The Brazilian Space Agency (; AEB) is the civilian authority in

Brazil Brazil, officially the Federative Republic of Brazil, is the largest country in South America. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by area, fifth-largest country by area and the List of countries and dependencies by population ...

responsible for the country's

space program A space program is an organized effort by a government or a company with a goal related to outer space. Lists of space programs include: * List of government space agencies * List of private spaceflight companies * List of human spaceflight prog ...

. It operates a

spaceport A spaceport or cosmodrome is a site for launching or receiving spacecraft, by analogy to a seaport for ships or an airport for aircraft. The word ''spaceport''—and even more so ''cosmodrome''—has traditionally referred to sites capable of ...

at Alcântara, and a

rocket launch site This article constitutes a list of rocket launch sites. Some of these sites are known as spaceports or cosmodromes. A single rocket launch is sufficient for inclusion in the table, as long as the site is properly documented through a reference. M ...

at Barreira do Inferno. It is the largest and most prominent space agency in

Latin America Latin America is the cultural region of the Americas where Romance languages are predominantly spoken, primarily Spanish language, Spanish and Portuguese language, Portuguese. Latin America is defined according to cultural identity, not geogr ...

. 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 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 The International Space Station (ISS) is a large space station that was Assembly of the International Space Station, assembled and is maintained in low Earth orbit by a collaboration of five space agencies and their contractors: NASA (United ...

, and in 2006, AEB astronaut

Marcos Pontes Marcos Cesar Pontes (born 11 March 1963) is a Brazilian Air Force pilot, engineer, Agência Espacial Brasileira, AEB astronaut, politician and author. He became the first South American and the first Lusophone to go into space when he docked ont ...

became the first Brazilian and the first native Portuguese-speaker to go into space, when he arrived at 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 The Artemis Accords are a series of non-binding multilateral arrangements between the United States government and other world governments that elaborates on the norms expected to be followed in outer space. The Accords are related to the Artem ...

to the joint exploration of the

Moon The Moon is Earth's only natural satellite. It Orbit of the Moon, orbits around Earth at Lunar distance, an average distance of (; about 30 times Earth diameter, Earth's diameter). The Moon rotation, rotates, with a rotation period (lunar ...

and

Mars Mars is the fourth planet from the Sun. It is also known as the "Red Planet", because of its orange-red appearance. Mars is a desert-like rocky planet with a tenuous carbon dioxide () atmosphere. At the average surface level the atmosph ...

from 2024 as part of the

Artemis program The Artemis program is a Exploration of the Moon, Moon exploration program led by the United States' National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), formally established in 2017 via Space Policy Directive 1. The program's stated long-ter ...

History

The then president

Jânio Quadros Jânio da Silva Quadros (; 25 January 1917 – 16 February 1992) was a Brazilian lawyer and politician who served as the 22nd president of Brazil from 31 January to 25 August 1961, when he resigned from office. He also served as the 24th a ...

in 1960 established a commission that elaborated 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 São José dos Campos (, meaning Saint Joseph of the Fields) is a major city and the seat of the Municipalities of Brazil, municipality of the same name in the state of São Paulo (state), São Paulo, Brazil. One of the leading industrial and res ...

, in the state of

São Paulo São Paulo (; ; Portuguese for 'Paul the Apostle, Saint Paul') is the capital of the São Paulo (state), state of São Paulo, as well as the List of cities in Brazil by population, most populous city in Brazil, the List of largest cities in the ...

. Its researchers participated in international projects in the areas of

astronomy Astronomy is a natural science that studies celestial objects and the phenomena that occur in the cosmos. It uses mathematics, physics, and chemistry in order to explain their origin and their overall evolution. Objects of interest includ ...

geodesy Geodesy or geodetics is the science of measuring and representing the Figure of the Earth, geometry, Gravity of Earth, gravity, and Earth's rotation, spatial orientation of the Earth in Relative change, temporally varying Three-dimensional spac ...

, geomagnetism, and

meteorology Meteorology is the scientific study of the Earth's atmosphere and short-term atmospheric phenomena (i.e. weather), with a focus on weather forecasting. It has applications in the military, aviation, energy production, transport, agricultur ...

