Living in Peru: Peru’s new satellite to launch in September

"Peru's new Satellite to launch in September"
W. Alejandro Sanchez
August 9, 2016
Living in Peru - Opinion
Originally published: http://www.peruthisweek.com/blogs-perus-new-satellite-to-launch-in-september-110151

Peru’s new satellite is scheduled to be launched from the European spaceport in Kourou, French Guyana, in mid-September. PeruSat-1, the name of the satellite, will be the new crown jewel of the Peruvian space program led by the National Commission for Aerospace Research and Development (Comisión Nacional de Investigación y Desarrollo Aeroespacial; CONIDA).

In 2014 the Peruvian and French governments signed an agreement for the construction of PeruSat-1. The satellite was manufactured by Airbus Defense and Space, based on theAstroBus-S platform. A March 2015 press release by the aerospace company explains how “PeruSat-1 is also the first programme run by the Projects Factory, a new and more integrated working organisation in the Space System business unit. This new way of working brings down development and construction lead times for satellites up to 500 kg and optimises their costs, without impacting quality in any way.”

The satellite was constructed at the Airbus facilities in Toulouse, France. Peruvian scientists and officers have regularly travelled to the French city to supervise the construction as well as to receive training on how to operate the satellite.

CONIDA has constructed a new facility to control PeruSat-1, called the National Center for Satellite Imagery Operations (Centro Nacional de Operaciones de Imágenes Satelitales; CNOIS). The facilities occupy 15 hectares and are located in Punta Lobos, south of Lima.

According to the Peruvian media, PeruSat-1 will be utilized for various activities, such as monitoring weather patterns, which will help Peru’s agro-industry and to address natural disasters. Additionally, the satellite will help with internal security, as it can be utilized for border surveillance as well as to combat illicit activities like illegal mining or illegal logging.

When the deal was first announced in 2014, it attracted a fair amount of politically-influenced criticism against the then Ollanta Humala-administration. The main argument was that the satellite was too expensive (it reportedly cost USD$213 million), and CONIDA could have gotten obtained two smaller satellites for the same amount. It is the opinion of this author that the Humala government was correct in acquiring one heavy (it reportedly weights over 300kg) satellite, which will be the cornerstone of the country’s space program for the immediate future.

CONIDA has been busy in recent years as, apart from the satellite, it successfully carries out other projects. In 2013 the center launched its first rocket built domestically. The Paulet 1-B reportedly managed to travel vertically 15km. Additionally, CONIDA has organized workshops on the issue of satellites for defense. For example in 2015, the agency hosted a seminar for members of the Peruvian armed forces, entitled “Optical Satellite Imagery and Defense.”

CONIDA was established in June 1974 by the military government of General Juan Velasco Alvarado. Its staff is compromised of Peruvian scientists, technicians and members of the military (particularly the Air Force). Its headquarters are located in San Isidro, downtown Lima, and it also has the aforementioned testing center and future CNOIS base called Punta Lobos in Pucusana, south of Lima. CONIDA’s current director is Air Force General Carlos Rodríguez Pajares.

While expensive, PeruSat-1 is a major accomplishment for the Peruvian space program which needed to take the next leap forward in order to have a bigger presence in spatial affairs and to carry out more projects for the benefit of Peruvian society. In five years time Peru will celebrate its bicentennial independence anniversary, and it should welcome this milestone by having the Peruvian flag proudly displayed both in Earth and space.

Publication: COHA Senior Fellow W. Alejandro Sanchez Analyzes Latin America’s Space Programs

"Latin America's Space Programmes: Geopolitical Considerations"
W. Alejandro Sanchez
Military Technology - World Defense Almanac 2015
P. 43
Article published: http://www.monch.com/mpg/publications/military-technology
COHA press release: http://www.coha.org/coha-senior-fellow-w-alejandro-sanchez-analyzes-latin-americas-space-programs/

Alejandro Sanchez, a Senior Fellow at the Council on Hemispheric Affairs (COHA) has published a comprehensive report entitled: “Latin America’s Space Programmes: Geopolitical Considerations.” The essay appears in Military Technology – World Defense Almanac 2015 (P. 43), published by theMonch Publishing Group. Please contact Monch for information on how to obtain a copy of this important publication.

About the Author: W. Alejandro “Alex” Sanchez Nieto is a Senior Research Fellow at the Council on Hemispheric Affairs (COHA) where he focuses on geopolitics, military and cyber security issues in the Western Hemisphere. His research interests include inter-state tensions, narco-insurgent movements and drug cartels, arms sales, the development of Latin American military industries, UN peacekeeping operations, as well as the rising use of drones (UAVs) for civilian and security uses in Latin America. His analyses have appeared in numerous refereed journals including Small Wars and Insurgencies, Defence Studies, the Journal of Slavic Military Studies, European Security, Studies in Conflict and Terrorism and Perspectivas. He has published two book chapters including a co-authored chapter with entitled “The Architectonics of Bolivia’s Foreign Policy,” for Latin American Foreign Policies Between Ideology and Pragmatism, edited by Gian Luca Gardini and Peter Lambert (Palgrave Macmillan, February 2011).

