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Brazil to launch ‘Amazonia 1’ satellite this Saturday night, here’s how to watch it live

Brazil is about to launch its first fully developed and operated satellite in the country. Amazonia 1, as it’s called, is scheduled to be launched into space in the early hours of this Sunday morning in Brazil (or Saturday night if you’re in the US), and you can watch the launch live on the web.

Amazonia 1 was developed by Brazil’s National Institute for Space Research in partnership with the Brazilian Space Agency. The satellite is the first to be built entirely with Brazilian technology and will function as an instrument to monitor the Earth and provide data that will help the Brazilian government track deforestation in the Amazon Rainforest.

The Amazon Mission will provide remote sensing data (images) to observe and monitor deforestation, especially in the Amazon region, as well as the diversified agriculture throughout the country with a high revisit rate, working in synergy with existing environmental programs. 

Amazonia 1 satellite will orbit at an altitude of 466 miles (750 km) from Earth and fly around Brazil every five days, photographing the ground with a camera capable of observing a range of approximately 528 miles (850 km) with 60-meter resolution. The satellite weighs over 600 kilograms and has been under development since 2008.

The total cost of the project exceeded R$400 million, which is about $71 million USD. Although Amazonia 1 was developed in Brazil, the satellite was sent to India last December and will be launched from there on the Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle rocket.

Amazonia 1 launch will be broadcast live on YouTube via the Brazilian Ministry of Science’s official channel. The live broadcast will begin at 11:50 PM local time this Saturday (9:50 PM EST/6:50 PM PST). However, the launch is scheduled for 1:54 AM Sunday local time (11:54 PM EST/8:54 PM PST Saturday).

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