The Brazilian National Institute for Space Research (INPE) and German Aerospace Center (DLR) signed in March 10th, in Munich, an agreement to continue working in developing Mapsar system, joint project among both institutions for developing an environment monitoring system using a satellite as imaging radar.
The document was signed by the director of INPE, Gilberto Câmara, and by the director of DLR, Alberto Moreira. This new stage, denominated Phase B, comprises detailed project of the system, including configuration of the satellite to be produced.
International Cooperation
Mapsar satellite will weight around 500 kilos, using as service module a Multimission Platform, developed by INPE. Germany will conceive the radar instrument and orbital analysis.
In this cooperation, Mapsar Program is divided in equal proportions between Brazil and Germany. The agreement foresees full acess of Brazilian engineers to the technology used by DLR, in all phases of the project, wich means a knowledge gain for the country. The predicted cost for Mapsar is € 100 millions, including launch in 2013.
