Tlon Space SA wants to carry out the construction project of a launch port that is evaluated transversally by different government agencies.
Uruguay seeks to advance space race hand in hand with private companies and commercial purposes, and for this it seeks to build a rocket launch port in the department of Rocha. The Argentine company Tlon Space SA is one of those interested in the project that has just begun to be studied in the brand new National Space Policy Board.
Few should remember the alleged sighting of “UFOs”, lights in the sky of Paysandu in February of this year; and many fewer must remember the existence of the National Space Board, created a year before that episode, and which yesterday met for the second time. The organization received the Brazilian consultant Paulo Vasconcellos. former director of Transportation and Space Licensing, and of Strategic Intelligence and New Businesses of the Brazilian Space Agency (AEB)who reported on the feasibility of installing a rocket launch port in Rocha.
The Brazilian specialist put on the debate table issues of development, comparative regulations, and technical and environmental aspects that must be considered in these projects, according to El País; but rated positively the potential of Uruguay to move forward with the initiative. The consultancy was commissioned by Uruguay XXI.
What is this project about?
If finalized, the rocket launch port would be located on a property that the Ministry of Defence has on the coast of Rocha and would allow sending small satellites to collect images. The interesting thing about this area is that these space devices can be launched without them entering the air space from neighboring countries.
One of the companies that has already expressed its interest to the government is the Argentine Tlon Space SA, founded in 2005 and with experience in placing third-party satellites in orbit. Their owners, Pablo Vic and Gerardo Natale, see as advantages in Uruguay the low costs and economic stability that the country offers.
In parallel, in the Parliament A bill is being studied that creates a Uruguayan space agencywhose mission is to “direct, coordinate and implement space policy” that arises from the work of the National Space Policy Board.
The Investment Manager of Uruguay XXI, Alejandro Ferrari, highlighted that the east coast of Uruguay It has about 100 kilometers of advantage to launch the rockets. When commenting on this bill, Ferrari indicated: “Given the inclination it can be launched into polar or equatorial orbits; For one it is very convenient and for another it is borderline. In addition, it can be launched without intervening in the airspace of neighboring countries. That is an advantage.”
Ferrari reported that there are two companies in the sector dedicated to the manufacture of satellites that are already installed in the country: the Argentine company based in Uruguay Satellogic, which produces those artifacts in a small size, and Epic Aerospace, which is dedicated to the devices that move satellites into orbit.
Source: Ambito
