MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Brazil successfully completes first phase of Operation Potiguar

The second phase of Operation Potiguar is scheduled for the second half of 2025

Brazil's Air Force confirmed Friday the successful launch of an unmanned rocket into space. The unit was built with 100% national technology, it was also explained at the Barreira do Inferno Center in Parnamirim, in the State of Rio Grande do Norte.

The VS-30 suborbital sounding rocket took off at 13:19 and remained in space for 2 minutes and 50 seconds before landing in the Atlantic Ocean. The entire mission lasted 5 minutes and 50 seconds and ended the first phase of Operation Potiguar.

The Brazilian-built spacecraft is about eight meters long and weighs 1.5 tons at liftoff. It can carry up to 330 kilograms. Friday's flight was filled with more than 1,000 letters from public school students.

Although suborbital vehicles cannot enter orbit, they can reach altitudes above the atmosphere. They are used in scientific and technological experiments of interest to various industries, such as pharmaceuticals, metallurgy, food, and cosmetics.

The purpose of the launch was to train the team, as well as to test equipment and processes. According to the FAB, the rocket followed the trajectory as planned, and the telemetry and radar response systems functioned correctly throughout the flight.

The initiative seeks to generate greater Brazilian autonomy in launching events of this type of vehicle, Department of Aerospace Science and Technology (DCTA) Director Brigadier Maurício Augusto Silveira de Medeiros explained.

In the second phase of Operation Potiguar, scheduled for the second half of 2025, another rocket of the same model will be used to qualify the recovery system for the upper part of the vehicle, known as the microgravity suborbital platform (PSM).

(Source. Xinhua)