On August 13, 1961, PresidentJânio Quadros signed a decree which created the Organizing Group for the National Commission on Space Activities. This group would give rise to the current National Institute for Space Research. COGNAE, which shortly after became known as CNAE, started its activities by stimulating, coordinating and supporting studies on space related areas, besides breeding a tam of skilled researchers and establishing cooperation with leading nations on the space area. On April 22, 1971, the National Institute for Space Research was created, subordinated to the National Research Council. Its first Director was the electronic engineerFernando de Mendonça. INPE would be the main civilian executive organ for space research development in accordance with the directives of the Brazilian Commission for Space Activities, an advisory organ to the President. Until the mid-Seventies, the main projects carried out by INPE included the usage of meteorological, communications and earth observation satellites. This engendered other projects such as:
INPE entered a new era when the Brazilian government approved the Complete Brazilian Space Mission at the end of the 1970s. The institute, besides research and applications, started the development of the space technology for specific needs, essential for a country of continental dimensions with immense uninhabited areas. On March 15, 1985, the Ministry of Science and Technology was created and INPE became part of it as an independent organ of the Direct Administration. During the 1980s, INPE started developing priority programs such as:
It also kept track of other countries' research on the space area, facilitating collaboration and partnership with them. During this period it also established its Integration and Tests Laboratory which develops highly specialized activities essential to the Brazilian Space Program. In the 1990s, the first Brazilian satellite was launched. Since 1994, the Brazilian Space Agency has been responsible for Brazil's space program. INPE works in close cooperation with the agency. In 1998, the second Brazilian satellite was successfully launched, performing even better than the first one. CBERS 1 was launched in 1999, CBERS 2 in 2003 and CBERS 2B in 2007. In August 2019, the chief of the agency, Ricardo Galvão, was fired by science minister Marcos Pontes after a period where Galvão had a public argument with Brazilian president Jair Bolsonaro over the validity of data from DETER, a satellite system monitoring deforestation. Bolsonaro stated that the data had been altered to attack his government and Galvão called him a coward in response.
