SGDC-1: Brazil’s 1^st geostationary satellite.

By Thales Alenia, launched in 2017

SGDC – Geostationary Satellite for Communications and Defense – is a Geostationary defense and strategic communications satellite, operated by TELEBRAS on behalf of the Brazilian government. Such high-throughput satellite delivers Internet services across the Brazilian territory and provide secure means of communication for the government and authorized users. It has a total throughput capacity of 57 Gbps, using both the Ka-band and X-Band frequency ranges. The satellite was based on the Spacebus-4000 platform and its life expectancy is 18 years (EOL expected for 2035).

The objectives of the SGDC mission are threefold: (1) reduce Brazil’s digital divide by delivering high-quality Internet coverage to the entire Brazilian territory under a National Broadband Plan, (2) provide secure communication channels for Brazilian Government and Defense strategic communications, and (3) acquire technologies for the advancement of the Brazilian space program.

The SGDC (“Satélite Geoestacionário de Defesa e Comunicações Estratégicas”, in Portuguese) is fully owned by Brazil, ordered to be built by Thales Alenia Space in France. Actually, Thales Alenia Space of France and Italy built the first SGDC satellite ordered through VISIONA Tecnologia Espacial, a joint venture of Brazilian companies EMBRAER and TELEBRAS. VISIONA will likely be involved in building SGDC-2 as well, since VISIONA was created to establish a domestic geostationary satellite manufacturing capability (through a technology transfer process included in the building contract) in Brazil.

SGDC was finally placed in the orbital position of 75 degrees west longitude and is operated by TELEBRAS through VIASAT, as an associated ground system partner.

The satellite was successfully launched into space on May 4, 2017, at 21:52 UTC, by means of an Ariane 5 vehicle from the French company Arianespace, launched from Guiana Space Centre, Kourou, in French Guiana, together with the Koreasat 7. It had a launch mass of 12,800 pounds (5,800 kg). The SGDC is equipped with 50 Ka-band transponders and 5 X-band transponders to provide broadband internet and communications to the Brazilian government and the Brazilian Armed Forces.

TT&C

The telemetry, tracking, and control (TT&C) subsystem of a satellite provides a connection between the satellite itself and the facilities on the ground. The purpose of the TT&C function is to ensure the satellite performs correctly. As part of the spacecraft bus, the TT&C subsystem is required for all satellites regardless of the application. There are three major tasks that the TT&C subsystem performs to ensure the successful operation of an applications satellite: (1) the monitoring of the health and status of the satellite through the collection, processing, and transmission of data from the various spacecraft subsystems, (2) the determination of the satellite’s exact location through the reception, processing, and transmitting of ranging signals, and (3) the proper control of satellite through the reception, processing, and implementation of commands transmitted from the ground. Some advanced spacecraft designs have evolved toward “autonomous operations” so that many of the control functions have been automated and thus do not require ground intervention except under emergency conditions.

COPE-P: TT&C plus TIER IV datacenter

Centro de Operações Espaciais Principal (COPE-P), located in Brasília DF and built by ALMEIDA FRANÇA, is a key strategic government facility that includes both a high-end teleport and a certified TIER- IV datacenter, built only for the purpose of monitoring and operating the SGDC satellites (TT&C+ data processing).

COPE-P, as a 14,000m2 strategic military TELEBRAS / FAB DEFENSE facility, is fully redundant at all structure levels, such as fiber optical paths, energy sources, air-conditioning, security, connectivity, servers, cabling etc, thus certified as TIER IV. Also important, it was fully developed using Building Information Modelling (BIM) tool, as the very first pioneer project at the Brazilian Governmental public administration to do so.

Its terrestrial network infrastructure is in fact geographically distributed into 5 terrestrial gateways, spread in the country as follows: (A) 2 hybrid operational centers (TT&C plus gateway): COPE-P (main one, in Brasília DF), and COPE-S (secondary one, in Rio de Janeiro RJ); plus (B) 3 gateways: Campo Grande MS, Salvador BA and Florianópolis SC.

Those are ground stations that, beyond TT&C, can also simultaneously receive payload data from the satellite. The frequency ranges often used are S-band (for TT&C) and X-band (for payload). The diameter of the antennas ranges in between 3 and 11 meters. It is following CCSDS (Consultative Committee for Space Data Systems) standards.

