Narrative
Full Description
Project narrative
On January 10, 2020, a launch ceremony took place for the renovated La Guardia Earth Station (Estación Terrena La Guardia) located in Santa Cruz. The earth station, originally constructed in 2013 through the Tupac Katri Satellite project, underwent updates in which new commercial measurement and control capabilities were installed. Through these updates, companies and other countries are now able to use the station to track and control their own satellites. Expanding the capabilities of the La Guardia Earth Station is both an important new source of income for the Bolivian Space Agency and important for developing Bolivia's space program as a whole. The first company to take advantage of the new program will be the China Great Wall Industry Corporation (CGWIC) according to the Bolivian Ministry of Public Works, Services and Housing. The update was carried out by the Bolivian Ministry of Public Works, Services and Housing (MOPSV), though the Chinese government was thanked also thanked by Bolivian government officials for its contribution to the implementation of this project. The China Great Wall Industry Corporation also provided the project with technical support.
Staff comments
1. Flow type has been set to free-standing technical assistance because this is explicitly mentioned as a way the Chinese government/the China Great Wall Company assisted with the project. It is possible there was direct funding involved as well, but current evidence does not support this. 2. This project fulfills some of the purposes described in project 36269, specifically capturing images of satellites from other countries or companies. While they cannot be the same project, the La Guardia Ground Control station was built in 2013 and the new station was not announced until April 2014, it is possible this project is an alternative solution to some of the roles Record ID#36269 was intended to fulfill.