VLS-1 V03

- 2.3730555555556 - 44.39638888888940Koordinaten: 2 ° 22 ' 23 " S, 44 ° 23' 47 " W

On August 22, 2003, a huge explosion destroyed a VLS - 1 rocket of the Brazilian Space Agency, Instituto Nacional de Pesquisas Espaciais ( INPE ) on the launch pad at the Alcântara airbase in northern Brazil. 21 people died when one of the four engines of the rocket accidentally fired and the entire rocket brought an explosion. The explosion caused a fire in the nearby jungle and created a large cloud of smoke that was visible from a long distance. It was the third attempt by the Brazilians to launch a rocket of his own design into orbit.

The explosion leveled a rocket launching pad and destroyed as a ten -story moveable mounting structure that the rocket and the launch table enclosed at the time of the accident. Twenty kilometers away could hear the bang, the inhabitants of the city of São Luís. The rocket should start three days later and had the two satellites SATEC and UNOSAT on board when the explosion occurred.

After the explosion, the Brazilian Space Agency has been criticized because it used solid fuel rockets that are easier to build and ignite a liquid-propellant rocket, but are also riskier because they can not be stopped. The accident and the fact that many scientists and engineers who worked on the program, died in the explosion of the rocket and the following government investigations resulted in a significant delay of the Brazilian space program.