Industria Satelital en la Argentina. Análisis del caso de Satellogic (2010-2023).

Abstract

Currently, there are very few countries in the world that dominate the aerospace industry in general, and the satellite industry in particular. This number is even more limited if we consider only peripheral or semi-peripheral countries. Among the latter is Argentina, a country with structural problems: high levels of poverty, unemployment and underemployment, informal employment, and a disconnect between the productive sector and the scientific and technological complex, among others. However, it is also a country with several decades of development in knowledge-intensive areas, such as the satellite sector. While historically, the national government, through its public institutions (through the National Commission for Space Research, the National Commission for Space Activities, and the companies Investigaciones Aplicadas Sociedad del Estado and finally Argentina Satelital Sociedad Anónima), there have been initiatives outside these major players. Although with less visibility, national universities, schools, hobbyist groups, and, in recent decades, entrepreneurs have also carried out some projects in outer space. This research focused on the trajectory of a company, Satellogic, which became a key player in the new paradigm that emerged in the sector: New Space. This allowed us not only to reconstruct the history of an Argentine company in the early years of the 21st century, but also to question some established parameters in this industrial sector. It also facilitated the drawing of conclusions about the behavior of some entrepreneurs, as well as the prevailing logic of the current phase of capitalism in Argentina.