On September 19th, the third satellite launched by CBERS Programme ( the CBERS-2B / a China Brazil Earth Resource Satellite), completed 2 years in orbit.
The CBERS-2B has three Imager cameras on board: CCD, WFI and HRC. This diversity of cameras serve to multiple needs, from the urban planning, that demands a high spatial resolution, to applications that need frequent data, however not necessarily so detailed ones, as monitoring deforestations and the farming and cattle raising expansion.
Cooperation
Presently one of the main programmes of remote sensing in the world – the CBERS is a model of well succeeded partnership south-south as far as high technology is concerned and also one of the main strategic partnership between Brazil and China. The satellites of the CBERS Programme are a result of the agreement, executed in August 22, 1988, between China Academy Space Technology and National Institute for Space research.
The CBERS-1 was launched in October 1999 and CBERS-2 in October 2003. Before that, Brazil was totally dependent on foreign satellite images and upon 2014 is foreseen the launching of two more satellites: the CBERS-3 and CBERS-4.
The technology domain for the data supply of remote sensing also allowed the implantation of a Pioneer policy of free data access, which has taken other countries as United States, to follow the model and have free access to orbital data of low resolution.
More than Five hundred million images have been distributed through internet for approximately twenty thousand users for private and public institutions. About 750 downloads have been daily computed in the CBERS catalog.
Besides the free image distribution, the CBERS programme promotes an innovation into the national space industry, creating jobs of high technology and great value to the country development.
For more information please visit www.cbers.inpe.br or www.dgi.inpe.br/pesquisa2007/galeria/linux_E_galeria/galeriaCD.html
Source: INPE