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51-584: ELCs interface directly with the ISS integrated truss common attach system (CAS). The P3 Truss has two such attach points called Unpressurised Cargo Carrier Attachment System (UCCAS) mechanisms, one facing zenith (space facing) called UCCAS-1, the other facing nadir (earth facing) called UCCAS-2. The S3 Truss has four similar locations called Payload Attachment System (PAS) mechanisms, two facing Zenith (PAS-1 and PAS-2), and two facing Nadir (PAS-3 and PAS-4). The ELC are four un-pressurized attached payloads, some designed by

102-421: A Window Observational Research Facility and a Technology Experiment Facility. In return, NASA will provide Brazil with access to its ISS facilities on-orbit, as well as a flight opportunity for one Brazilian astronaut during the course of the ISS program. However, due to cost issues, the subcontractor Embraer was unable to provide the promised ExPrESS pallet, and Brazil left the programme in 2007. However, as

153-849: A lieutenant colonel in the Brazilian Air Force , is an astronaut of the Brazilian Space Agency. Pontes was the first Brazilian astronaut, having launched with the Expedition 13 crew from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan on March 29, 2006, aboard a Soyuz-TMA spacecraft. Pontes docked with the International Space Station (ISS) on March 31, 2006, where he lived and worked for 9 days. Pontes returned to Earth with

204-596: A barrier between the first stage boosters. The integration tower, which cost R$ 6.5 million in 1995, cost about R$ 10 million to rebuild. The launch tower was completed and delivered in 2012, but in 2013 the base had not yet finished its reconstruction. A mock-up of the VLS-1 was tested on the tower in 2012, But in 2016 it was decided to end the VLS program in favor of the VLM . The VLS-1 V04 even had 70% of its structure completed, but

255-581: A bill to compensate the victims' families. A Special Commission of the House of Representatives visited the base on October 20. The compensation was approved by the House on October 28, 2003. Despite evidence of French espionage in Maranhão, no evidence of sabotage was found. The conclusion of both the Brazilian and Russian investigators was that the cause of the accident was due to the unplanned start of

306-552: A compromise, NASA have funded small Brazilian-made components for the Express Logistics Carrier-2 for the ISS, which were installed in 2009. On October 21, 2003, the Brazilian Space Agency and the State Space Agency of Ukraine established a cooperation agreement creating a joint venture space enterprise called Alcântara Cyclone Space. The new company will focus on launching satellites from

357-577: A lot of bureaucracy and few results like the 'confederation' proposed by the United States and never came to anything" and also because, according to the agency's adviser: "A regional space agency would reverberate in the Brazilian pocket that, due to its territorial size, would end up getting most of the invoice to pay." 2°20′S 44°24′W  /  2.333°S 44.400°W  / -2.333; -44.400 The Alcântara Launch Center ( Portuguese : Centro de Lançamento de Alcântara ; CLA)

408-593: A major setback in 2003, when a rocket explosion killed 21 technicians. Brazil successfully launched its first rocket into space, the VSB-30 , on 23 October 2004 from the Alcântara Launch Center ; several other successful launches have followed. Brazil was briefly a partner in the International Space Station , and in 2006, AEB astronaut Marcos Pontes became the first Brazilian and the first native Portuguese-speaker to go into space, when he arrived at

459-891: A national lunar robot for the use in the future missions. On 18 August 2021, AEB signed cooperation agreements with space agencies of BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa), to the joint-development of a remote sensing satellite constellation, aiming to help with common challenges for the mankind such as the climate change, major disasters and environmental protection. Ground stations located in Cuiabá in Brazil, Moscow Region in Russia, Shadnagar–Hyderabad in India, Sanya in China and Hartebeesthoek in South Africa will receive data from

510-709: A national program for the space exploration. As a result of this work, in August 1961, the Organization Group of the National Commission of Space Activities ( Portuguese : Grupo de Organização da Comissão Nacional de Atividades Espaciais ) was formed, operating in São José dos Campos , in the state of São Paulo . Its researchers participated in international projects in the areas of astronomy , geodesy , geomagnetism , and meteorology . The GOCNAE

