Orbital launches Brazilian environmental monitoring satellite

17 Jun 2002

Orbital Sciences Corporation (Dulles, VA) has launched Brazil's Satellite de Coleta de Dados-2 (SCD-2) aboard a Pegasus rocket launched from Cape Canaveral, Florida. The SCD-2, built by Brazil's Instituto Nacional de Pesquisas Espacial (INPE) is designed to collect and relay environmental information gathered from ground sensors located in Brazil and other countries of the tropical belt within the Amazon River basin. The satellite will operate at an altitude of approximately 750 km inclined at 25 degrees to the equator.