Brazil launches VSB-30 rocket at Alcantara Space Center

On Sunday (Oct. 23), the Brazilian Space Agency (AEB) successfully launched the VSB-30 rocket from the Alcantara Space Center in the state of Maranhão. The rocket carried on board the Microgravity Suborbital Platform Qualification Model (MSP-QM), which will be used in scientific research. The next steps involve analyzing the results of the experiments.

The launch is part of the so-called Santa Branca Operation that aims to enable the country to offer companies and research institutes the possibility of carrying out experiments in microgravity.

"Brazil is now able to provide, in an autonomous way, experimentation services in a microgravity environment, using the Alcantara Space Center (CEA), VSB-30, and MSP. We will also open a market for the Brazilian space industry, for entrepreneurs, and for science and technology institutions," the head of the Space Agency Carlos Moura explained.

Brazil first launched a VSB-30 in October 2004. The rocket had been developed by the Institute of Aeronautics and Space, in partnership with the German Aerospace Center. So far 33 rockets of the same type have been launched, five of them in Brazil, and 28 abroad.

The platform also has on board a set of instruments to evaluate flight performance, and the Multiuser Oven experiment, developed by the National Institute for Space Research.