India launches Brazilian satellite this Sunday; see how to watch

The Indian space agency (ISRO) will launch at dawn on Sunday (28) the first Earth observation satellite fully designed, tested and operated by Brazil, the "Amazon 1". The equipment goes into space aboard a rocket called “Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle” (Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle, or PSLV), on the PSLV-C51 mission.

The takeoff is scheduled for 1h54 (Brasília time) on Sunday, from the Satish Dhawan Space Center (SDSC, Satish Dhawan Space Center) on the island of Sriharikota, in the Indian state of Andra Pradesh. The event will be broadcast live on the ISRO website and on Olhar Digital's social networks, starting at 1:20 am (Brasília time).

Along with Amazonia 1, there are 18 other satellites. Three will be operated by Indian academic institutions, one is part of the “Space Kidz India” program and 14 will be operated by NewSpace India Limited (NSIL), a state-owned company that operates under the jurisdiction of the Indian government's Space Department. 

The Indian rocket PSLV-C51, already on the launch pad of the Satish Dhawan Space Center in Sriharikota, India. Image: ISRO

Initially, the launch of Amazonia 1 was scheduled for February 22, but ISRO requested the postponement to have more time to prepare the rocket's third and fourth stages.

When it enters orbit on Earth, the Brazilian satellite - which is part of the Amazon Mission - will collect data for the observation and monitoring of deforestation in Brazil, especially in the Amazon region. The mission will also inspect agriculture in national territories with a high rate of revisit and will work in conjunction with existing environmental programs.

Amazonia 1 will be the third Brazilian remote sensing satellite and should work together with CBERS-4 and CBERS-4A, developed in partnership with China. The Amazon Mission also plans to launch two more satellites: Amazonia-1B and Amazonia-2.

"The Amazon Mission will consolidate Brazil's knowledge in the integral development of a space mission using satellites stabilized on three axes, since the previous remote sensing satellites were developed in cooperation with other countries," stated the National Institute for Space Research (Inpe)), in a note.