Bolivian Satellite Tupac Katari into Final Orbit

The first Bolivian telecommunication satellite Tupac Katari will go into its final orbit today to begin its first transmission tests, the Bolivian Space Agency reported.

Alexis Andrade, an official of the scientific institution, explained that on Dcember 24, the satellite, which weights 5.5 tons and made up of titanium, aluminum and steel, completed its sixth turn around the Earth.

The satellite will go into its final orbit today and will being later its last test period, which will last around three months, Andrade said.

They are not only tests on communication channels, but also in the sub-systems that shape them, said Andrade, who is an engineer.

Tupac Katari was launched from the Space Center Xi Guan in China and has the objective of transmitting the signals of mobile telephone, television, radio and access to the Web. The Bolivian Space Agency was in charge of building and launching the satellite, training the personnel in China and building two monitoring stations in the towns of Amachuma, in the city of El Alto and La Guarida, in Santa Cruz.

The operations of Tupac Katari, named after an indigenous leader decapitated and burned by Spanish colonizers, began in April, 2014, and its services will cover the 337 municipalities in the country.

The satellite’s orbit will be at 36,000 kilometers high, on the equator, at 87.2 degrees west longitude.

In statements to the news agency Prensa Latina, Minister of Public Works, Services and Housing Vladimir Sanchez explained recently that $302 million USD were invested in the project, which will offer the opportunity to democratize telecommunications and reduce the digital gap.