VLS-1 V02
- Ministry of Aeronautics
- AEB
- INPE
SACI-2← VLS-1 V01
VLS-1 V03 →
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.
Origins
The mission's goal was to place the SACI-2 satellite in into a circular orbit 750 km high. This followed after SACI-1, launched by China, was lost due to a transmitter failure. It was the second launch of the VLS-1 rocket, with the first being lost shortly after launch. The launch campaign was called "Operation Almenara"[1][2][3][a], and occurred after the necessary modifications had been made.[4]
The total cost of the operation was US$ 7.4 million,[3] with the satellite being valued at R$2.04 million (U$ 1124628.18).[5] The budget constraints prevented a test launch before the official launch.[6] SACI-2's mission was to collect hydro-meteorological and environmental data as part of a study of space geophysics.[7]
In March 1999 the preparations at the Alcântara Launch Center were underway.[8] On June 18, 1999, Defense Minister Élcio Álvares observed the rocket's assembly and integration activities at the Aeronautics Institute of Technology.[9] SACI-2 began to be assembled in July and arrived in Maranhão on November 28, 1999.[10][11][12]
The launch was planned for November 20, 1999, but tests of SACI-2 in the thermo-vacuum chamber indicated a failure in one of the electronic components. The rocket was ready by the same month.[3] The satellite problem was solved by replacing the memory in the internal computer.[10] If the satellite had not been repaired before launch, they considered dismantling the VLS or launching it empty.[13] The launch was later scheduled for December 7, but was postponed due to problems with the rocket.[14] On the same day, December 7, the launch center teams wrapped up the simulated countdown.[15]
Around 600 people were involved in the launch, and the airspace in the region was closed for approximately three hours.[16]
Launch
VLS-1 V02 was launched on December 11, 1999, at 18:40 (UTC),[17] after a ten minute delay. The four strap-on boosters worked correctly, however, it was remotely destroyed after 3 minutes and 30 seconds due to the second stage not being activated. The debris fell within the interdicted area.[1][4][18]
The announcement of the failure only came one hour and 20 minutes after the accident. According to the official version, Brigadier Tiago Ribeiro, responsible for the announcement, would have been ill due to emotion after the accident.[1]
Aftermath
The announcement came from the INPE directorate in São José dos Campos, about an hour before an official military announcement. The Brazilian Air Force relied on help from fishing communities to locate the wreckage.[1] Its four boosters fell 60 kilometers off the coast of the Parnaíba region; the second stage and the rest of the rocket fell off the coast of Fortaleza.[19] Among military circles there were rumors that the VLS had been the victim of sabotage.[20]
The Brazilian and international media had difficulty communicating with their newspapers due to overloaded Internet. The failure led INPE to cancel the microsatellite program.[1][21] On December 13, 1999, President Fernando Henrique Cardoso announced that the project would be reviewed by the MCT, the Aeronautics and INPE.[22]
The investigation revealed that the accident was due to a flame penetration of the second stage block and the front flexible heat shield flap.[23] The next launch, VLS-1 V03, after plans to launch it in 2001,[24] was finally scheduled for 2003.[4][17] However, on August 22, 2003, three days before the launch, the rocket was destroyed at its base due to an accidental ignition, leading to 21 deaths.[25][26] VLS-1 V04 had 70% of its structure built, but the program was terminated in 2016.[27][28]
Flight profile
| Time | Event | Result |
|---|---|---|
| 00:00 | Liftoff | Success |
| 00:55 | 2nd stage ignition | Failure |
| 01:09 | 3rd stage ignition | — |
| 02:11 | Payload fairing separation | — |
| 03:00 | 3rd stage shutdown | — |
| 03:30 | Destruction due to non-ignition of 2nd stage | |
| 03:08 | 3rd stage separation | — |
| ~07:00 | 4rd stage ignition | — |
| 09:00 | Satellite orbit injection | — |
References
- ^ a b c d e Folha de Londrina, 12 de dezembro de 1999.
- ^ Pioneiro, 11-12 de dezembro de 1999, p. 37.
- ^ a b c d Jornal do Brasil, 11 de novembro de 1999, p. 14.
- ^ a b c Berquó et al. 2004, p. 12.
- ^ Folha de S. Paulo, 12 de dezembro de 1999.
- ^ Tribuna da Imprensa, 27 de dezembro de 1999, p. 4.
- ^ Diário do Grande ABC, 10 de dezembro de 1999.
- ^ Jornal do Commercio, 10 de março de 1999, p. 4.
- ^ Jornal do Brasil, 19 de junho de 1999, p. 4.
- ^ a b Diário do Grande ABC, 28 de novembro de 1999.
- ^ Folha de S. Paulo, 6 de dezembro de 1999a.
- ^ Folha de S. Paulo, 6 de dezembro de 1999b.
- ^ Folha de S. Paulo, 11 de novembro de 1999.
- ^ A Tribuna, 6 de dezembro de 1999, p. 5.
- ^ Jornal do Commercio, 9 de dezembro de 1999, p. 13.
- ^ Jornal do Commercio, 11 de dezembro de 1999, p. 14.
- ^ a b Silva 2021, p. 353.
- ^ A Tribuna, 11 de dezembro de 1999, p. 6.
- ^ Diário do Grande ABC, 11 de dezembro de 1999.
- ^ Tribuna da Imprensa, 28 de dezembro de 1999, p. 2.
- ^ Pioneiro, 13 de dezembro de 1999, p. 18.
- ^ Folha de S. Paulo, 14 de dezembro de 1999.
