Environmental monitoring of the Amazon basin with a low cost small satellite constellation in equatorial leo

The goal of this study is to design a dedicated, low cost satellite mission for environmental monitoring of the Amazon basin. The mission design is based on the unique characteristics of the small Brazilian launcher VLM-1. Launched from the near-equatorial Alcantara Launch Center, the vehicle allows for direct injection of about 150 kg in equatorial LEO, a low Earth orbit with zero (or near-zero) inclination. Such orbital configuration, actually used very seldom because of its limited ground coverage (restricted to equatorial regions only), proves to be ideal for near-continuous monitoring of the Amazon region. We present a possible microsatellite constellation that allows for high quality multispectral imaging of the Amazon basin with near-continuous coverage.