Teófilo Tabanera (1909–1981) was an

Argentine Argentines, Argentinians or Argentineans are people from Argentina. This connection may be residential, legal, historical, or cultural. For most Argentines, several (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of their ...

engineer and air force officer and an instrumental figure in space exploration.

Biography

Born in 1909 in the province of Mendoza, Tabanera moved to the capital of the province of

Buenos Aires Buenos Aires, controlled by the government of the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires, is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Argentina. It is located on the southwest of the Río de la Plata. Buenos Aires is classified as an Alpha− glob ...

to study at the National University of La Plata, where he graduated in 1936. He went on study trips to the United States and Europe. He was a member of the British Interplanetary Society and the American Society of Rockets. He began working as a draftsman for Ferrocarriles Argentinos and YPF. His interest in aerospace activity led him to found the Association Interplanetary Argentina in 1948 (which later was renamed Space Sciences Association of Argentina) where he dedicated himself to promoting the Argentine space program. He was present at the First International Astronautical Congress, held at the

Sorbonne University Sorbonne University () is a public research university located in Paris, France. The institution's legacy reaches back to the Middle Ages in 1257 when Sorbonne College was established by Robert de Sorbon as a constituent college of the Unive ...

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

. He was vice president of the

International Astronautical Federation The International Astronautical Federation (IAF) is an international space advocacy organization based in Paris, and founded in 1951 as a non-governmental organization to establish a dialogue between scientists around the world and to lay t ...

(IAF), for five consecutive terms, and president of the CNIE, founded in 1960 by a decree of the government of

Arturo Frondizi Arturo Frondizi Ércoli (Paso de los Libres, October 28, 1908 – Buenos Aires, April 18, 1995) was an Argentine lawyer, journalist, teacher, statesman, and politician. He was elected president of Argentina and governed from May ...

(1958-1962). He was a member of the British Interplanetary Society and the American Society of Rockets. He was the only person in all of Latin America to author a weekly publication dedicated to space issues. This publication lasted for ten years. 1909 births 1981 deaths 20th-century Argentine engineers National University of La Plata alumni {{Argentina-engineer-stub