“One small step for man, one giant leap for mankind”, was the phrase immortalized by Neil Armstrong 54 years ago when he stepped on the Moon in 1969. This aerospace milestone marked a before and after in the space race worldwide, and also meant a milestone for the time to be broadcast live. In our country, it was the Entel satellite station in Longovilo that made it possible for Chileans to be part of this “jump” and watch it on their black and white TV sets.
Worldwide, 530 million people watched the success of the Apollo 11 mission live, which means that one out of every five people saw the arrival of man on the Moon on television. However, making this possible in Chile and Latin America was quite a feat, since sending the satellite signal from the United States involved sending the signal to South American countries, but by means of retransmissions from a very low power satellite, which would affect the quality.
But fortunately in 1968 in Chile, a year before the moon landing, the first satellite communications station in Latin America came into operation in Longovilo, which was inaugurated by President Eduardo Frei Montalva.
So that no one would miss this event, the President authorized the suspension of long-distance calls momentarily so that the transmission would have a better signal and no one would miss it. All of Chile wanted to be part of this milestone, which lasted more than 2 hours.
“It was quite an event in the country and in the world. I was little, but my family always remembers seeing it live and they could not believe it” , detalla el gerente general de Entel, Antonio Büchi. Agrega que “today we know that it was possible thanks to the perseverance of our engineers who had the technical tools, although many thought it would not be possible. This is a very symbolic milestone in Entel’s history and reflects the company’s spirit of always being at the forefront and doing everything possible to bring the benefits of technology to all Chileans”, the executive recalled.
“Fifty-four years ago Chilean telecommunications took a great step forward. Chile was the only country in Latin America that saw live the arrival of man on the Moon, thanks to the talent of our professionals and the decision of the State. The spirit of the milestone that was experienced in Longovilo is a characteristic of the Chilean telecommunications sector: bold, ingenious and seeking the necessary opportunities to provide connectivity to all Chileans”, said the Undersecretary of Telecommunications, Claudio Araya.
At that time, the station, located in Melipilla, had only one antenna that connected Chile with the world. Today, there is a park with more than twenty antennas, ranging from 3 to 32 meters in diameter. Longovilo is now a partner of excellence for satellite operators, a privileged geographical location in a dry climate zone, a 360° clear view and a team with 55 years of experience.
The ground station continues to support the connectivity of isolated areas such as Rapa Nui, Puerto Eden, and Antarctica, and locations that cannot be reached with any other type of technology due to the complexity of their geographical location.
[Note of the Translator: the text reads: “Chile was the only country in Latin America that saw live the arrival of man on the Moon]
20 Jul, 2023
“One small step for man, one giant leap for mankind”, was the phrase immortalized by Neil Armstrong 54 years ago when he stepped on the Moon in 1969. This aerospace milestone marked a before and after in the space race worldwide, and also meant a milestone for the time to be broadcast live. In our country, it was the Entel satellite station in Longovilo that made it possible for Chileans to be part of this “jump” and watch it on their black and white TV sets.
Worldwide, 530 million people watched the success of the Apollo 11 mission live, which means that one out of every five people saw the arrival of man on the Moon on television. However, making this possible in Chile and Latin America was quite a feat, since sending the satellite signal from the United States involved sending the signal to South American countries, but by means of retransmissions from a very low power satellite, which would affect the quality.
But fortunately in 1968 in Chile, a year before the moon landing, the first satellite communications station in Latin America came into operation in Longovilo, which was inaugurated by President Eduardo Frei Montalva.
So that no one would miss this event, the President authorized the suspension of long-distance calls momentarily so that the transmission would have a better signal and no one would miss it. All of Chile wanted to be part of this milestone, which lasted more than 2 hours.
