Started 20 years ago, the process of creating a spaceport – a structure that allows the launch and landing of vehicles and space modules, manned or not – is close to being completed in Brazil, informed the president of the Brazilian Space Agency today (14). (AEB), Colonel Carlos Augusto Moura, in an interview with the program The Voice of Brazil.
According to Moura, Brazil has unique characteristics that allow it to operate on several fronts in the aerospace sector. The Alcântara base, located 32 km away from the capital of Maranhão, São Luís, is situated in a privileged geographic location, which generates space fuel savings in launches.
“We have one of the best locations in the world for space launches, both geographically and logistically. Companies, both national and foreign, are interested in taking advantage of these advantages. We expect that in the second half of the year we will have companies operating in what we call Espaçoporto de Alcântara”, said the president.
In addition to logistics, the country has become a producer of monitoring and communication satellites, such as Amazonia-1, released in February last year. Moura also explained that the start of operations at the spaceport will necessarily address opportunities and advances for local communities, which will benefit from the creation of new demands.
“Every spaceport has a power of irradiation, of overflow, of local benefits. Whether in the logistics part, or in the personnel training part. We are sure that the Alcântara spaceport will be the radiator of a new technological hub – both in the region and in São Luís and its surroundings”, he said.
Artemis Program
Created to mark the 55th anniversary of the first manned mission to the Moon, the Artemis program should take the first woman to the Earth’s natural satellite in 2024. Brazil, which is a partner of the United States and 11 other countries in the initiative, will have a strategic participation, said Moura.
According to the president of the AEB, Brazil will be able to engage scientists, universities and open up opportunities for national companies to operate in the sector, as there will be a need for constant space traffic after the creation of fixed bases on the Moon.
“People will need to build, they will need to live, they will need to treat garbage, feed themselves. And Brazil is a power in food, in renewable energies. We believe that there are preferential niches that Brazil can explore, including mining. This opens a new chapter in Brazil’s space history,” she explained.
