This list covers all satellites developed totally or partially in Brazil. Brazil does not currently have orbital launch capability and has historically had to rely on other countries.
This list covers all satellites developed totally or partially in Brazil. Brazil does not currently have orbital launch capability and has historically had to rely on other countries.
Destroyed during launch or on the pad.
| Designation | Class | Launch | Deployment | Mission status | Summary | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Date | Site | Vehicle | Date | Orbit | Vehicle | |||||
| 1990s | ||||||||||
| Dove-OSCAR 17 | Cubesat | 22 January 1990 |  Kourou Space Centre | Ariane 40 H10 | 22 January 1990 | Low Earth Orbit | N/A | Operated until March 1998. [1] | Brazil's first privately designed amateur radio satellite. [1] | |
| SCD-1 | Satellite | 9 February 1993 |  Kennedy Space Center | Pegasus 003/F3 | 9 February 1993 | Low Earth Orbit | N/A | In operation. | First satellite developed by INPE. [2] | |
| SCD-2A | Satellite | 2 November 1997 |  Alcântara Space Center | VLS-1 V1 | N/A | N/A | N/A | Destroyed at launch. [3] | Second satellite developed by INPE. [3] | |
| SCD-2 | Satellite | 23 October 1998 | Cape Canaveral Space Force Station | Pegasus | 23 October 1998 | Low Earth Orbit | N/A | In operation. | Third satellite developed by INPE. [4] | |
| CBERS-1 | Satellite | 14 October 1999 |  Taiyuan Satellite Launch Center | Long March 4B | 14 October 1999 | Sun-synchronous orbit | N/A | Decommissioned in August 2003. [5] | First satellite from the program CBERS. [6] [7] | |
| SACI-1 | Microsatellite | It lost contact shortly after entering orbit. [8] | It aimed to carry out university experiments selected by the Brazilian Academy of Sciences. The programme was terminated after the loss of the second satellite. [9] | |||||||
| SACI-2 | Microsatellite | 11 December 1999 | Alcântara Space Center | VLS-1 V2 | N/A | N/A | N/A | Destroyed at launch. [9] | ||
| 2000s | ||||||||||
| CBERS-2 | Satellite | 21 October 2003 | Taiyuan Satellite Launch Center | Long March 4B | 21 October 2003 | Low Earth Orbit | N/A | Decommissioned in January 2009. [5] | Second satellite from the program CBERS. [10] | |
| SATEC | Microsatellite | 25 August 2003 | Alcântara Space Center | VLS-1 V3 | N/A | N/A | N/A | Destroyed during pre-launch tests on the platform due to the 2003 Alcântara VLS accident. [11] | Developed by INPE. [11] | |
| UNOSAT | Nanosatellite | Developed by University North of Paraná. [11] | ||||||||
| CBERS-2B | Satellite | 19 September 2007 | Taiyuan Satellite Launch Center | Long March 4B | 19 September 2007 | Sun-synchronous orbit | N/A | Decommissioned in April 2010. [5] | Third satellite from the program CBERS. [12] | |
| 2010s | ||||||||||
| CBERS-3 | Satellite | 9 December 2013 | Taiyuan Satellite Launch Center | Long March 4B | N/A | N/A | N/A | Premature re-entry due to rocket failure. [13] | Fourth satellite from the program CBERS. | |
| NanoSatC-Br 1 | Nanosatellite | 19 June 2014 |  Dombarovsky Air Base |  Dnepr | 19 June 2014 | Low Earth Orbit | N/A | In operation (2019). [14] | Developed under an agreement between UFSM and INPE. [15] | |
| CBERS-4 | Satellite | 7 December 2014 | Taiyuan Satellite Launch Center | Long March 4B | 7 December 2014 | Sun-synchronous orbit | N/A | In operation. | Fifth satellite from the program CBERS. [16] | |
| AESP-14 | Nanosatellite | 10 January 2015 | Cape Canaveral Space Force Station | Falcon 9 v1.1 | 5 February 2015 | ISS |  Kibō [17] | Considered inoperative after failing to open an antenna. [18] | Developed by INPE and ITA. [19] | |
| SERPENS | Nanosatellite | 18 August 2015 | Tanegashima Space Center | H-IIB | 17 September 2015 | ISS | Kibō [20] | Re-entry on 27 March 2016. [21] | Project created by AEB in partnership with universities. [22] | |
