Spin-off Companies: A Great Challenge for the Brazilian Space Program

Abstract

Space science research and development is, by itself, a great challenge for research institutions throughout the world. This is especially true for developing countries such as Brazil, where the expenditures and number of institutions devoted to this field of study are limited. Additionally, because most funding for space research programs often originates from government sources, these are usually one of the first to be cut in times of economic distress. On the other hand, economy studies of the main space programs in the world show that the return on investment to the society in terms of new technologies greatly surpasses the research funds. Therefore, one of the greatest challenges for governments of developing countries with their own space programs is to create favorable conditions, so that the investments become profitable to the population, providing not only technological independence in the space field but also technological solutions to daily problems. Development of the heat pipe technology is a good illustration of the aforementioned tradeoff. Heat pipes are highly efficient, low cost passive heat transfer devices, used for the thermal management of equipment and panels in satellites. The first registered patents are concerned with application of these devices in domestic and bakery applications, dating back to the middle of the 20th century. Although very efficient, this technology was not largely employed until the Cold War, when the major countries intensified their space exploration