Argentina launches its first home-built satellite, ARSAT-1

In this photo provided by Service Optique CSG, the Ariane 5 lifts-off carrying the Argentine made ARSAT-1 geostationary communications satellite, from Kourou, French Guiana, Thursday, Oct. 16, 2014. 

According the Argentine authorities the satellite will offer Internet, cell phone and television signals for the next 15 years for Argentina, Uruguay and Chile. 

Credit: AP Photo/Service Optique CSG

Argentina launched its first domestically built communications satellite Thursday.

The ARSAT-1 satellite is the first to be constructed with local technology in Latin America.

It was built by INVAP, a crew of about 500 scientists over seven years at a cost of $250 million.

The satellite was launched from a base in French Guiana and is to orbit 22,000 miles (36,000 kilometers) above Earth.

"ARSAT-1 is on its way to space. What a thrill," President Cristina Fernandez said shortly after the launch via her Twitter account.

ARSAT-1 is designed to provide digital television and cellphone services to Argentina, Chile, Paraguay and Uruguay for the next 15 years.

It's also expected to improve telephone and Internet connections in remote places, including for scientists working in the Antarctic region.

Fernandez has said that through ARSAT-1, Argentina joins an elite group that is able to build these types of satellites.

Other nations with this capability include European Union states, the United States, Russia, China, India, Israel and Japan.

Meteor: Massive explosion over Argentina

"This happened at an altitude of approximately 70 kilometers", said Prof Jorge Coghlan, the director of Observatorio Astronómico, Santa Fe, who added that as the "space rock penetrates the atmosphere; in a radius of forty kilometers it could be clearly heard".

However in this case the radius area was estimated in 300 kilometers.

The Fire Brigade of the town of El Trebol in central Santa Fe province had been warned by NASA that sometime in the morning a phenomenon of this kind was possible, "and most probably that is what happened".

Jorge Coghlan

The head of the local Fire Brigade said that according to reports from different offices the bang was heard in a radius of 250 to 300 kilometers, thus the fright and fears it could have been an earth tremor.

Marcos Escajadillo, head of Santa Fe province Civil Protection said that because of the impact and extension of the bang, "all emergency mechanisms went on alert.

Currently we are waiting for a report from the Space Activities National Committee, although at this stage we can confirm no impact on land".

"We have reports from an area of 120 kilometers and it all confirms it was a high altitude event. Radiation pressure generated the vibrations at surface level and in window glasses as if it had been a minor earthquake" added Prof Coghlan.

Prof Coghlan, the Director of Code, Center of Space Observers said that "an estimated 100.000 elements of this kind bombard the Earth every day but they are mostly so small that they are not detectable".

Authorities have not yet found any meteor fragments, but "it is possible that the orb disintegrated in the air," astronomer Prof Coghlan told local radio.

Residents in the area who reported hearing a loud explosion Tuesday said that the ground and also buildings shook.

NASA ISS Image: Laguna Verde lake in the Andes Argentina

Laguna Verde lake in the Andean mountains of north-western Argentina

This lake is situated 4,095 metres above sea level. 

Parts of the lake are coloured green due to the presence of microscopic organisms.

Credit: Nasa

ESA Mars Express: First Data from Malargüe, Argentina

An image of the enigmatic Red Planet acquired by ESA’s Mars Express was received today via ESA’s new tracking station in Malargüe, Argentina, symbolising ‘first data’ and recognising formal inauguration.

Credit: ESA

The precision tracking of the Mars mission by the station’s 610-tonne, 35m diameter dish antenna was commanded ‘on’ by Cristina Fernández de Kirchner, President of the Republic of Argentina, via remote link from her office in the Casa Rosada presidential palace.

The image was acquired by the low-resolution monitoring camera on the Mars orbiter and it travelled 327 million kilometres in just over 18 minutes.

The tracking pass began at about 22:11 GMT (23:11 CET). On arrival at the station, the data were transmitted to ESOC, ESA’s European Space Operations Centre, Darmstadt, Germany.

