The American Camões

Space Project Camões is an educational program developed by AMRAD (AMSAT-CT) a Portuguese NGO for education and development, through the amateur radio and amateur satellite service in partnership with AMRASE the Radio Communications and Aero Space Research Institute.

The Space Project Camões so far is the first satellite project of AMSAT-CT after the satellite simulation CinelSat using the balloons, developed since 1997.

The project Camões is developed under the leadership of AMRAD and AMRASE, is an educational space program to during the next ten years focus in the CPLP, the community of Portuguese speaking countries.

The goal of this project is to teach and learn, study and develop, build, launch and explore a LEO satellite (Low Earth Orbit) is called CAMOESAT-1, working together with students and professors, with a radio payload inside that will, among other things, transmit a voice message of peace, talked by children’s in Portuguese language.

In order to empower international friendship between Brazil and Portugal with all other Portuguese speaking countries like Angola, Cape Verde, Guinea-Bissau, Mozambique, San Tome and Principe, Goa and East Timor, AMRASE and AMRAD will invite universities in these fellow countries to participate in Project Camões, wich is already been started by our engineers and technicians.

Important to remember that Luis Vaz de Camões (picture) was the most famous Portuguese epic poet. Born in XVI century, 1524 to 1580 he was the author of epic “Os Lusiadas” and countless another beautiful writings.

The American Camões – By Manuel Luciano da Silva, Medical Doctor

Today there are 204 nations or independent states in the world. Of these 204 nations only Greece and Portugal, are the only nations, that possess epic poems, describing their history in verse.

Homer – who was blind – wrote in epic verse – that is in group of eight verses or oitavas – the history of the Greek people in the “Iliad” and the “Odyssey”.

Camões – who was also blind in the right eye – wrote the Portuguese epic poem, entitle “Os Lusíadas”, which means “The Portuguese” describing in epic verse, four centuries of the Portuguese History. The Portuguese poem has 8,816 verses and 55,000 thousand words.

If we compare Camões with other poetic genius of the world, we verify that the others did not choose to write about the history of their own country.

Shakespeare wrote 39 theatrical poems , with various dramatic protagonists, but did not write about the history of England in epic verse.
Milton, another English poet, also blind, wrote a poem entitled “Paradise Lost”, concerning the metaphysics of the eternity, but he did not write about the naval victory over the Invincible Armada!
Dante, known all over the world by his “Divine Comedy”, did not write about the achievements of the Italian people.

Napoleon, does not have an epic poem that describes the History of France.

The United States of America is the only nation in the world able to send men to the moon and have them return safely to earth, with the greatest scientific discoveries in the world, where is the American Camões that is able to sing in epic verse, the glorious history of the United States of America?

The XV century is called the Portuguese Century because the Portuguese navigators were able to discover more than two thirds of the world.

The Americans are going to have the same right of calling the XX century – the American Century.

But I repeat, when are the Americans going to have an American Camões to sing in verse the great odyssey of the American people and modern science civilization including the conquests of the outer space?
I am doubly proud of being a Portuguese-American because I am descendent of a nation which was the champion of the world discoveries five centuries ago, and am also a citizen of a nation which is the world champion of the conquest of outer space!