The Ministry of science, technology and Innovation (MCTI) and the Brazilian Space Agency (AEB) has already defined the model of the new space policy that aims to stimulate domestic production of satellites and the domain of technologies considered critical by the Government for the development of communications satellites, space observation and meteorology. The new policy will be in the National Strategy for Science, Technology and Innovation that President Dilma Rousseff will launch later this month.

The proposal also includes the creation of the National Council of Space Policy, linked to the Presidency of the Republic, and a new governance model for satellite projects. The idea is to replicate the management strategy of the program of Geostacionário Brasileiro (SGB)- in which a director committee (in this case, composed by MCTI, Ministry of Defense, Ministry of Communications and Telebras) approves plans, budgets, timelines for the construction of equipment and is ultimately responsible for the system operation.

The SGB, designed to meet military demands, and the National Broadband Plan (PNBL) will be built in partnership between Telebras and Embraer. At the beginning of the month, the two companies signed a memorandum of understanding for the constitution of a company (with participation of 51% of Embraer and 49% of Telebras).

"The choice of Embraer as partner of the company that will be responsible for the construction of the satellite will enable the formation of a bigger consortium of companies willing to invest in a project that is expensive and demands intensive resources," said Marco Antonio Raupp, President of AEB, on a public hearing last week in the Commission of Science, Technology, Innovation, Communication and Informatics (CCT) in the Federal Senate.

The concern of the President of the Agency is "to create load for the industry so that it is able to invest in training". The lack of continuing orders by the Brazilian space program is pointed by experts as one of the obstacles to the establishment, in Brazil, of an industry in the sector.

05 December 2011