Brazil’s launch facility in Alcantara could loft its first satellite in two years time after agreeing a new timetable with its Ukrainian partner.
Brazilian president Dilma Rousseff agreed to launch a jointly developed rocket in 2014 with her Ukrainian…
Brazil’s launch facility in Alcantara could loft its first satellite in two years time after agreeing a new timetable with its Ukrainian partner.
Brazilian president Dilma Rousseff agreed to launch a jointly developed rocket in 2014 with her Ukrainian counterpart Victor Yanukovich on 19 October, the government office in Brazil confirmed to SatelliteFinance.
Alcantara was reportedly due to launch for the first time next year, but had to pull back because of financial difficulties.
The two countries have been working together since 2003 on developing a launch site in Alcantara, which lies close to the equator.
They established a joint venture in 2006 called Alcantara Cyclone Space (ACS), which aims to use a Ukrainian carrier rocket called Cyclone-4 to launch commercial satellites from the South American country.
According to ACS’ website, its initial investment from each country was US$4.5m, although a treaty signed by both partners required them to increase the venture’s capital to US$105m in total. In 2008 it was decided to increase this further to US$375m. Reports suggest the investment to date stands at US$588m.
The Cyclone-4 rocket, also known as Tsyklon-4, can carry a larger payload than its Cyclone-3 predecessor, which was developed in the 1970s. ACS claims its new rocket will be able to place 5,300kg into low orbit, or 1,600kg into geo-transfer orbit.
