Organization:Costa Rican Space Agency
Costa Rican Space Agency (Agencia Espacial Costarricense [AEC]) is a national space research and development bureau based in San Jose, Costa Rica.[1][2] It is the first space agency to be created and operated by a Central American nation.[3]
Law 9960 authorizing the creation of the agency was passed by the Constitutional Congress of Costa Rica by a vote of 37-3 on February 8, 2021,[1] and signed on March 27 by President Carlos Alvarado Quesada.[3] The AEC has autonomy as a "non-state, legally established public entity",[1] but is subject to the guidelines of the Ministry of Science, Innovation, Technology and Telecommunications (Ministerio de Ciencia, Innovación, Tecnología y Telecomunicaciones [MICITT]).[3] It is governed by a five-person board of directors, consisting of:[4]
- La persona jerarca del Ministerio de Ciencia, Tecnología y Telecomunicaciones (Micitt) o, en su defecto, el viceministro de Ciencia y Tecnología (The Minister of MICITT or, failing that, the Vice Minister)
- La Dirección General de Aviación Civil (The Director General of Civil Aviation)
- La persona jerarca del Ministerio de Relaciones Exteriores y Culto o, en su defecto, el viceministro (The Minister of Foreign Affairs and Worship or, failing that, the Vice Minister)
- Un representante del sector aeroespacial privado, con experiencia y formación profesional comprobada, que propondrá una terna y será designado por el Ministerio de Economía, Industria y Comercio (MEIC) (A representative of the private aerospace sector ... appointed by the Ministry of Economy, Industry and Commerce)
- Un representante del Consejo Nacional de Rectores (Conare) (A representative of the National Council of Rectors)
The board held its first formal meeting on August 5, 2021.[3]
Among its goals are peaceful space exploration and development, encouraging Costa Rican companies to compete in this sector, and obeying international laws.[1] While the legislation stipulates that the AEC be headquartered in San Jose, it allows for the creation of a space center in Guanacaste Province.[1]
While the news brought widespread support worldwide, concerns were raised, by among others the Office of the Comptroller General of the Republic,[1] about whether its funding could have been better utilized in other, more urgent areas.[3][5] For its first five years of existence, it will receive a mandatory 0.4% "of the free surplus settled at the end of the previous economic period" from non-financial public sector institutions.[1] It will also benefit from donations and income it generates on its own.[1] President Quesada reached out to Costa Rican-American NASA astronaut and founder and CEO of Ad Astra Rocket Company Franklin Chang-Díaz for advice on the financing of the agency.[1]
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.6 1.7 1.8 Colantuoni, Steve (June 3, 2021). "The Costa Rican Space Agency has been created by the legislature" (in en). https://www.thecentralamericangroup.com/costa-rican-space-agency-has-been-created/.
- ↑ "List of World Space Agencies". Jagran Josh. December 30, 2021. https://www.jagranjosh.com/general-knowledge/list-of-world-space-agencies-1640858027-1.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 Callow, Bruce (October 11, 2022). "Costa Rica’s Space Agency Awaits Green Light" (in en-US). https://ticotimes.net/2022/10/11/costa-ricas-space-agency-awaits-green-light.
- ↑ "Crea la Agencia Espacial Costarricense (AEC): Nº 9960" (in es). Sistema Costarricense de Informacion Juridica (Costa Rican Legal Information System). https://pgrweb.go.cr/scij/Busqueda/Normativa/Normas/nrm_texto_completo.aspx?param1=NRTC&nValor1=1&nValor2=94420&nValor3=0&strTipM=TC. Retrieved May 3, 2026.
- ↑ "Will Investment in a Space Agency Benefit Costa Rica?". March 8, 2021. https://thedialogue.org/analysis/will-investment-in-a-space-agency-benefit-costa-rica. Retrieved May 3, 2026.
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