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Private spaceport proposed on coast of Oman

Middle East, showing Oman's proposed spaceport

A private commercial company has proposed building a new spaceport on the coast of Oman near the town of Duqm, as shown on the map to the right.

The commercial spaceport, called Etlaq, is designed to host all sizes of launch vehicles in the port town of Duqm, and would meet US Federal Aviation Administration standards to attract international launch companies.

The National Aerospace Services Company (Nascom), which is overseeing the spaceport, unveiled its plans at the Middle East Space Conference in Muscat, more than a year after initially announcing the project. Nascom chairman Azzan Al Said told The National that the Etlaq Space Launch Complex was in the planning phase and development would start by 2025, with the spaceport set to become fully operational by 2030.

Nascom is apparently Oman’s space agency, and appears tasked to remove barriers to this private project. It is trying to ease the State Department ITAR restrictions that make it impossible for American rocket companies to launch from countries such as Oman. It has also contracted with a UK company that speciallizes in building spaceports.

Genesis cover

On Christmas Eve 1968 three Americans became the first humans to visit another world. What they did to celebrate was unexpected and profound, and will be remembered throughout all human history. Genesis: the Story of Apollo 8, Robert Zimmerman's classic history of humanity's first journey to another world, tells that story, and it is now available as both an ebook and an audiobook, both with a foreword by Valerie Anders and a new introduction by Robert Zimmerman.

 
The ebook is available everywhere for $5.99 (before discount) at amazon, or direct from my ebook publisher, ebookit. If you buy it from ebookit you don't support the big tech companies and the author gets a bigger cut much sooner.


The audiobook is also available at all these vendors, and is also free with a 30-day trial membership to Audible.
 

"Not simply about one mission, [Genesis] is also the history of America's quest for the moon... Zimmerman has done a masterful job of tying disparate events together into a solid account of one of America's greatest human triumphs."--San Antonio Express-News

4 comments

  • David Eastman

    In terms of pure geographics, that’s an interesting location. Should be able to a lot of useful orbits. It looks like due east is out, that would be dropping boosters over India. The stability of the region, and getting shipping to that area, might be a question, but the most interesting bit is that comment about trying to loosen up ITAR. That would be a big deal.

  • Gary

    Yeah, I can’t see loosening ITAR for something that close to Iran.

  • David Eastman

    Gary, you’re thinking in terms of protecting American technological supremacy, keeping arms out of the hands of our enemies, etc. What’s that got to do with anything, though? Does Oman have the ear of the State Department, and have they sent enough money to people named Biden? That’s all the appears to matter….

  • Ray Van Dune

    We need a man like Hunter Biden over there to grease the wheels and line his daddy’s pockets – then things will happen!

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