. The GOCNAE was replaced in April 1971 by the Institute for Space Research, currently called the

National Institute for Space Research The National Institute for Space Research (, INPE) is a research unit of the Brazilian Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation (Brazil), Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovations, the main goals of which are fostering scientific r ...

(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 The Brazilian Air Force (, FAB) is the air branch of the Brazilian Armed Forces and one of the three national uniformed services. The FAB was formed when the Brazilian Brazilian Army Aviation (1919–1941), Army and Brazilian Naval Aviation, Nav ...

, in 1946, the country has been following the international progress in the aerospace sector. With 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 The Brazilian space program is the rocketry and space exploration programs conducted by Brazil from 1961, under GOCNAE (Group for the Organization of the National Commission on Space Activities) until the creation of the Brazilian Space Agency ...

. In the early 1970s, the Brazilian Space Activities Commission (COBAE) 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

, reporting directly to the Presidency of the Republic. In 2011,

Argentina Argentina, officially the Argentine Republic, is a country in the southern half of South America. It covers an area of , making it the List of South American countries by area, second-largest country in South America after Brazil, the fourt ...

's defense minister, Arturo Puricelli, made a proposal to the Brazilian minister,

Celso Amorim Celso Luiz Nunes Amorim (born 3 June 1942) is a Brazilian diplomat who served as Minister of Foreign Affairs from 20 July 1993 to 31 December 1994 under President Itamar Franco and again from 1 January 2003 to 31 December 2010 under President ...

, for the creation of a unified South American space agency by the year 2025, according to the

European Space Agency The European Space Agency (ESA) is a 23-member International organization, international organization devoted to space exploration. With its headquarters in Paris and a staff of around 2,547 people globally as of 2023, ESA was founded in 1975 ...

. 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 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:

Launch sites

Alcântara Space Center

The Alcântara Launch Center (; CLA) is the main launch site and operational center of the Brazilian Space Agency.Centros de Lançamentos: CLA
Brazilian Space Agency. Retrieved on 2009-07-30. It is located in the peninsula of Alcântara, in the state of

Maranhão Maranhão () is a States of Brazil, state in Brazil. Located in the country's Northeast Region, Brazil, Northeast Region, it has a population of about 7 million and an area of and it is divided into 217 municipalities. Clockwise from north, it ...

.Alcantara Launch Center (2°20'S; 44°24'W)
GlobalSecurity.org. Retrieved on 2009-07-30. This region presents some excellent requirements, such as low

population density Population density (in agriculture: Standing stock (disambiguation), standing stock or plant density) is a measurement of population per unit land area. It is mostly applied to humans, but sometimes to other living organisms too. It is a key geog ...

, excellent security conditions and easiness of aerial and maritime access. The most important factor is its closeness to the

Equator The equator is the circle of latitude that divides Earth into the Northern Hemisphere, Northern and Southern Hemisphere, Southern Hemispheres of Earth, hemispheres. It is an imaginary line located at 0 degrees latitude, about in circumferen ...

- Alcântara is the closest launching base to the Equator. This gives the launch site a significant advantage in launching geosynchronous satellites.

Barreira do Inferno Launch Center

The Barreira do Inferno Launch Center (; CLBI) is a rocket launch base of the Brazilian Space Agency. It is located in the city of Parnamirim, in the state of

Rio Grande do Norte Rio Grande do Norte (, , ) is one of the states of Brazil. It is located in the northeastern region of the country, forming the northeasternmost tip of the South American continent. The name literally translates as "Great Northern River", refe ...

. It is primarily used to launch

sounding rocket A sounding rocket or rocketsonde, sometimes called a research rocket or a suborbital rocket, is an instrument-carrying rocket designed to take measurements and perform scientific experiments during its sub-orbital flight. The rockets are often ...

s and to support the Alcântara Launch Center.

Launch vehicles

Sounding rockets

The Brazilian Space Agency has operated a series of sounding rockets. * Sonda I * Sonda II * Sonda III * Sonda IV * VSB-30 *

VS-30 The VS-30 is a Brazilian sounding rocket, developed by the ''Instituto de Aeronáutica e Espaço'' and derived from the Sonda 3 sounding rocket first stage.

