INPE - 2003

• Launch of CBERS-2 by a Chinese Long March rocket from Taiyuan base. The cooperation agreement with China is renewed in order to develop CBERS 2B, 3 and 4.
• In August the technological satellite SATEC is lost.
• Anechoic Armored Chamber, largest one in Brazil, is inaugurated for interference and electromagnetic compatibility tests in large equipment.
• SCD-1 satellite completes ten years in orbit.
• SCD-2 satellite completes five years in orbit.
• Data from the Amazon monitoring system become available on the Internet.
• First observation of lightning incidence increase in Brazilian big cities
• The research activities about Transient Luminous Events and associated atmospheric energy coupling start.
• First Southern American center to integrate the International Committee of Atmospheric Electricity.
• First regional air quality model in Brazil starts to work.
• Mini Astronomical Observatory is inaugurated for didactic purposes.
• CANASAT Project was created. It uses remote sensing and geoprocessing techniques to map cultivated area and provide information about spatial distribution of sugar cane crop.

  Worldwide

The Human Genome Project is completed, with 99% of the DNA sequenced by an accuracy of 99.99%.