An Overview of Small Satellite Initiatives in Brazil · 2020-03-16 · This chapter presents an overview of past and ongoing small satellite-related initiatives in Brazil and discusses

An Overview of Small Satellite Initiatives inBrazil

Rodrigo Leonardi and Adriana Elysa Alimandro Corrêa

ContentsIntroduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2Multi Mission Platform . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3Amazonia-1 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4Brazilian Nanosatellites . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7Launch Vehicle for Small Satellites . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10Educational Initiatives . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11Conclusions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12Cross-References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13

AbstractThis chapter presents an overview of past and ongoing small satellite-relatedinitiatives in Brazil and discusses the importance of these initiatives on severalfronts such as education, training, research, science, applications, and businessopportunities in the context of the Brazilian space sector. For this purpose, a briefhistory of early initiatives in the 1990s is provided together with a description ofrecent national small satellite projects, from mini down to pico-space objects, andan examination of synergies with other space activities in Brazil. This compila-tion of the major facts about the use of small satellites in Brazil is a helpfulcontribution for professionals interested in space activities in the country and inSouth America.

R. Leonardi (*) · A. E. A. CorrêaDirectorate of Satellites, Applications and Development, Brazilian Space Agency (AEB), Brasília,DF, Brazile-mail: [email protected]; [email protected]

© Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2020J. Pelton (ed.), Handbook of Small Satellites,https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-20707-6_68-1

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KeywordsBrazilian small satellites · South American small satellites · Brazilian spaceagency · INPE · Brazilian multi mission platform · Amazonia-1 · Nanosatellites ·STEM

Introduction

Early studies and efforts to develop small satellites in Brazil can be traced back toCOBAE, which was a commission, created in 1971, with the purpose of providingadvice for the Brazilian government about the development of space activities in thecountry. COBAE activities were important to enable the very first satellite developedentirely in Brazil – more specifically at the Brazilian National Institute for SpaceResearch (Portuguese: Instituto Nacional de Pesquisas Espaciais; INPE) – namedSCD-1, a small satellite with a mass of 115 kg, that was launched into space by aPegasus rocket in 1993 with the mission of receiving and retransmitting environ-mental data, from ground and ocean automatic data collection platforms, to trackingground stations.

But the very first Brazilian small satellite launched into space was actually aninitiative of one single individual. The small satellite Dove-OSCAR 17 was aBrazilian educational and an amateur radio satellite developed by Mr. Júnior Torresde Castro, an engineer from the state of São Paulo, using resources of his own. Dove-OSCAR 17 had a mass of about 13 kg and was launched in 1990 by an Ariane 4launch vehicle as a piggyback of the French satellite Spot 2. It carried on-board aDigital Orbiting Voice Encoder designed to transmit synthesized voice messages andtelemetry data. Although it was proposed and executed by a Brazilian engineer, theproject took place at AMSAT Labs, Colorado, USA. Nonetheless, it is considered aBrazilian space object indeed by the United Nations Office for Outer Space Affairs.

These two small satellite projects, SCD-1 and Dove-OSCAR 17, followed verydifferent paths and approaches to fulfill their missions. SCD-1 was a governmentplanned and executed mission using national engineering and resources – what onewould refer these days as the traditional approach – while Dove-OSCAR 17 was abottom-up mission of opportunity with enormous support from international partnersand with some elements of what one would refer these days as lean approach. Butboth were definitely pioneers of the small satellite category in Brazil and, back then,very innovative projects. And after them, Brazil embarked on other space projects,although did not maintain a constant flow of small satellite missions, as can be seenin Table 1 that displays a timeline of Brazilian space objects, under 500 kg, launchedinto space.

