Alcântara Launch Center
Alcântara Launch Center Centro de Lançamento de Alcântara | |||||||||||
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Location of the Alcântara Launch Center | |||||||||||
IATA: none – ICAO: SNCW | |||||||||||
Summary | |||||||||||
Airport type | Military: Air Force Base and Spaceport | ||||||||||
Operator |
Brazilian Air Force Brazilian Space Agency | ||||||||||
Location |
Alcântara, Maranhão, Brazil | ||||||||||
Built | 1982 | ||||||||||
In use | 1989 - present | ||||||||||
Elevation AMSL | 148 ft / 45 m | ||||||||||
Coordinates | 2°22′23″S 44°23′47″W / 2.37306°S 44.39639°WCoordinates: 2°22′23″S 44°23′47″W / 2.37306°S 44.39639°W | ||||||||||
Runways | |||||||||||
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Sources: CLA Airport Info[1] |
The Alcântara Launch Center (Portuguese: Centro de Lançamento de Alcântara (CLA)) is a satellite launching base of the Brazilian Space Agency in the city of Alcântara, located on Brazil's northern Atlantic coast, in the state of Maranhão.[2] It is operated by the Brazilian Air Force (Comando da Aeronáutica). The CLA is the closest launching base to the equator. This gives the launch site a significant advantage in launching geosynchronous satellites, an attribute shared by the Guiana Space Centre.
Construction of the base began in 1982. The first launch occurred on February 21, 1990, when the sounding rocket Sonda 2 XV-53 was launched.
So far, only sounding rockets and VLS rockets have been launched from Alcântara. On August 22, 2003, the explosion of the third VLS-1 (XV-03) killed 21 people.
There are also plans to launch several international rockets from Alcântara. In 2003 contracts were signed to launch Ukrainian Tsyklon-4[3] (as of December 2009 planned to be launched by the end of 2010[2]) and Israeli Shavit[4] rockets; In addition there are further plans to launch the Russian Proton rocket.[5]
Structures
- Engine preparation facilities (Preparação de Propulsores - PPP)
- Payload preparation facilities (Preparação de Carga Útil - PPCU)
- Liquid-fuel loading facilities (Preparação de Carregamento de Propelentes - PCPL)
- Universal launch tower
- Mobile Integration Tower (TMI - Torre Móvel de Integração): 33x10x13m, 380tons. Used for assembly of the VLS rockets.
- Control center (Prédio de Controle Avançado - CASAMATA).
- 2600m runway
List of launchpads
The Alcântara launch pads include:
- VLS Pad (with Mobile Integration Tower - TMI) 2°19′04″S 44°22′04″W / 2.31770°S 44.36779°W
- MRL Pad (general sounding rocket pad) 2°18′58″S 44°22′02″W / 2.31608°S 44.36730°W
- "Universal" pad for rockets up to 10 tons 2°18′58″S 44°22′04″W / 2.31599°S 44.36782°W
- Alcântara Cyclone Space (ACS)[6] Pad 2°17′05″S 44°23′08″W / 2.2847597°S 44.3854562°W (Tsyklon-4, under construction, launch after 2015[7])
Launch List
Date | Vehicle | Mission | Results |
---|---|---|---|
21 February 1990 | Sonda 2 XV-53 | Alcântara Ionosphere | 101 km |
26 November 1990 | Sonda 2 XV-54 | Manival Ionosphere | 91 km |
9 December 1991 | Sonda 2 XV-55 | Aguas Belas Ionosphere | 88 km |
1 June 1992 | Sonda 3 XV-24 | Aeronomy | 282 km |
31 October 1992 | Sonda 2 XV-56 | Ponta de Areia Ionosphere | 32 km |
22 March 1993 | Sonda 2 XV-57 | Maruda Ionosphere | 102 km |
2 April 1993 | VS-40 PT-01 | VS-40 Test | 950 km |
19 August 1994 | Nike Orion | MALTED/CADRE Ionosphere | 140 km |
20 August 1994 | Nike Orion | MALTED/CADRE Ionosphere | 140 km |
24 August 1994 | Nike Orion | MALTED/CADRE Ionosphere | 140 km |
