Alcântara Space Center

Left to right from the top: VLS Pad, Control Center, Command Room, Tracking Antenna, Alcântara area from space
Location of the Alcântara Space Center
Abbreviation	CEA
Formation	1982; 44 years ago (1982)
Type	Spaceport
Location	Alcântara,Maranhão,Brazil
Coordinates	02°20′22″S44°25′03″W / 2.33944°S 44.41750°W /-2.33944; -44.41750
Official language	Portuguese English
Owner	Aerospace Operations Command Brazilian Air Force Brazilian Space Agency
Director	Col. Marcello Correa De Souza
Website	fab.mil.br/cla
Formerly called	Alcântara Launch Center
[1][2]

TheAlcântara Space Center (Portuguese:Centro Espacial de Alcântara,CEA), formerly known asAlcântara Launch Center (Portuguese:Centro de Lançamento de Alcântara,^[3]) is aspace center and launching facility of theBrazilian Space Agency in the city ofAlcântara, located onBrazil's northern Atlantic coast, in the state ofMaranhão.^[4] It is operated by theBrazilian Air Force (Comando da Aeronáutica). The CEA is the closest launching base to theequator. This gives the launch site a significant advantage in launchinggeosynchronous satellites, an attribute shared by theGuiana Space Centre.

Due to its location, it is well-positioned for geosynchronous launch. As such, several agencies and companies have studied or signed agreements to launch from Alcântara, including Ukraine'sTsyklon-4,^[5] Israel'sShavit,^[6] Russia'sProton,^[7]Virgin Orbit'sLauncherOne^[8][9] andInnospace's Hanbit-Nano.

Construction of the base began in 1982. The first launch occurred on February 21, 1990, when thesounding rocketSonda 2 XV-53 was launched.^[10] On August 22, 2003, theexplosion of the third VLS-1 (XV-03) killed 21 people.^[11]

Construction of the Alcântara Space Center began in 1982, as the Brazilian Space Agency's existing rocket range atBarreira do Inferno Launch Center was being overtaxed by growing demand for launch capacity.^[12] In 2020, the government of Brazil announced their plan to expand the base by more than 12,000 hectares.^[13]

The construction of the space center was controversial, as the site for the center was located on severalquilombos, settlements inhabited largely by descendants of escaped slaves in Brazil. In 1980,Brazil's military government forcibly relocated more than 300 families to inland villages away from the coast to make way for the center. This heavily disrupted their traditional livelihood of fishing and led to multiple cases of malnutrition among the residents.^[14]

Human rights concerns over the displacement of locals were reported on during the center's planned expansions in 2001^[14] and 2021, with residents and activists lobbying the government to halt expansions to prevent more communities from being displaced.^[13] In 2023, the Brazilian government issued a public apology to thequilombolas and offered reparations.^[15]

Companies based in Alcântara as of 2021, with the objective of orbital and sub-orbital launches, for commercial purposes or in partnership with the Brazilian government:^[16][17]

As of August 2021, the Brazilian government established Ordinance No. 698, a regulation that follows the FAA 14 CFR part 450 standard, which deals with launch and re-entry licenses in order to follow the world standard in space activities.^[19]

In 2019, Brazil and the U.S. signed an agreement, with the objective of preventing unauthorized access or transfer of U.S. technologies related to the launches from Alcântara.^[20]

• Engine preparation facilities (Preparação de Propulsores - PPP)
• Payload preparation facilities (Preparação de Carga Útil - PPCU)
• Liquid-fuel loading facilities (Preparação de Carregamento de Propelentes - PCPL)
• Universal launch tower
• Mobile Integration Tower (TMI - Torre Móvel de Integração): 33m × 10m × 13m, 380 metric tons. Used for VLS rocket assembly.
• Control center (Prédio de Controle Avançado - CASAMATA).
• 2600m runway

The Alcântara launch pads include:

• VLS Pad (with Mobile Integration Tower - TMI)2°19′04″S44°22′04″W / 02.31770°S 44.36779°W /-02.31770; -44.36779 (VLS Pad)
• MRL Pad (general sounding rocket pad)2°18′58″S44°22′02″W / 02.31608°S 44.36730°W /-02.31608; -44.36730 (MRL Pad)
• "Universal" pad for rockets up to 10 tons2°18′58″S44°22′04″W / 02.31599°S 44.36782°W /-02.31599; -44.36782 ("Universal" Pad)
• A newly built pad to support Innospace's launches2°19′01″S44°22′07″W / 02.31698°S 44.36873°W /-02.31698; -44.36873 (Innospace Pad)

The list of flights conducted and planned from Alcântara:

• Aerospace Operations Command Brazilian space command
• Rocket Launch Sites Worldwide

• Official siteArchived July 18, 2013, at theWayback Machine(in Portuguese).
• Encyclopedia Astronautica about Alcantara, with maps, chronology and launch log.
• About the Alcantara Launch Center at globalsecurity.org.
• Space Today - Brazil's Atlantic Spaceports.
• Brazil spaceport threat to villages (BBC article).
• Alcântara Cyclone Space

• Spaceports
• Rocket launch sites in Brazil
• Space program of Brazil
• Buildings and structures in Maranhão

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