The inauguration ceremony took place at the station, a short drive south of Malargüe, 1200 km west of Buenos Aires, in the presence of Julio de Vido, Argentina’s Minister of Federal Planning, Services and Public Investment, ex-astronaut, Thomas Reiter, ESA’s Director of Human Spaceflight and Operations, and Alvaro Giménez Cañete, Director of Science and Robotic Exploration.

The agreement to build and exploit the station was signed with Argentina on 16 November 2009, for a duration of 50 years.

The agreement contains benefits, facilities and services to be provided by Argentina.

In exchange, ESA will make available to Argentina 10% of the antenna time for their national scientific projects in space. The Comisión Nacional de Actividades Espaciales (CONAE) is responsible for implementing the agreement.

Construction began in January 2010, and the station was substantially complete in spring 2012. It will enter routine service early in 2013.

The inauguration of Malargüe also marks the completion of the ESA’s trio of deep-space antenna – DSA – stations as part of the Estrack network and confirms ESA as one of the world’s most technologically advanced space organisations.

Joining DSA 1 in New Norcia, Australia, and DSA 2 in Cebreros, Spain, DSA 3 Malargüe provides the final leg in ESA’s global coverage for deep-space probes including, today, Mars Express, Venus Express, Rosetta, Herschel and Planck, and, in the future, Gaia, BepiColombo, ExoMars, Solar Orbiter and Juice.

More information here

Living the Dream - Argentina’s Boeing House

Somewhere in the Grand Buenos Aires, specifically in the neighborhood of Marcos Paz, Argentina, we found the Boeing House, a typical two sided roof chalet into which some parts of a Boeing 747 were inserted.

Taken from my favourite creative website Lost At E Minor 

ESA ESTRACK Malargüe webcam

The outdoor webcam at the site of ESA's new deep space tracking station at Malargüe, Argentina, was switched on in May 2010 and brings you a visual update on construction progress.

The Malargüe webcam image is shown below. The camera acquires a new image six times per hour, and the image below will be automatically refreshed.

ESA - ESTRACK Malargüe webcam link

On 22 June 2009, ESA informed Argentine authorities that an area 40 km south of the town of Malargüe in Mendoza province, about 1000 km (direct line) west and slightly south of Buenos Aires (1400 km by road!), has been chosen as the best option to build a new 35-metre deep space antenna in support of Agency missions.

Together with ESA's DSA-1 (New Norcia, Australia) and DSA-2 (Cebreros, Spain), the 620-tonne antenna in Argentina will complete the 360-degree deep-space coverage needed to ensure full telecommunications during mission-critical events and enhance the return of scientific data.

The station is now under construction and will become operational from mid-2012 in support of scientific and exploration missions.

Argentinian Lanscape from ISS

A picture of Argentina taken from space on board the International Space Station on December 08, 2011.

Picture: BARCROFT

Argentina from the ISS

This view of eastern Argentina and its coastline, taken by an astronaut on board the space station, shows a large plume of dust blowing from the interior to the Atlantic Ocean.

A docked Russian Progress spacecraft is visible at image upper right.

Picture: NASA / AFP/Getty

Artist's concept of the Aquarius/SAC-D spacecraft, a collaboration between NASA and Argentina's space agency, with participation from Brazil, Canada, France and Italy. 

Aquarius, the NASA-built primary instrument on the spacecraft, will take NASA's first space-based measurements of ocean surface salinity, a key missing variable in satellite observations of Earth that links ocean circulation, the global balance of freshwater and climate.

Image credit: NASA

NASA's Aquarius instrument has successfully completed its commissioning phase and is now "tasting" the saltiness of Earth's ocean surface, making measurements from its perch in near-polar orbit.

"This marks the end of the long odyssey to design, build and launch this mission, and the start of a new journey of scientific exploration," said Aquarius Principal Investigator Gary Lagerloef of Earth and Space Research, Seattle.

