RUSSIA, BRAZIL TO LAUNCH JOINT MANUFACTURE OF BOOSTER ROCKETS?

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MOSCOW, November 20 (RIA Novosti) - A Russo-Brazilian memorandum on cooperation in the space industry is expected to be signed during President Vladimir Putin's forthcoming visit to Brazil.

In a RIA Novosti interview, Brazilian Space Agency President Sergio Gaudenzi said that the Memorandum had already been put together and that there was no doubt it would be signed during Mr. Putin's visit, by Brazilian Science and Technology Minister Eduardo Campos and the Director of the Russian Space Agency, Anatoly Perminov.

According to Mr. Gaudenzi, the memorandum envisages joint development and manufacture of booster rockets and satellites as well as upgrading of the Alcantara Launch Center, in northeastern Brazil. "The Brazilian rocket booster VLS has already been developed. We will now work together to upgrade the VLS, with the ultimate objective being to build a whole family of Russo-Brazilian boosters," our interviewee said.

"We have set the VLS launch for the year 2006, and this is reflected in the Memorandum. Work to upgrade the VLS and to construct a new generation [of boosters] will get underway later on, to be completed some time by 2012. The joint project to build booster rockets is expected to take eight years," Mr. Gaudenzi said.

In cooperation with Russia, Brazil will be able to build an entire family of modern booster rockets, capable of taking payload of over 4 tons to higher geostationary orbits (36,000 kilometers), said the Brazilian Space Agency chief.

According to Mr. Gaudenzi, Russia has offered Brazil help in investigating the causes for a VSL booster's explosion at the launch site in August 2003. In the wake of that accident, Russia provided the Brazilian Space Agency with expertise for ensuring greater launch safety, he said.

Under the Memorandum, Russia will assist Brazil in the renovation and upgrading of the Alcantara Launch Center. "We would like to build a modern rocket launch center at Alcantara, one fitted out with state-of-the-art equipment," Mr. Gaudenzi said. The sides may decide to set up a joint venture to launch rockets from the Alcantara site, he added.

At Alcantara, the launching costs are 30 percent lower thanks to its proximity to the equator, Mr. Gaudenzi revealed. This will make it possible for boosters' payload to be increased.

"Today, Alcantara is no longer a military base. Here remains an Air Force base, equipped for control over flights and launches. But our ambition is to create a large integrated space center with a mission control center for launches of various types, complete with a university and campus, environmental reserves, and residential facilities for personnel who will be working at Alcantara on an area of 640 square kilometers. This area will be open to visitors, like the Kennedy Center, for instance," Mr. Gaudenzi said.

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