Country dossier · QAT

Qatar

Active satellite user

A sourced snapshot of Qatar's posture in space — capability, institutions, orbital assets, law and people. Every figure carries its primary source; gaps are shown honestly, never filled with invented data.

Open Qatar in the interactive workspace →

Capability tier

Active satellite user

Launches to orbit from its own territory: noLaunch sites on record: 0Nationals who have flown: 0

Source: ALL IN SPACE capability ladder · see methodology

Space agency

Es'hailSat (Qatar Satellite Company)

Acts through a partner or regional body · established 2010

Qatar has no national space agency. Published here until 2026-08-20 as the "Qatar Space Agency (under MCIT)", established 2014, with a mission attributed to it. No such body exists: Al Meezan, the official Qatari legal portal covering all legislation since 1961, holds no establishing instrument for one, and the 2014 date belongs to Emiri Decree 42 of 2014, which created the Communications Regulatory Authority. Qatar’s space activity runs through Es’hailSat, the state satellite operator, with the CRA as spectrum regulator.

Source: Emiri Decree 42 of 2014 establishing the Communications Regulatory Authority

Satellites (owner state)

2

Counted from the GCAT May 2026 snapshot. The interactive workspace shows a live CelesTrak figure, which uses different owner-attribution rules and will differ.

Source: GCAT · General Catalog of Artificial Space Objects (J. McDowell) · May 2026 snapshot

Ground stations

8

Source: ALL IN SPACE curated ground-station dataset (operator-sourced)

Space budget

No published space budget indexed for this country.

National strategy

Qatar National Vision 2030 and CRA Space Sector Regulatory Framework (2008)

No standalone national space strategy; space activities embedded in National Vision 2030 and led by Es'hailSat and the Communications Regulatory Authority

Source: Published national space strategies and policies

International space law

InstrumentStatus
Outer Space Treaty 1967Ratified
Rescue Agreement 1968Ratified
Liability Convention 1972Ratified
Registration Convention 1975Ratified
Moon Agreement 1979Not a party
Artemis Accords 2020Not a signatory

Source: Status of international agreements relating to activities in outer space (1 January 2026)

Launch sites

No launch infrastructure.

Source: National launch site roster · ALL IN SPACE compilation

Astronauts

No nationals have flown in space on record.

Milestones

  • 2010Es'hailSat (Qatar Satellite Company) established

Notable missions and contributions

  • Es'hail-1 (2013) — first Qatari communications satellite
  • Es'hail-2 / QO-100 (2018) — geostationary satellite with amateur radio transponder
  • Education City research partnerships (NASA, ESA)