Ad Astra Rocket Center is 10 minutes from the Guanacaste Country Club
Jul
30
Written by:
7/30/2010 1:07 PM
Thanks to the presence of some of the most innovative companies in the world today Costa Rica has become a major player in high-technology manufacturing, medical technology manufacturing, professional services and believe it or not, the development of advanced plasma rocket propulsion technology for space travel!
Since the year 2000 the number of companies in Costa Rica's manufacturing sector has increased by 83%, Costa Rica's medical devices sector has increased by 288% and the services sector has increased by 1,760%
Ad Astra is a rocket propulsion company dedicated to the development of advanced plasma rocket propulsion technology. It was started by Franklin Ramón Chang Díaz a Costa Rican-American engineer, physicist and former NASA astronaut who is a veteran of seven Space Shuttle missions. His ambitious goal is to revolutionize space transportation and exploration, through the development and commercialization of the VASIMR® engine and related technologies.
The American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics named the Variable Specific Impulse Magnetoplasma Rocket (VASIMR) among the top 10 emerging aerospace technologies of 2009 and aerospace experts believe that a 200 Mega Watt VASIMR® powered space ship could make the trip to Mars in as few as 39 days.
In an effort to help bolster this new industry, Costa Rica's President Laura Chinchilla is seeking to attract more investment from aerospace companies and this week signed a decree creating the National Council of Aerospace Industry which will be chaired by Clotilde Fonseca, Minister of Science and Technology.
In an interview this week, the World Bank Director for Central America Laura Frigenti was asked about the the prospects for Costa Rica this year, she answered: "They are very good. We at the World Bank, look at Costa Rica with a lot of admiration. It is a country that has much to offer the world in terms of good policies, results, particularly in the areas of social policy, debt and openness to foreign direct investment."
And you saw in the news this week that out of 65 countries, a young Tico - Rafael Angel Rodríguez Arguedas - just won the Gold medal in the World Olympics for Chemistry? He beat other very talented contenders from countries that have typically performed well in this field including the USA, Brazil, Mexico and Argentina.
Good things are happening in Costa Rica, come be a part of it!