Latitude signs LOI for first orbital launch from Oman
Latitude
French launch startup Latitude wants to fly its small launcher from a new Omani spaceport as soon as late 2027.
what happened
Per SpaceNews, French launch startup Latitude signed a letter of intent on July 1, 2026 with Etlaq Spaceport in Oman to conduct its first orbital launch from the site, targeting late 2027. The letter of intent opens a preparatory feasibility-study phase; Latitude's small launcher, capable of placing 200 kilograms into low Earth orbit, would complement its planned operations from French Guiana. Latitude strategic committee chairman Olivier Zarrouati linked the signing to a meeting between France's president and Oman's sultan.
why it matters
Etlaq has so far only hosted sounding rockets, so a Latitude orbital flight would be Oman's first orbital launch and gives a European smallsat launcher a Middle Eastern site option outside the crowded European and US manifest queues, though the letter of intent is non-binding and the target date is more than a year out.
for who
Smallsat launch customers and Gulf-region spaceport watchers
signal-to-noise
quick facts
- Companies
- Latitude
- Category
- launch
- Impact
- noise
- SNR
- 4 / 5
- Event date
- 2026-07-01
- Published
- 2026-07-05 08:57 UTC