
Argentina launches its first home-built satellite - patomolina
http://www.businessweek.com/ap/2014-10-16/argentina-launches-its-first-home-built-satellite
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Daishiman
I know people involved in the design and programming of the control software.

Specifically for the people who are asking: the control software task is
custom-built and brand-new, which is a pretty distinguished feature. The
testing facilities were made from scratch; the assembly system, according to
the necessary standards for geosynchronous satellites which operate outside of
the Earths's magnetic field which protect LEO satellites from radiation, was
also new. The components, while outsourced to the few entities on the planet
with the necessary know-how, were built according to the INVAP's (the agency
responsible for the project) own specs.

Integrating these systems, which are _not_ built as turn-key solutions, is
still an extremely complex affair and requires a high degree of knowledge and
understanding of aerospace technology. This is some very talented and skilled
staff working under the guidance of domain experts.

From this link: [http://www.nasaspaceflight.com/2014/10/arsat-1-argentina-
com...](http://www.nasaspaceflight.com/2014/10/arsat-1-argentina-communicate-
heightened-space-ambitions/)

"The desire to develop the capabilities went so far that, while the computer
module was supplied by Astrium, the whole software was written from scratch by
local contractors. Or, in the case of the AOCS system, the main computer, and
both ACE (the Attitude Control Electronics) and TCE (Thruster Control
Electronics), as well as the whole attitude control system and algorithms were
developed at INVAP.

The distinction between the supplier of the off the shelf parts – and the
specification, validation and integration of components and software
development into a whole system – is very important. As a result, it can be
considered a 100 percent INVAP product."

There's also experiments of the energy agency's custom-built solar panel
technology, used for LEO satellites and now being experimented on this orbit.
The plan is that this tech will continue to be developed and used for future
stuff.

An interesting fact is that the reinsurance policy for the satellite is the
cheapest ever for one on a geosynched orbit, which implies that the testing
protocol made for this has been extremely sound, and thus the quality of the
engineering.

The city of Bariloche, where much of this work was based, is also known for
having the state's nuclear research and manufacturing industry, which has
built and exported several commercial nuclear reactors.

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robomartin
Having lived in Argentina for a number of years it is my opinion that the
country has and produces really amazing talented individuals in the sciences.
Regrettably, more often than not, this talent has to leave the country in
order to be recognized and flourish. The opportunities in a country like
Argentina are slim.

There's a dichotomy at play that is, well, sad:

Government in Argentina has been corrupt in more than one form (nepotism,
theft of national resources, buying elections, exclusion from the law,
oppressive, etc.) for generations.

It's a strange form of socialism where the masses live in progressively
deteriorating socioeconomic conditions yet they keep supporting whoever
promises a solution even though everyone knows once they achieve power they'll
focus on stealing millions from the country rather than to truly help improve
it.

Yet, somehow the country seems to be able to produce outstanding talent in
certain domains.

And the culture is absolutely fantastic. Warm and caring people with high
family values.

An Argie professional I know likes to say: "Argentina is a nice country to
have come from".

I also know someone who used to be in the Argentinian equivalent of the US
Secret Services, in other words, working inside government at the highest
levels. The stories are, well, jaw dropping, to say the least.

And so, in this context, yes, it is really amazing to hear that Argentina can
produce something like this. Surely it has to be 100 times harder than
anywhere else.

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sebastianconcpt
Do anybody knows what is in the software? like which languages were used on
it? or other technical feats?

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gtirloni
It looks like these days the real challenge is in launching the transport
vehicle without it exploding. Few countries have the technology for that.

Congratulations to Argentina, it's certainly a great achievement.

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squozzer
Hola Argentina welcome to the space club.

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pibefision
Well, this is propaganda. What exactly is an argentinian sattellite? Almost
all the parts are from Japan and outsourced to Europe
([http://elpais.com/elpais/2014/09/26/ciencia/1411754613_66353...](http://elpais.com/elpais/2014/09/26/ciencia/1411754613_663536.html))

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aortega
Well it's like buying a 0km car VS buying generic parts and building it
yourself. It's not that easy.

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Htsthbjig
Well, it is pretty easy. I have one car that I assembled myself with the help
of a mechanic.

You can buy cars in pieces from several UK companies. And I have to say it was
easier than I thought it was going to be.

In fact, it was probably too easy. I am engineer and used to do things myself.
Making my own OS with gentoo when you had to compile everything yourself was
way harder and longer than assembling the car.

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aortega
Thats impressive. Complete car with ASP/traction control/ABS and emmisions
complaint stuff? did you calibrated the airbags?

~~~
louthy
I suspect it was something like a Caterham:

[http://uk.caterhamcars.com/cars](http://uk.caterhamcars.com/cars)

