Video: Rocket is launched from the Alcântara Space Center for a microgravity experiment
The Brazilian Space Agency (AEB) states that it successfully launched the VSB-30 rocket from the Alcântara Space Center, located in Maranhão, through Operation Santa Branca. Sent into space on Sunday, 23, at 2:20 pm, the rocket took on board the Suborbital Microgravity Platform Qualification Model. The equipment makes it possible to observe and explore phenomena and processes that would be masked under the influence of Earth’s gravity.
In the suborbital launch – when nothing is left in space –, the VSB-30 carried scientific experiments to the microgravity environment – where gravity is practically zero. On the same day, the rocket made a parabola (return flight) and parts of it began to fall into the sea. This stage occurs in stages, with the parts falling in places planned to be located by the rescue team. From there, analyzes begin to observe how the experiments in space behaved.
The rocket reached its apogee in 4 minutes and 1 second, already at an altitude of 227 km, totaling a flight of 7 minutes and 44 seconds. The payload fell 185 kilometers from the coast and military personnel from the Brazilian Air Force (FAB), specialized in this type of mission, on board helicopters, carried out the rescue.
“O voo ocorreu perfeitamente, demonstrando, mais uma vez, a confiabilidade deste foguete e a qualidade desta plataforma de experimentos que permite aos pesquisadores e empresas brasileiras realizarem em um ambiente chamado de microgravidade experimentos como o desenvolvimento de ligas metálicas especiais, o desenvolvimento de fármacos ou outros produtos”, afirma Carlos Moura, presidente da AEB. Os pesquisadores farão agora a análise dos resultados.
According to AEB, there were intense efforts to develop technology in the national market to allow experiments to be carried out under these conditions.
“Brazil will also be able to provide the world, autonomously, with experimentation services in a microgravity environment, using the Alcântara Space Center, the VSB-30 and the PSM. We will also open a market for the Brazilian space industry, for entrepreneurs and for Science and Technology Institutions”, adds Moura.
With Brazilian production and 100% national payload, the VSB-30 is a probe family rocket, which has solid propulsion stages, rotationally stabilized and with the capacity to transport loads of up to 400 kg, at altitudes in the range of 270 km. In this launch, a set of instruments was embarked to evaluate flight performance and the scientific experiment “Multiuser Oven”, developed by the National Institute for Space Research (Inpe).
The platform was developed through a partnership between AEB, the company Orbital Engenharia, the Financier of Studies and Projects (Finep) and the Institute of Aeronautics and Space (IAE).
The Microgravity Program was created in October 1998 and its last restructuring took place in January 2015. The first launch with the VSB-30, in Brazil, took place on October 23, 2004. The rocket was developed by the Institute of Aeronautics and Space ( IAE), in partnership with the German Aerospace Center (DLR). In total, 33 launches were carried out successfully – 5 of them in Brazil and 28 abroad.
According to information from Inpe, the space environment is unique due to the vacuum, high-energy radiation from the Sun and other cosmic sources, and the apparent absence of gravitational effects. This last factor, called microgravity, makes it possible to observe and explore phenomena and processes in scientific and technological experiments that would be masked under the influence of gravity here on Earth.
Conducting experiments in a microgravity environment allows for a better understanding, and subsequent improvement, of physical, chemical and biological processes, for example.
Brazil is preparing to carry out the first orbital launch in the country’s history in the coming years from the Alcântara Space Center. It will be the first launch on national territory. Satellite launch operations have already been carried out, for example, through other countries such as China and France.
Suborbital Microgravity Platform
The platform is responsible for all monitoring and communication with the payload before and during the mission. “It consists of a set of modules controlled in angular velocity, equipped with a telemetry system for transmitting flight and experiment data, and equipped with a recovery system for rescue at sea”, explains the agency.
Also according to AEB, the platform is responsible for fixing, electrical supply and environmental protection during all phases of the flight. Furthermore, it is part of plans for the nationalization of a complete vector set (rocket + platform) aimed at research in microgravity.
Source: Estadão
