On Monday, June 17th, 1985, at 07:33 UTC (01:33 local time in Mexico), the NASA space shuttle Discovery was launched from Cape Canaveral carrying Mexico’s first communication satellite, Morelos I.
The satellite entered geostationary orbit on December 17th, 1985, and became part of a series of Mexican communication satellites known as Morelos.
According to information from the Mexican Space Agency (AEM), an decentralized agency of the Ministry of Communications and Transportation (SCT), Morelos I was Mexico’s first telecommunications satellite and was placed in orbit on June 17th, 1985 by NASA’s Discovery space shuttle from Cape Canaveral in Florida, USA.
Five months later, in November 1985, the Morelos II satellite was launched, which included a mission that featured the first Mexican astronaut, Rodolfo Neri Vela. Both satellites were designed for telephone and direct television services, and experiments were conducted by Mexican scientists.
This program allowed engineers and technicians from the SCT to have intense training in both spacecraft and terrestrial segments, resulting in the total control of national satellite systems and subsequent generations of satellites being controlled entirely by Mexicans within the country’s territory.
The Solidarity government program continued the country’s technological advancement with the aim of providing information technology and communication services to offer social and telecommunications services.
Currently, Mexico has its third generation of government-run satellites operating with the MexSat system, which is one of the most advanced in the world. Today, the Morelos 3 satellite is operated by Mexican engineers.