VS-40 The VS-40 (''Foguete Suborbital VS-40'') is a Brazilian sounding rocket using solid fuel and stabilized aerodynamically. The original version, VS-40, uses the S-40TM (4,200 kg) first stage engine and the S-44M (810 kg) second stage eng ...

* VS-50 (projected, will use the new S-50 rocket engine)

VLM

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 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 Alcântara Space Center (, CEA), former known as ''Alcântara Launch Center'' (,) is a space center and launching facility of the Brazilian Space Agency in the city of Alcântara, Maranhão, Alcântara, located on Brazil's northern Atlantic ...

. 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).

VLS

The VLS - Satellite Launch Vehicle () 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.VLS (Brazilian rocket)
The Internet Encyclopedia of Science. Retrieved on 2009-07-29. The vehicle's first stage has four

solid fuel Solid fuel refers to various forms of solid material that can be burnt to release energy, providing heat and light through the process of combustion. Solid fuels can be contrasted with liquid fuels and gaseous fuels. Common examples of solid fu ...

motors derived from the Sonda

s. It is intended to deploy 100 to 380 kg

satellite A satellite or an artificial satellite is an object, typically a spacecraft, placed into orbit around a celestial body. They have a variety of uses, including communication relay, weather forecasting, navigation ( GPS), broadcasting, scient ...

s into 200 to 1200 km

orbit In celestial mechanics, an orbit (also known as orbital revolution) is the curved trajectory of an object such as the trajectory of a planet around a star, or of a natural satellite around a planet, or of an artificial satellite around an ...

, or to deploy 75 to 275 kg payloads into 200 to 1000 km

polar orbit A polar orbit is one in which a satellite passes above or nearly above both poles of the body being orbited (usually a planet such as the Earth, but possibly another body such as the Moon or Sun) on each revolution. It has an inclination of abo ...

. The first 3 prototypes for 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.''Saiba como está o projeto Veículo Lançador de Satélite (VLS)''
Brazilian Air Force. Retrieved on 2012-03-06. . After subsequent delays, the project was cancelled in 2016.

Southern Cross program

The Brazilian Space Agency was developing a new family of

launch vehicle A launch vehicle is typically a rocket-powered vehicle designed to carry a payload (a crewed spacecraft or satellites) from Earth's surface or lower atmosphere to outer space. The most common form is the ballistic missile-shaped multistage ...

s in cooperation with the

Russian Federal Space Agency The State Corporation for Space Activities "Roscosmos", commonly known simply as Roscosmos (), is a state corporation of the Russian Federation responsible for space flights, cosmonautics programs, and aerospace research. Originating from ...

.Russia Begins Elbowing Ukraine Out From Brazil's Space Program
SpaceDaily.com. Retrieved on 2009-07-29. The five rockets of 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 the

VLS-1 The ''VLS-1'' () was the Brazilian Space Agency's main satellite launch vehicle. The launch vehicle would have been capable of launching satellites into orbit. The launch site was located at the Alcântara Launch Center due to its proximity to th ...

. The program was named "Southern Cross" in reference to the

Crux CRUX is a lightweight x86-64 Linux distribution targeted at experienced Linux users and delivered by a tar.gz-based package system with BSD-style initscripts. It is not based on any other Linux distribution. It also utilizes a ports system ...

constellation, present on the

flag of Brazil The national flag of Brazil is a blue disc depicting a starry sky (which includes the Crux, Southern Cross) spanned by a curved band inscribed with the List of national mottos, national motto ('Order and Progress'), within a yellow rhombus, on ...

and composed of five stars.Programa de Veículos Lançadoeres de Satélites Cruzeiro do Sul
Brazilian General Command for Aerospace Technology. Retrieved on 2009-07-29. Hence the names of the future launch vehicles: *VLS Alfa (light-weight rocket) 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. *VLS Beta (light-weight rocket) Consisting of three stages without auxiliary thrusters. The first stage 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. *VLS Gama (light-weight rocket) 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. *VLS Delta (medium-weight rocket) The VLS Delta launcher 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 A geostationary orbit, also referred to as a geosynchronous equatorial orbit''Geostationary orbit'' and ''Geosynchronous (equatorial) orbit'' are used somewhat interchangeably in sources. (GEO), is a circular orbit, circular geosynchronous or ...

is 2 tons. *VLS Epsilon (heavy-weight rocket) 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

, if it is launched from Alcântara. The

Brazilian government The politics of Brazil take place in a framework of a federal presidential representative democratic republic, whereby the President is both head of state and head of government, and of a multi-party system. The political and administrative ...