Additional publications by Mr. Sanchez on Latin America’s space programs include:

• “Peru’s Satellite Buy Next Step Towards The Stars.” Blouin Beat: Politics. May 5, 2014.

• “Latin America’s Space Programs in 2012.” Space Review. August 27, 2012.

• “Space Technology Comes to Latin America: Part of the Hemisphere’s Road to Autonomy.” Report. Council on Hemispheric Affairs. September 10, 2008.

MILITARY TECHNOLOGY (MILTECH) was founded in 1977. It is the world’s leading international tri-service defence monthly magazine in the English language. It covers all aspects of modern defence technology, requirements, procurements and programmes. MILTECH is the world’s leading media platform for providing access to and influence within defence establishments worldwide, as well as the best platform for personal interaction with senior Politicians, Industrialists and Military officers across all services. It is the largest magazine of its type with recorded instances in writing of a pass-along rate of 30+ readers per copy, and circulation per issue of just under 25,000 copies. It is a unique strategic and tactical level resource to inform political, industrial and military decision-makers: MILITARY TECHNOLOGY is “Required Reading for Defence Professionals”.

Blouin Beat: Politics- Peru’s satellite buy next step towards the stars

"Peru's satellite buy next step towards the Stars"
W. Alejandro Sanchez
Blouin Beat: Politics
May 5, 2014
Originally published: http://blogs.blouinnews.com/blouinbeatpolitics/2014/05/05/perus-satellite-buy-next-step-towards-the-stars/

A spike in sea temperatures had atmospheric scientists voicing worries Monday about a severe El Nino effect in 2013. Peru, which has suffered from such weather events before, has just improved its defenses. On April 24, Peruvian Defense Minister Pedro Cateriano and France’s Ambassador to Peru, Jean-Jacques Beaussou, signed an agreement in the headquarters of the Peruvian Army in Lima. Through this accord, Peru has purchased a French satellite, the Asrosat-300, for $213 million USD.

Discussions over the type of satellite Peru would purchase have been ongoing for the better part of a year. Ultimately, the Peruvian government chose the Asrosat-300, but this decision has not been without criticism. Opposition Congressman Mauricio Mulder has argued that there were other potential suppliers (Spanish, British and Israeli) that offered better deals. It has also been argued that the Peruvian government overpaid for the French satellite. Minister Cateriano has defended himself, stating that the transaction between Paris and Lima was transparent. He has also declared that the satellite is worth the price tag, and that critiques of the deal are politically motivated.

It is important to clarify that the Asrosat-300 satellite has not been built yet. Peruvian technicians will travel to France over the next two years and will be involved in the design, construction, launch and, ultimately, control of the satellite once it is in orbit.

Hence, the agreement between Lima and Paris appears to be fairly beneficial for Peru. Such transfer of technology and hands-on-experience will be invaluable in the long run as a new generation of Peruvian scientists and technicians will learn the know-how of designing and building modern satellites, which will help launch (in theory) a slate of domestically-built Peruvian space technology. Moreover, while the Asrosat-300 will not be launched until 2016, via the agreement with France, Peru can have access to images from French satellites until its own satellite is safely aloft.

There are high hopes placed on the Asrosat-300. Already the Peruvian media has declared that it will be the most modern satellite in South America. The Peruvian government and military plans to utilize it for internal security. Namely, the satellite can help locate Shining Path guerrillas that operate in the Peruvian highlands, as well as illegal landing strips and cocaine labs. Peru also has a severe problem with illegal logging and illegal mining in the Amazon, and it is expected that the satellite can help the Peruvian police crackdown on these destructive crimes. The satellite has civilian uses as well, including the aforementioned metereological ones. And given the imminent arrival of El Nino and how climate change will affect the world in the short and long term, it will be beneficial to Peru to have a satellite to effectively monitor weather patterns.

Peru’s satellite buy can be placed in a discussion of how Latin American space programs are booming (I have discussed these space programs in previous analyses). In December, Bolivia deployed its first ever satellite, the Tupac Katari, which was built by, and launched from, China. Meanwhile, Peru has successfully launched two experimental satellites so far this year. Other Latin American countries that have growing space programs are Colombia, Mexico and Venezuela.

But Brazil has the most developed space program in the region; the Portuguese-speaking nation hosts the Alcantara launching center, located in Maranhao (northern Brazil). Brasilia hopes that Alcantara will become a launching pad for satellites of neighboring states, but so far Latin American countries seem to prefer other spaceports: Bolivia launched its satellite from China, while Peru launched its newest satellites from Russia and the U.S. (The Asrosat-300 could be launched from the spaceport in French Guyana).

As for Peru’s satellite, if all goes well and it is launched as scheduled in 2016, it will make for a fitting farewell gift from President Ollanta Humala, whose presidency ends that year. Humala’s presidency was marked by aggressive operations on the part of Peru’s armed forces to crack down on the Shining Path and other criminal networks, and while there have been some important successes, the narco-insurgents remain operative. The Asrosat-300 could very well be a highly efficient tool for surveillance and intelligence, so that the Peruvian military and police can finally eliminate this guerrilla movement.

