Brazil’s Space Industry Is Taking Off: New Players, Big Plans, and a Sky-High 2040 Outlook
Key Facts Historical Development of Brazil’s Space & Satellite Industry Brazil’s space journey began in the early 1960s amid the space race era. In 1961, the government formed its first space research group (GOCNAE) and by 1964 started launching home-grown Sonda sounding rockets for high-atmosphere research en.wikipedia.org. Over the next two decades, Brazil methodically built up expertise in rocketry and satellite technology, albeit under military oversight during the Cold War. A milestone plan, the Missão Espacial Completa Brasileira (MECB) launched in 1980, aimed to make Brazil self-sufficient in space tech – including developing launch vehicles, a launch site, and a