Brazilian Alcântara Rocket Launching Center: first launch of a private rocket

The Centro de Lançamento de Alcântara (CLA) in the Brazilian State of Maranhão (northeast) is preparing to launch its first commercial rocket.

South Korean start-up Innospace’s HANBIT-TLV, scheduled for Dec. 16-21, will be the first company to launch a private rocket on the base.

The launch is seen as a step towards achieving a goal announced by the Brazilian Space Agency (AEB): to make the location attractive to companies in the sector.

The launch of Innospace is seen as an opportunity for CLA and AEB to demonstrate their ability to meet the needs of the so-called New Space, the part of the aerospace market dedicated to small satellites.

The idea is that from this first launch, several more will follow. An example of this is the Canadian C6, whose market launch is already planned for the middle of next year. And there are others that are being negotiated.

The rocket is scheduled to take off in the next few days, but the date could be delayed due to meteorological changes, according to AEB.

By the middle of this year, the American Hyperion Rocket had taken Innospace’s place in negotiations to use the base, but, according to Moura, abandoned the venture after encountering business problems in the United States.

The agreement with the South Korean company was signed in September this year. In 2021, the Ministry of Science and Aeronautics announced four foreign companies selected for the Alcântara site. Of these first applicants, only one has already signed a contract.

Virgin, owned by billionaire Richard Branson, is still in the negotiation phase, as is Orion AST, which plans to start from the base in October 2023. Besides Innospace, only C6 Lauch has signed a deal with AEB to start operations mid next year.

The result of a technology agreement between the Brazilian Air Force (FAB) and the South Korean company, Innospace’s first launch will be a test in which the rocket will fail to reach orbit.

The aim is to test the engine of the first stage of the HANBIT-Nano satellite launch vehicle. This first flight is to be followed by more in the coming months as the South Korean project progresses.

Although this is the first rocket launch by a private company, the contract between CLA and Innospace is not of a commercial nature, but is for technological and scientific cooperation.

In return for using the launch pad, HANBIT-TLV will carry a navigation system developed by the FAB’s Department of Aerospace Science and Technology.