Brazil Succeeds in Sending First Rocket to Space
Brazil successfully launched its first rocket into space Saturday, 14 months after a devastating accident that killed 21 space agency employees and damaged the reputation of the country’s space program.
The two-stage rocket was launched from the Alcantara site in Maranhao state, about 1,400 miles north of Rio de Janeiro, said officials with the Brazilian Air Force’s Research and Development Department.
Brazil hopes that the success will allow it to follow through on plans to sell up to 15 of the rockets to the European Space Agency.
In August 2003, another rocket, carrying two research satellites, exploded on the launch platform three days before its scheduled takeoff.
A report on the disaster found that an electrical flaw triggered one of the rocket’s four solid fuel boosters during final preparations at the seaside launch pad.
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