Alcântara (MA), 8/26/2003 (Agência Brasil - ABr) - Yesterday, for the first time since the accident at the Alcântara Launch Center on Friday, journalists were permitted to visit the site.

According to the coordinator of the project to put a satellite into orbit using the Brazilian-made Satellite Launch Vehicle (VLS-1), general Tiago Ribeiro, who is also the director of the Aeronautical Technological Center in São José dos Campos, São Paulo, the accident was caused by spontaneous ignition in one of the rocket's four motors. As a result, 21 engineers and technicians who were on the launch pad, engaged in final preparations for the liftoff scheduled for Monday, were killed. Ribeiro explained that an investigative commission will concentrate its attention on how that could have happened. (AB)