working in Brazil on this development, which will be used in satellites for other purposes as well”, stated minister Marcos Pontes.

“I can say that this day represents the consolidation of a process of gaining knowledge and maturity for Brazil in the area of satellite development – and this day is a watershed. We are, once again, fulfilling our mission, we have placed in orbit a device that meets the national demands for monitoring the Brazilian Amazon and increases our knowledge in order to allow the monitoring of our harvests”, highlighted the director of INPE/MCTI, Clezio de Nardin. “This satellite is a milestone in countless ways and also a milestone in the multimission platform, both due to the history of the project, its importance and the return that the project will promote for society, and also a return to the creation of the space market, which is something important for all of us”, said the president of the Brazilian Space Agency (AEB/MCTI), Carlos Moura. Amazonia 1: 100% national remote sensing satellite The images captured by the satellite will be used to monitor deforestation in the Amazon, coastal regions of the country, environmental disasters, water reservoirs and forests, in addition to supporting the agribusiness sector. Amazonia 1 is the first built using the Multimission Platform (PMM), an innovative structure developed by INPE/MCTI, capable of adapting to the purposes of different missions and, thus, reducing the costs of space projects. The platform has altitude control, orbit, propulsion, solar generator, energy supply and mechanical structure subsystems that guarantee the operation of the satellite in orbit. The satellite weighs around 640 kg, is 2.5 m tall, and has a wingspan of approximately 7.5 m with the solar panels open. Equipment on board, interconnected through 6km of cables, the solar panels have an area of more than 6m² that allows them to generate power in the order of 1,000 watts, until the end of their useful life. Although Brazil has already launched six remote sensing satellites, Amazonia 1 is the first completely designed, integrated, tested and operated by our country. Its construction represents a technological achievement and a great achievement for the public institutions involved, the national industry and the Brazilian Space Program. This allows you to acquire more autonomy to act on missions in this category and move towards more complex space missions. It also means gaining capacity to work at all stages, in all mission subsystems in national or international partnerships. About AEB The Brazilian Space Agency, the central body of the National System for the Development of Space Activities (SINDAE), is an agency 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 facilitate the efforts of the Brazilian State to promote the well-being of society, through sovereign employment in the space sector.