Alcântara Space Center


The Alcântara Space Center, formerly known as Alcântara Launch Center is a space center and launching facility of the Brazilian Space Agency in the city of Alcântara, located on Brazil's northern Atlantic coast, in the state of Maranhão. It is operated by the Brazilian Air Force. The CEA is the closest launching base to the equator. This gives the launch site a significant advantage in launching geosynchronous satellites, an attribute shared by the Guiana Space Centre.
Due to its location, it is well-positioned for geosynchronous launch. As such, several agencies and companies have studied or signed agreements to launch from Alcântara, including Ukraine's Tsyklon-4, Israel's Shavit, Russia's Proton, Virgin Orbit's LauncherOne and Innospace's Hanbit-Nano.
Construction of the base began in 1982. The first launch occurred on February 21, 1990, when the sounding rocket Sonda 2 XV-53 was launched. On August 22, 2003, the explosion of the third VLS-1 killed 21 people.

Construction

Construction of the Alcântara Space Center began in 1982, as the Brazilian Space Agency's existing rocket range at Barreira do Inferno Launch Center was being overtaxed by growing demand for launch capacity. In 2020, the government of Brazil announced their plan to expand the base by more than 12,000 hectares.

Controversies

The construction of the space center was controversial, as the site for the center was located on several quilombos, settlements inhabited largely by descendants of escaped slaves in Brazil. In 1980, Brazil's military government forcibly relocated more than 300 families to inland villages away from the coast to make way for the center. This heavily disrupted their traditional livelihood of fishing and led to multiple cases of malnutrition among the residents.
Human rights concerns over the displacement of locals were reported on during the center's planned expansions in 2001 and 2021, with residents and activists lobbying the government to halt expansions to prevent more communities from being displaced. In 2023, the Brazilian government issued a public apology to the quilombolas and offered reparations.''''''

Public-private partnership

Companies based in Alcântara as of 2021, with the objective of orbital and sub-orbital launches, for commercial purposes or in partnership with the Brazilian government:
  • C6 Launch
  • Hyperion Rocket Systems
  • OrionAST
  • Innospace
As of August 2021, the Brazilian government established Ordinance No. 698, a regulation that follows the FAA 14 CFR part 450 standard, which deals with launch and re-entry licenses in order to follow the world standard in space activities.

Agreement between Brazil and the U.S.

In 2019, Brazil and the U.S. signed an agreement, with the objective of preventing unauthorized access or transfer of U.S. technologies related to the launches from Alcântara.

Structures

  • Engine preparation facilities
  • Payload preparation facilities
  • Liquid-fuel loading facilities
  • Universal launch tower
  • Mobile Integration Tower : 33m × 10m × 13m, 380 metric tons. Used for VLS rocket assembly.
  • Control center.
  • 2600m runway

    List of launchpads

The Alcântara launch pads include:
  • VLS Pad
  • MRL Pad
  • "Universal" pad for rockets up to 10 tons
  • A newly built pad to support Innospace's launches

    Launch list

The list of flights conducted and planned from Alcântara:

Alcântara Space Center (from 2021)

Alcântara Launch Center (1982-2022)