“It was quite an event in the country and in the world. I was little, but my family always remembers seeing it live and they could not believe it” , detalla el gerente general de Entel, Antonio Büchi. Agrega que “today we know that it was possible thanks to the perseverance of our engineers who had the technical tools, although many thought it would not be possible. This is a very symbolic milestone in Entel’s history and reflects the company’s spirit of always being at the forefront and doing everything possible to bring the benefits of technology to all Chileans”, the executive recalled.
“Fifty-four years ago Chilean telecommunications took a great step forward. Chile was the only country in Latin America that saw live the arrival of man on the Moon, thanks to the talent of our professionals and the decision of the State. The spirit of the milestone that was experienced in Longovilo is a characteristic of the Chilean telecommunications sector: bold, ingenious and seeking the necessary opportunities to provide connectivity to all Chileans”, said the Undersecretary of Telecommunications, Claudio Araya.
At that time, the station, located in Melipilla, had only one antenna that connected Chile with the world. Today, there is a park with more than twenty antennas, ranging from 3 to 32 meters in diameter. Longovilo is now a partner of excellence for satellite operators, a privileged geographical location in a dry climate zone, a 360° clear view and a team with 55 years of experience.
The ground station continues to support the connectivity of isolated areas such as Rapa Nui, Puerto Eden, and Antarctica, and locations that cannot be reached with any other type of technology due to the complexity of their geographical location.
[Note of the Translator: the text reads: “Chile was the only country in Latin America that saw live the arrival of man on the Moon]
“One small step for man, one giant leap for mankind”, was the phrase immortalized by Neil Armstrong 54 years ago when he stepped on the Moon in 1969. This aerospace milestone marked a before and after in the space race worldwide, and also meant a milestone for the time to be broadcast live. In our country, it was the Entel satellite station in Longovilo that made it possible for Chileans to be part of this “jump” and watch it on their black and white TV sets.
Worldwide, 530 million people watched the success of the Apollo 11 mission live, which means that one out of every five people saw the arrival of man on the Moon on television. However, making this possible in Chile and Latin America was quite a feat, since sending the satellite signal from the United States involved sending the signal to South American countries, but by means of retransmissions from a very low power satellite, which would affect the quality.
But fortunately in 1968 in Chile, a year before the moon landing, the first satellite communications station in Latin America came into operation in Longovilo, which was inaugurated by President Eduardo Frei Montalva.
So that no one would miss this event, the President authorized the suspension of long-distance calls momentarily so that the transmission would have a better signal and no one would miss it. All of Chile wanted to be part of this milestone, which lasted more than 2 hours.
“It was quite an event in the country and in the world. I was little, but my family always remembers seeing it live and they could not believe it” , detalla el gerente general de Entel, Antonio Büchi. Agrega que “today we know that it was possible thanks to the perseverance of our engineers who had the technical tools, although many thought it would not be possible. This is a very symbolic milestone in Entel’s history and reflects the company’s spirit of always being at the forefront and doing everything possible to bring the benefits of technology to all Chileans”, the executive recalled.
“Fifty-four years ago Chilean telecommunications took a great step forward. Chile was the only country in Latin America that saw live the arrival of man on the Moon, thanks to the talent of our professionals and the decision of the State. The spirit of the milestone that was experienced in Longovilo is a characteristic of the Chilean telecommunications sector: bold, ingenious and seeking the necessary opportunities to provide connectivity to all Chileans”, said the Undersecretary of Telecommunications, Claudio Araya.
At that time, the station, located in Melipilla, had only one antenna that connected Chile with the world. Today, there is a park with more than twenty antennas, ranging from 3 to 32 meters in diameter. Longovilo is now a partner of excellence for satellite operators, a privileged geographical location in a dry climate zone, a 360° clear view and a team with 55 years of experience.
The ground station continues to support the connectivity of isolated areas such as Rapa Nui, Puerto Eden, and Antarctica, and locations that cannot be reached with any other type of technology due to the complexity of their geographical location.
[Note of the Translator: the text reads: “Chile was the only country in Latin America that saw live the arrival of man on the Moon]