Context: The successful launch of Brazil’s Amazonia-1 satellite by the Indian Space Research Organisation marks a new high point in space cooperation between the two countries that began nearly two decades ago.
Key Points

• It successfully blasted into space the Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle, PSLV-C51, from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre, SHAR, Sriharkota, carrying 19 payloads: Brazil's 637-kg Amazonia-1 (its primary passenger) plus 18 co-passenger satellites.
• One of these satellites also carried an e-copy of the Bhagavad Gita, saved on an SD-card, as well as a picture of Prime Minister Narendra Modi engraved on its panel.
• The satellites were carried on board the PSLV-C51, the 53rd flight of India’s workhorse launch vehicle and the first dedicated mission for New Space India Ltd (NSIL), the commercial arm of ISRO. 
• Apart from bilateral space cooperation, an official note said both countries are part of BRICS (Brazil-Russia-China-India-South Africa) cooperation on building a ‘Virtual Constellation of Remote Sensing Satellites’ to share remote sensing satellite data.

About Amazonia-1 

• The Amazonia-1 earth observation satellite, is the first commercial venture for ISRO’s two-year-old marketing arm, NewSpace India Limited. 
• This satellite will provide remote sensing data to users for monitoring deforestation in the Amazon region and analysis of diversified agriculture across the Brazilian territory.
• The sun-synchronous Amazonia-1 is the first satellite to be fully designed, integrated, tested, and operated by Brazil’s National Institute for Space Research. 
• It can generate images of any part of the world every five days, but will be used mainly to provide remote sensing data in order to monitor deforestation in the Amazon.