ASM
CBERS-3 Go Ahead
Brazil and China have agreed to launch the fourth China Brazil Environmental Remote Sensing satellite in 2011. The satellite was originally slated for launch in the second half of this year, but a design meeting last week decided on a new schedule.
Speaking after the meeting, Thyrso Villela, the director of satellites, applications and development of the Agência Espacial Brasileira (AEB) the Brazilian space agency, told Xinhua that the meeting had decided on the delay to allow certain engineering processes to be concluded.
The two countries have been cooperating in space since 1988, and has so far seen the development of satellites designated CBERS-1, 2 and 2B. The new satellite will be called CBERS-3.
At the initial phase (1988-2003), two satellites, CBERS-1 and CBERS-2, were sent into space. The first one was launched in October 1999 and the second in October 2003.
In 2002, the two countries signed a new protocol of cooperation, starting the second phase of the partnership. In September 2007, CBERS-2B was launched to maintain the supply of images in the period of time between the end of CBERS-2 operation and the launching of CBERS-3.
According to Villela, the most significant feature of this agreement was the transfer of more responsibility to the Brazilians. China was responsible for 70 percent of the first series of satellites. The construction of CBERS-3 and 4 will be shared equally.
'We've fulfilled much of what the Brazilian space program needs', he said. 'We have trained a lot of people. Today we can count on technical and scientific experts that trained on CBERS-1 in 1988. This gives us a solid foundation in space science'.
He said AEB counts on an increasing level of investment on space research. A considerable amount of money has been diverted to the sector during the last eight years. 'However, we want to show society that investing in space area is not superfluous, because much is repaid to the society,' he said.
