Brazil audit court halts selection for geostationary satellite

Brazil’s federal audit court TCU suspended a process for the selection of suppliers to build the country’s second geostationary satellite for defense and strategic communications, known as SGDC.

The selection was being conducted by Visiona, the JV created in 2012 between state controlled telco Telebras and Brazilian aircraft maker Embraer to develop and manage the SGDC program.

The process, according to the court, contains many irregularities, including outdated financial estimates and insufficient technical argumentation presented by Telebras to justify the need for requesting Visiona to lead the process. 

The court also said Telebras based its projections for the demand for a new satellite on an obsolete 2011 study. 

Among other things, the TCU said that the process was not supported by any criteria in the legislation allowing it to go through without the need of a public bidding process.

Visiona had been hired by Telebras in March for 10.5mn reais (US$2.70mn) to build a second SGDC. The company was expected to conclude the selection and hiring of suppliers by the end of this month.

Telebras will now have to present new, timely and detailed arguments if it wants to go through with the SGDC-2 plans.

The TCU’s decision can be seen here.

THE FIRST SGDC

The SGDC program was created in the Dilma Rousseff government.

In 2013, French-Italian firm Thales Alenia Space (TAS) won an international tender and was selected by Visiona as the equipment supplier for Brazil's first SGDC. Tech transfer was part of the deal.

SGDC-1 lifted off in May 2017, already during Michel Temer's administration, inside a rocket of Arianespace from a Korou launch pad in French Guiana. 

The satellite meant for both army use and for broadband communications is the cornerstone of a digital inclusion program known on the occasion as Internet for All, which was part of the country's national broadband plan (PNBL). 

Initially, Brazil planned launching three satellites. The Rousseff government expected a second satellite to be launched already by 2020.

The project for first SGDC satellite, including building and launching the satellite, as well as the ground stations and other infrastructure, cost 2.8bn reais.

Seven companies/consortiums bid in that first auction. The three finalists were TAS, Space Systems/Loral (SSL) from Palo Alto, California, and Japan's Mitsubishi Electric. TAS won the tender.

One company that showed interest in the development of a second SGDC is Airbus Defense and Space, as reported by BNamericas in 2017.