Brazil successfully launches its first rocket manufactured 100 % in the country

Brazil successfully launched its first rocket manufactured entirely in the country, which will facilitate research in a microgravity environment and the development of new technologies, informed today the Brazilian Air Force (FAB).

The VSB-30 rocket was launched last Sunday, Oct. 23, from the Alcântara Space Center, in the state of Maranhão (northeast).

The rocket carries on board the Microgravity Suborbital Platform Qualification Model (MQ-PSM), which will be used in scientific research.

The following steps involve an analysis of the results of the experiments.

This is the first 100 percent Brazilian-produced rocket and belongs to the Probe family, with solid propulsion stages, rotationally stabilized, and capable of carrying loads of up to 400 kilograms at altitudes of around 270 kilometers.

The launch is part of Operation Santa Branca, which aims for the country to offer companies and research institutes the possibility of experiments in microgravity.

“Brazil will now be able to autonomously provide experimental services in a microgravity environment, using the Alcântara Space Center (CEA), the VSB-30, and the PSM.

We will also open a market for the Brazilian space industry, for entrepreneurs, and Science and Technology Institutions”, explained the president of the Brazilian Space Agency (AEB), Carlos Moura.

The first launch of the VSB-30 in Brazil took place in October 2004.

The Institute of Aeronautics and Space developed the rocket in partnership with the German Aerospace Center.

To date, 33 rockets of the same type have been launched, five in Brazil and 28 abroad.

A set of instruments for flight performance evaluation and the Multi-user Oven experiment, developed by the National Institute for Space Research (INPE), were loaded on the Microgravity Suborbital Platform (PSM).