Alcântara Launch Center
- 2.3730555555556 - 44.396388888889Koordinaten: 2 ° 22 ' 23 " S, 44 ° 23' 47 " W
The Centro de Lançamento de Alcântara (CLA ) is a Brazilian rocket launch site on the Atlantic coast at Alcântara in the state of Maranhão. It is the closest to the equator starting place worldwide.
Location
The construction of a new launch site was necessary because the previous place Barreira do Inferno was to Natal in a densely populated area.
The choice fell on a peninsula at São Luís, the capital of the state of Maranhão. The site was easily accessible both to air and to water and allowed offs with different orbital inclinations. The proximity to the equator saves fuel, because the Earth's rotation can be fully exploited offs to the east.
Facilities
The Spaceport occupies 620 square kilometers. On the site there are two launch pads: one for suborbital missions up to 10 t -off mass, the other for the launch vehicle VLS -1. A third ramp is for the Ukrainian rocket Tsiklon -4 under construction. In addition, located on the premises and facilities for the preparation of payloads, a weather station and a satellite ground station.
Construction and operation
Construction began in 1982 and cost the equivalent of 470 million U.S. dollars. The facility was officially opened on 21 February 1990 with the launch of a sounding rocket of the type Sonda.
Have taken place since start of types 2 and Sonda Sonda 3, VS -40, VS -30 and VSB 30th In collaboration with NASA rockets of the types Viper Sphere, Nike Orion, Black Brant, Nike Tomahawk and Improved Orion were started.
Total so far made over 50 launches of suborbital rockets. Two orbital launch attempts of the Brazilian VLS -1 rocket failed in the first phases of flight, so that there was not a successful satellite launch of Alcântara.
Accident
Main article: Brazilian rocket explosion
On August 22, 2003 there was an accident in which a VLS -1 rocket, which was already on the launch pad and three days later, two satellites should bring into space exploded when the solid thrusters firing too early. In the explosion, 21 people were killed, and a bush fire was triggered. The smoke and the explosion bang were to São Luís perceptible. This accident was a major setback to the efforts of the Agência Brasileira Espacial in the development of its own missile type with solid fuel.
Cooperation with Ukraine
In the coming years it is planned to use Ukrainian Tsiklon 4 rockets from Alcântara for commercial satellite launches. For this, the bi-national organization Alcantara Cyclone Space (ACS ) was founded. The foundation stone for the new launch pad on 9 September 2010. The first launch of a cyclone of Alcantara to take place in 2014.
Resettlement of the population
The population in the vicinity of the launch area consists mainly of descendants of African slaves and live in villages, the so-called Quilombos. For the construction of the rocket center, the Brazilian government expropriated 503 families. 312 families were resettled from 1986 into seven newly built villages where they their previous lifestyle could not continue, however, because they lived too far away from the sea and the arable land was not fertile enough. This destroyed the economic, family, cultural and religious habits of the population. Sufferers have now established organizations to support their demands for adequate compensation and to avoid re- expropriation in the extension of the start site.
Others
According to the Brazilian space agency AEB, it is possible to visit the space station, but you have to register in advance for long enough.