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.

14-X

Brazil is also investing in the domain of the hypersonic technology. The 14-X, a hypersonic glide vehicle (HGV) under development with the

, 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.

Engines

A number of different engines were developed for usage on the several launch vehicles: * S-10-1 solid rocket engine. Used on Sonda 1. Thrust: 27 kN. * S-10-2 solid rocket engine. Used on Sonda 1. Thrust: 4.20 kN, burn time: 32 s. * S-20 Avibras solid rocket engine. Used on Sonda 2 and

Sonda 3 Sonda ("Probe" in English) is a family of Brazilian-built sounding rockets which serves as an R&D path to the VLS () orbital rocket. Launches started in 1965 and continue to this day. Launch sites include Wallops Island, Andoya, Kiruna, Nat ...

. Thrust:36 kN * S-23 Avibrassolid rocket engine. Used on Sonda 3M1. Thrust:18 kN * S-30 IAE solid rocket engine. Used on Sonda 3, Sonda 3M1,

Sonda 4 Sonda ("Probe" in English) is a family of Brazilian-built sounding rockets which serves as an Research and development, R&D path to the VLS-1, VLS () Orbital spaceflight, orbital rocket. Launches started in 1965 and continue to this day. Launch ...

VS-30 The VS-30 is a Brazilian sounding rocket, developed by the ''Instituto de Aeronáutica e Espaço'' and derived from the Sonda 3 sounding rocket first stage.

, VS-30/Orion and VSB-30. Thrust: 20.490 kN * S-31 IAE solid rocket engine. Used on VSB-30. Thrust: 240 kN * S-40TM IAE solid rocket engine. Used on VLS-R1,

and VLM-1. Thrust: 208.4 kN, isp=272s. * S-43 IAE solid rocket engine. Used on Sonda 4, VLS-R1 and VLS-1. Thrust: 303 kN, isp=265s * S-43TM IAE solid rocket engine. Used on VLS-R1, VLS-1 and VLM. Thrust: 321.7 kN, isp=276s * S-44 IAE solid rocket engine. Used on VLS-R1, VS-40, VLS-1 and VLM-1. Thrust:33.24 kN, isp=282s * L5 (Estágio Líquido Propulsivo (EPL)) liquid fuel rocket engine. Tested on

VS-30 The VS-30 is a Brazilian sounding rocket, developed by the ''Instituto de Aeronáutica e Espaço'' and derived from the Sonda 3 sounding rocket first stage.

and projected for use on VLS-Alfa. * L15 liquid fuel rocket engine. Projected for use on VS-15. Thrust: 15 kN * L75 liquid fuel rocket engine, similar to the Russian RD-0109. Projected for use on VLS-Alfa, VLS-Beta, VLS-Omega, VLS-Gama and VLS-Epsilon. Thrust: 75 kN * S-50 IAE solid rocket engine. Projected for use on VLM-1 and VS-50. * L1500 liquid fuel rocket engine. Used on VLS-Beta, VLS-Omega, VLS-Gama and VLS-Epsilon. Thrust: 1500 kN

Satellites

The Brazilian Space Agency has several active

s in orbit including

imagery intelligence Imagery intelligence (IMINT), pronounced as either as ''Im-Int'' or ''I-Mint'', is an intelligence gathering discipline wherein imagery is analyzed (or "exploited") to identify information of intelligence value. Imagery used for defense intell ...

military communications Military communications or military signals involve all aspects of communications, or conveyance of information, by armed forces. Examples from '' Jane's Military Communications'' include text, audio, facsimile, tactical ground-based communica ...

reconnaissance In military operations, military reconnaissance () or scouting is the exploration of an area by military forces to obtain information about enemy forces, the terrain, and civil activities in the area of operations. In military jargon, reconnai ...

and

Earth observation Earth observation (EO) is the gathering of information about the physical, chemical, and biosphere, biological systems of the planet Earth. It can be performed via remote sensing, remote-sensing technologies (Earth observation satellites) or throu ...

satellites. Several others are currently in development.

