🇨🇳 China brings its Space Silk Road to the Middle East The Chinese private space firm Star Vision is building Oman a 20-satellite AI-powered network worth over $200 million, capable of identifying ships and infrastructure and detecting floods in real time, the South China Morning Post reports. 🌏 Under the Space Silk Road project, each satellite will be roughly the size of a washing machine and process images onboard, transmitting only useful information to Earth instead of sending down entire image files 🌏 The agreement goes beyond satellite deliveries, as Beijing will help Oman establish a satellite assembly and testing center, train 1,000 local specialists, and provide scholarships for 30 Omani students to study in China 🌏 The two countries will also establish a joint space AI laboratory, and Oman will eventually own and operate the satellites, including control over the data they collect 🌏 The project builds on an earlier Omani satellite developed with Star Vision. Additional spacecraft are planned, with the constellation to be deployed in stages and upgraded over time 👍 Substack | Chat | @geopolitics_prime