MECB: connect the satellite, launcher and launch site

In 1979, Brazilian institutions proposed the Missão Espacial Completa Brasileira, usually shortened to MECB. The project connected satellite development with launch capability and the infrastructure needed to support it. A 1987 coordination decree explicitly identified three subprojects: satellites and their ground segment — open definition, a launch vehicle and a launch center. Read this as historical evidence of the plan’s architecture, not proof that every intended capability was delivered.

That architecture makes the word complete concrete. A satellite can be fully assembled yet still need a suitable ride, compatible tracking and a team able to operate it. A launch site can have buildings without being ready for a particular vehicle. The usefulness of the combined system depends on interfaces and sequences across organizations, not just whether each organization has finished something impressive on its own.

Imagine a fictional satellite ready six months before its intended launcher. Storage, periodic checks, staff availability and a revised launch campaign can become part of the schedule. Switching to another launch service may preserve the satellite’s mission, but requires compatibility work and does not demonstrate that the original launcher reached its objective. The scientific service and the national launch-development effort can therefore have different outcomes.

Interface — open definition requirements translate coordination into engineering. Teams must agree on items such as mechanical attachment, allowable environments, electrical connections, radio links and the responsibilities for each operating step. These details should be checked with representative hardware and procedures. A meeting or an organizational chart helps assign responsibility; it cannot by itself prove that a spacecraft survives vibration or that its telemetry will be received.

Define the interfaces between capabilities

SCD-1 offers a connection to the observing course: a Brazilian-developed satellite could serve national needs through a foreign launch service. This shows why spacecraft capability, access to launch and domestic launch capability should be recorded separately. Using international services is a real means of carrying out a mission; it is not evidence that the customer has developed every element of the service itself.

The 1987 decree also called for integrated schedules and monitoring of imbalances among the subprojects. The document has since been revoked, so it should not be used as a description of current administrative rules. Its historical lesson remains useful: define the intended capability, identify the dependencies, and keep evidence for each milestone. Later Brazilian programs build on parts of that history without making the original plan and all later projects interchangeable.