- ^ Palmerio 2017, p. 138.
- ^ Folha de S. Paulo, 17 de março de 2000.
- ^ Olhar Digital, 30 de agosto de 2021.
- ^ Froehlich et al. 2020, p. 265.
- ^ Uol, 26 de agosto de 2022.
- ^ Silva 2021, p. 388.
- ^ Bôas, IAE, pp. 18–22.
Notes
Bibliography
(Chronological order)
- "Alcântara retoma lançamento de satélites". Jornal do Commercio (in Brazilian Portuguese). Vol. 95, no. 37774. 1999-03-10. p. 4.
- "CTA produzirá tecnologia de uso militar". Jornal do Brasil (in Brazilian Portuguese). Vol. 109, no. 72. 1999-06-19. p. 4.
- Pacelli, Márcio (1999-11-11). "Lançamento do Saci-2 é adiado". Jornal do Brasil (in Brazilian Portuguese). Vol. 109, no. 217. p. 14.
- Falcão, Daniela (1999-11-11). "Saci-2 altera missão de foguete brasileiro". Folha de S. Paulo (in Brazilian Portuguese).
- "Saci-2 embarca para o Maranhao para ser lançado". Jornal Diário do Grande ABC (in Brazilian Portuguese). 1999-11-28.
- "Foguete". A Tribuna (in Brazilian Portuguese). Vol. 106, no. 236. 1999-12-06. p. 5.
- "Data de lançamento do VLS-1 é adiada". Folha de S. Paulo (in Brazilian Portuguese). 1999-12-06.
- "Saci-2 foi para a base com atraso". Folha de S. Paulo (in Brazilian Portuguese). 1999-12-06.
- "Foguete brasileiro será lançado sábado". Jornal do Commercio (in Brazilian Portuguese). Vol. 173, no. 57. 1999-12-09. p. 13.
- "Brasil poe em órbita satélite de coleta de dados". Jornal Diário do Grande ABC (in Brazilian Portuguese). 1999-12-10.
- "Saci-2 deve ser lançado hoje, em Alcântara". A Tribuna (in Brazilian Portuguese). Vol. 106, no. 261. 1999-12-11. p. 6.
- "Foguete brasileiro lança hoje o Saci-2". Jornal do Commercio (in Brazilian Portuguese). Vol. 173, no. 59. 1999-12-11. p. 14.
- "Foguete brasileiro explode 70 segundos após lançamento". Jornal Diário do Grande ABC (in Brazilian Portuguese). 1999-12-11.
- "Brasil põe novo satélite em órbita". Pioneiro (in Brazilian Portuguese). Vol. 52, no. 7489. December 1999. p. 37.
- Neto, Ricardo Bonalume (1999-12-12). "Foguete brasileiro sobe, mas é explodido após 200 segundos". Folha de S. Paulo (in Brazilian Portuguese).
- Ottoboni, Júlio (1999-12-12). "Inpe cancela programa de microssatélites, após fracasso com Saci-2". Folha de Londrina (in Brazilian Portuguese).
- "Inpe cancela programa com fracasso do Saci-2". Pioneiro (in Brazilian Portuguese). Vol. 52, no. 7490. 1999-12-13. p. 18.
- França, William; Martins, Cristina Lima (1999-12-14). "Programa espacial brasileiro será revisado". Folha de S. Paulo (in Brazilian Portuguese).</ref>
- Lino, Geraldo Luís (1999-12-27). "O VLS e as pesquisas espaciais". Tribuna da Imprensa (in Brazilian Portuguese). Vol. 50, no. 15246. p. 4.
- "Almoço de desagravo a Bräuer terá tom de indignação militar". Tribuna da Imprensa (in Brazilian Portuguese). Vol. 51, no. 15247. 1999-12-28. p. 2.
- Martins, Cristina Lima (2000-03-17). "Relatório indica falha de VLS-1". Folha de S. Paulo (in Brazilian Portuguese).
- Berquó, Jolan Eduardo; Coelho, Elizabeth Cabral; Martinolli, João Bosco; Corrêa, Cleber Souza (February 2004). Relatório da Investigação do Acidente ocorrido com o VLS-1 VO3, em 22 de agosto de 2003, em Alcântara, Maranhão (PDF). São José dos Campos. p. 118. Archived (PDF) from the original on 2013-11-08.
{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link) - Palmerio, Ariovaldo Feliz (2017). Introdução à Tecnologia de Foguetes (PDF) (in Brazilian Portuguese) (2 ed.). São José dos Campos: SindCT. p. 304. ISBN 978-85-62042-05-8.
- Froehlich; Alonso; Soria; Marchi (2020). Latin America's Emerging Space Middle Powers. Springer International Publishing. p. 446. ISBN 9783030385200.
- Bôas, Danton José Fortes Villas. O Veículo Lançador de Satélites - VLS-1 (PDF) (Thesis) (in Brazilian Portuguese). IAE. p. 24.
- Silva, Bernardino Coelho da (2021). Desafios de Ícaro (in Brazilian Portuguese). Clube de Autores. p. 690. ISBN 978-65-00-24466-3.
- Zurita, Marcelo (2021-08-30). "18 anos do acidente de Alcântara, a tragédia que marcou a história do Programa Espacial Brasileiro". Olhar Digital (in Brazilian Portuguese).
- Duarte, Marcella (2022-08-26). "19 anos da tragédia em Alcântara: foguete brasileiro explodiu e matou 21". Uol (in Brazilian Portuguese).
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