| Tancredo-1 | Picosatellite | 9 December 2016 | Tanegashima Space Center | H-IIB | 16 January 2017 | ISS | Kibō [23] | Re-entry on 18 October 2017. [24] | Educational project at the Tancredo Neves Municipal School in Ubatuba. [23] | |
| ITASAT-1 | Microsatellite | 3 December 2018 | Vandenberg Air Force Base | Falcon 9 Block 5 | 3 December 2018 | Low Earth Orbit | N/A | In orbit (2020). [25] | Project developed by ITA, AEB and INPE. [25] | |
| CBERS-4A | Satellite | 20 December 2019 | Taiyuan Satellite Launch Center | Long March 4B | 20 December 2019 | Sun-synchronous orbit | N/A | In operation (2021). [26] | Sixth satellite from the program CBERS. [27] | |
| FloripaSat-1 | Nanosatellite | In operation (2020). [28] | Developed by students from UFSC in partnership with AEB. [28] | |||||||
| 2020s | ||||||||||
| Amazônia-1 | Satellite | 28 February 2022 |  Satish Dhawan Space Centre | PSLV-C51 | 28 February 2022 | Polar orbit [29] | N/A | In operation (2021). [29] | Developed by INPE and AEB. [29] It is the first satellite developed and built entirely in Brazil. [30] | |
| NanoSatC-Br 2 | Nanosatellite | 22 March 2021 | Baikonur Cosmodrome | Soyuz-2 | 22 March 2021 | Low Earth Orbit | N/A | In operation (2021). [31] | Built in partnership between INPE and UFSM. [32] | |
| Pion-BR1 | Picosatellite | 13 January 2022 | Cape Canaveral Space Force Station | Falcon 9 Block 5 | 13 January 2022 | Low Earth Orbit | N/A | In operation (2022). [33] | Developed by PionLabs , it is the first Brazilian produced satellite developed by a startup. [34] | |
| Alpha Crux | Picosatellite | 1 April 2022 | Cape Canaveral Space Force Station | Falcon 9 Block 5 | 1 April 2022 | Low Earth orbit | N/A | In orbit (2022). | Developed by University of Brasília, in partnership with the Brazilian Space Agency. [35] | |
 Carcará I | Microsatellite | 25 May 2022 | Cape Canaveral Space Force Station | Falcon 9 Block 5 | 25 May 2022 | Low Earth Orbit | N/A | In orbit (2022). | Remote sensing radar satellite of the Brazilian Air Force, part of the Lessonia-1 Project, produced by the Finnish company ICEYE. [36] [37] [38] | |
| Carcará II | ||||||||||
| SPORT | Microsatellite | 21 November 2022 | Cape Canaveral Space Force Station | Falcon 9 Block 5 | 21 November 2022 | Low Earth Orbit | N/A | Reentry in October 2023. [39] | Scintilation Prediction Observations Research Task, project developed in a paterneship between ITA, NASA, INPE and American universities. [40] | |
| VCUB-1 | Nanosatelite | 15 April 2023 | Vandenberg Air Force Base | Falcon 9 Block 5 | 15 April 2023 | Low Earth Orbit | N/A | In orbit (2023). | Developed by the Brazilian joint-venture Visiona (Embraer and Telebrás), for Earth observation and data collection. [41] | |
Projects going through the Procedure for Selection and Adoption of Space Missions of the Brazilian Space Agency. [42]
| Name | Institution | Type |
|---|---|---|
Under admission process | ||
| Missão Programa Microgravidade | AEB | Space sciences |
| NanoMIRAX 2 [43] | INPE | Astronomy |
| SABIA-Mar | INPE /  CONAE | Earth observation |
| Galileo Solar Space Telescope [44] | INPE | Space sciences |
Under qualification process | ||
| Amazônia-1B | INPE | Earth observation |
| AQUAE Mission [45] | INPE | |
| BIOMESAT [46] | INPE | |
| Constelação Catarina-Frota A [45] | INPE | |
| CBERS-6 | INPE / CAST | |
| EQUARS [47] | INPE | |
| Garatéa-L | Airvantis | Moon orbiter [48] |
| SelenITA | ITA | |
| ITASAT 2 | ITA | Space climate [45] |
| MAPSAR | INPE | Earth observation |
Brazilian satellites, but produced abroad:
| Satellite | Manufacturer | Rocket | Launch date | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1980s | ||||
| Brasilsat A1 |  Spar Aerospace [49] | Ariane V12 [50] | 8 February 1985 [50] | Retired in March 2002. [50] |
| Brasilsat A2 | Spar Aerospace [49] | Ariane 3 [51] | 28 March 1986 [51] | Retired in February 2004. [51] |
