Space technology company Visiona has plans to advance its satellite business, at a time when the federal government indicates its intention to expand its presence in the aerospace sector.
Visiona published for the first time this Friday images obtained by the VCUB1 nanosatellite, launched in April 2023. The equipment was the first Earth observation and data collection satellite designed by the national industry.
“Before, we ate at the little ones’ table. Now we are sitting at the big table and can talk about projects that will solve real problems”, said the president of Visiona, João Campos, in an interview with Reuters at the company’s headquarters in São José dos Campos (SP).
The first images of VCUB1, which is the size of a shoebox and was launched by a SpaceX rocket, were released as the government signals an increased presence in the aerospace industry, seen as key to national security and the local development of technologies.
President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva proposed earlier this month the creation of a new state-owned company in the sector, Alada, citing the goals of economically exploring aerospace infrastructure and navigation.
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Visiona is a joint venture between Embraer, which owns 51% of the company, and the state-owned telecommunications company Telebras.
The company states that the first images from VCUB1 demonstrate that the equipment is working as expected, as it progresses with other projects – such as the very high resolution SatVHR satellite, which is being developed with support from the Studies and Projects Financing Agency (Finep) .
Founded in 2012, Visiona had already participated in the Geostationary Defense and Strategic Communications Satellite (SDGC) program, equipment manufactured by Thales that was launched in 2017 after investments of 2.8 billion reais.
“What we want to do now is for the satellite to stop being seen as something for science fiction and start being seen as a tool to solve our everyday problems,” said Campos.
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Visiona also has a satellite-based services arm with clients in the public and private sectors, working in areas such as agriculture, oil and gas and financial services.
“Large countries always have a large spatial structure,” said the executive.
“Brazil is the country, in my point of view, that can benefit most from satellite… Basically, it is a country in which environmental issues are paramount, agricultural issues are paramount, and there is a deficit in knowledge and territorial planning. ”
By Gabriel Araujo