"Scientists from around the world are ready and waiting to study this important new satellite measurement for ocean and climate research."


Aquarius will make NASA's first space observations of the salinity, or concentration of salt, at the ocean surface, a key variable in satellite studies of Earth.

Variations in salinity influence the ocean's deep circulation, outline the path freshwater takes around our planet and help drive Earth's climate.

The Aquarius science team will spend the coming months analyzing and calibrating the measurements and releasing preliminary data.

With the Aquarius instrument commissioning now complete, the SAC-D Instruments Flight Operations Teams, together with the SAC-D Mission Flight Operations Team in Argentina, are now engaged in commissioning the other seven SAC-D instruments.

Once all the observatory instruments are commissioned, a maneuver will be conducted to place Aquarius/SAC-D in its final orbit, 408 miles (657 kilometers) above Earth.

NASA ISS Image: Carhue, Argentina

NASA MODIS Image: Chaiten Volcano, Chile from space

Chile: An image taken on May 5 2008 by the NASA MODIS programme shows a cloud-like plume of ash and steam rising from the Chaiten volcano in Chile, drifting across Argentina and over the Atlantic Ocean

Picture: AFP/NASA

NASA GOES-12: South Atlantic Tropical Storm off Argentina's Coast

The second–ever known tropical cyclone in the South Atlantic Ocean can't escape satellite eyes, and today, the Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite, GOES-12 captured a visible image of Tropical Storm 90Q now located off the coast of Argentina.

GOES-12 satellite captured an image of Tropical Storm 90Q at 1745 UTC (12:45 p.m. ET) today, March 12, when it was more than 1,350 miles east of Buenos Aires, Argentina, approximately near 36.5 degrees South latitude and 34.8 degrees West longitude. At 10 a.m. ET today, Tropical Storm 90Q still had maximum sustained winds near 46 mph (40 knots).

GOES-12 is operated by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, and images are created by NASA's GOES Project, located at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Md.

Tropical Storm 90Q is now moving quickly in a southeasterly direction and is starting to interact with a mid-latitude frontal system. By the end of the weekend, the Southern Atlantic Ocean's second tropical storm in recorded history is expected to be merged with a cold front and just remain in the history books.

For more information link to NASA's Goddard Space Centre

For more hi-res images link to the NASA Goddard Blog and Photos

Text credit: Rob Gutro, NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center

Falklands nationalistic row aimed at rattling oil investors

Falklands row aimed at rattling investors

A developing Argentine-British row over the Falklands prospecting for oil and gas offshore may be part of a diplomatic strategy by Buenos Aires to rattle investors who are pouring millions into the project, analysts said.

Political temperatures have been rising after Argentina revived its campaign for sovereignty over the Falkland Islands, a British overseas territory.

Britain and Argentina fought a war over the islands after Argentina invaded the territories in 1982. Britain retained control but Argentina says it has sovereignty over the islands.

In a further diplomatic escalation, Argentina summoned the British envoy in Buenos Aires to deliver a stiff rejoinder to London over the scheduled start of drilling for hydrocarbons in the waters off Falkland Islands.

The Argentine Foreign Affairs Ministry said the area earmarked for drilling was part of the Argentine continental shelf and therefore Argentina's sovereign territory is currently under "illegitimate British occupation."

The picture shown here incorporates the Coat of Arms for the Falkland Islands with the motto 'Desire the Right'

Argentine soya boom a blow to corn growers

Argentine soya boom a blow to corn growers

Argentina's record crops of soybean have caused dismay among corn and sunflower growers who see the government's emphasis on lucrative soybean exports as a potential blow to their agricultural crops, essential to food security.

Last year Argentina earned about $24 billion from soybean exports, which are now seen by many growers as a good money spinner when compared with conventional crops such as corn.

The farmers' protests are having little effect on soybean enthusiasts, who were drawn to this year's forecasts of a record bumper crop likely to exceed 50 million tons -- 5 million tons more than last year. The soybean is now commonly called "green gold" -- a reference to its high earning potential.