561-400: A platform and infrastructure to deploy experiments in the vacuum of space without requiring a separate dedicated Earth-orbiting satellite. Each carrier is capable of carrying 9,800 lbs. to orbit and will also serve as parking fixtures for spare ISS hardware ( ORUs ) which can be retrieved when needed. Experiments are mounted on ExPRESS payload adapters (ExPA) which are about the same size as

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612-471: Is a medium-weight rocket and differs from the Gamma by having four solid-propellant boosters attached to the first stage. Its payload deliverable to a geostationary orbit is 2 tons. The VLS Epsilon launcher is a heavy-weight rocket with three identical units attached to the first stage. It can place a 4 tons spacecraft in geostationary orbit , if it is launched from Alcântara. The Brazilian government

663-450: Is a solid fuel propellant 40 tons, the second will have 30 tons of thrust engine and the latter will be 7.5 tons of thrust, with the same mixture "Kerolox". It can place payloads up to 800 kg in orbits up to 800 km. The VLS Gama launcher is part of the light-weight class, but using the near-equatorial position of the Alcântara Launch Center , it can place almost 1 ton of payload into orbit up to 800 km. The VLS Delta launcher

714-547: Is a technological cooperation program between Brazil and China which develops and operates Earth observation satellites . Brazil and China negotiated the CBERS project during two years (1986–1988), renewed in 1994 and again in 2004. As of 2023, the two countries have jointly developed six China-Brazil Earth Resource Satellites. These projects have helped both Brazil and China develop their access to satellite imagery and promoted remote sensing research. Brazil and China's cooperation

765-485: Is a unique example of South-South cooperation between two developing countries in the field of space. The Brazilian Space Agency is a bilateral partner of NASA in the International Space Station . The agreement for the design, development, operation and use of Brazilian developed flight equipment and payloads for the Space Station was signed in 1997. It includes the development of six items, among which are

816-646: Is also investing in the domain of the hypersonic technology. The 14-X , a hypersonic glide vehicle (HGV) under development with the Brazilian Air Force , was conceived in 2007 and launched on 14 February 2022, by a VSB-30 rocket , reaching to 100,000 feet of altitude and a maximum speed of Mach 10. A number of different engines were developed for usage on the several launch vehicles: The Brazilian Space Agency has several active satellites in orbit including imagery intelligence , military communications , reconnaissance and Earth observation satellites. Several others are currently in development. Marcos Pontes ,

867-757: Is located on the S3 truss at the PAS-1 (zenith, space facing) site, alongside AMS-2 at PAS-2. ELC-2 weighs approx. 13,400 lbs. ELC-3 is located on the P3 truss at the UCCAS-1 (zenith, space facing) site. ELC-3 weighs 14,023 lbs. ELC-4 is located on the S3 truss at the PAS-4 (nadir, earth facing) site, alongside ESP-3 at PAS-3. ELC-4 weighs 8,235 lbs. Brazilian Space Agency The Brazilian Space Agency ( Portuguese : Agência Espacial Brasileira ; AEB )

918-498: Is part of the Brazilian Air Force . The command is responsible for planning, coordinating, executing and controlling the country's air and space operations. The Brazilian Navy and Brazilian Army also are part of the organization. The Space Operations Center (Portuguese: Centro de Operações Espaciais , acronym COPE) is a facility established in 2020 subordinated to the Aerospace Operations Command, with

969-631: Is the civilian authority in Brazil responsible for the country's space program . It operates a spaceport at Alcântara , and a rocket launch site at Barreira do Inferno . It is the largest and most prominent space agency in Latin America . The Brazilian Space Agency is the institutional successor of Brazil's space program , which had been managed by the Brazilian military until its transfer to civilian control on 10 February 1994. It suffered