| 1990s | ||||
| Brasilsat B1 | Hughes [52] | Ariane V66 [53] | 10 August 1994 [53] | Retired in December 2010. [53] |
| Brasilsat B2 | Hughes [52] | Ariane V71 [54] | 28 March 1995 [54] | Retired in June 2018 [54] |
| Brasilsat B3 | Hughes [52] | Ariane V105 [55] | 4 February 1998 [55] | Retired in August 2018. [55] |
| 2000s | ||||
| Brasilsat B4 | Hughes [52] | Ariane V131 [56] | 17 August 2000 [56] | Retired in June 2021 [56] |
| Estrela do Sul | SSL | Zenit-3SL [57] | 18 January 2004 [57] | ? |
| Star One C12 | /  Thales Alenia Space | Ariane | 3 February 2005 | In operation. |
| Star One C1 | / Thales Alenia Space [58] | Ariane #179 [58] | 14 November 2007 [58] | In operation. [58] |
| Star One C2 | Alcatel-Lucent [59] | Ariane 5 | 18 April 2008 [60] | Em operação. |
| 2010s | ||||
| Star One C3 | Orbital Sciences Corporation [61] | Ariane 5 | 10 November 2012 | In operation (2022). [62] |
| Star One C4 | SSL | Ariane VA224 [63] | 15 July 2015 [63] | In operation. [63] |
| Star One D1 | SSL [64] | Ariane | 21 December 2016 | In operation. |
| SGDC-1 | / Thales Alenia Space [65] | Ariane 5 [66] | 4 May 2017 [66] | In operation (2020). [66] |
| 2020s | ||||
| Star One D2 | SSL | Ariane 5 VA2545 [67] | 30 July 2021 [67] | In operation (2021). [67] |
The Alcântara Space Center, former known as Alcântara Launch Center is a space center and launching facility of the Brazilian Space Agency in the city of Alcântara, located on Brazil's northern Atlantic coast, in the state of Maranhão. It is operated by the Brazilian Air Force. The CEA is the closest launching base to the equator. This gives the launch site a significant advantage in launching geosynchronous satellites, an attribute shared by the Guiana Space Centre.
The Brazilian Space Agency is the civilian authority in Brazil responsible for the country's space program. It operates a spaceport at Alcântara, and a rocket launch site at Barreira do Inferno. It is the largest and most prominent space agency in Latin America.
The 2003 Alcântara VLS accident was an accident during the Brazilian Space Agency's third attempt to launch the VLS-1 rocket, which was intended to launch two satellites into orbit. The rocket ignited on its launch pad at the Alcântara Launch Center, killing 21 people. It is the fourth deadliest space exploration related disaster in history.
Marcos Cesar Pontes is a Brazilian Air Force pilot, engineer, AEB astronaut, politician and author. He became the first South American and the first Lusophone to go into space when he docked onto the International Space Station aboard Soyuz TMA-8 on 30 March 2006. He is the only Brazilian to have completed the NASA astronaut training program, although he switched to training in Russia after NASA's Space Shuttle program encountered problems. After Jair Bolsonaro's election as President of Brazil in 2018, Pontes was officially nominated to be Minister of Science, Technology and Innovation, a post which he accepted days later and assumed when Bolsonaro's government began. He left the post on 31 March 2022 and in the same year was elected federal senator for his state, São Paulo.
Satélite de Coleta de Dados is a series of satellites developed in Brazil.
The Brazilian space program is the rocketry and space exploration programs conducted by Brazil from 1961, under GOCNAE until the creation of the Brazilian Space Agency in 1994. It has significant capabilities in launch vehicles, launch sites, and satellite manufacturing. It is based at the National Institute for Space Research (INPE), under the Ministry of Science and Technology (MCT). Upon its founding the program was under complete military control, which hindered its development, as other countries blocked technological development due to concerns over missile proliferation. In 1994, the space program was transferred to civilian control under the Brazilian Space Agency.
