to validate space technologies under development by Visiona, notably the Orbit Control and Attitude systems, responsible for satellite navigation guidance and control, and Onboard Data Management, which allows the integration and control of all satellite components. INPE’s Amazonia-1 satellite is be the first Brazilian satellite stabilised in three axes, and is a multi-mission satellite to monitor natural resources, with three visible-light and one near-IR camera and a control system developed by INVAP in Argentina. Tests began in February 2020 and the satellite was launched in February 2021. INPE, AEB and the Air Force’s Aerospace Technology Institute reached an agreement in April 2019 with NASA to develop and launch a series of cubesats from 2020, but the pandemic has delayed any launch to date. Chile Fasat-A, -B and -C were the first satellites owned by Chile, procured from Thales to form the SSOT terrestrial observation system – but the first two have been lost. Since 2017, the Universidad de Chile as ben completing its own nanosatellites, with Suchai I being launched from India in June 2017, while Suchai II and III and Plantsat were launched by SpaceX in April 2022. Their mission is to study the ionosphere, with the first comprising a small module of 10x10cm and the others having six modules. Another project, Plansat, is expected to be developed subsequently, aimed at launching a total of twelve nanosatellites for research in the next three years, with a budget of €30 million. The Air Force and the Universidad de Chile signed an agreement in March 2019 to collaborate on their space developments, followed by a 4 June announcement by former president Sebastián Piñera of the development of a new satellite replace the Fasat family, which reached the end of its operational life in 2020. In May 2021, this was superseded by the creation of the Sistema Nacional Satelital (SNSAT), with SpaceX and ISI Imagesat International being contracted to build and launch ten satellites for the system, for a total of $124.7 million. This constellation will replace the Fasat-C and the first three mini-satellites, Fasat-Delta, FasatEcho 1 and -Echo-2, of less than 100kg, will be launched in 2025, to be supplemented by seven 12-13kg microsatellites launched in 2023-2025. These new satellites will be or both military and civil use: eight ot the ten spacecraft will be built by Air Force and university engineers. A new National Space Centre, CEN, will be inaugurated this year to operate these satellites, with a specialised laboratory for satellite and payload manufacture, a Centre for Space Entrepreneurship and Innovation, the Space Mission Control Centre and a facility for analysis and processing of geospatial information. Three monitoring stations to handle the information transmitted by these satellites will be built around the country, allowing a greater range of images to be received more frequently and at a lower cost. Colombia Colombia continues trying to develop its space programme under the Comisión Colombiana del Espacio, focused on the Colombian Earth Observation Satellite (SotCol), which has seen no progress since 2016. of systems, subsystems and some sensors and actuators for the satellite industry. We have made several exports of products and services from 2009 to the present”. Satellogic is one of the world’s few private satellite builders, and is working on creating a nano-satellite constellation for a high-persistence global network for security and other services. $50 million was raised from investors in 2019 and the company launched five new US-built satellites in April this year, bringing the constellation total to 22. The new Mark V features improved cameras, radios, computers, and other subsystems compatible with previous models. Brazil Two civil space agencies – AEB and INPE – and the Air Force’s DCTA – share space responsibility in Brazil. In recent years, busgets of approx. $700 million failed to achieve notable success, and most projects have been cancelled over the last five years. Ambitions to have a national space launch capability have been in place for many years, but have so far come to naught. The VLM programme aims to develop a sub-orbital small payload rocket, for which engines were designed and initially built by the Air Force, but are now built by state-owned company Avibras. The company’s near bankrupt situation, however, is delaying progress. This project evolved into the PESE programme, now a collaborative effort between IAE, DCTA and the DLR German Aerospace Centre. This is focused on development of the VLM-1, now delayed until 2025, and the Aquila-1 and -2 launchers, with the latter two programmes expected to be launched in 2023 and 2026 respectivel. Meanwhile, the Brazilian Air Force signed a Technology Transfer contract with Avibras, licensing the company to produce and commercialise the VSB-30 Suborbital Vehicle in foreign markets. The 12m, 2,500+kg vehicle has two solid propulsion stages and can carry up to 400kg to a 270km altitude. The CBERS Sino-Brazilian earth resources satellite programme began in 1988 and CBERS-4A – the sixth and latest – launched in 2019. INPE has also worked on satellites such as Equars (atmosphere) and Mirax (space) research satellites, and the SCD-1 and -2 research craft. Another project was the Satélite de Reentrada Atmosférica (SARA), a platform for micro gravity experiments to operate on a 300km orbit for up to ten days. Despite successful launch and tests in 2015, the project was cancelled by the end of 2018. The main project under way is the SGDC-1 strategic communications satellite, built by Thales under contract to Visiona (a Telebras/Embraer joint venture) and deployed in March 2017. A second launch, planned for 2019, has been delayed, though a third satellite is in the works. In 2018, Visiona announced the VCBU project, the first satellite conceived by the national industry. The cubesat was originally intended Based in Buenos Aires, Santiago Rivas is a long-time and valued contributor to Mönch Group magazines, and a prolific author, editor and publisher. Feature MT 3/2022 · 45 A SAOCOM 1A AESA radar antenna being tested in Argentina. The satellite was launched in 2018 and Saocom 1B is now being readied. (Photo: INVAP) Design of the VEX 5 rocket for tests, which is part of Argentina’s Tronador project. (Image: VENG) f
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy MTM5Mjg=