ABE Agencia Boliviana Espacial Logo

On February 10, 2010, Bolivia officially began its journey to the stars with the enactment of Supreme Decree No. 0423, which creates the Bolivian Space Agency (ABE).

"The Bolivian Space Agency's objective is, initially, to manage and execute the implementation of the Tupac Katari Satellite Project," states the third article of the aforementioned decree, which allows, for the first time in national history, that Bolivia start the space race. These are, without a doubt, times of fruitful change.

The Supreme Decree of creation assigns the ABE the following specific functions, necessary to venture into space:

Manage and execute the implementation of the Tupac Katari Communications Satellite Project.
Promote the development of new satellite and space projects.
Promote the transfer and training of human resources in space technology.
Promote the implementation of satellite applications for use in social, productive, defense, environmental and other programs.
The structure and legal nature of the Bolivian Space Agency is complemented on August 18, 2010, with the issuance of Supreme Decree 0599, which converts the ABE into a Strategic National Public Company with its own legal personality, of indefinite duration, with its own assets. , autonomy of administrative, financial, legal and technical management, under the tuition of the Ministry of Public Works, Services and Housing.

This second decree makes it possible for the new Bolivian company to successfully venture, with efficiency, probity and speed, into the very peculiar and extraordinarily versatile space industry.

A third Supreme Decree, 0746 of December 22, 2010, authorizes the signing of the Loan Agreement for 251,124,000 US dollars with the China Development Bank (BDC) to finance the satellite project.

This loan is intended to finance the commercial contract that the EBA signed on December 13, 2010 with the Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation of the People's Republic of China (China Great Wall Industries Corporation CGWIC) for the construction, acquisition and commissioning of the Satellite Tupac Katari.

On December 23 of the same year, the Bolivian government and the China Development Bank signed a credit agreement to build the Bolivian satellite.

During the signing of the respective binational space cooperation agreement at the offices of the prestigious Space Academy of Technology in Beijing, in the capital of the Asian giant, it was said that the construction and launching of the Tupac Katari Satellite would enable the most neglected sectors to have access to communication under equal conditions.

On February 25, 2011, the Bolivian Senate, in strict compliance with the legal regulations in force and the Political Constitution of the Plurinational State, approved the binational agreement for the construction of the satellite, in a framework of absolute transparency. Bolivia was starting the space race with the best omens.