25 August 1994 | Nike Orion | MALTED/CADRE Ionosphere | 140 km |
9 September 1994 | Black Brant | Ionosphere | 250 km |
21 September 1994 | Black Brant | Ionosphere | 250 km |
23 September 1994 | Nike Tomahawk | Ionosphere | 270 km |
23 September 1994 | Nike Tomahawk | Ionosphere | 270 km |
24 September 1994 | Nike Tomahawk | Ionosphere | 270 km |
24 September 1994 | Nike Tomahawk | Ionosphere | 270 km |
6 October 1994 | Black Brant | Ionosphere | Failure (250 km) |
14 October 1994 | Black Brant | Guará H.Alt Spread F Ionosphere | 956 km |
15 October 1994 | Black Brant | Ionosphere | 250 km |
28 April 1997 | VS-30 XV-01 | VS-30 Test | 128 km |
2 November 1997 | VLS-1 V01 | VLS-1 | Destroyed during launch |
21 March 1998 | VS-40 | VS-40 Test | 900 km |
15 March 1999 | VS-30 XV-04 | Operação San Marcos | 128 km |
11 December 1999 | VLS-1 V02 | SACI-2 | Destroyed by range safety (10 km) |
6 February 2000 | VS-30 XV-05 | Lençóis Maranhenses | 148 km |
21 August 2000 | VS-30/Orion XV-01 | Baronesa | 315 km |
23 November 2002 | VS-30/Orion XV-02 | Piraperna Ionosphere | 434 km |
1 December 2002 | VS-30 XV-06 | Cumã | Failure (145 km) |
22 August 2003 | VLS-1 XV-03 | SATEC | Failure (2003 Alcântara VLS accident) |
23 October 2004 | VSB-30 XV-01 | Cajuana Test | 100 km |
23 October 2004 | VSB-30 V01 | VSB-30 Flight Test | 259 km |
19 July 2007 | VSB-30 V04 | Cumã II | 242 km |
29 May 2009[8] | Orion | Maracati 1 | 93 km |
10 August 2009 | Basic Training Rocket | FogTrein I | [9] |
12 December 2010[10] | VSB-30 V07 | Maracati 2 | 242 km (successful; payload recovered) |
08 December 2012 | VS-30/Orion V10 | Iguaiba | [11] |
23 May 2013 | Basic Training Rocket | Operação Falcão 1 | [12] |
9 May 2014 | Intermediate Training Rocket | Operação Águia 1 | [13] |
1 September 2014 | VS-30 V13 | Operação Raposa | Test of the L5 (Estágio Líquido Propulsivo (EPL)) liquid fuel rocket engine.[14][15] 3m34s flight time.[16] |
Source: Astronautix[17] |
Projected
- Operação Santa Bárbara I - 2014, VLS-1 mockup
- Operação Santa Bárbara II - 2015, VLS-1 VSISNAV
See also
References
- ↑ CLA Airport Info
- 1 2 Brazil, Ukraine to launch rocket together in 2010, UNIAN (December 3, 2009)
- ↑ President of Ukraine signs Decree on measures to ensure realization of Ukrainian-Brazilian project of creating space rocket complex "Cyclone - 4"
- ↑ "Launchers" by Tim Furniss, 26 August 2003, Flight International
- ↑ Interfax: Russia & CIS Defense Industry Weekly, 21 May 2010
- ↑ Home
- ↑ Project Status
- ↑ Xinhua: Brazil launches rocket to test launching base Xinhua. Retrieved on 2009-05-30.
- ↑ CLA dá início à Operação FogTrein I - Tribuna do Maranhão
- ↑ Brazil launches mid-sized rocket FoxNews. Retrieved on 2010-12-15.
- ↑ VS-30 Orion
- ↑ Centro de Alcântara lança foguete de treinamento | Agência Brasil
- ↑ Foguete de Treinamento é lançado com sucesso em Alcântara (MA) | Agência Espacial Brasileira
- ↑ Atividade espacial no país foi debatida em reunião no CLA | Agência Espacial Brasileira
- ↑ http://www.aeb.gov.br/brasil-faz-teste-inedito-com-foguete-movido-a-propulsao-liquida/
- ↑ http://www.aereo.jor.br/tag/operacao-raposa/
- ↑ Astronautix: Alcantara Chronology and Launch Log
External links
- Official site (Portuguese).
- Encyclopedia Astronautica about Alcantara, with maps, chronology and launch log.
- About the Alcantara Launch Center at globalsecurity.org.
- Space Today - Brazil's Atlantic Spaceports.
- Brazil spaceport threat to villages (BBC article).
- Alcântara Cyclone Space
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