Indigenous groups inhabited central and southern Chile for several thousand years, living in mixed pastoralist and settled communities. The Inca then ruled the north of the country for nearly a century prior to the arrival of the Spanish in the 16th century. In 1541, the Spanish established the Captaincy General of Chile, which lasted until Chile declared its independence in 1810. The subsequent struggle with the Spanish became tied to other South American independence conflicts, with a decisive victory not being achieved until 1818. In the War of the Pacific (1879-83), Chile defeated Peru and Bolivia to win its current northernmost regions. By the 1880s, the Chilean central government cemented its control over the central and southern regions inhabited by Mapuche Indigenous peoples. Between 1891 and 1973, a series of elected governments succeeded each other until the Marxist government of Salvador ALLENDE was overthrown in 1973 in a military coup led by General Augusto PINOCHET, who ruled until a democratically elected president was inaugurated in 1990. Economic reforms that were maintained consistently since the 1980s contributed to steady growth, reduced poverty rates by over half, and helped secure the country's commitment to democratic and representative government. Chile has increasingly assumed regional and international leadership roles befitting its status as a stable, democratic nation.

The Chilean Space Agency was established in 2001 and dissolved in 2014, at which time the space program became part of the Ministry of Defense; the Ministry of Science also participates in Chile’s space program (2024)

Has a space program with a considerable history and largely focused on the acquisition and operation of satellites; operates foreign-built satellites and satellite ground stations; building small remote sensing (RS) satellites; researching and developing additional capabilities and technologies associated with the production of satellites and satellite sub-systems; is a world leader in astronomy and astrophysics (Chile’s Atacama Desert, where the skies are exceptionally clear and dry for more than 300 days a year, is home to more than a dozen astronomical observatories including the Cerro Tololo Inter-American Observatory, the Las Campanas Observatory, and the European Southern Observatory); Chile is also home to several astronomy institutes; has established relations with space agencies and industries of Canada, China, France, India, Israel, Mexico, Russia, the UK, and the US (2024)