1020-472: Is the main launch site and operational center of the Brazilian Space Agency. It is located in the peninsula of Alcântara , in the state of Maranhão . This region presents some excellent requirements, such as low population density , excellent security conditions and easiness of aerial and maritime access. The most important factor is its closeness to the Equator - Alcântara is the closest launching base to

1071-684: The Alcântara Launch Center using the Tsyklon-4 rocket. The company will invest $ 160 million dollars in infrastructure for the new launch pad that will be constructed at the Alcântara Launch Center. In March 2009, the Brazilian Government increased its financial capital by US$ 50 million. The first launch was planned for 2014 from the Alcantara Launch Center. Brazil pulled out of

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1122-568: The Brazilian Space Agency , for the International Space Station (ISS) that provides mechanical mounting surfaces, electrical power, and command and data handling services for science experiments on the ISS. The ELCs have a deck size of about 14 feet by 16 feet and spans the width of the space shuttle's payload bay. They are made of steel, coated with UV paint. Each one is capable of providing scientists with

1173-557: The Expedition 12 crew, landing in Kazakhstan on April 8, 2006. In January 2019, Pontes was nominated by the Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro as Minister of Science, Technology, Innovation and Communication, a position he held until 2022. The Aerospace Operations Command ( Portuguese : Comando de Operações Aeroespaciais - COMAE) is a Brazilian air and space command created in 2017 which

1224-667: The Global Precipitation Measurement project. On 21 October 2020, Brazil was invited by the United States to join NASA 's Artemis Space Program . On 15 June 2021, the country officially joined the program by signing the Artemis Accords with the U.S. and international partners, for the joint exploration of the Moon from 2024 and Mars and beyond in 2030s. The roles of Brazil include the development of

1275-749: The Presidency of the Republic . In 2011, Argentina 's defense minister, Arturo Puricelli , made a proposal to the Brazilian minister, Celso Amorim , for the creation of a unified South American space agency by the year 2025, according to the European Space Agency . In 2015, however, the Brazilian Space Agency and the Ministry of Defense rejected the Argentine proposal "because it understood that it would be an organ that would yield

1326-761: The S50 rocket engine is being studied, with the objective of orbiting satellites up to 150 kg in circular orbits ranging from 250 to 700 km. The first qualifying and test flight will be on 2022 from the Alcântara Space Center . The second flight is scheduled for the following years as part of the SHEFEX mission, to be conducted also from Alcântara, in partnership with the German Aerospace Center (DLR) . The VLS - Satellite Launch Vehicle ( Portuguese : Veículo Lançador de Satélites )

1377-627: The VLS-1 . The program was named "Southern Cross" in reference to the Crux constellation, present on the flag of Brazil and composed of five stars. Hence the names of the future launch vehicles: The first rocket to be developed. As a direct modification of the VLS-1 of the original project, replacing the fourth and fifth stages by a single liquid fuel engine. It can place payloads in the range 200–400 kg in orbits up to 750 km. Consisting of three stages without auxiliary thrusters. The first stage

1428-514: The A-booster. Among the possible causes of the ignition, they raised the possibility of static electricity, with the Russian experts noting the absence of a bridge between the propellant and the propellant housing, but it was considered a low probability event due to the non-occurrence of lightning on the day. The electrostatic discharge hypothesis was found to be superior, due to the absence of

1479-544: The CLA's ability to perform type launches and the use of the CLBI as a tracking station. The transportation of materials for V03 started on August 23, 2002 and stopped on April 16, 2003. The operation was restarted on July 1, an inspection the next day found no problems, and the satellites were transported on the 30th. After several assembly operations, the accident occurred on August 22, 2003. The accident occurred three days before

1530-460: The Equator. This gives the launch site a significant advantage in launching geosynchronous satellites . 5°55′30″S 35°9′47″W  /  5.92500°S 35.16306°W  / -5.92500; -35.16306 The Barreira do Inferno Launch Center ( Portuguese : Centro de Lançamento da Barreira do Inferno ; CLBI) is a rocket launch base of the Brazilian Space Agency. It is located in