Meanwhile, Brazil established its space agency in 1994, and, since then, theBrazilian Space Agency (Portuguese: Agência Espacial Brasileira; AEB) is thecivilian entity responsible for the country’s space policy and program. Besides, inthe aftermath of the tragical Alcântara VLS Brazilian launch vehicle accident in2003, Brazil actually prioritized medium (e.g., China-Brazil Earth Resources

2 R. Leonardi and A. E. A. Corrêa

Satellite CBERS) and large (e.g., Geostationary Defense and Strategic Communi-cations Satellite SGDC) space objects initiatives. But, recently, after more than adecade without expressive results on space objects under 500 kg, there is again asmall satellite trend gaining visibility and importance in the Brazilian space sector.This chapter offers a compilation of the major facts about the use of small satellites inBrazil as a helpful contribution for professionals interested in space activities in thecountry and in South America.

The chapter is organized as follows. Section▶ “Multi Mission Platform” containsa description of the basic elements of the Brazilian Multi Mission Platform for minisatellites. Section ▶ “Amazonia-1” presents the satellite Amazonia-1, scheduled forlaunch in 2020, and the associated technological challenges and gains. Section▶ “Brazilian Nanosatellites” summarizes the current scenario of nanosatellites inBrazil. Section ▶ “Launch Vehicle for Small Satellites” reports some Brazilianinitiatives that aim to provide access to space for small satellites. Section ▶ “Edu-cational Initiatives” provides comments on the importance of small satellites forscience and technology education. Lastly, section ▶ “Conclusions” offers a view offuture opportunities and conclusions.

Multi Mission Platform

The Multi Mission Platform (MMP) is a generic platform for mini satellites devel-oped in Brazil (e.g., (INPE)). Its service module – a satellite mounting platform witha mass of 250 kg – provides all necessary resources to support the operation, in orbit,for payloads up to 280 kg. The project is a joint effort of INPE and AEB, and it is one

Table 1 List of Brazilian space objects under 500 kg in reverse chronological order of launch

Object Year Launch vehicle Main organization Mass [kg]

FloripaSat 2019 Long march 4B UFSC/AEB 1

Itasat 2018 Falcon-9 ITA/AEB 5.2

Tancredo-1 2017 H-2B Escola Tancredo Neves/INPE/AEB

0.7

Serpens 2015 H-2B UnB/AEB 4

Aesp-14 2015 Falcon-9 ITA/AEB 1

NanosatC-Br1 2014 Dnepr INPE/UFSM/AEB 1

Unosat 2003 VLSa UNOPAR 9

Satec 2003 VLSa INPE 65

Saci-2 1999 VLSa INPE 80

Saci-1 1999 Long march INPE 60

SCD-2 1998 Pegasus INPE 117

SCD-2A 1997 VLSa INPE 115

SCD-1 1993 Pegasus INPE 115

Dove-OSCAR17

1990 Ariane 4 Eng. Torres de Castro 13

aThe satellite was lost due to a launch failure

An Overview of Small Satellite Initiatives in Brazil 3

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of the most important initiatives Brazil has carried out in the field of small satellites.Its propulsion, solar generator, thermal control, and mechanical structure subsystemswere completely developed and manufactured in Brazil. The attitude and orbitcontrol and on-board supervision subsystem were developed in cooperation withArgentina, and the power supply was designed in Brazil using hardware available inthe international market. One of the main drivers of the MPP project is to allow thereduction of costs and development time of small satellites that adopt its servicemodule as a reliable solution for their mission (the MMP serves primarily asa platform for small objects, but it is also suitable for satellites with a mass slightlyabove 500 kg). The MMP is planned to be qualified in space through the Amazonia-1 mission. Additionally, INPE and AEB have already carried out conceptual studiesfor future uses of the MMP such as Synthetic-Aperture Radar (SAR) applicationsand Ocean monitoring. The MMP is a project with considerable participation ofBrazilian space companies. Figure 1 displays a schematic view of the MMP.

Amazonia-1

The Amazonia-1 is the first Earth Observation satellite based on the MMP, and it wasdesigned, integrated, and tested in Brazilian facilities (e.g., (INPE da Silva et al.2014; Chagas and Lopes 2014)). INPE and AEB are working together to ensuresuccess of this Sun synchronous (polar) orbiting satellite that aims to generateimages over the Brazilian territory in order to observe and monitor the Amazonrainforest, especially deforestation in the region, as well as the diversified agriculturethroughout the country with a high revisiting rate – 5 days –working in synergy withexisting environmental INPE programs and Amazon deforestation databases such asPRODES and DETER. In addition, it is expected that Amazonia-1 data would beuseful as well for monitoring coastal zones, reservoirs, forests, and disasters.