Further than the Military classified strategic applications (using X-band), SGDC-1 payload also has Ka band capacity, used to delivery broadband internet all over Brazil, through a digital inclusion & accessibility Federal government program, targeting millions of underprivileged Brazilians living at areas do not well covered by fiber optic backbones. See below a simplified version of SGDC-1 Ka-band beam distribution over the country:

Brazilian Ministry of Defense & Brazilian Air Force (FAB)

PESE – Programa Estratégico de Sistemas Espaciais

(Space Systems Strategic Program) –

Accctualy officially started in 2017, during LAAD Trade Show, Rio de Janeiro Brazil.

SGDC-2, the actual open opportunity

A backup satellite, SGDC-2, was initially planned for launching no earlier than 2022.

Much before that, MEREGE has been developing the right relationships with top decision makers at the Brazilian Government, especially at TELEBRAS, VISIONA, The Ministry of  Telecommunications & Innovation, The Brazilian Air Force (FAB), The Ministry of Defense and other stakeholders.

Back in 2013, MEREGE was hired by AONESAT (www.ananthtech.com ) as its LATAM Business Development, Marketing & Commercial Director. MEREGE supported and operationalized the creation and administrative daily run of its Brazilian subsidiary, acted on AONESAT behalf as its delegate manager and filed for its landing rights in Brazil, along a full regulatory consulting process.

In 2017, MEREGE represented AONESAT on presenting a detailed, consistent, innovative and very attractive proposal to the Brazilian government, for building and launching SGDC 2. Such  proposal caught the attention of The Brazilian Ministry of Telecommunications and The Ministry of Defense, rapidly evolving.

Also important, in parallel to SGDC approach, at that time AONESAT had also secured the orbital position 47.5 degrees West from Sputnik, for Appendix 30b frequencies to be used over Brazil, both Ka and C-band, where AONESAT (www.ananthtech.com) would place a satellite planned for mid 2017 with such a payload. AONESAT was also studying possibilities for bringing a gap filler interim satellite to 47.5W, while building and launching its own definitive satellite, in order to anticipate serving The Brazilian Government by addressing other current opportunities in the region.

In parallel, SES (www.ses.com) also had secured the use of 47.5W, but for standard ku-frequencies, where it had already placed its NSS-6 satellite (no longer in operation, EOL 2019), but at no  coordination issues between SES and AONESAT over Brazil at that point.

Unfortunately, in August 2016, even before SGDC-1 was launched, the SGDC-2 project was put on hold, due to the president Dilma Roussef´s impeachment.

All top executives at TELEBRAS where suddenly dismissed at that time and the process was put on hold. Brazilian Government concerns over cost and the legality of the procurement agreement have indefinitely delayed the continuity, until now.

In the meantime, while the Brazilian political decision was taking too long to resume, AONESAT lost breath facing funding issues around the world and went definitively out of the international satellite business, shutting down completely its HQ operation in Switzerland.

Hence MEREGE became free to engage to any other interested provider in continuation of this process.

SOURCES: BRAZILIAN AIR FORCE and BRAZILIAN DEFENSE official websites.

Please, check out other KEY ON-GOING BUSINESS CASES at Brazilian Air Force (FAB), Brazilian Navy and other opportunities for Latin America:

• BUSINESS CASE FAB / AEB “ALCANTARA launching base”
• BUSINESS CASE FAB – CARPONIS-1 / HR Remote Sensing
• BUSINESS CASE SMART AGRICULTURE – NB-IoT
• BUSINESS CASE INPE REMOTE SENSING SATELLITE “AMAZONIA-1”
• BUSINESS CASE INPE REMOTE SENSE SATELLITE “CBERS”
• BUSINESS CASE ELETROBRAS – HYDROELETRIC POWER
  
• BUSINESS CASE VALE – ENERGY STORAGE
• BUSINESS CASE MB “UNMANNED AIRCRAFT”
• BUSINESS CASE SISFRON – BRAZILIAN TERRESTRIAL BORDER
• BUSINESS CASE “AMAZÔNIA AZUL”
• BUSINESS CASE BRAZILIAN NAVY NUCLEAR PROGRAM
• BUSINESS CASE AIRCRAFTS SAAB F-39E GRIPEN
• BUSINESS CASE MB “ANTI-SHIP MISSILE”
• BUSINESS CASE MB “TAMANDARÉ FRIGATES”

If your company is interested in opportunities such as those above, please let us know. MEREGE would be more than glad to act as your bridge into Brazil.

Unfolding relationships previously developed, MEREGE partners are able to quickly build a specific network that reaches the market the costumer needs.

MEREGE Legal & Regulatory team has a long and vast knowledge and experience, hence able to help your company to set the safest and the strongest path.

Always count on the widely respected experience and networking of MEREGE Consulting Partners to reach out to the right people at the right time.