1581-686: The FRAMs that hold ORUs. Within the electrical subsystem of the ELC, the ExPRESS carrier avionics (ExPCA) provides electrical power distribution to experiments, and data interfaces to the ISS. Within the ExPCA, the ColdFire -based flight computer, software, and related electronics comprise its "flight controller unit" (FCU). The FCU runs the free open-source real-time operating system (RTOS) RTEMS and provides

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1632-526: The ISS for a week. During his trip, Pontes carried out eight experiments selected by the Brazilian Space Agency, including testing flight dynamics of saw blades in zero gravity environments. In June 2021, the AEB signed the Artemis Accords to the joint exploration of the Moon and Mars from 2024 as part of the Artemis program . The then president Jânio Quadros in 1960 established a commission that elaborated

1683-668: The Southern Cross family will be based on Russia's Angara vehicle and liquid-propellant engines . The first stage of the VLS Gama, Delta and Epsilon rockets was to be powered by a unit based on the RD-191 engine . The second stage, which will be the same for all the Southern Cross rockets, will be driven by an engine based on the Molniya rocket . The third stage will be a solid-propellant booster based on an upgraded version of

1734-580: The Technical Investigation Commission was appointed on August 28, 2003. The investigation involved Russia at the request of the Ministry of Defense, and was answered by sending six technicians from the Russian Aerospace Agency. The families of the victims have even called for an independent investigation, something that the then president Lula has not commented on, but he has announced that he would send

1785-490: The accident two launch attempts: one in 1997, which ended up in the Atlantic Ocean due to the failure of one of the first stage engines to start and another in 1999, destroyed remotely due to a flame penetrating the top of the second stage block 3 minutes after takeoff. Besides being the third flight of the VLS-1, the operation had as objectives the launch of the satellites UNOSAT and SATEC in to orbit; verify

1836-446: The city of Parnamirim , in the state of Rio Grande do Norte . It is primarily used to launch sounding rockets and to support the Alcântara Launch Center. The Brazilian Space Agency has operated a series of sounding rockets. Brazil has forged a cooperative arrangement with Germany to develop a dedicated micro-satellite launch vehicle. As a result, the VLM "Veiculo Lançador de Microsatelites" (Microsatellite Launch Vehicle) based on

1887-519: The computing and communication resources as an ELC Command and Data Handling (C&DH) system with the following major goals: Manifested on ELC-2 was the first ELC-based payload, Materials for ISS Experiment (MISSE-7) . mounted on an ExPA. ELC-1 and ELC-2 were transported to the International Space Station by Space Shuttle Atlantis on mission STS-129 in November 2009. ELC-4 launched on mission STS-133 Discovery on 24 February 2011 and

1938-687: The creation of the Technological Institute of Aeronautics (ITA), a fully qualified institution was formed to train highly qualified human resources in areas of state-of-the-art technology. The DCTA, through the ITA and the Institute of Aeronautics and Space (IAE), play a key role in the consolidation of the Brazilian space program . In the early 1970s, the Brazilian Space Activities Commission (COBAE)

1989-494: The noise of at least one booster running and several loud bangs. Due to the scale of the event, the dead were identified through a roll call and the remains were identified and sent to the IML on August 23, 2003. On the same day, the base was reopened to the press. At the same time that the accident occurred, the president of AEB Luiz Bevilacqua, was giving a press conference about the agreement signed between Brazil and Ukraine for

2040-553: The objective of operating and supervising the Brazilian satellites. The Bingo radio telescope called Baryon Acoustic Oscillations from Integrated Neutral Gas Observations , is a project coordinated by the Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation , Brazilian Space Agency, National Institute for Space Research (INPE) and international partners from Europe and China. The telescope will consist of two giant dishes, with 40 meters of diameter each, which will receive radiation from

2091-656: The program in 2015. On November 8, 2010, National Institute for Space Research (INPE) and Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) signed a Letter of Intent regarding the Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation in Developing Countries (REDD+) program. Examples of the cooperation include the monitoring of illegal logging in the Amazon rainforest utilizing data from JAXA's ALOS satellite. Both Brazil and Japan are members of

