The satellite will pass through three facilities in preparation for its launch in February.
Amazonia-1, the first Earth observation satellite completely designed, integrated, tested and operated by Brazil, reached the launch base in Sriharikota, still in late 2020, and went on to the first inspection phase, carried out by the Institute’s team National Space Research Institute (INPE / MCTI). The project is coordinated by the Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovations (MCTI) and developed with support from the Brazilian Space Agency (AEB / MCTI).
The containers with the satellite and its equipment were taken to the Satellite Preparation Building of the Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) and proceed to two more facilities, in preparation for its launch. In this first installation, the containers were opened and their contents inspected by the team, who then began to assemble the mechanical and electrical test and support equipment, both in the Integration Room (clean area) and in the Satellite Control Room. .
After going through all the installations, the Amazonia-1 is expected to be placed in Earth orbit next month (February), by the IRSO Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV), from the Satish Dhawan Space Center. The satellite will be at an altitude of 700 km and will have the mission of providing remote sensing data (images) to observe and monitor deforestation, especially in the Amazon region.
About the satellite
With six kilometers of wires and 14,000 electrical connections, Amazonia-1 will be the third Brazilian remote sensing satellite in operation with CBERS-4 and CBERS-4A. Amazonia-1 is a synchronous Sun (polar) orbit satellite that will generate images of the planet every 5 days. For this, it has a wide-view optical imager (camera with 3 frequency bands in the VIS visible spectrum and 1 band near the Near Infrared or NIR infrared) capable of observing a range of approximately 850 km with a resolution of 64 meters.
Its orbit was designed to provide a high rate of revisit (5 days), thus having the capacity to provide a significant amount of data from the same point on the planet. On demand, Amazonia-1 will be able to provide data from a specific point in two days. This feature is extremely valuable in applications such as deforestation alerts in the Amazon, as it increases the probability of capturing useful images in the face of cloud cover in the region.
The Amazonia series satellites will consist of two independent modules: a Service Module, which is the Multimission Platform (PMM); and a Payload Module, which houses imaging cameras and equipment for recording and transmitting image data.
About AEB
The Brazilian Space Agency is an autarchy linked to the MCTI, responsible for formulating, coordinating and executing the Brazilian Space Policy. Since its creation, on February 10, 1994, the Agency has worked to make the Brazilian State’s efforts to promote the well-being of society via the sovereign employment of the space sector viable.
