MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Brazil Back in Space

A test rocket which Brazil successfully launched on Saturday provided reassurance to the country's space programme 14 months after a more powerful one exploded before lift-off killing 21 people.

The launch at the heavily guarded jungle base of Alcántara in the north-eastern Amazon region revives Brazil's ambition to become Latin America's first space power. The two-stage VSB-30 prototype flew for seven minutes to an altitude of about 100 kilometres above the earth.

"Brazil has launched an experimental rocket to carry out gravity research," a Brazilian Space Agency spokeswoman said. "It was a complete success."

It was less ambitious than last year's third unsuccessful space launch which attempted to put two satellites into low orbit at a 750-km altitude.

A report by an independent commission in March blamed a rocket engine that ignited by mistake causing an explosion which destroyed the launch platform.

Rockets launched by Brazil in 1997 and 1999 were destroyed shortly after lift-off because of technical problems.

Brazil hopes Saturday's successful launch will help its efforts to sell VSB-30 rockets to the European Space Agency.

Brazil's space agency said it plans to launch the first two operational VSB-30 flights in November 2005 and May 2006 to conduct European experiments at altitudes of up to 250 kilometres.

It also hopes to deploy a satellite launch vehicle by the end of 2006 and to turn its Alcantára space base into an international commercial satellite launch centre.

The base is close to the equator, allowing rockets to use less fuel to reach orbit and carry larger payloads because they can ride on the Earth's centrifugal forces.

The commercial satellite launch market is expected to be worth 30 billion dollars. The United States has 80 percent of the market, while China and Europe have growing stakes.