For this purpose, it carries on-board a wide-view optical imager capable ofobserving a range swath of approximately 850 km with 60 m resolution in fourspectral bands – visible and near-infrared. The high revisiting rate is extremelyvaluable in applications for deforestation monitoring and alert in the Amazon, as itincreases the likelihood of capturing useful images in the face of cloud cover in theregion. The Amazonia-1 satellite consists of two independent modules: a servicemodule, which is the MMP, and a payload module, which houses imaging camerasand equipment for recording and transmitting image data. The MMP has the purposeof bringing together in a single platform all the equipment that performs functionsnecessary for the maintenance of a satellite – pointing, power generation, thermalcontrol, data management, and communication service.

The Amazonia-1 satellite is a very important milestone for the Brazilian spacesector, and it is scheduled for launch in 2020 on a PSLV launcher. Figure 2 shows theAmazonia-1 through AIT at INPE and some subsystems developed andmanufactured in Brazil and in South America. This important mission is driven byEarth Observation demands and an agenda that places national industry participationand national capacity building in strategic technologies among the central objectives

4 R. Leonardi and A. E. A. Corrêa

Fig. 1 Schematic view of the Multi Mission Platform embedded in a Cartesian coordinate system.On top (+Z), two magnetometers are positioned as part of the Attitude Control and BoardSupervision Subsystem – ACDH. The ACDH also contains the On Board Data Handling(OBDH) computer (+X), the Attitude and Orbit Control System (AOCS) computer, propulsioncontrol electronics (�Z), Sun sensors (�Z), star sensors (+Y), gyros (+Y), reaction wheels (�Z),magnetorquer (+X and Y), GPS receivers (�X), and on-board control and control systems software,embedded in their computers. The propulsion subsystem is positioned at the bottom (�Z) andcontains thrusters, valves, filters, propellant tank, pressure transducer, and pipe assembly. On the +Yside also are positioned the antennas, part of the telemetry and remote control subsystem (TT&C),and the transponders. On the Y side are positioned other antenna and the batteries, part of the powersupply subsystem. The power supply subsystem also contains the power distribution and condi-tioning unit (PCDU), positioned at -X side, and the solar generator drive group (SADE and SADA),at X and + X sides. During the nominal operation mode, the -Y face would be always pointed toEarth. In emergency mode, the satellite attitude control would point -Z facing the Sun, in order towarm up the propulsion subsystem elements, and two rotations per orbit would be imposed aroundthe Z axis, in order to distribute external heat loads equally on the lateral panels. (Courtesy imagefrom INPE)

An Overview of Small Satellite Initiatives in Brazil 5

of the Brazilian Space Program. About 60% of the budget resources destined to thedevelopment of the Amazonia-1 satellite were destined to contracts signed by thenational industry for the development and manufacture of subsystems and equip-ment. More specifically, the following equipment/subsystems were developed byBrazilian companies: service and payload module structure (Cenic Engenharia),solar generator (Orbital Engenharia), propulsion (Fibraforte), WFI Camera (Equa-torial & Opto), X-band antenna and remote terminal unit (Omnisys Engenharia),digital data recorder (Equatorial Sistemas), and DC/DC (AEL Sistemas). The maintechnological gains for the Brazilian space program resulting from the Amazonia-1mission are:

• The qualification of the MMP as a space system, improving reliability andsignificant reductions in schedules and costs for the development of futuresatellite missions based on this platform.

• Consolidation of the knowledge in Brazil of the complete cycle of development ofstabilized satellites in three axes, also gaining maturity in the activities ofintegration and satellite tests.

• Development of the propulsion of the attitude and orbit control subsystem in thenational industry, although using parts acquired abroad.

• Development in the national industry of the opening mechanisms of the solarpanel.

