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Updated August 2007
Missile Chronology
1947-1977
This annotated chronology is based on the data sources that follow each entry. Public sources often provide conflicting information on classified military programs. In some cases we are unable to resolve these discrepancies, in others we have deliberately refrained from doing so to highlight the potential influence of false or misleading information as it appeared over time. In many cases, we are unable to independently verify claims. Hence in reviewing this chronology, readers should take into account the credibility of the sources employed here.
Inclusion in this chronology does not necessarily indicate that a particular development is of direct or indirect proliferation significance. Some entries provide international or domestic context for technological development and national policymaking. Moreover, some entries may refer to developments with positive consequences for nonproliferation.
Phase I: Indigenous Developmental Efforts, 1947-1977
1947
Argentina begins development of small tactical rockets with liquid-propellant motors at the Instituto Aerotécnico.
—César Docampo, Desarrollo de vectores espaciales y tecnología misilística en Argentina: el Cóndor II (Buenos Aires: EURAL, 1993), p. 12; Miguel Sanchez, "Sounding Rockets in Argentina," in Space Research in Argentina (Buenos Aires: National Commission on Space Research, 1969), p. 4.
1954
Secret Decree 44 mandates replacement of the Directorate of Investigation and Development of the General Directorate of Military Production by the Institute of Scientific and Technical Investigations of the Armed Forces (Instituto de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas de las Fuerzas Armadas; CITEFA).
—César Docampo, Desarrollo de vectores espaciales y tecnología misilística en Argentina: el Cóndor II (Buenos Aires: EURAL, 1993), pp. 19-20; Emanuel Adler, The Power of Ideology: The Quest for Technological Autonomy in Argentina and Brazil (Berkeley, Los Angeles, and London: University of Berkeley Press, 1987), p. 106.
1954
Argentina begins work to develop solid-propellant rocket engines.
—Miguel Sanchez, "Sounding Rockets in Argentina," in Space Research in Argentina (Buenos Aires: National Commission on Space Research, 1969),
p. 7.
1960
National Executive Order 1164/60 authorizes creation of the National Commission for Space Investigations (Comisión Nacional de Investigaciones Espaciales; CNIE).
—César Docampo, Desarrollo de vectores espaciales y tecnología misilística en Argentina: el Cóndor II (Buenos Aires: EURAL, 1993), p. 8.
14 June 1961
The National Space Research Commission (CNIE) signs a memorandum with the US National Aeronautical and Space Agency (NASA) for cooperation on sounding rockets for space research.
—Eugene M. Emme, comp., "Aeronautical and Astronautical Events of 1961," Report of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration to the Committee on Science and Astronautics, US House of Representatives, 87th Congress, 2nd Session, (Washington, DC: US Government Printing Office, 1962), pp. 14-30, <http://www.hq.nasa.gov/office/pao/History/Timeline/1961-2.html>.
1962
The Center for Experimentation and Launching of Self-Propelled Projectiles (Centro de Experimentación y Lanzamiento de Proyectiles Autopropulsados; CELPA) begins operation. Rockets launched by CELPA at Chamical, in the province of La Rioja, eventually include some with a range of up to 200km.
—César Docampo, Desarrollo de vectores espaciales y tecnología misilística en Argentina: el Cóndor II (Buenos Aires: EURAL, 1993), 10; Eduardo Barcelona and Julio Villalonga, Relaciones carnales: la verdadera historia de la construcción y destrucción del misil Cóndor II (Buenos Aires: Planeta, 1992), p. 35.
1962-1967
NASA coordinates a project with Argentina and France to measure wind direction and intensity and to study atmospheric dynamics. The multilateral collaboration succeeds in launching 16 French Centaure rockets from Argentina to an altitude of 180km, each with a 30kg payload.
—César Docampo, Desarrollo de vectores espaciales y tecnología misilística en Argentina: el Cóndor II (Buenos Aires: EURAL, 1993), p. 10-11; Miguel Sanchez, "Sounding Rockets in Argentina," in Space Research in Argentina (Buenos Aires: National Commission on Space Research, 1969), p. 5.
1963-1967
Argentina develops a mixture of ammonium chlorate and polyvinyl chloride for use in solid-fuel rocket motors.
—César Docampo, Desarrollo de vectores espaciales y tecnología misilística en Argentina: el Cóndor II (Buenos Aires: EURAL, 1993), p. 16.
1963-1975
During this period, the National Space Research Commission (CNIE) and the Institute of Aeronautics and Space Investigations (IIAE), develop the rockets Centauro (also referred to as Centaure) Alpha, Beta, and Gamma, Orion II, Castor, Canopus I and II, Rigel, and Clag I and II.
