Brasília - Brazil may have its first astronaut in space in 2006. It is expected that by then Brazilian Air Force lieutenant colonel Marcos Pontes, who has been in training in the US since 1998, will be sent to the International Space Station (ISS).

According to the president of the Brazilian Space Agency (AEB), Sergio Gaudenci, it is possible that Pontes will travel to the ISS on a Russian spacecraft.

Meanwhile, Pontes says he is excited about the possibility of going into space in 2006 because it will coincide with the launch of a Brazilian rocket, as well as the centenary of the flight of Santos Dumont (the first public flight of a powered heavier-than-air aircraft).

Agência Brasil
Reporter: Lana Cristina
Translator: Allen Bennett
12/2/2004