INVAP S.E. is an

Argentine Argentines (mistakenly translated Argentineans in the past; in Spanish ( masculine) or ( feminine)) are people identified with the country of Argentina. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Argentines ...

company that provides design, integration, construction and delivery of equipment, plants and devices. The company operates in North America,

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a subcontinent of Eurasia and it is located enti ...

, Asia Pacific,

Latin America Latin America or * french: Amérique Latine, link=no * ht, Amerik Latin, link=no * pt, América Latina, link=no, name=a, sometimes referred to as LatAm is a large cultural region in the Americas where Romance languages — languages derived ...

, the Middle East and

Africa Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent, after Asia in both cases. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of Earth's total surface area ...

, and delivers projects for nuclear, aerospace, chemical, medical, petroleum and governmental sectors. The company is an unlisted private company, the sole owner being the Province of Río Negro. Its headquarters is in San Carlos de Bariloche. As of 2015, the company directly employs 1330 people, from which 59% are highly qualified professionals. In 2018 the company was avowed as the most important business from Argentina, winning the Diamond Konex Award.

Background

INVAP was created on September 1, 1976, as a spin-off of the Argentine Atomic Energy Commission, research laboratories division. The name INVAP is a portmanteau of the words ''inv''estigación ''ap''licada ("applied research" in Spanish).

Satellites

INVAP was the first company in

certified by

NASA The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA ) is an independent agency of the US federal government responsible for the civil space program, aeronautics research, and space research. NASA was established in 1958, succeedi ...

(the US (National) Aeronautics and Space Administration) to supply space technologies.Company Profile
It constructs

satellite A satellite or artificial satellite is an object intentionally placed into orbit in outer space. Except for passive satellites, most satellites have an electricity generation system for equipment on board, such as solar panels or radioiso ...

s, payloads, and ground stations, including the SAC ("Satelites de Aplicación Científica") satellite family, developed for the Argentine space agency CONAE. INVAP was the first company in Latin America to provide design, development, mission control and operational support. The

SAC-D SAC-D ( es, Satélite de Aplicaciones Científicas-D, meaning ''Satellite for Scientific Applications-D''), also known as Aquarius after its primary instrument, is an Argentine Earth science satellite built by INVAP and operated by CONAE. SAC-D ...

was put into orbit on June 9, 2011, carrying several scientific payloads, including NASA's $100 million Aquarius project, which will measure the oceans'

salinity Salinity () is the saltiness or amount of salt dissolved in a body of water, called saline water (see also soil salinity). It is usually measured in g/L or g/kg (grams of salt per liter/kilogram of water; the latter is dimensionless and equal ...

. ARSAT-1 - the first communications satellite entirely built in Argentina - was launched in 2014, while a second satellite in the series, ARSAT-2 was launched in September 2015.

Nuclear projects

In the field of nuclear projects, the company specializes in the design and construction of nuclear research reactors,

radioisotope production A radionuclide (radioactive nuclide, radioisotope or radioactive isotope) is a nuclide that has excess nuclear energy, making it unstable. This excess energy can be used in one of three ways: emitted from the nucleus as gamma radiation; transferr ...

plants,

nuclear fuel Nuclear fuel is material used in nuclear power stations to produce heat to power turbines. Heat is created when nuclear fuel undergoes nuclear fission. Most nuclear fuels contain heavy fissile actinide elements that are capable of undergoi ...

manufacturing plants, uranium enrichment facilities,

neutron The neutron is a subatomic particle, symbol or , which has a neutral (not positive or negative) charge, and a mass slightly greater than that of a proton. Protons and neutrons constitute the nuclei of atoms. Since protons and neutrons behav ...

beam transport systems,

radiation protection Radiation protection, also known as radiological protection, is defined by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) as "The protection of people from harmful effects of exposure to ionizing radiation, and the means for achieving this". Expos ...

instrumentation, reactor protection systems, and modernization and refurbishment of research reactors. INVAP also conducts consultancy and research activities for nuclear power plant suppliers in areas such as

nuclear reactor fuel Nuclear fuel is material used in nuclear power stations to produce heat to power turbines. Heat is created when nuclear fuel undergoes nuclear fission. Most nuclear fuels contain heavy fissile actinide elements that are capable of undergoing ...

s, isotope separation by lasers and reactor core reshuffling studies for nuclear power plants. INVAP has constructed and installed the following

nuclear reactor A nuclear reactor is a device used to initiate and control a fission nuclear chain reaction or nuclear fusion reactions. Nuclear reactors are used at nuclear power plants for electricity generation and in nuclear marine propulsion. Heat from nu ...

s: In 2009, INVAP and the Spanish group Isolux were pre-selected in an international tender, known as the PALLAS project. This entailed the procurement of an 80 MW nuclear reactor for the Dutch city of Petten (''see Petten nuclear reactor''), but in February 2010, the Dutch radiopharmaceutical producer

Nuclear Research and Consultancy Group Nuclear Research and Consultancy Group (NRG) is a Dutch institute that performs nuclear research for the government and private companies. It is the most important producer of radionuclides, such as molybdenum-99, lutetium-177 and iridium-192, in Eu ...

