Chilca Launch Range

{{Short description|Rocket launch site in Peru}}

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{{Infobox military installation

| name = Chilca

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| type = rocket launch site

| operator =

| location = Peru

| built = {{Start date|1974}}

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| coordinates = {{coord|12|30|S|76|48|W|type:landmark_region:AR_dim:2000|display=inline}}

| website =

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| pushpin_map = Peru

| pushpin_map_caption = Location in Peru

}}

Chilca (Punta Lobos) is a rocket launch site in Peru at {{coord|12|30|S|76|48|W|name=Chilca Launch Range}}, near the town of Chilca in the municipality of Pucusana, about 70 km south of the center of Lima.

Chilca was in service from 1974 and was mainly used for launching Arcas and Nike sounding rockets.{{Cite web |last=Wade |title=Chilca |url=http://www.astronautix.com/c/chilca.html |access-date=2024-04-14 |website=Encyclopedia Astronautica}}{{Cite web |last=Wade |title=Chilca Punta Lobos |url=http://www.astronautix.com/c/chilcaplob.html |access-date=2024-04-14 |website=Encyclopedia Astronautica}}

The Peruvian Paulet sounding rocket has been launching from here since 2006.{{Cite book |last=Romero |title=SpaceOps 2012 Conference |chapter-url=https://arc.aiaa.org/doi/pdf/10.2514/6.2012-1275893 |chapter=Sounding Rocket Program in Peru |date=2012 |publisher=American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics, Inc.|doi=10.2514/6.2012-1275893 }}{{Cite web |date=December 10, 2007 |title=El Paulet 1, Hito Tecnológico Peruano |url=https://desarrolloperuano.blogspot.com/2007/12/el-paulet-1-hito-tecnolgico-peruano.html |access-date=2025-01-27 |website=DESARROLLO PERUANO}}{{Cite web |date=2016-02-07 |title=Perú lanza su primer cohete fabricado solo con tecnología nacional |url=https://larepublica.pe/13-06-2013/peru-lanza-su-primer-cohete-fabricado-solo-con-tecnologia-nacional/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160207164533/https://larepublica.pe/13-06-2013/peru-lanza-su-primer-cohete-fabricado-solo-con-tecnologia-nacional/ |archive-date=7 February 2016 |access-date=2025-01-27 |website=La Republica}}{{Cite web |last= |first= |title=Conida realiza lanzamiento del cohete sonda Paulet 1C |url=https://andina.pe/agencia/noticia-conida-realiza-lanzamiento-del-cohete-sonda-paulet-1c-874436.aspx |access-date=2022-03-11 |website=Agencia Peruana de Noticias |language=es}}

File:Cohete PAULET 1C.jpg launched from Punta Lobos in December 2021]]

In 2015 the Centro Nacional de Operaciones de Imágenes Satelitales (CNOIS) opened near the site.{{Cite web |last=Watson |date=December 21, 2015 |title=Perú inaugura su centro nacional de operaciones de imágenes satelitales |url=https://www.infoespacial.com/texto-diario/mostrar/3569122/peru-inaugura-centro-nacional-operaciones-imagenes-satelitales |access-date=2025-01-26 |website=Infoespacial |language=es}}