The CBERS-4A satellite was launched in the early hours of Friday, 20 December, from the satellite launching centre of Zhanjiang, a city located in China’s Shanxi province, about 700 kilometres from the capital, Beijing, according to official information.

Developed under a partnership between Brazil and China, this sixth satellite will replace the CBERS-4, placed in orbit five years ago, and focused on the remote observation of the Earth, particularly in the Amazon region, allowing for real-time information on vegetation and agricultural activities, as well as facilitating environmental and hydrological studies.

Brazil’s National Space Research Institute (INPE) from Brazil said that the newest Sino-Brazilian satellite was programmed to orbit the earth 14 times a day and must have a useful lifespan of at least five years, the same as the previous satellites.

Construction of the CBERS-4A began in 2015, with the participation of a total of 200 scientists, both from the INPE and the Chinese Academy of Space Technology (CAST). The projected cost an estimated 190 million reais, half of which was guaranteed by the federal government of Brazil.

The China-Brazil Earth Resources Satellite programme (CBERS) began over 20 years ago and allowed the two countries to gain experience of the technology of remote observation with cameras and sensors for Earth observation.

To date, Brazil and China have developed and successfully launched four satellites (CBERS-1 and CBERS-2, CBERS-2B and CBERS-4), as well as the CBERS-3, which fell and destroyed the equipment. (macauhub)