Fig. 2 Left. The satellite Amazonia-1 through AIT at the INPE Integration and Testing Facility inSão José dos Campos. Upper right. The solar generator subsystem of the MMP fully developed andmanufactured in Brazil. Bottom center and right. Components of the MMP attitude and orbit controland on-board supervision subsystem developed in cooperation with Argentina. (Courtesy imagesfrom INPE)

6 R. Leonardi and A. E. A. Corrêa

• Country capacity to carry out Launch and Early Orbit Phase (LEOP).• Reliability, as future missions will benefit from project maturity.

Together with the satellite itself, the payload subsystem was also developed andmanufactured in Brazil. The Amazonia-1 imager is a Wide Field Imager (WFI)Camera developed and used in the CBERS Program, therefore, an equipmentalready with flight heritage. The design, assembly, integration, and testing of signalprocessing electronics and mechanical and thermal design, assembly, integration,and testing of the camera were all performed in Brazil. Figure 3 shows the Amazo-nia-1 WFI payload camera.

Brazilian Nanosatellites

Nanosatellites represent an important technology trend of the global space segmentand – in this satellite category – CubeSats are a good tracer of the growing demandfor small satellite space applications and solutions. These platforms are being used

Fig. 3 Wide Field Imager(WFI) Camera developed inBrazil. (Courtesy image fromINPE)

An Overview of Small Satellite Initiatives in Brazil 7

for several space applications, such as education, Earth remote sensing, science, anddefense as well described and analyzed in (Villela et al. 2019).

More than a thousand CubeSats have been launched over the past two decades.And, until the end of 2019, 16 CubeSats assembled in South America – 5 of them inBrazil – have been launched into space. Brazilian universities are playing animportant role in proposing and developing CubeSats in Brazil. The NanoSatC-Br1 was the first Brazilian CubeSat launched into space. It was a 1U CubeSatproposed for studying the South American Magnetic Anomaly (Schuch et al.2019). It was followed by Aesp-14, a 1U CubeSat for testing subsystems developedin Brazil (Bürguer et al. 2014); Serpens, a 3U educational CubeSat for researchuniversity experiments (Ishioka et al. 2016); Itasat, a 6U CubeSat designed to serveas a platform for future missions as well as testing Brazilian experiments, a tran-sponder, a GPS receiver, and a radio amateur communication device (Shibuya Satoet al. 2019); and FloripaSat, a CubeSat carrying an ITAR-free FPGA, and a single-event upset counter (Slongo et al. 2019). All these projects share the common goalsof capacity building, hands-on training, and Research and Development (R&D)under university leadership. All these objects were sponsored by AEB. And thelatest object in this timeline, FloripaSat, had the opportunity of being launched as apiggyback of another Brazilian satellite, the CBERS-4A – a remote sensing spaceobject with a mass of 1980 kg – in a classic example of when the AIT activities of aCubeSat have to be synchronized with the project schedule of a much larger satellite.An illustration displaying some Brazilian CubeSats and their respective payloads isshown in Fig. 4.

And other missions are already in the pipeline getting ready for launch. TheNanoSatC-Br2 is a Brazilian 2U CubeSat envisaged for studying the Earth’s mag-netic field. Sport is a NASA-AEB-INPE-ITA – Technological Institute of Aeronau-tics (Portuguese: Instituto Tecnológico e Aeronáutica; ITA) – joint science 6UCubeSat mission targeting space weather, more specifically, to study the precondi-tions leading to equatorial plasma bubbles and scintillation in the ionosphere thatdisrupt radio communication systems, satellite technologies, and Global PositioningSystem (GPS) signals (Loures da Costa et al. 2018). The United States provides thescience instruments and launch, Brazil provides the spacecraft (a legacy from theItasat mission) and the operations, and the scientific data analysis is jointly done byBrazilian and North American scientists. The Sport mission is a prime examplewhere a nanosatellite proves to be an excellent framework for engaging in interna-tional collaboration.