(NRG) extended the preparatory phase up to end of the year for financing. In 2010, INVAP and CITEDEF completed the development and readied for testing a method that used a

laser A laser is a device that emits light through a process of optical amplification based on the stimulated emission of electromagnetic radiation. The word "laser" is an acronym for "light amplification by stimulated emission of radiation". The firs ...

to remove the

radioactive Radioactive decay (also known as nuclear decay, radioactivity, radioactive disintegration, or nuclear disintegration) is the process by which an unstable atomic nucleus loses energy by radiation. A material containing unstable nuclei is consi ...

components from heavy water which is used to cool nuclear reactors. On the 24th of January, 2018, INVAP won the international tender for a nuclear research reactor and radioisotope production facility for medical uses in The Netherlands.

Other projects

;Civilian

* TDA - Design and implementation of the public terrestrial Argentine digital TV project *

Satellite A satellite or artificial satellite is an object intentionally placed into orbit in outer space. Except for passive satellites, most satellites have an electricity generation system for equipment on board, such as solar panels or radioiso ...

s and space research payload for CONAE * Systems for early detection of forest fires * Eleven (plus 11 more in order) 2D

radar Radar is a detection system that uses radio waves to determine the distance ('' ranging''), angle, and radial velocity of objects relative to the site. It can be used to detect aircraft, ships, spacecraft, guided missiles, motor vehicles, w ...

s INKAN ( es, Radar Secundario Monopulso Argentino, RSMA ) for the ''

Administración Nacional de Aviación Civil The National Civil Aviation Administration ( es, Administración Nacional de Aviación Civil), otherwise known by its local initialism ANAC, is the civil aviation authority of Argentina. It was created by a presidential decree on 15 March 2007 to ...

'' (ANAC) the Argentine Civilian Agency in charge of air traffic control * Wind power * Dry-freeze plants, for preservation of fruits and vegetables. * Storage solutions for irradiated nuclear fuel from NPP and Research Reactors. * Radioisotope processing plants * Petrochemical plants. * CAREM nuclear reactors for nuclear power generating and to propel future Argentine Nuclear Powered Submarine (SNA). ;Military * Hangar doors for the

Argentine Navy The Argentine Navy (ARA; es, Armada de la República Argentina). This forms the basis for the navy's ship prefix "ARA". is the navy of Argentina. It is one of the three branches of the Armed Forces of the Argentine Republic, together with t ...

destroyer * FLIR system for Argentine Navy P-3 Orion aircraft * Sonar systems for Argentine Navy destroyers, frigates and future Nuclear Powered submarine. * 3D radar prototype plus 6 in order for the

Argentine Air Force "Argentine Wings" , mascot = , anniversaries = 10 August (anniversary) 1 May (Baptism of fire during the Falklands War) , equipment = 139 aircraft , equipment_label = , battles = * Operation Independence * Operation Soberanía * Falkl ...

* Maritime patrol simulators * Naval electronics and battle management systems for Argentine Navy Meko 360 type destroyers, MEKO 140 type frigates, and TR-1700 submarines. * A

synthetic aperture radar Synthetic-aperture radar (SAR) is a form of radar that is used to create two-dimensional images or three-dimensional reconstructions of objects, such as landscapes. SAR uses the motion of the radar antenna over a target region to provide fine ...

to replace the Bendix RDR-1500B on the maritime patrol aircraft Beechcraft Super King Air of the

Argentine Naval Aviation ) Gulf War , anniversaries = , decorations = , battle_honours = , commander1 = President , commander1_label = Commander-in-Chief , commander2 ...

Novo radar argentino em aeronave naval

Gallery

File:INVAP Bariloche.JPG File:SAOCOM_1B_pruebas_finales_en_CEATSA_01.jpg File:RA6cab.jpg

References

External links

* Official websit
Spanish

English
* La enciclopedia de ciencias y tecnologías en Argentina (Spanish
INVAP - ECyT-ar
Retrieved March 11, 2017 {{Satcomm Nuclear technology companies of Argentina Defense companies of Argentina Technology companies established in 1976 Argentine brands Bariloche 1976 establishments in Argentina