Adolfo Chaves and Marco Gómez, courtesy of TEC
The Costa Rican Technological Institute (TEC) became the first university in Central America and the Caribbean, as well as the third in Latin America, to be accepted as a member of the International Federation of Astronautics (IAF).
The acceptance of the TEC nomination took place in the 68th edition of the International Congress of Astronautics, which took place in Adelaide, Australia, last September.
The IAF is the world’s leading organization in the promotion of space activities. It has more than 300 members from 66 countries, including all high-level agencies, including: the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), the European Space Agency (ESA), the Japanese Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) and the Russian Federal Space Agency (RORCOSMOS), as well as top-tier companies such as SpaceX, Boeing, Airbus and Blue Origin, among others.
It implies recognition by the international community of the fact this university is an actor in the space sector. Now we are not part of the Federation of Astronautics, so when we are going to present ourselves as an institution, we can say we are members of the Federation, and that counts to work in cooperation with other institutions such as space agencies and other universities,”
said Adolfo Cháves, coordinator of the Setec Lab, on the site officer of the TEC.
The certificate was received Cháves and Marco Gómez, another TEC researchers focused on the space subject.
In addition, the IAF presented the TEC with a Federation flag that has been 444 days in space on various missions.