- The LatAmSat company, originally from Bellville and headquartered in the capital Cordoba, will develop the “Latamnet” earth station.
- He was chosen “Technological Entrepreneurship 2022” of Córdoba and mentioned in the “Argentine Entrepreneurship 2022” competition.
- The space technology firm carried out the pre-incubation of the project through the IncubaCore provincial program.
cordovan space technology company LatAmSat the space industry is venturing into the field and is in the process of developing an earth station for satellite tracking, It intends to offer satellite tracking to companies in other countries around the world from 2023, known as “pass service”, which is not common in South America. Herein lies the importance of the project of this company from Bell Ville, located in the capital of Córdoba: it will become First private company with international service,
Entrepreneurship-scientific-technological and innovation-based- names “latmnet satellite earth station” And this is based on the premise that Argentina is in a privileged geographical position to provide satellite visibility to world powers in the space industry. An earth station is a part of the ground that communicates with a satellite in space.
Currently, LatAmSat There is already a prototype ground station is in operation at the laboratory level and has the necessary funding to develop it at the commercial level. Its customers will mainly be countries in the northern hemisphere.
Provincial Under Secretary of Small and Medium Enterprises, Angel Quagliasaid that LatAmSat could become the first private space technology company to engage in this business. “The importance of entrepreneurship is the possibility of generating foreign exchange; If companies from other parts of the world offer their services, the dollars will come.”He shed light.
LatAmSat Pre-incubated projects through the Incubocor programFrom the provincial ministry of industry, commerce and mining in the first half of 2018. During this process, it received significant business training that allowed its members to train as entrepreneurs and outline a firm business model to enter the space industry. “The province fosters entrepreneurship from the womb of its idea in the Incubacor”Quaglia said.
Managing Partner of LatAmSat, Facundo Oliva Cuneoexplained that the undertaking was done because “There was a dearth of companies operating in the space industry”, and commented: “There are many companies dedicated to this in the Northern Hemisphere, which is not the case in South America, where space activity is limited to the state level; There is not a single station that provides the service privately”,
“We noticed the absence of a private company that would develop satellite services, adapted to their needs, without so much bureaucracy, for customers such as companies, associations, universities and even governments”.added Oliva Cuneo.
passing services
LatAmSat will offer what is known commercially pass service, “Satellites revolve around the Earth and at some point, they pass over South America; When a satellite from a company in the United States passes through here, we are going to connect it to provide Earth-satellite information exchange service; We will download the data that the company needs”explained Oliva Cuneo.
«With the PASS service, we are going to provide the Northern Hemisphere space powers with eyes in the Southern Hemisphere», Sentenced. However, in order to democratize access to space, the company will also facilitate the implementation of satellite missions in Latin American countries at an affordable cost.
“We will be the only private company in all of South America to provide this type of service, we will be a private pioneer”she assured. And he added that LatAmSat has the funding to acquire everything needed to develop the project.
As planned, the company will set up five antennas with different services and will aim at the business objective of selling services all the time based on working with artificial intelligence and automated operations.
approvals
In late November, LatAmSat received national recognition, a Mention in the competition “Argentine Entrepreneurship 2022”, organized by the Under Secretary of Entrepreneurship Development of the Ministry of Economy of the nation. Participated in the “Digital Transformation” category. The venture was selected as one of the eight best at the national level and earned the right to seek mentorship from various institutions in the aerospace sector.
project was also selected “Technological Entrepreneurship 2022” of the Province of Córdoba, It was voted among the 10 best in the “Digital Transformation” category. That’s why the province proposed LatAmSat to the national competition.
Quaglia recalled in this regard: “The National Undersecretary for Entrepreneurship Development called on each province to send five entrepreneurial projects and we chose one from LatAmSat, which went through Incubacor”,
LatAmSat is currently looking for a physical location to move forward with development. The province will cooperate in this search. “We are going to provide the company with facilities to install antennas and necessary equipment; It is possible that an industrial park will be acquired for this purpose.Quaglia anticipated.
With regard to the financing of the LatAmSat project, it comes from a non-reimbursable contribution from the nation, which the company received after participating in a program to promote the satellite and aerospace industry.
to be a startup
The LatAmSat work team is composed of eight people with different profiles (scientists, researchers, doctors and electronic engineers) who have completed master’s degrees in the space industry. The company aims to be a start up In very short span of time.
Regarding LatAmSat’s passage through Incubcore in 2018, Oliva Cuneo recalled: “What we lacked in business, commercial and marketing training, we made up for with scientific-technical training”, He reported that this scope allowed him to obtain “An Integrated Business Plan” And in 2019 they were formalized as a company. “That year we provided services to an international firm that builds satellites to observe the Earth, it was an important experience and we made them into the satellite subsystems that are in space today”He explained in detail.
After LatAmSat completes setting up the physical location, procuring equipment supplies and building the earth station, in mid-2023, it will set out to sell the service to companies in the Northern Hemisphere. This is a very beneficial service. Oliva Cuneo said: “In the second half of next year we intend to be in the commercial phase and will aim to sell 850 thousand dollars per month”,
The company’s website is: www.latam-sat.com
