Bolivia’s first telecommunications satellite was successfully launched this week onboard a Chinese Long March-3B carrier rocket from Xichang Satellite Launch Center (XSLC).

The $302m satellite, named Tupac Katari (Tksat-1), was produced by China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation (CASC), and will reach its orbit over the Equator in around ten days.

Tupac Katari will be fully operational in March, and is expected to be in service for the next 15 years supporting Bolivia’s telephone and internet connections.

Bolivian President Evo Morales, who was at the launch on 21 December, was reported by the BBC as saying that the satellite would end Bolivia’s dependence on foreign powers for its communications.

"This will be our light, after living for so many years in the obscurity, the suffering and the domination of the empires," Morales said.

Tksat-1 will also enable the country to examine the composition of the soil, as well as observe urban growth and improve agriculture, BBC reported citing La Razon newspaper.

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The latest satellite launch is part of an agreement that was signed between the Bolivian Space Agency (ABE) and the Great Wall Industry Corporation of China, a subsidiary of China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation (CASC), in December 2010.

China President Xi Jinping said: "The satellite will play an important role for Bolivia to improve its broadcasting, education and medical services.

"It will make important contributions to promote cooperation between China and Latin American countries."

This is China’s second in-orbit delivery for a customer in Latin American and fifth for an international user.

In 2008, China has launched a communications satellite for Venezula.

Defence Technology