Human spaceflight

, a lieutenant colonel in the

, is an

astronaut An astronaut (from the Ancient Greek (), meaning 'star', and (), meaning 'sailor') is a person trained, equipped, and deployed by a List of human spaceflight programs, human spaceflight program to serve as a commander or crew member of a spa ...

of the Brazilian Space Agency.AEB: Human Spaceflight
GlobalSecurity.org. Retrieved on 2011-01-17. Pontes was the first Brazilian astronaut,
NASA. Retrieved on 2011-01-17. having launched with the Expedition 13 crew from the

Baikonur Cosmodrome The Baikonur Cosmodrome is a spaceport operated by Russia within Kazakhstan. Located in the Kazakh city of Baikonur, it is the largest operational space launch facility in terms of area. All Russian Human spaceflight, crewed spaceflights are l ...

Kazakhstan Kazakhstan, officially the Republic of Kazakhstan, is a landlocked country primarily in Central Asia, with a European Kazakhstan, small portion in Eastern Europe. It borders Russia to the Kazakhstan–Russia border, north and west, China to th ...

on March 29, 2006, aboard a Soyuz-TMA spacecraft. Pontes docked with the

(ISS) on March 31, 2006, where he lived and worked for 9 days. Pontes returned to Earth with the Expedition 12 crew, landing in Kazakhstan on April 8, 2006. In January 2019, Pontes was nominated by the Brazilian President

Jair Bolsonaro Jair Messias Bolsonaro (; born 21 March 1955) is a Brazilian politician and former military officer who served as the 38th president of Brazil from 2019 to 2023. He previously served as a member of Brazil's Chamber of Deputies (Brazil), Chamb ...

as Minister of Science, Technology, Innovation and Communication, a position he held until 2022.

Brazilian aerospace command

The Aerospace Operations Command ( - COMAE) is a Brazilian air and space command created in 2017 which is part of the

. The command is responsible for planning, coordinating, executing and controlling the country's air and space operations. The

Brazilian Navy The Brazilian Navy () is the navy, naval service branch of the Brazilian Armed Forces, responsible for conducting naval warfare, naval operations. The navy was involved in War of Independence of Brazil#Naval action, Brazil's war of independence ...

and

Brazilian Army The Brazilian Army (; EB) is the branch of the Brazilian Armed Forces responsible, externally, for defending the country in eminently terrestrial operations and, internally, for guaranteeing law, order and the constitutional branches, subordina ...

also are part of the organization.

Space operations center

The Space Operations Center (Portuguese: ''Centro de Operações Espaciais'', acronym COPE) is a facility established in 2020 subordinated to the Aerospace Operations Command, with the objective of operating and supervising the Brazilian satellites.

Bingo radio telescope

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 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.

International cooperation

China/CBERS

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) is a technological cooperation program between Brazil and China which develops and operates

Earth observation satellite An Earth observation satellite or Earth remote sensing satellite is a satellite used or designed for Earth observation (EO) from orbit, including spy satellites and similar ones intended for non-military uses such as environmental monitoring, me ...

s. 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 is a unique example of South-South cooperation between two developing countries in the field of space.

International Space Station

The Brazilian Space Agency is a bilateral partner of

NASA The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA ) is an independent agencies of the United States government, independent agency of the federal government of the United States, US federal government responsible for the United States ...

in the

.NASA Signs International Space Station Agreement With Brazil

. Retrieved on 2011-01-17. 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 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 Embraer S.A. () is a Brazilian multinational aerospace corporation. It develops and manufactures aircraft and aviation systems, and provides leasing, equipment, and technical support services. Embraer is the third largest producer of civil air ...

was unable to provide the promised ExPrESS pallet, and Brazil left the programme in 2007. However, as a compromise, NASA have funded small Brazilian-made components for the Express Logistics Carrier-2 for the ISS, which were installed in 2009.

