| Alcântara Space Center | |
| Map: | Maranhao Municip Alcantara.svg |
| Map Size: | 160px |
| Abbreviation: | CEA |
| Type: | Spaceport |
| Location: | Alcântara, Maranhão, Brazil |
| Coordinates: | -2.3394°N -44.4175°W |
| Language: | Portuguese English |
| Owner: | Aerospace Operations Command Brazilian Air Force Brazilian Space Agency |
| Leader Title: | Director |
| Leader Name: | Col. Marcello Correa De Souza |
| Formerly: | Alcântara Launch Center |
| Footnotes: | [1] [2] |
The Alcântara Space Center (Portuguese: Centro Espacial de Alcântara, CEA), former known as Alcântara Launch Center (Portuguese: Centro de Lançamento de Alcântara,) is a space center and launching facility of the Brazilian Space Agency in the city of Alcântara, located on Brazil's northern Atlantic coast, in the state of Maranhão.[3] It is operated by the Brazilian Air Force (Portuguese: Comando da Aeronáutica). The CEA 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.[4] On August 22, 2003, the explosion of the third VLS-1 (XV-03) killed 21 people.[5]
The facility is in a strong position for launching satellites into geosynchronous orbits, according to British astrophysicist, Jonathan McDowell.[6] As such, there are plans to launch several international rockets from Alcântara. In 2003 contracts were signed to launch Ukrainian Tsyklon-4[7] and Israeli Shavit[8] rockets, thought these may have later been launched from their home countries in Ukraine[9] and Israel.[10] In addition there are further plans to launch the Russian Proton rocket.[11]
In the beginning of 2018, Brazilian government offered the possibility to use the spaceport to several U.S. companies.[12] The company Virgin Orbit, was selected to fly their LauncherOne rocket from Alcântara in the first half of 2023.[13] [14]
Construction of the Alcântara Space Center began in 1982, as the Brazilian Space Agency's existing rocket range at Barreira do Inferno Launch Center was being overtaxed by growing demand for launch capacity.[15] In 2020, the government of Brazil announced their plan to expand the base by more than 12,000 hectares.
The construction of the space center was controversial, as the site for the center was located on several quilombos, settlements inhabited largely by descendants of escaped slaves in Brazil. In 1980, Brazil's military government forcibly relocated more than 300 families to inland villages away from the coast to make way for the center. This heavily disrupted their traditional livelihood of fishing and led to multiple cases of malnutrition among the residents.[16]
Human rights concerns over the displacement of locals were reported on during the center's planned expansions in 2001 and 2021, with residents and activists lobbying the government to halt expansions to prevent more communities from being displaced.[17] In 2023, the Brazilian government issued a public apology to the quilombolas and offered reparations.[18]
Companies based in Alcântara as of 2021, with the objective of orbital and sub-orbital launches, for commercial purposes or in partnership with the Brazilian government:[19] [20]
C6 Launch
Hyperion Rocket Systems OrionAST Virgin OrbitAs of August 2021, the Brazilian government established Ordinance No. 698, a regulation that follows the FAA 14 CFR part 450 standard, which deals with launch and re-entry licenses in order to follow the world standard in space activities.[21]
In 2019, Brazil and the U.S. signed an agreement, with the objective of preventing unauthorized access or transfer of U.S. technologies related to the launches from Alcântara.[22]
The Alcântara launch pads include:
The list of flights conducted and planned from Alcântara:
| Date | Vehicle | Type | Operator | Mission | Payload | Orbit | Result | Ref | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 14 December 2021 | 14-X (XS VSB-30 V32) | Hypersonic glide vehicle | Qualification flight | — | Suborbital | [23] | |||
| 23 October 2022 | Two-stage suborbital launcher | Santa Branca Operation | PSM | Suborbital | [24] | ||||
| 19 March 2023 | HANBIT-TLV | Single-stage suborbital launcher | Innospace | Astrolábio Operation (test flight) | SISNAV | [25] | |||
| NET August 2023 | VS-50 | Two-stage suborbital launcher | Qualification of VLM-1 subsystems | Suborbital | [26] | ||||
| NET June 2025 | Three-stage orbital launcher | VLM-1 Maiden Flight (fully operational) |
| Date | Vehicle | Mission | Result | Altitude | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 December 1985 | VLS-R1 | VLS test launch | Failure in flight, apogee of 10 km | ||
| 18 May 1989 | VLS-R2 | VLS test launch | 50 km | ||
| 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 | MALTED/CADRE Ionosphere | 140 km | |||
| 20 August 1994 | MALTED/CADRE Ionosphere | 140 km | |||
| 24 August 1994 | MALTED/CADRE Ionosphere | 140 km | |||
| 25 August 1994 | MALTED/CADRE Ionosphere | 140 km | |||
| 9 September 1994 | Ionosphere | 250 km | |||
| 21 September 1994 | Ionosphere | 250 km | |||
| 23 September 1994 | Ionosphere | 270 km | |||
| 23 September 1994 | Ionosphere | 270 km | |||
| 24 September 1994 | Ionosphere | 270 km | |||
| 24 September 1994 | Ionosphere | 270 km | |||
| 6 October 1994 | Ionosphere | 250 km | |||
| 14 October 1994 | Guará H.Alt Spread F Ionosphere | 956 km | |||
| 15 October 1994 | Ionosphere | 250 km | |||
| 28 April 1997 | VS-30 XV-01 | VS-30 Test | 128 km | ||
| 2 November 1997 | VLS-1 | Destroyed during launch | |||
| 21 March 1998 | VS-40 Test | 900 km | |||
| 15 March 1999 | VS-30 XV-04 | Operação San Marcos | 128 km | ||
| 11 December 1999 | SACI-2 | 10 km (Destroyed by range safety) | |||
| 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 | 145 km | ||
| 22 August 2003 | VLS-1 XV-03 | SATEC | Exploded on ground (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[27] | Maracati 1 | 93 km | |||
| 10 August 2009 | FogTrein I | [28] | |||
| 12 December 2010[29] | VSB-30 V07 | Maracati 2 | 242 km (payload recovered) | ||
| 8 December 2012 | VS-30/Orion V.10 | Iguaiba | 52 km [30] | ||
| 9 August 2013 | Operação Falcão | 32 km [31] | |||
| 9 May 2014 | Operação Águia I | [32] | |||
| 21 August 2014 | Operação Águia II | [33] | |||
| 1 September 2014 | VS-30 V.13 | Operação Raposa | L-5 liquid engine test [34] | ||
| 12 September 2018 | VS-30 V.14 | Operação MUTITI | 120 km[35] | ||
| 22 May 2019 | Operação Águia I/2019 | 2 launchers [36] | |||
| 25 June 2020 | Operação Falcão I/2020 | 30 km [37] | |||
| 23 November 2021 | Operação Águia III | ~60 km [38] | |||
| 14 December 2021 | 14-XS | Operação Cruzeiro | 280 km [39] | ||
| 01 June 2022 | FTB | Operação Falcon I/2022 | 30 km [40] | ||
| 23 October 2022 | VSB-30 V.29 | Operação Santa Branca | 227 km [41] | ||
| Source: Astronautix (Until 2010)[42] | |||||