The Rosario Chamber of Commerce said the soybean crop yield was likely to reach the record level despite a chronic drought and disincentives such as unpopular government export taxes.

Argentine firm eyes Falklands oil deal

The Argentine subsidiary of Spanish oil major Repsol is set to begin exploration for oil and gas in the Falkland Islands, business representatives said.

Argentina is not the Falklands' preferred partner for expanding oil exploration and development projects because of lingering distrust after the 1982 Falklands conflict between Argentina and Britain.

However, both the Falklands government and Britain have indicated they want the islands' oil and gas resources developed at a fast pace and are open to ideas for overseas investors.

Earlier this month Falklands-based British entrepreneurs tried to woo the Chilean oil industry and government to develop a partnership between the Falklands and Chile, which is best placed geographically to provide logistics support for exploration and development. Chilean and Argentine media said the overture received a cool response in Chile, because of Chilean concerns that approaches to Falklands might offend Argentina.

YPF's announcement took industry analysts by surprise, as there has been no indication from the British side if YPF's initiative will be welcome.

YPF says it plans to explore for oil and gas in Falklands as part of a five-year program. YPF will spend about $100 million on exploration work in the South Atlantic. YPF is also expected to lead a consortium that may include Argentina's Pan American Energy and Brazil's Petrobras, MercoPress reported.

"We will invest all the resources necessary to explore the whole of the country and find out its full potential in terms of oil and natural gas reserves," YPF Chief Executive Sebastian Eskenazi said. "We're going to define the map of remaining exploration opportunities in Argentina," he said, in a reference to Argentina's continued claim on the Falklands, a British overseas territory.

British and Falklands firms have already begun work on exploring the Falklands basin for oil. Independent estimates have put the potential reserves at tens of billions of barrels of oil.

Earlier this year Britain and Argentina lodged claims to a large area of the South Atlantic seabed around the Falklands. The rival claims have raised the prospect of renewed tensions between the two countries over the control of those oil and gas reserves.

YPF surveys are designed to map out about 250 exploration blocks in Argentina that have yet to be assigned. These include offshore blocks in the South Atlantic region.

YPF's involvement in the region's exploration is likely to hasten Britain's measures for developing some of the more lucrative oil fields identified in recent scientific surveys.

H1N! Swine Flu Devastating South America

A passenger takes precautions at Ezeiza International Airport, Argentina, as the swine flu pandemic intensifies (Image: Daniel Garcia / AFP / Getty Images)

THE swine flu pandemic is intensifying in South America and finding little resistance. The US White House will meet with state representatives on 9 July to discuss preparations for the autumn flu season in the US. The UK has shifted its response from protection, to dealing with the impact of widespread infection in the UK.

Meanwhile, in South America, in the midst of its winter flu season, swine H1N1 virus seems to be replacing the seasonal flu viruses that circulated till now, a classic pandemic behaviour. This raises further concerns that seasonal flu vaccine, which some companies are still making, may be useless when the northern hemisphere's flu season arrives later this year.

In the flu pandemics of 1918, 1957 and 1968, the pandemic virus completely replaced the circulating seasonal flu but in 1977, an accidentally released mild H1N1 virus simply circulated alongside the existing flu, H3N2. So, no one is sure how this swine flu H1N1 will behave. It is overwhelming what is not known about this influenza and its potential devastating impact on the civilised world.

If it does not replace the seasonal viruses - the milder H1N1 and the H3N2 - the world faces the prospect of being infected by all three viruses at once. This would be a very complicated and dangerous scenario: both seasonal and pandemic vaccines would be needed and differing age groups of people would be affected. Let's hope that what is happening in South America, is not indicative of this influenza's emerging profile.

In North America, swine flu also dominates: as expected, more than 98 per cent of flu cases genotyped in the US in late June were caused by the pandemic virus. While seasonal flu viruses normally die out in the summer, the pandemic virus has the advantage that few people have any immunity to it.