Ukraine/Ciclone 4

On October 21, 2003, the Brazilian Space Agency and the State Space Agency of Ukraine established a cooperation agreement creating a

joint venture A joint venture (JV) is a business entity created by two or more parties, generally characterized by shared ownership, shared returns and risks, and shared governance. Companies typically pursue joint ventures for one of four reasons: to acce ...

space enterprise called Alcântara Cyclone Space. The new company will focus on launching

s from the Alcântara Launch Center using the

Tsyklon-4 The Tsyklon-4, also known as Tsiklon-4 and Cyclone-4, was a Ukrainian carrier rocket which was being developed for commercial satellite launches. Derived from the Tsyklon-3, it had a new third stage, a larger payload fairing, and a modernised fl ...

rocket. The company will invest $160 million dollars in infrastructure for the new

launch pad A launch pad is an above-ground facility from which a rocket-powered missile or space vehicle is vertically launched. The term ''launch pad'' can be used to describe just the central launch platform (mobile launcher platform), or the entire c ...

that will be constructed at the Alcântara Launch Center. In March 2009, the Brazilian Government increased its

financial capital Financial capital (also simply known as capital or equity in finance, accounting and economics) is any Economic resources, economic resource measured in terms of money used by entrepreneurs and businesses to buy what they need to make their prod ...

US$ The United States dollar (Currency symbol, symbol: Dollar sign, $; ISO 4217, currency code: USD) is the official currency of the United States and International use of the U.S. dollar, several other countries. The Coinage Act of 1792 introdu ...

50 million. The first launch was planned for 2014 from the Alcantara Launch Center. Brazil pulled out of the program in 2015.

Japan

On November 8, 2010,

(INPE) and

Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency The is the Japanese national Aeronautics, air and space agency. Through the merger of three previously independent organizations, JAXA was formed on 1 October 2003. JAXA is responsible for research, technology development and launch of satell ...

(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 Illegal logging is the harvest, transportation, purchase, or sale of timber in violation of laws. The harvesting procedure itself may be illegal, including using corrupt means to gain access to forests; extraction without permission, or from a p ...

in the

Amazon rainforest The Amazon rainforest, also called the Amazon jungle or Amazonia, is a Tropical and subtropical moist broadleaf forests, moist broadleaf tropical rainforest in the Amazon biome that covers most of the Amazon basin of South America. This basin ...

utilizing data from JAXA's

ALOS Advanced Land Observing Satellite (ALOS), also called Daichi (a Japanese word meaning "land"), was a 3810 kg Japanese satellite launched in 2006. After five years of service, the satellite lost power and ceased communication with Earth, b ...

satellite. Both Brazil and Japan are members of the

Global Precipitation Measurement Global Precipitation Measurement (GPM) is a joint satellite mission between JAXA and NASA as well as other international space agencies to make frequent (every 2–3 hours) observations of Earth's precipitation from orbit. It is part of NASA's E ...

project.

Artemis program

On 21 October 2020, Brazil was invited by the United States to join

's Artemis Space Program. On 15 June 2021, the country officially joined the program by signing the

with the U.S. and international partners, for the joint exploration of the

from 2024 and

and beyond in 2030s. The roles of Brazil include the development of a national lunar robot for the use in the future missions.

BRICS satellite constellation

On 18 August 2021, AEB signed cooperation agreements with space agencies of

BRICS BRICS is an intergovernmental organization comprising ten countriesBrazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa, Egypt, Ethiopia, Indonesia, Iran and the United Arab Emirates. The idea of a BRICS-like group can be traced back to Russian foreign ...

(Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa), to the joint-development of a

remote sensing Remote sensing is the acquisition of information about an physical object, object or phenomenon without making physical contact with the object, in contrast to in situ or on-site observation. The term is applied especially to acquiring inform ...

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 the satellite constellation.

References

External links

Official site in Portuguese

AEB on Twitter

{{authority control Space agencies Scientific organisations based in Brazil Government agencies of Brazil 1994 establishments in Brazil Organisations based in Brasília

History

Launch sites

Alcântara Space Center

Barreira do Inferno Launch Center

Launch vehicles

Sounding rockets

VLM

VLS

Southern Cross program

14-X

Engines

Satellites

Human spaceflight

Brazilian aerospace command

Space operations center

Bingo radio telescope

International cooperation

China/CBERS

International Space Station

Ukraine/Ciclone 4

Japan

Artemis program

BRICS satellite constellation

See also

References

External links