LeoLabs selects
Argentina as its third site in the Southern
Hemisphere, expanding critical coverage for
space safety
March 13, 2023
LeoLabs the world's leading
commercial provider of Space Situational
Awareness (SSA) services and low Earth orbit
(LEO) mapping, today announced Argentina as the
site for its next space radar. The Argentina
Space Radar (AGSR) represents a critical
addition to LeoLabs growing global constellation
of S-band, phased-array sensors strategically
distributed across the Northern and Southern
Hemispheres, as well as the polar and equatorial
regions.
The AGSR site is located on
the archipelago of Tierra del Fuego, just under
5,000 km from Antarctica. This site was chosen
primarily for its high latitude, which is
especially beneficial for monitoring high-risk
conjunctions which typically occur above 60
degrees latitude. The AGSR site will provide
LeoLabs with better situational awareness in the
Southern Hemisphere and lower positional
uncertainties, resulting in more accurate and
reliable conjunction data messages. The site,
equipped with S-band technology, will also
increase LeoLabs capacity to discover new
objects, including lethal, small debris that are
currently not cataloged.
This latest addition to
LeoLabs' network of phased array space radars
illustrates the company's efforts to
geographically diversify its coverage in both
latitude and longitude. This strategic
diversification will improve its space safety
services, which include collision avoidance for
operators. When completed in late 2023, AGSR
will grow LeoLabs' global network to include
seven operational sites with plans to expand
further in the coming year.
"It's a privilege to build
this radar site in Argentina and contribute to
this country's history of space exploration and
stewardship. As our third radar site in the
Southern Hemisphere and our first in South
America, the Argentina site is critical to
closing the global SSA gap in coverage and
enhancing scrutiny of events happening over this
part of the world. This site will greatly
improve our ability to track objects and monitor
high-risk events in low Earth orbit," said
LeoLabs CEO Dan Ceperley, "We are committed to
our partners in Argentina and are eager to help
support the space industry here and in South
America more broadly."
"The choice of Argentina
for the location of a new LeoLabs radar is great
news," said Jorge Argüello, Ambassador of
Argentina to the US, "Our Embassy prioritizes
promoting this sector in all its trade promotion
and investment attraction activities in
Washington DC and, through our general
consulates, throughout the United States. Our
space sector is highly valued and the
interaction of LeoLabs experts with our
engineers has been virtuous and enriching. It is
very important to address the issue of
sustainability in the space sector, and this
radar contributes to that regard."
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