HISTORY
HISTORY OF JICAMARCA RADIO OBSERVATORY
In the context of the space race, the Jicamarca Radio Observatory (JRO) was built, between 1960 and 1962, to make studies and observations of the equatorial ionosphere and upper atmosphere.
The construction of JRO was carried out by the Central Laboratory of Radio Propagation (CRPL) of the National Bureau of Standards (NBS) of the United States in cooperation with the Instituto Geofísico del Perú (IGP). A few years later, the CRPL became part of the Environmental Science Service Administration (ESSA), which then became the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) of the United States.
In 1961, the first observations of the ionosphere were conducted with only one-eighth of the main antenna of the Jicamarca radar. This marked the beginning of multiple studies and observations that have been made over the years.
Years later, in 1969, ESSA transferred the direction of the observatory to IGP and continued to support the operation of the observatory for several more years; however, this support was gradually reduced. In parallel, the National Science Foundation (NSF) began to partially support the operation of JRO, first through NOAA and, since 1979, through Cornell University by means of a Cooperation Agreement with IGP
In 1991, Ciencia Internacional —a non-profit civil association— was created with the purpose of providing personnel, goods, and services to the observatory in order to support the IGP in the operation of JRO.
