Technology Readiness and System-Level Maturity of Aerospace Development in Peru: An Engineering-Based Systematic Review

This paper presents a comprehensive technology-oriented review of aerospace development in Peru, integrating historical scientific infrastructure, suborbital experimentation, orbital satellite missions, and a systematic literature review of contemporary engineering research. Beyond a descriptive historical account, the study evaluates national aerospace capabilities from a system-engineering perspective, emphasizing technology readiness levels (TRL), subsystem integration, and validation environments. A regional comparison based on UNOOSA, CelesTrak, and nanosatellite databases contextualizes Peru’s orbital activity within South America. Furthermore, a systematic literature review using the PRISMA 2020 methodology was performed covering the period 2000–2025. The systematic literature review identifies nine major aerospace research lines, quantifies institutional participation through bibliometric analysis, and assigns TRLs using consistent criteria derived from reported experimental and operational evidence. The results reveal a fragmented yet progressively maturing ecosystem, characterized by strong analytical and laboratory-level capabilities (TRL 2–5) but limited system-level integration and flight-qualified developments (TRLs N≥6). These findings highlight structural gaps in program continuity, test infrastructure, and transition mechanisms from academic prototyping to operational aerospace systems. Overall, this work establishes a technology assessment baseline for an emerging space nation, providing evidence-based insights relevant to aerospace engineering, technology management, and capacity-building strategies in developing space ecosystems.