Argentina launches its first home-built satellite

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...

"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.

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.

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