A sounding rocket or rocketsonde,sometimes called a research rocket or a suborbital rocket,is an instrument-carrying rocket designed to take measurements and perform scientific experiments during its sub-orbital flight. The rockets are used to launch instruments from 48 to 145 km above the surface of the Earth,the altitude generally between weather balloons and satellites;the maximum altitude for balloons is about 40 km and the minimum for satellites is approximately 121 km. Certain sounding rockets have an apogee between 1,000 and 1,500 km,such as the Black Brant X and XII,which is the maximum apogee of their class. Sounding rockets often use military surplus rocket motors. NASA routinely flies the Terrier Mk 70 boosted Improved Orion,lifting 270–450-kg (600–1,000-pound) payloads into the exoatmospheric region between 97 and 201 km.
The Alcântara Space Center,former known as Alcântara Launch Center 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. It is operated by the Brazilian Air Force. 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.
The Brazilian Space Agency is the civilian authority in Brazil responsible for the country's space program. It operates a spaceport at Alcântara,and a rocket launch site at Barreira do Inferno. It is the largest and most prominent space agency in Latin America.
The Brazilian Air Force is the air branch of the Brazilian Armed Forces and one of the three national uniformed services. The FAB was formed when the Army and Navy air branches were merged into a single military force initially called "National Air Forces" in 1941. Both air branches transferred their equipments,installations and personnel to the new force.
The Brazilian space program is the rocketry and space exploration programs conducted by Brazil from 1961,under GOCNAE until the creation of the Brazilian Space Agency in 1994. It has significant capabilities in launch vehicles,launch sites,and satellite manufacturing. It is based at the National Institute for Space Research (INPE),under the Ministry of Science and Technology (MCT). Upon its founding the program was under complete military control,which hindered its development,as other countries blocked technological development due to concerns over missile proliferation. In 1994,the space program was transferred to civilian control under the Brazilian Space Agency.
Sonda is a family of Brazilian-built sounding rockets which serves as an R&D path to the VLS orbital rocket. Launches started in 1965 and continue to this day. Launch sites include Wallops Island,Andoya,Kiruna,Natal,Alcântara,Cassino and SvalRak.
The VLS-1 was the Brazilian Space Agency's main satellite launch vehicle. The launch vehicle would have been capable of launching satellites into orbit. The launch site was located at the Alcântara Launch Center due to its proximity to the equator.
VSB-30 - "Veículo de Sondagem Booster –30" or "Foguete Suborbital VSB-30" is the designation of a Brazilian sounding rocket,which replaced the Skylark rocket at Esrange.
The VS-30 is a Brazilian sounding rocket,developed by the Instituto de Aeronáutica e Espaço and derived from the Sonda 3 sounding rocket first stage. It consists of a single,solid-fuelled stage,and has been launched from Alcântara,Maranhão and Barreira do Inferno,Rio Grande do Norte,in Brazil,and Andøya and Svalbard Rocket Range in Norway.
The 14-X is a Brazilian scramjet engine in development by the Aerothermodynamics and Hypersonics Laboratory Henry T. Nagamatsu of the Institute of Advanced Studies (IEAv) of the Department of Aerospace Science and Technology as part of the PropHiper. The name is a reference to the 14-bis,of the Brazilian inventor and aviation pioneer Alberto Santos-Dumont.
SARA - Satélite de Reentrada Atmosférica is a Brazilian satellite project,with the objective of performing experiments in microgravity environment and returning them to the Earth.
The VLM is a proposed three-stage satellite launcher being developed by the Brazilian General Command for Aerospace Technology in collaboration with Germany. The project originated in 2008 as a simplified version of the VLS-1 rocket,using only the core stages. The first launch is currently planned for no earlier than 2027.
Tronador is a series of Argentine rockets,including the Tronador I and Tronador II vehicles,to develop a liquid-propellant rocket expendable launch system called ISCUL.
WIRES is a Japanese project developing a winged single-stage reusable suborbital rocket as a test bed for a reusable orbital launch system or a crewed suborbital spaceplane. The full-size prototype,called WIRES-X,is expected to be launched in 2020.
The Institute of Aeronautics and Space is a military research organization of the Brazilian Air Force's Department of Aerospace Science and Technology (DCTA),founded on 1 January 1954.
VS-50 is a joint development of sounding rocket from the Institute of Aeronautics and Space (IAE) and German Aerospace Center (DLR).
14-XS was an Operação Cruzeiro mission conducted by the Brazilian Air Force at the Alcantara Launch Center on December 14,2021.
VLS-1 V02 was the second flight of the VLS-1 rocket on December 11,1999 from the Alcântara Launch Center,with the objective of placing the SACI-2 microsatellite in LEO. The rocket was remotely destroyed 3 minutes after launch.
Félix I was a Brazilian Army Technical School project led by Lieutenant Colonel Manoel dos Santos Lage which aimed,in 1959,to launch the Flamengo cat into space. But the project was canceled due to pressure from animal advocacy groups,and the launch never took place.