Despite the fact that the number of CubeSat-based space missions in Brazil is stillmodest, there has been an increase of initiatives resulting in a scenario whereBrazilian CubeSat missions are going beyond the goals of R&D and aim to deliverquality data for science and services. In the proceedings of the Brazilian AerospaceCongress held in 2019 (Anais 2019), there are several proposals for CubeSat-basedmissions and nanosatellites associated technology: Raiosat is an INPE 3U CubeSatmission aiming to detect and study lightning flashes; NanoMirax is an INPEinitiative, in partnership with a Brazilian startup, to detect cosmic explosions in X-ray with a CubeSat platform; and Conasat is an INPE proposal for putting in place a

8 R. Leonardi and A. E. A. Corrêa

CubeSat constellation for environmental monitoring. Furthermore, a few other mis-sions are being proposed by different Brazilian stakeholders, for instance, Garatéa-Lis a private enterprise to send a CubeSat to the Moon; Alfa Crux is an universityinitiative to establish a CubeSat constellation to provide communication links inregions of difficult access; and Brisa is a CubeSat proposal, from a Brazilian think-tank organization, for SWIR applications. Although a complete list of proposalsbeing discussed in the Brazilian community is beyond the scope of this overview, itcan surely state that these missions are a driver for further small satellite-relatedresearch and development. Just browsing (Anais 2019), one would find ongoing

Fig. 4 Latest Brazilian CubeSats launched into space as displayed in Table 1. Top row. A picture ofthe 6U Itasat protoflight model and one of the payloads, a Data Collection Transponder. Bottom row.A picture of FloripaSat and one of the payloads, a board for testing an ITAR-free FPGA. (Courtesyimages from ITA, INPE, and UFSC)

An Overview of Small Satellite Initiatives in Brazil 9

research in Brazil on nanosat as, for example, battery and solar panels, UHF and S-Band antennas, space tethers, transponders, and payloads.

A survey carried out for the United Nations/Brazil Symposium on Basic SpaceTechnology (Creating Novel Opportunities with Small Satellite Space Missions,Natal 2018), co-organized by the United Nations Office for Outer Space Affairsand the Government of Brazil, identified a Brazilian network of 253 colleaguescontributing to the field of nanosatellites. Half of them held a PhD, 24% held a MSc,23% were grad students, and 3% were high school students. This statistic clearlyshows that students are a significant part and a driving force in the Braziliannanosatellite community.

In parallel, the Brazilian industry is also investing efforts to explore nano-platforms for offering their services and products. For instance, the Vcub is thefirst CubeSat proposed, designed, and developed by a Brazilian company, Visiona, ajoint venture between Embraer and Telebrás, in search of a sustainable businessmodel, precision agriculture, for instance, based on nanosatellites. Some otherBrazilian companies (e.g., Criar Space Systems) and startups (e.g., Cron Sistemase Tecnologias Ltda) are also taking a chance in the nanosatellite segment.

Launch Vehicle for Small Satellites

Brazil has a long and successful tradition with sounding rockets (e.g., VSB-30). Butthe country has not yet developed a national launch vehicle for inserting spaceobjects into a stable orbit. This is in part a fallout of the Alcântara – MaranhãoState – accident in 2003, when an explosion, caused by the accidental ignition of 1 ofthe 4 engines of the Brazilian rocket VLS, conceived for inserting small satellitesinto orbit, caused the tragical death of 21 people, together with the loss of the rocket,2 small satellites, and the surrounding infrastructure, and resulting in a setback to theplans of a Brazilian launcher. Subsequently, a launch vehicle cooperation betweenBrazil and Ukraine did not deliver results as expected, turning it into a complicatedsituation to deal with. But Brazil efforts of developing a national launcher continues.