The VLS-1 was the Brazilian Space Agency's main satellite launch vehicle. The launch vehicle would have been capable of launching satellites into orbit. The launch site was located at the Alcântara Launch Center due to its proximity to the equator.
The China–Brazil Earth Resources Satellite program (CBERS) is a technological cooperation program between Brazil and China which develops and operates Earth observation satellites.
The VS-30 is a Brazilian sounding rocket, developed by the Instituto de Aeronáutica e Espaço and derived from the Sonda 3 sounding rocket first stage. It consists of a single, solid-fuelled stage, and has been launched from Alcântara, Maranhão and Barreira do Inferno, Rio Grande do Norte, in Brazil, and Andøya and Svalbard Rocket Range in Norway.
The National Institute for Space Research is a research unit of the Brazilian Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovations, the main goals of which are fostering scientific research and technological applications and qualifying personnel in the fields of space and atmospheric sciences, space engineering, and space technology. While INPE is the civilian research center for aerospace activities, the Brazilian Air Force's General Command for Aerospace Technology is the military arm. INPE is located in the city of São José dos Campos, São Paulo.
The Amazônia-1 or SSR-1, is the first Earth observation satellite developed by Brazil, helped by Argentina's INVAP, who provided the main computer, attitude controls and sensors, and the training of Brazilian engineers, and launched at 04:54:00 UTC on 28 February 2021.
China–Brazil Earth Resources Satellite 3 (CBERS-3), also known as Ziyuan I-03 or Ziyuan 1D, was a remote sensing satellite intended for operation as part of the China–Brazil Earth Resources Satellite program between the Chinese Center for Resources Satellite Data and Application and Brazilian National Institute for Space Research. The fourth CBERS satellite to fly, it was lost in a launch failure in December 2013.
China–Brazil Earth Resources Satellite 4 (CBERS-4), also known as Ziyuan I-04 or Ziyuan 1E, is a remote sensing satellite intended for operation as part of the China–Brazil Earth Resources Satellite program between the Chinese Center for Resources Satellite Data and Application and Brazilian National Institute for Space Research. The fifth CBERS satellite to fly, it was successfully launched on 7 December 2014. It replaces CBERS-3 which was lost in a launch failure in December 2013.
Tancredo-1 was a Brazilian picosatellite. It was a TubeSat which was developed by the students from the school Tancredo Almeida Neves, in Ubatuba (SP), with support for the picosat platform made by Instituto Nacional de Pesquisas Espaciais (INPE), adapting and integration to launch provided by TuPOD from Italian company GAUSS Srl and by Agência Espacial Brasileira (AEB).
The Missão Centenário was born of an agreement between the Brazilian Space Agency (AEB) and the Roscosmos on October 18, 2005. The main objective of this treaty would be to send the first Brazilian into space, Lt. Col. Aviator Marcos Pontes.
Garatéa-L is a space probe planned by the Brazilian company Airvantis with the support of institutions such as INPE, IMT, ITA, LNLS/CNPEM, PUC-RS, UFSC, USP and USRA. It will be the first Brazilian mission in deep space, as well as the first directed to the Moon. The CubeSat will be launched by an Indian rocket PSLV-C11 as part of the Pathfinder mission, which will pioneer deep space commercial exploration through a partnership between British private companies with the UK Space Agency (UKSA) and the European Space Agency (ESA).
The PSLV-C51 is the 53rd mission of the Indian Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV) program. The Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV)-C51 was launched at 04:54 (UTC) / 10:24 (IST) on 28 February 2021 with the main payload from Brazil, INPE's Amazônia-1 and 18 other ride-sharing small satellites.
VS-50 is a joint development of sounding rocket from the Institute of Aeronautics and Space (IAE) and German Aerospace Center (DLR).
VLS-1 V01 was the first launch of the VLS-1 rocket that took place on November 2, 1997, from the Alcântara Launch Center with the goal of putting the SCD-2A satellite into orbit. The launch was unsuccessful, with the rocket being remotely destroyed due to deviation from its trajectory.
VLS-1 V02 was the second flight of the VLS-1 rocket on December 11, 1999 from the Alcântara Launch Center, with the objective of placing the SACI-2 microsatellite in LEO. The rocket was remotely destroyed 3 minutes after launch.
{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)