Moreover, Peru’s Asrosat-300 and Bolivia’s Tupac Katari satellites, combined with Brazil’s robust space program, demonstrate that Latin American nations are carrying out big steps to have a presence in space. Certainly, none of these nations’ space programs come close to NASA, Roscosmos, or the CNSA, and it will be a long time before Latin America can put one of its citizens in space via Latin American spaceships (though Latinos have already gone to space via the U.S. and Russian/Soviet spaceships). That said, there’s no question the region is, er, aiming for the stars.

Quoted in: Cooperación espacial: China sueña con expandirse en América Latina

Cooperacion espacial: China suena con expandirse a America Latina
Russia Today - Actualidad
Diciembre 27, 2013.
Articulo disponible: http://actualidad.rt.com/actualidad/view/115382-cooperacion-espacio-china-latinoamerica

El exitoso lanzamiento del primer satélite de comunicaciones de Bolivia, el Túpac Katari, beneficiará y facilitará mucho la cooperación entre China y América Latina en el sector espacial, sostienen en Pekín.

"Sudamérica siempre ha sido un mercado muy importante para nosotros en cuestión de satélites, teniendo en cuenta las condiciones sociales y económicas de la región, así como las buenas relaciones que hemos mantenido entre ambas partes", dijo He Xing, vicepresidente de la empresa tecnológica china CGWIC a la agencia Xinhua. Su empresa es la única autorizada para vender productos espaciales chinos en el extranjero. 

Campo de batalla

América Latina se ha convertido en un campo de batalla entre EE.UU. y China: ambos aspiran a vender en esta región sus productos y servicios espaciales, afirma el investigador del Consejo de Asuntos Hemisféricos en Washington, Alex Sánchez. 

"Las cuestiones geopolíticas y de seguridad de la Tierra continúan con extenderse al espacio"

"El hecho de que varios Estados espaciales, como EE.UU. y China, están ayudando activamente a los Estados regionales con sus programas nacionales constituye un factor crítico para las aspiraciones espaciales de América Latina. En el futuro esto puede provocar un cierto debate, ya que las cuestiones geopolíticas y de seguridad de la Tierra continúan con extenderse al espacio, especialmente en la actualidad, cuando los gobiernos caracterizados por sentimientos anti-Washington, como Caracas y La Paz, están recibiendo ayuda tecnológica, relacionada con el espacio, de países como China", explica Sánchez citado por 'The Space Review'. 

En 1985, China anunció que iba a comenzar a ofrecer servicios espaciales, de lanzamiento, para clientes internacionales. Después de que China fuera golpeada con sanciones tras el incidente de Tiananmen de 1989, el país tuvo que buscar socios no occidentales para que le ayudaran en su industria aeroespacial nacional, que entonces estaba a punto de nacer. 

Las búsquedas condujeron a Pekín a América del Sur, donde Brasil se convirtió en el primer país en aceptar la propuesta china. Por ahora China ha lanzado al espacio cuatro satélites de Brasil. La colaboración espacial de ambos países comenzó con el programa CBERS de 1999. China lanzó con éxito sus satélites meteorológicos en 1999, 2003 y 2007, que volaron al espacio a bordo del cohete Gran Marcha-4B. En 2014 China y Brasil lanzarán un satélite creado conjuntamente para sustituir un aparato que no llegó a la órbita a principios de diciembre y se estrelló contra la Tierra. 

Relaciones espaciales

Argentina colabora con China desde el 2004, con base en un convenio firmado por sus mandatarios que menciona servicios comerciales de lanzamiento, suministro de componentes de satélites y plataformas de comunicación por satélite. 

Bolivia envió 74 científicos espaciales a China para entrenarlos para el lanzamiento del satélite Túpac Katari, que fue construido por científicos y especialistas en laboratorios de China, utilizando partes fabricadas en Francia, Alemania y Estados Unidos. Fue lanzado desde Xichang, en China. El lanzamiento fue financiado parcialmente por un préstamo de 250 millones de dólares ofrecido a La Paz por el Banco de Desarrollo de China. 

Venezuela también envió casi cien científicos espaciales a China y acordó con Pekín el tema de radares, estaciones de seguimiento y la defensa aérea para controlar los satélites venezolanos. El primero, el Simón Bolívar Venesat 1, fue lanzado con éxito desde el Centro Espacial Xichang en China en octubre del 2008. "Unas mayores relaciones espaciales podrían ser consideradas como otra forma de mejorar las relaciones entre Pekín y Caracas" en el intento de Venezuela de alejarse de EE.UU. y buscar nuevos aliados en el mundo, afirma Sánchez. 

También hay contactos de China con Perú, Colombia y Chile. El paquete completo de servicios que ofrece CGWIC generalmente incluye la fabricación y el lanzamiento del satélite, la construcción de las estaciones terrestres, la asesoría en seguro y la capacitación de ingenieros en el control y manejo del ingenio espacial.

Texto completo en: http://actualidad.rt.com/actualidad/view/115382-cooperacion-espacio-china-latinoamerica