BRAZIL-DEVELOPMENT: Brazil Ready for First Space Launch

By IPS Correspondents Reprint | | Print |

RIO DE JANEIRO, Oct 22 1997 (IPS) - All, systems are “go” for the launching of Brazil’s first space rocketthe culmination of 17 years of development which could make this country a player in the growing space business.

Scientists say blastoff of the Satellite Launching Vehicle (VLS), installed at the Alcantara Center in northern Brazil, now depends on favourable weather conditions. The rocket will carry the second Data Collection Satellite (SCD-2A) – also Brazilian-made – into space.

A third satellite is scheduled to be sent into space in 1998 to complete of Brazil’s 14 million dollar Pegasus programme to gather information on the environment and natural resources. This, in turn, provides information for meteorological predictions and measurements of gases in the atmosphere, as well as observation of the river systems.

The SCD’s weigh 115 kgs and are one metre in diameter and are meant to remain in orbit at an altitude of 700 kms. The VLS rocket stands 19 metres and weighs 50 tons – most of it solid fuel – and crowns the Brazilian Complete Space Mission, first announced in 1980.

It can carry satellites of up to 350 kgs into orbit and its comparitive low cost – 6.5 million dollars – provides great opportunities for Brazil to compete in the space-launching market, according to Hugo Chaves, an Air Force colonel and the director of the launching project.

Additionally, Brazil has an ideal location in the Alcantara Launching Center, as it is close to the Equator and the Kuoru Base, in French Guiana. It is serviced through a a nearby Atlantic port , another factors in Brazil’s favor, Chaves said.

Only last week, Brazil and the United States formalized an agreement for cooperation in space technology, during President Bill Clinton’s visit to this country.

Scientists blamed the slow pace of development of the VLS to a large part on the United States’ withholding access to vital space technologies, because of the potential for military use. Besides the fact that the Brazilian space program depended on the the military, Brazil used to sell arms to the Middle East, which also concerned Washington.

The restrictions imposed by the United States and its allies in the “space club” were lifted after the Brazilian government decided to sign agreements that opened its nuclear and space programs to international inspection.

Since 1994, the space program has been controlled by the civil sector through the creation of the Brazilian Space Agency, which in turn signed a cooperation agreement with its United States counterpart.