The Colombian Aerospace Force (COLAF) and GomSpace have formally renewed their collaboration in support of the Colombian space program — at a value of $261,000, the first phase of enhancing Colombian space capabilities has now been initiated.
The expectation is that the agreement will support establishing a local Assembly, Integration, and Verification (AIV) setup. The AIV will allow the COLAF to design and develop, locally, its satellites, pushing forward its space objectives in line with Colombian interests.
The partnership with COLAF dates back to June 2014, and has so far delivered crucial successes evidenced in two active satellites, FACSAT-1 and FACSAT-2. The FACSAT-1, launched in November of 2018, has contributed significantly to institutional and state objectives by capturing more than 3,000 images.
Recently, the FACSAT-2 mission, also known as Chiribiquete, was successfully launched and is currently operational. Knowledge transfer is central to the FACSAT program by enabling COLAF to participate in all satellite development stages, from design to operation. Equally important is the fact that the COLAF built the Space Operations Center in Cali, Colombia, a ground station that facilitates control and management of its satellites.