Bolivia to create space program, launch satellite

Bolivia to create space program, launch satellite

(Washington Post) February 10, 2010

Bolivia says it has created a space agency to build and launch the poor South American country's first satellite. Public Works Minister Walter Delgadillo Terceros says the government will initially invest $1 million in the Bolivian Space Agency. He says Chinese experts have arrived in the country to take charge of the satellite's construction and launch. Construction of the third-generation DFH-4 satellite is slated to begin in March. The satellite will be named Tupac Katari, after an Aymara Indian who led indigenous rebellions against the Spanish colonial government in the 16th century.

SES to Develop Orbital Slot for Andean Nations

SES to Develop Orbital Slot for Andean Nations

(Space News) February 8, 2010, By Peter B. de Selding

Satellite fleet operator SES of Luxembourg will move an in-orbit satellite to an orbital slot over South America by September to preserve access rights there held by the Andean Community of Nations in South America SES announced Feb. 8. In return for placing a satellite at the slot before the September deadline set by international frequency regulators, SES has secured a long-term agreement with the Andean nations to develop the slot. SES spokesman Yves Feltes said the company had not decided which satellite would be moved to 67 degrees west longitude. The Andean slot, which has been the subject of numerous debates among regulators at the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) has been reserved for Ku-band frequencies and has a good angle of view on the Americas and the Caribbean.