Nowadays, the Brazilian Aeronautics and Space Institute (Portuguese: Institutode Aeronáutica e Espaço; IAE) is developing aMicrosatellite Launch Vehicle namedVLM. In order to achieve this objective, Brazil has developed and qualified a solidrocket motor, named S-44, with a performance of about 38kN of average thrust and277 s of vacuum specific impulse, and is qualifying a solid rocket engine, named S-50, designed to have about 440kN of average thrust and 266 s of sea level specificimpulse. Considering the current status of development of the S-50 solid rocketmotor, some concepts for a Brazilian launch vehicle configuration to deliver smallsatellites to low-Earth orbit – from the Alcântara Launch Center, Brazil – would becapable of sending payloads in the range of 350–750 kg in a variety of orbitinclinations, as described in details in (da Cas et al. 2019). If Brazil succeeds inthis endeavor, the strategic importance of small satellites for the Brazilian spaceprogram would be greater than ever.

10 R. Leonardi and A. E. A. Corrêa

Similar to what happens to nanosatellites, new stakeholders are also taking achance in the launch vehicle segment. For instance, the Acrux Aerospace Technol-ogies is a Brazilian startup proposing a rocket for small satellites.

Additionally, Brazil and the United States have celebrated in 2019 a technologysafeguards agreement (TSA) in order to allow commercial launch activities from theAlcântara Launch Center. There is expectation that with this TSA in place, Brazilwould play a part in the launch market, including offers of access to space for smallsatellites.

Educational Initiatives

Small satellites are an excellent venue for promoting space science and technologyeducation, and AEB has been exploring them to conduct STEM activities, organizeworkshops and events, as well as continuously promote human capacity building fornational space activities.

In 2017, AEB inaugurated in Natal, a space camp named CVT-E – SpaceTechnological Vocational Center (Portuguese: Centro Vocacional TecnológicoEspacial; CVT-E) – located in the Barreira do Inferno Launch Center (Portuguese:Centro de Lançamento da Barreira do Inferno; CLBI) (Goncalves and Gurgel Veras2016). The CVT-E has proven to be an important vector for educational socialinclusion through space science and STEAM activities. Through hands-on activitiesbased on interdisciplinary core principles, students have the opportunity to learnabout the importance of space activities for the country and the world. In addition,they can know a little about the last projects developed in the space area and aboutwhat are the first steps to specialize in this area in the future. Some activitiesperformed at CVT-E are rover workshops, CanSat (development, assembly, testing,clean room, operation, etc.), planetary sessions, and studies about space transporta-tion, launch centers, astronomy, astronautics, and other relevant subjects. Over 3000elementary and high school students have attended the CVT-E experience through-out 2018 and 2019. An example of an educational outcome of this center, a CanSatkit developed by CVT-E students, was presented at the second International Acad-emy of Astronautics Latin American Symposium on Small Satellites (Guedes et al.2019).

Another important educational initiative is a picosatellite developed by studentsfrom the Tancredo de Almeida Neves public school in Ubatuba, São Paulo, withtechnological support from INPE. The project has seen encouraging results towardpromoting students interest in engineering, science, and technology, especially inAerospace Engineering, by the assembly, integration, testing, coding, and launch ofa picosatellite. This also promotes teamwork among different levels of educationbecause some activities are being developed by elementary school students, othersare planned for technical students, and some are even within the scope of gradstudents. The project has received recognition from the national and internationalscientific community. Tancredo-1 is the first picosatellite of the UbatubaSat project,and it is a compact tube-shaped picosatellite with a mass of less than 0.6 kg based on

An Overview of Small Satellite Initiatives in Brazil 11

TubeSat kit from Interorbital Systems (IOS). It was successfully launched in 2016toward the Japanese Kibo module of ISS – International Space Station. Once atKibo, deployment and final ejection were performed in January 2017 followed byground operations. The picosat carries an educational voice recorder and an exper-imental Langmuir probe from INPE’s Ionosphere research group on Plasma Bubbles(Tikami et al. 2017). The UbatubaSat project is already preparing a second objectnamed Tancredo-2.

It is also worth mentioning that the Amazonia-1 has been providing hands-onlearning toward fostering qualified professionals. Since 2016, about 130 profes-sionals have had an opportunity to get involved in activities of integration andtesting, space project management, and product assurance, through satellites beingintegrated at INPE.

