MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Argentina and Brazil jointly developing satellites for South Atlantic research

Minister Raupp: the launching is scheduled for 2015

Argentina and Brazil will be launching their first two jointly developed scientific satellites for research along the Atlantic coast in a couple of years, according to Brazil’s Science and Technology minister Antonio Raupp.

“There is the budget and the engineering blueprints and project are advancing according to the timetable established by the two countries”, said Raupp who added that the launching date remains confirmed for 2015.

The satellites that will orbit to keep track of the two countries Atlantic coast, will have an estimated weight of 500 kilos each with “a Brazilian structure and an Argentine payload”, explained the minister.

The project is part of the “Sabiá-Mar” program which Argentina and Brazil stated to develop over a decade ago but which has been delayed for different reasons and was only retaken at the beginning of last year.

Raupp revealed that Brazil is holding talks with South Africa with a similar purpose: to develop an oceanographic satellite which would operate focused on the South Atlantic.

The Brazilian minister said that the satellites’ project as others in the space field have the objective of reinforcing “sovereignty” in the region and breaking the dependency from data obtained by satellites from other countries operating over the Atlantic.