Brazil and Portugal sign a space cooperation agreement. What does it mean?

The Brazilian Space Agency has signed a collaboration agreement with the Portuguese Space Agency. But how exactly are the two countries going to cooperate with each other?

Brazil, through the Brazilian Space Agency (AEB), recently signed a space cooperation agreement with Portugal, a country whose state space agency is part of ESA, the infamous European Space Agency. The deal was highlighted in both nations’ official communication channels, praising the partnership.

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🇵🇹 and 🇧🇷 signed a memorandum of understanding for cooperation on the peaceful use of space, space sciences, technologies and applications, between @gov_mcti , @espacial_aeb, @portugalspace and Ministry of Science, Technology and Higher Education of Portugal📸Ricardo Stuckert@lucianasantos pic.twitter.com/BX9k1claOX

—SecomVc (@secomvc) April 23, 2023

The Memorandum of Cooperation for the Peaceful Use of Space, Space Sciences, Technologies and Applications provides for a series of collaborations between the two Portuguese-speaking countries. The announcement by the government of the Portuguese Republic highlights that the collaboration includes practices such as “joint initiatives for the installation of ground-based capabilities for receiving data from satellites”, “exchange of information on new technologies relating to rockets, sub-orbital flights and launch”, “data exchange on space weather” and “development of actions related to the academic and technical training of professionals, students and researchers from the two countries”.

But what does it mean, in practice? To better understand the news, the canaltech he spoke with Carlos Moura, president of the Brazilian Space Agency, who signed the document together with the Minister of Science, Technology and Higher Education of Portugal, Elvira Fortunato; the Minister of State for Science, Technology and Innovation of Brazil, Luciana Santos; and the president of the Portuguese Space Agency, Ricardo Conde.

What will the space cooperation between Brazil and Portugal look like?

You can see the interview with below canaltech with Carlos Moura, president of AEB, in full:

Canal Tech (CT): What are the objectives of this space cooperation between Brazil and Portugal?

Brazil is one of the few countries in the world capable of acting in all segments of space activity. Portugal, in addition to all the historical links with Brazil, is one of the participants in the European Union and the European Space Agency and has played an increasing role in these projects, including in the juice probe recently launched, whose mission is to explore Jupiter.

The objective of the Memorandum, therefore, is to exploit the potential of both countries and seek points of convergence, both in the international agreement for the peaceful use of space, and in possible educational projects or initiatives.

Recall that the space business relies heavily on international cooperation, which is a smart way to share resources, reduce risks and increase the chances of success.

CT: The countries agreed to “promote the implementation of an agenda on space technologies within the Community of Portuguese-speaking countries”. What to expect from this agenda and what benefits can it offer?

There is of course an interest from countries on both sides of the Atlantic in this environment which is so important for the earth’s economy and environment. So it is a general responsibility of Brazil, Portugal and other countries to better study, understand this maritime environment and take important actions, both from the environmental point of view and from the point of view of resource exploration, monitoring of maritime traffic and other actions .

Furthermore, this community of Portuguese-speaking countries, over the years, has been looking for ways to make the most of these historical-cultural and linguistic ties to promote actions of common interest.

As mentioned, space activity today is important to all of us, whether countries are more or less active in space activity. And Brazil and Portugal can certainly conduct joint actions of space systems that function as tools, both for policies and for the promotion of socio-economic development, leveraging the experiences of both countries and of the countries of the Portuguese-speaking community that can be disseminated, shared , or even increase the scope of existing projects, whether they are technical projects, partial plants or land infrastructure, or matters relating to the education and attraction of young people.

There is a universe of possibilities that can and should be shared in this community of countries.

CT: Brazil and Portugal will work to support several initiatives and one of them focuses on the installation of ground-based capabilities for satellite data reception and launch operations. What will these capabilities be?

Brazil has a respectable network of ground infrastructure for communication with orbital systems, as well as two launch centers. Portugal is integrated into the European system, but also intends to develop launch capacity on the island of the Azores.

It is natural that in launch activities there is the need to resort to other tracking stations, in order to complete the entire launch activity monitoring cycle, and therefore satellite monitoring.

It is therefore natural that the two countries can verify in the network of structures that can be used jointly, as Brazil already does using its means, whether to receive information from probes from other countries – as we have already done with shipments, for example, from India — or on the contrary, with our objects also traced from installations located in other parts of the planet.

CT: The statement also mentions the development of sounding rocket systems, suborbital flights and launch systems. How will AEB’s expertise help in the creation of these launch vehicles?

Brazil has been operating since the 1970s with launches of suborbital vehicles, vehicles for atmospheric surveys and, more recently, vehicles for experiments in microgravity environment, having, of course, the ambition to become a country and a launch state capable of put satellites into orbit. So this is an old wish from Brazil, and something we can definitely confirm in the near future.

Portugal has, in recent years, sought to develop and exploit the existing geographical potential in the Azores region and also to enter this market for access to space.

The aim is therefore to share some experiences, including the possibilities of use, of insertion, of the two countries in this market niche, mainly of small satellites, dedicated launches and for low earth orbit.

CT: In what types of missions and for what purposes should sounding rockets and other launch systems, developed through the agreements, be used? What kinds of space launches can we expect from Alcântara in the future?

We have some interesting markets in this class of releases. There are experiments in a microgravity environment, where there are possibilities to serve some economic sectors, such as metal alloy development, drug development, some biological experiments, so it is already a kind of business that has been around for a few years.

The case of Alcântara is very favorable to this, also because last year Brazil completed the development cycle of the vehicles and for the suborbital experiments. So we have a complete set of ground infrastructure, launch vehicle and payload carrier platform that can serve this attractive niche market.

Portugal also intends to operate in this market, and since it is located in the European context it can certainly take advantage of a good part of what interests it, be it governmental or private, in this sector.

As for the launch of small satellites or nanosatellites, this is the market that has grown more recently and there is a lack of launchers dedicated to this, mainly for more specific missions, where you have the small satellite as the main payload, which can be taken for dead very specific at very specific times. So there is an area of ​​common interest between Brazil and Portugal in this market niche.

Alcântara, for the tradition that already has decades of service, also recently confirmed with the first international private launch from Alcântarawe can pull the strings and establish ourselves in this market, and share experiences or missions with Portugal that may be of mutual interest.

*With the collaboration of Patricia Gnipper

Source: with information from Brazilian Space Agency, Government of the Portuguese Republic

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