Conclusions

The miniaturization of space devices is changing in profound ways how spaceactivities are approached and conducted worldwide, and the Brazilian space sectoris no exception. A case in point of size reduction is clearly seen when we track theevolution of transponders for a long and continuous Brazilian demand for environ-mental data collected with space systems. In order to attend this demand, the SCD-1carried an analog transponder of 3.8 kg mass needed for fulfilling its mission ofcollecting data from platforms distributed over the Brazilian territory. Twenty-fiveyears later, Itasat embarked a digital transponder of just 0.3 kg, developed by INPE,for the same task. More recently, INPE has developed another digital transponder,named Environmental Data Collector, of just about 75 g, for the exact same task on-board the Conasat mission. A small payload getting even smaller. A reduction inmass of 98% with respect to the very first device for targeting the same objective.

AEB is exploring synergies between small and large satellites. The SGDC – a morethan 5 tonne satellite – has provided spin-offs through a transfer of technology fromFrance to Brazil that allowed six Brazilian companies, AEL Sistemas, CenicEngenharia, Equatorial Sistemas, Fibraforte, Opto Space & Defense, and OrbitalEngenharia, to improve and advance industry know-how on satellite-related technol-ogy such as panels for optical instruments, propulsion system for attitude control,thermal interface material and control systems, solar panels, electric power, on-boardsystems, and optical instruments for Earth Observation. This transfer of technology isan investment and an asset for future small satellite missions, in a moment when thereis growing demand in Brazil for small satellites, and a handful of future Brazilian spacemissions is prospecting the use of small platforms – Equars (space weather), Carponis(remote sensing), Lessonia (SAR), and Atticora (communications).

AEB has put in place a set of initiatives – from general-to-specific with an end-to-end approach – to promote small satellites, starting with space science activities towardmiddle/high school students and teachers (e.g., CVT-E); space research towarduniversity professors and students (e.g., CubeSats); and hands-on learning in Brazil-ian space projects toward fostering qualified professionals (e.g., Amazonia-1).

12 R. Leonardi and A. E. A. Corrêa

This chapter has provided an overview of past and ongoing small satellite-relatedinitiatives in Brazil. As discussed through the chapter, there is growing demand inBrazil for small satellites, especially those that attend qualified demands. Smallsatellites have also plenty to offer in terms of continuous human resources training.New stakeholders (universities, industry, startups, think-tank) are contributing to theadvancement of the field (services, applications, innovation), as well as promotinginternational partnerships. Last but not least, small satellites are an important driverfor a Brazilian launch vehicle development effort.

Cross-References

▶CleanSats and Efforts to Develop New Techniques for Space Debris Removal▶ Planet’s Dove Satellite Constellation▶Remove Debris Small Satellite Project▶The Capella Satellite System▶The Kepler Satellite System▶The OneWeb Satellite System▶The Spire Small Satellite Network

Acknowledgments The authors thank Dr. Adenilson Roberto da Silva, INPE, Brazil, and JośeMachao, Telecom Argentina, for useful discussions and insights for this chapter and thank Bernardodos Santos Veras, Fernanda Muro, and Renato de Brito do Nascimento Filho, AEB, for helping withformatting figures and double-checking facts. Although R. Leonardi and A. E. A. Corrêa aredirectly involved in some of the initiatives reported in this overview chapter, the authors acknowl-edge that this summary is mostly a compilation of third-party studies and work and express theirgratitude for the Brazilian space community that support and carry on small satellites activities inthe country. Finally, the authors thank Dr. Joseph N. Pelton for motivating them to share someaspects of the Brazilian space activities among colleagues and people interested in the field.

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Anais do 2� Congresso Aeroespacial Brasileiro, in Proceedings of the Second Brazilian AerospaceCongress, Universidade Federal de Santa Maria, 2019

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14 R. Leonardi and A. E. A. Corrêa

http://www.inpe.br/amazonia-1/

An Overview of Small Satellite Initiatives in BrazilIntroductionMulti Mission PlatformAmazonia-1Brazilian NanosatellitesLaunch Vehicle for Small SatellitesEducational InitiativesConclusionsCross-References