A box satellite in an exhibition hall with people standing nearby

Viewers observe the model of Oman's intelligent 01 satellite at the Global Unicorn Innovation Exhibition in Hangzhou, Zhejiang Province, China, on 23 April 2026 (Costfoto/NurPhoto via Getty Images)

Owning a satellite isn’t the same as owning the expertise to replace it

Oman’s expanding satellite partnership with China offers a test for emerging space economies: can buying foreign technology give countries greater control over their next purchase?

Richard de Grijs

9 November 20264 min read

When the next satellite needs replacing, will the country that bought it have more options, or simply another invoice from the same supplier?

That is a live practical question for governments across the Indo-Pacific investing in satellite services to monitor crops, coastlines and disasters. An overseas partnership can deliver useful technology quickly. Whether it also leaves domestic engineers better equipped to choose, adapt and develop the next system depends on what accompanies the hardware.

Oman’s new agreements (Opens in new window) with China’s STAR.VISION offer a timely check. Signed on 2 November (Opens in new window), they combine a satellite program with a proposed assembly, integration and testing centre, a joint space artificial-intelligence laboratory and a five-year education and training program. The ambition is to acquire both spacecraft and the expertise (Opens in new window) to build a domestic industry. Yet the partner enabling that ambition could remain indispensable to fulfilling it.

The proposed training encompasses 30 postgraduate scholarships (Opens in new window) in China and capacity-building courses for 1,000 specialists. The engineering centre would provide facilities where components are assembled into spacecraft and checked before launch. Its significance will depend on whether Omani teams learn to make and defend engineering decisions rather than follow procedures devised elsewhere.

This cooperation builds on an existing relationship. Oman Lens was established in 2023 (Opens in new window) as a joint venture between Mars Development and Investment Company and STAR.VISION. Its OL-1 Earth-observation satellite (Opens in new window) launched in November 2024. The new agreements therefore extend a partnership with operational experience rather than initiating space activity from scratch.

Cooperation can build autonomy without eliminating international dependence; the useful distinction is between dependence that leaves room to learn and dependence that prevents it.

There is also evidence of participation beyond ownership, although it comes from the company itself. In a 4 November interview (Opens in new window) with Omani broadcaster Al Wisal, Oman Lens sales director Azzan Al Maamari said Omani personnel had participated in OL-1’s design and also in the design and manufacture of its next two satellites. He said the operations centre was entirely Omani-run. These claims are not independently verified, but they identify responsibilities against which future progress can be judged.

For emerging space economies across the Indo–Pacific, the attraction is clear. Developing every component domestically would be expensive and could postpone useful services for years. International cooperation allows countries to acquire services while developing their own expertise. The policy choice is which responsibilities to retain, which to acquire gradually and which to continue buying abroad. A government need never build its own satellite to benefit from stronger domestic expertise. It still needs people who can compare bids, question technical advice and decide when a different supplier offers a better solution. The test of capability is therefore partly commercial: does each mission make the country a more informed customer, with greater freedom to negotiate the next deal?

That progression is not automatic. Operating a satellite does not necessarily confer the ability to modify its software, diagnose unfamiliar failures or design a replacement. A local facility can provide valuable employment while leaving crucial decisions with an overseas supplier. Scholarships can produce highly qualified graduates without providing the projects, positions and technical access needed to use their skills at home.

Governments can make that progression explicit in their purchase decisions. Successive missions could assign domestic teams greater responsibility for integration, testing, fault diagnosis and design changes. Contracts could specify access to engineering documentation and software, alongside opportunities for local suppliers. Training totals would then sit beside evidence of what graduates can actually do and which decisions they are authorised to make.

These are commercial and institutional questions as much as technical ones. Facilities require sustained operating budgets, experienced staff and a pipeline of projects. Graduates need careers that reward specialised knowledge. Local companies need opportunities to supply equipment or services. A satellite program can help create that demand, but its industrial benefits depend on how purchasing, training and research are connected.

Omani accounts describe expansion (Opens in new window) beyond the first satellite phase as conditional on its results. That creates an opportunity to assess learning alongside technical performance and customer demand. The public announcements do not specify whether that assessment will include domestic learning. But the principle travels: governments commissioning successive spacecraft can use each purchase to secure greater domestic responsibility. Staging hardware purchases does not, by itself, stage capability development.

The senior partner’s role should be assessed on the same basis. STAR.VISION offers a route into spacecraft development and associated infrastructure. Whether that route increases Oman’s choices will depend on the partnership’s terms and implementation. Cooperation can build autonomy without eliminating international dependence; the useful distinction is between dependence that leaves room to learn and dependence that prevents it.

Funding, intellectual-property access and the division of engineering authority remain unclear. Oman’s announcement therefore presents a policy ambition whose implementation deserves scrutiny. For governments across the Indo-Pacific, the useful measure is what changes between one purchase and the next: can domestic teams specify more, solve more and choose among more partners? A satellite eventually needs replacing. The expertise acquired in building and operating it should make the next decision less dependent on its supplier.

About the author

Richard de Grijs

Richard de Grijs (Opens in new window) is Professor of Physics and Astronomy at Macquarie University and former Executive Director of the International Space Science Institute–Beijing.

Topics

Outer space Middle East China Artificial intelligence