   The agency will have income with an annual contribution of 0.5% from the under-execution of the National Budget, as well as from donations. / A.M. Costa Rica wire services photo |
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 Published Friday, July 31, 2020 Creation
of Space Agency in
Costa Rica advances By the A.M. Costa Rica staff On Thursday, the Special Permanent Commission for Science, Technology and Education, of the Congress, unanimously approved bill No 21330 called "Law of Creation of the Costa Rican Space Agency." According to Deputy Aida Montiel, who presented the bill to Congress, the law allows the creation of a specialized organization to execute policies on space, promote research, innovation and development in this area, making Costa Rica a pioneer in Central America. For the creation of this project, it could not have been done without the advice of the Astronaut Franklin Chang Díaz, Costa Rican and United States citizen. In addition to the collaboration, advice was needed from specialists from the Technological Institute of Costa Rica, the University of Costa Rica and the National University. "Costa Rica is prepared to make a quantum leap in space exploration, as we have already carried out successful satellite launches such as Irazú and we have Costa Rican experts who can grow this activity exponentially since the country has an aerospace cluster," Montiel said. According to the law, the agency will begin its work with seed capital from the National Center for High Technology, CeNat, which also assumes the agency's operating costs until it obtains its income from the sale of its portfolio of products and services. Also, the agency will have income with an annual contribution of 0.5% from the under-execution of the National Budget, as well as from donations. According to information provided by the deputy, the aerospace sector in the last year amounted to $360,000,000 worldwide, mainly in the field of satellites, of which there are already more than 2,100 operations in orbit. ------------------------------ Should a space agency be a priority for Costa Ricans during the pandemic? We would like to know your thoughts on this story. Send your comments to news@amcostarica.com |
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