Brazil-Argentina Rocket
Blasts Off Successfully
A scientific research
rocket took off
successfully from Brazil
on Sunday, marking the
first time Brazil and
Argentina have
collaborated in a space
mission.
The Brazilian Space
Agency (AEB) said the
launch took place at
6:15 a.m. local time
(0915 GMT) from the Boca
do Infierno Launch
Center in the Brazilian
state of Rio Grande do
Norte.
The Brazilian-made VS30
rocket reached a height
of 121 km in the first
seven minutes and its
flight lasted nine
minutes and 25 seconds.
Bad weather had delayed
takeoff three times
since Wednesday.
The flight came after
two micro-gravity
experiments by Argentina
and a test of a global
positioning system (GPS)
built by Brazil.
The Brazilian Air Force
sent two Black Hawk
helicopters and a
submarine team to the
splashdown site, some
120 km from the coast,
to collect the results,
which will be examined
in Buenos Aires.
The AEB plans to
increase the number of
launches of scientific
rockets. Brazil has
invested 1.5 million
reales (830,000 U.S.
dollars) in the project
while Argentina has
invested 500,000
dollars.
The AEB launched its
first scientific rocket
from the site some
months ago, but the
experiment's results
could not be recovered
due to a GPS failure.
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