HISPASAT, the Spanish satellite and telecommunications operator, and the association of Friends of the Great Spanish Navigators and Explorers (AGNYEE) have signed an agreement to collaborate to promote the project “500 years later. By sail in the wake of Juan Sebastián Elcano”, which will commemorate the 5th centennial of the voyage around the world led by Ferdinand Magellan and the Spanish sailor between 1591 and 1522. Elena Pisonero, president of HISPASAT, Jose Solá, president of AGNYEE, and Juan Manuel Eguiagaray, member of its Board of Directors, participated in the signing.
This project involving cultural exchange and articulating our sense of being neighbours and citizens of this planet consists of replicating the historic circumnavigation in a modern sailboat, which reduced geographical uncertainty about the shape and extension of the planet, created contact between coastal towns on the Atlantic, Indian and Pacific Oceans and forged new routes to extend knowledge as well as cultural and commercial exchange. For this reason, it is considered a milestone in the foundation of globalisation. The project will end with the celebration of several commemorative events in different countries, in which the image of Spain and its companies will be the centre of special attention and international exposure. The journey will start on August 10th in Seville and will end in Sanlúcar de Barrameda in 2022.
In support of the expedition, Hispasat has committed to provide spatial capacity for the connectivity of the ship through the satellites in its fleet in all the zones of coverage it navigates through. The satellites are the only type of infrastructure that can provide telecommunications when moving across the water, where terrestrial communication networks cannot reach.
Elena Pisonero expressed her thanks by saying “the opportunity that this expedition has given HISPASAT to use our technology in service of a project creating understanding and cultural exchange between countries around the world, commemorating a historical fact that is incredibly relevant and starred Spain. I am convinced that technology must let people take centre stage and provide solutions that help improve society and chances like this one let us show that we mean it”.
José Solá said that “the assistance that HISPASAT has given to AGNYEE, identifying with the objectives of their project, has a special significance since in a way the Spanish operator, by facilitating and expanding contact between towns separated by the Atlantic Ocean with its satellite network, has become the continuation of the incredible feat that started communication between continents. This is why AGNYEE is proud and very satisfied to be able to collaborate with HISPASAT. Their broadband coverage will let experiences from the adventure be shared in almost real time”