—César Docampo, Desarrollo de vectores espaciales y tecnología misilística en Argentina: el Cóndor II (Buenos Aires: EURAL, 1993), p. 13; Miguel Sanchez, "Sounding Rockets in Argentina," in Space Research in Argentina (Buenos Aires: National Commission on Space Research, 1969), p. 5.
1964
Argentina begins cooperation with NASA on a project to measure characteristics of the ionosphere. As part of the program, Argentine personnel from the University of Buenos Aires work at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center. The Nike Cajun and Nike Apache are the primary launch vehicles used.
—César Docampo, Desarrollo de vectores espaciales y tecnología misilística en Argentina: el Cóndor II (Buenos Aires: EURAL, 1993), p. 10; Miguel Sanchez, "Sounding Rockets in Argentina," in Space Research in Argentina (Buenos Aires: National Commission on Space Research, 1969), p. 5.
1965
Under National Space Research Commission (CNIE) sponsorship, several laboratories develop payloads for measuring X-rays, primary cosmic rays, and electron and proton precipitation. Gamma-Centauro, Orion II, and American Arcas are the main rockets used.
—Miguel Sanchez, "Sounding Rockets in Argentina," in Space Research in Argentina (Buenos Aires: National Commission on Space Research, 1969),
p. 5.
July 1966
The military government of General Juan Carlos Onganía violently purges national universities of faculty and students, in what is later called the "night of the long clubs." This prompts large-scale massive brain drain from higher education and research, hampering national scientific and technological development in many areas.
—David Rock, Argentina, 1516-1987: From Spanish Colonization to Alfonsín (Berkeley and Los Angeles: University of California Press, 1987), pp. 346-347; Emanuel Adler, The Power of Ideology: The Quest for Technological Autonomy in Argentina and Brazil (Berkeley, Los Angeles, and London: University of Berkeley Press, 1987), pp. 122-123, 135.
13 August 1966
Argentina launches the first Orion II rocket, a single-stage, solid-propellant rocket capable of carrying a 20kg payload to an altitude of 100km.
—Miguel Sanchez, "Sounding Rockets in Argentina," in Space Research in Argentina (Buenos Aires: National Commission on Space Research, 1969),
p. 7.
December 1967
The first flight of the Rigel launch vehicle takes place at Chamical. The rocket reaches an altitude of 300km with a 29kg payload. Rigel is a two-stage composite solid-propellant rocket. The first stage is an Orion II rocket with slight modification.
—Miguel Sanchez, "Sounding Rockets in Argentina," in Space Research in Argentina (Buenos Aires: National Commission on Space Research, 1969),
pp. 7-8.
1969
Argentina launches two Nike Cajun rockets, a Nike Apache rocket, and a Rigel rocket from Chamical. The rockets carry payloads constructed by the Institute of Aeronautics and Space Investigations (IIAE).
—César Docampo, Desarrollo de vectores espaciales y tecnología misilística en Argentina: el Cóndor II (Buenos Aires: EURAL, 1993), pp. 10-11.
1969
Construction begins on the Laboratory and Pilot Plant for Propellants (Laboratorio y Planta Piloto de Propulsantes), of the Department of Meteorological Investigation (Departamento de Investigación Metereológica; DIM).
—César Docampo, Desarrollo de vectores espaciales y tecnología misilística en Argentina: el Cóndor II (Buenos Aires: EURAL, 1993), p. 16.
1969
The Institute of Scientific Research and Technology of the Armed Forces (CITEFA) and the Argentine Navy begin research on a radio-guided missile, the Martín Pescador.
—César Docampo, Desarrollo de vectores espaciales y tecnología misilística en Argentina: el Cóndor II (Buenos Aires: EURAL, 1993), p. 25.
Winter 1969
The Canopus II is launched for the first time. Canopus II is a single-stage, solid-propellant rocket capable of carrying a 50kg payload to an altitude of 100km.
—Miguel Sanchez, "Sounding Rockets in Argentina," in Space Research in Argentina (Buenos Aires: National Commission on Space Research, 1969),
p. 8.
1970s
The National Space Research Commission (CNIE) and the Institute of Aeronautics and Space Investigations (IIAE) lack sufficient resources to develop advanced missile technology. Hence, the Cóndor can be developed only after an influx of foreign technology.
—César Docampo, Desarrollo de vectores espaciales y tecnología misilística en Argentina: el Cóndor II (Buenos Aires: EURAL, 1993), p. 43.
