NASA ties boost Costa Rican aerospace industry

The presence in NASA of Costa Rican engineers, the launch of the first satellite to bear the nation's flag, and the creation of a special laboratory in the TEC, the national technological institute, are evidence of the growing importance of Costa Rica's aerospace industry.

The most recent milestone was reached with the placement of three Costa Ricans who worked on the development and improvement of equipment and computer programs for a new generation of robots that will be used in the International Space Station.

In addition, the first satellite of Costa Rica, and of Central America, was launched in what is known as the Irazú project, that monitors carbon in the atmosphere from space.