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2142-472: The satellite constellation. Brazilian rocket explosion The 2003 Alcântara VLS accident was an accident during the Brazilian Space Agency 's third attempt to launch the VLS-1 rocket, which was intended to launch two satellites into orbit. The rocket ignited on its launch pad at the Alcântara Launch Center , killing 21 people. It is the fourth deadliest space exploration related disaster in history . The rocket, proposed in 1979 had until

2193-635: The scheduled launch date, at 1:26:06 pm (Brasília time) on August 22, 2003, between frames 26 and 27 recorded by the Closed Circuit TV of the Mobile Integration Tower. An unplanned ignition destroyed the launch vehicle while on the CLA platform. 21 people died due to the ignition of a first stage engine. It took about eight seconds before the tower was enveloped by smoke and gases heated up to 3,000 °C. The mobile tower stood upright for five minutes. Survivors reported

2244-534: The space and project their spectrum in a series of metal detectors, called horns . Bingo will perform its detections in the radio band in the range of 960 to 1260 MHZ. 80% of the Bingo parts came from the Brazilian industry. China and Brazil have successfully cooperated in the field of space. Among the most successful space cooperation projects were the development and launch of earth monitoring satellites. The China–Brazil Earth Resources Satellite program (CBERS)

2295-477: The use of the Alcântara base. Being informed of the accident by journalists, he ironically said, "Only if it's a St. John's rocket". It was identified that the ignition process occurred prematurely, and thus the launch tower was not removed in time, which was the main cause of the fire. The accident considerably delayed the Brazilian space program. The Military Police Inquiry was opened on August 26, 2003, and

2346-483: The vehicle failed to launch, with the 3rd exploding on the launch pad in 2003 resulting in the deaths of 21 AEB personnel. The VLS-1 V4 prototype was expected a launch in 2013. After subsequent delays, the project was cancelled in 2016. The Brazilian Space Agency was developing a new family of launch vehicles in cooperation with the Russian Federal Space Agency . The five rockets of

2397-516: Was created - a body linked to the then General Staff of the Armed Forces (EMFA) - to coordinate and monitor the implementation of the space program. This coordinating role, in February 1994, was transferred to the Brazilian Space Agency. The creation of the AEB represents a change in government orientation by establishing a central coordinating body for the space program , reporting directly to

2448-445: Was installed on the station on 27 February. ELC-3 launched on mission STS-134 Endeavour on 16 May 2011 and was installed on the station on 18 May. The Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer occupies the mounting location intended for ELC-5 on the ISS truss. Source: ELC-1 is located on the P3 truss at the UCCAS-2 (nadir, earth facing) site. ELC-1 weighs approx. 13,840 lbs. A FRAM is a Flight Releasable Attachment Mechanism . ELC-2

2499-444: Was planning to allocate $ 1 billion dollars for the project over six years. It has already set aside $ 650 million for the construction of five launch pads able to handle up to 12 launches per year. The program was scheduled to be completed by 2022. However, it was cancelled by Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff. Instead, Brazil will focus on a series of smaller launch vehicles that appear to rely more on home-grown technology. Brazil

2550-400: Was replaced in April 1971 by the Institute for Space Research, currently called the National Institute for Space Research (INPE). Since the creation of the then Technical Center of Aeronautics (CTA), the current Department of Aerospace Science and Technology (DCTA) of the Brazilian Air Force , in 1946, the country has been following the international progress in the aerospace sector. With

2601-438: Was the Brazilian Space Agency's main satellite launch vehicle. It is a four-stage rocket composed of a core and four strap-on motors. The vehicle's first stage has four solid fuel motors derived from the Sonda sounding rockets . It is intended to deploy 100 to 380 kg satellites into 200 to 1200 km orbit , or to deploy 75 to 275 kg payloads into 200 to 1000 km polar orbit . The first 3 prototypes for

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