« Responder #1020 em: Novembro 19, 2017, 05:38:03 pm »
http://spacenews.com/portuguese-company-embarks-on-first-domestic-satellite-project/WASHINGTON — Tekever, a Portugal-based company with business interests ranging from clean energy to defense and logistics, is pulling together a team of domestic companies and organizations to build the first made-in-Portugal satellite.
That small satellite, called Infante, is a precursor to a constellation of 12 spacecraft in low-Earth orbit for remote sensing and telecommunications services.
The team’s current plan is for Infante to be a 16U cubesat with a mass of 25 kilograms.
“The new microsatellite constellation will complement existing assets, both satellites, such as the Sentinels, and in-situ ones such as drones, in order to substantially enhance Earth observation and communications services, primarily targeted at maritime applications and early warning for fast developing events,” Pedro Sinogas, Tekever’s chief executive, told SpaceNews.
Tekever is leading a consortium of Portuguese companies including solar panel producer Active Space Technologies, propulsion expert Omnidea and the Portuguese division of Spain’s GMV for payload management. Tekever, in emailed responses to SpaceNews questions, said the company and its partners have allocated 9 million euros ($10.5 million) for Infante, with some of that coming from Portugal 2020, a research and innovation program of Portugal and the European Commission. The company declined to break out how much is coming from individual sources.
Artist's depiction of the Infante satellite, projected to launch in 2020 as a precursor to a constellation of 12 satellites. Credit: Tekever
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