1973
Active-duty military officers displace civilian specialists in the National Space Research Commission (CNIE) to "protect" the agency from Peronist influence and in rejection of civilian emphasis on strictly pacific developmental efforts. This displacement and subsequent secrecy precludes the participation of many of Argentina’s best civilian specialists in the CNIE, forestalling prospects for sustained, autonomous scientific progress in this field.
—César Docampo, Desarrollo de vectores espaciales y tecnología misilística en Argentina: el Cóndor II (Buenos Aires: EURAL, 1993), pp. 17-18.
March 1976
Armed forces take power in Argentina. Initially led by General Jorge Rafael Videla, the Proceso de Reorganización Nacional, or "Proceso" regime, governs for the next six years. The armed forces wage a guerra sucia ("dirty war") against leftist revolutionaries and other Argentines suspected of being "subversives." Leftist uprisings and military repression cripple higher education, with university student enrollment plummeting by nearly one-third in just three years. International condemnation makes the country an international pariah state during this period, as was Chile and South Africa.
—Thomas E. Skidmore and Peter H. Smith, Modern Latin America, 3rd ed. (New York and Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1992), pp. 103-104; Emanuel Adler, The Power of Ideology: The Quest for Technological Autonomy in Argentina and Brazil (Berkeley, Los Angeles, and London: University of Berkeley Press, 1987), p. 123.
1977
The Tauro project is launched to survey natural resources using aerial photography. A two-stage Castor rocket is used for the project equipped with a high-resolution camera, an attitude control system, and equipment for recovery.
—César Docampo, Desarrollo de vectores espaciales y tecnología misilística en Argentina: el Cóndor II (Buenos Aires: EURAL, 1993), pp. 14-15.
1977-1978
The Chief Commandant of the Argentine Air Force, Brigadier General Omar Graffigna, initiates the Cóndor effort and Argentina converts the Cóndor I sounding rocket into a tactical missile. This missile does not have a sophisticated control and guidance system. The program was developed in response to foreign reticence to supply Argentina with arms after the 1976 military coup. Argentine missile development may also have been motivated by the possibility of conflict with Chile over the Beagle Islands.
—Assessing Ballistic Missile Proliferation and its Control, Center for International Security and Arms Control (Stanford, CA: Stanford University, June 1991), pp. 39-72; Daniel Santoro, Operación Cóndor II: la historia secreta del misil que desmanteló Menem (Buenos Aires: Ediciones Letra Buena, 1992), p. 15.
February 1977
Captain Miguel Guerrero completes his master’s thesis in electronics engineering at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). [Note: Guerrero later directs the Falda del Carmen facility and eventually becomes president of the National Space Research Commission (CNIE).]
—Miguel Vicente Guerrero, "Drift Performance vs. Operating Temperature in a Low-Cost Strapdown Gyroscope" (Master's thesis, MIT, 1977).
August 1977
National Law 21.617 places the National Registry of Contracts, Licenses, and Technology Transfer under the jurisdiction of a subsecretary of the Industry Ministry.
—Emanuel Adler, The Power of Ideology: The Quest for Technological Autonomy in Argentina and Brazil (Berkeley, Los Angeles, and London: University of Berkeley Press, 1987), pp. 110-111, 118.
1977-1978
As military attaché in the Argentine embassy in Spain, Air Force officer Ernesto Crespo travels eight times to Egypt, Lebanon, and Libya as part of the ambassadorial entourage. Crespo maintains, however, that he does so solely on behalf of the ambassador and that he makes no contacts regarding the Cóndor program being launched at this time. [Note: Crespo becomes one of the most important officials in the Cóndor program, especially as chief of the Air Force in the mid-1980s.]
—"El brigadier Crespo admitió que hizo ocho viajes al Líbano," Clarín, 6 June 1998, <http://www.clarin.com.ar>.
1970s
Argentina builds Castor sounding rockets used in a cooperative program with Germany. Castor is a two-stage solid-propellant rocket utilizing the design of the Canopus II. The booster is a cluster of four Canopus and the second stage is a Canopus II.
—Arthur F. Manfredi et al., Ballistic Missile Proliferation Potential in the Third World (Washington, DC: Congressional Research Service, 1986), p. 16; Miguel Sanchez, "Sounding Rockets in Argentina," in Space Research in Argentina (Buenos Aires: National Commission on Space Research, 1969), p. 8.
This
material is produced independently for NTI by the James Martin Center for
Nonproliferation Studies at the Monterey Institute of International Studies and
does not necessarily reflect the opinions of and has not been independently
verified by NTI or its directors, officers, employees, agents. Copyright © 2008
by MIIS.
