman Space Accelerator Programme (OSAP) ran its first 15-week cohort for 10 startups covering space communications, geographic AI, robotics, IoT, remote sensing, rocket propulsion and drone applications, according to Times of Oman. Seven of the ten graduated with products or services ready for the market.

Dr Saud bin Hamid al Shoaili, Director General of Policies and Governance and head of the National Space Programme, framed the cohort's outcome as proof of concept for the wider strategy, according to MTCIT's own announcement of the cohort's graduation: "This edition has proven the existence of innovative projects, as the program has contributed to building national capacities and enabling startups to enter the space economy." That kind of sector-specific jump in company count mirrors what's happening across Oman's wider tech scene, where the number of AI startups alone grew from 22 to 42 in a single year, suggesting the space sector's 136% company growth is part of a broader pattern of niche tech verticals scaling quickly off a small base.

🔭 The Hardware Behind the Numbers

Behind the statistics sit concrete, named projects. OmanSat-1, a national communications satellite being built with Airbus Defence and Space under an agreement signed in November 2025, is targeted to begin operations in 2029, according to Muscat Daily. At Duqm, the Etlaq spaceport project has already flown two experimental missions, Duqm-1 in 2024 and Duqm-2 with the Kia-1 suborbital vehicle in 2025, and is targeting commercial launch services by 2027. Atco Space's Aman-1, launched in 2023, remains the first satellite put into orbit by an Omani company, while Oman Lens' OL-1 satellite, launched in November 2024, was the first Omani satellite to combine artificial intelligence with remote-sensing data.

🇴🇲 Why This Matters for Oman

A tripling of company count and a 270% jump in private investment inside three years is a meaningful data point for a sector that barely existed a decade ago, and it gives Vision 2040's economic diversification goals a concrete, measurable line item beyond oil and gas. The draft space law is the part to watch next: without clear licensing, liability and foreign-investment rules, the 65% of projects now moving into implementation risk stalling on legal uncertainty rather than technical capability. If MTCIT follows through with a workable legal framework, and if the seven OSAP graduates can turn accelerator prototypes into paying contracts, Oman has a real shot at building a space services industry that outlasts the current investment cycle rather than depending on it.