Lourenço Melo
Reporter - Agência Brasil

Brasília - Brazil is a candidate for the satellite launcher market, which is expected to attract global investments on the order of US$ 10 billion in the next 8-10 years. This affirmation comes from the president of the Brazilian Space Agency (AEB), Sérgio Gaudenzi, who believes that "that is the reason for the fierce lobby against the Alcântara Missile Launching Center in the Brazilian state of Maranhão - direct and indirect maneuvers by the competition."

The Alcântara base, he added, "is a geographically privileged locale for these operations." Gaudenzi pointed out that Brazil produces satellite launchers and is developing a specific model together with Ukrania. "The launchers that Brazil can offer are of interest to anyone who needs to use satellites anywhere in the world, and for this reason we can take the field to win a slice of this pie."

The Brazilian Space Program, he argued, involves the government and private enterprise, as in other countries, and provides jobs and foreign exchange. What is done in the program, which comprises the areas of research, production, the Launching Center, and satellite and launcher industries, "is sold domestically and abroad - and that is why Brazil belongs to an elite group engaged in the space race and is the only country in the Southern Hemisphere to partake of this community."

With respect to the mission that is being undertaken by the Brazilian astronaut, Marcos César Pontes, Gaudenzi said that "at least 50% of the merit in choosing Brazil to integrate the mission is due to his own performance and perseverance in achieving this objective." He added: "The space program produces victims, so the courageous personalities who work in this area warrant special consideration."

Translation: David Silberstein