The head wants to take off into space, the body has nothing to eat
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The remains of the missile at the launch site, August 25, 2003. Since the disaster, calls have grown to take the missile program out of the Air Force's hands and hand it over to a civilian agency
Brazil's space program has achievements in the field of satellites, but in the field of missiles it marches from failure to failure: in the last of them an attempted launch of a missile ended with 21 deaths. This is what happens when a developing country that has difficulty feeding its residents allows its army to manage such an ambitious project with depleted budgets, without transparency and without orderly management. Second article in the series
Twenty-one senior space scientists and technicians lost their lives when a rocket carrying a communications satellite exploded in the launch pad at the military base in Alcantara in northeastern Brazil at the end of August. It was Brazil's third failure in its attempt to launch a communications satellite on its own rocket, and the worst disaster in the history of its space program.
More than the disaster raised questions about the future of Brazil's space program, it also served as a warning sign for other developing countries, which have great ambitions to reach space but extremely depleted budgets due to national needs. Critics argue that these are arrogant plans that lack any logic for countries that are still struggling to feed their people. But officials in Brazil, like those in China and India, describe their countries' growing space efforts as both commercially and strategically necessary and not just a matter of national prestige.
Brazil's space program was born more than thirty years ago as part of the efforts of the military dictatorship that ruled the country at the time to create "Greater Brazil". But while the various governments embraced the space vision from a conceptual point of view, they did not care to support it from a budgetary point of view. In a memorial ceremony held for the victims of the launch disaster in the city of San Jose dos Campos in the east of the country, the president of Brazil, Luis Incio da Silva, vowed that Brazil would launch its first rocket into space by the end of 2006. He also promised the families of those who died $35,000 in aid and scholarships for higher education.
But the budget designated by de Silva for the project is far from reaching the tens of millions of dollars that experts estimate will be required to rebuild the launch site in Alcantara. This tight-lipped approach, argue the project's critics at the São Paulo Engineers Union, turned the August launch attempt into a "chronicle of a foregone death," as the title of Gabriel García Márquez's book.
Round corners
Similar views were expressed during a four-month investigation by The New York Times, which included interviews with former Brazilian government officials, scientists and relatives of those killed in the disaster. Taken as a whole, their testimony revealed a dangerously short-staffed space program, whose researchers were forced to use parts that did not meet reasonable standards, and which was managed with almost no public transparency by a fragmented and unclear chain of command. A government commission of inquiry established following the disaster has not yet submitted its conclusions.
"The army didn't have enough money but they weren't decent enough to say we have to stop," said Luis Claudio Almeida, head of the relatives group, whose brother died in the launch disaster. "Instead, the army pressured the citizens to continue with the program, even though they knew that they did not have proper working conditions."
Brazil is the only country, out of about twenty countries that develop a space program, whose program is not under the supervision of a single government agency. The satellite launch efforts are managed by the National Space Research Institute in San Jose dos Campos. As a civilian body, the institute was able to profit a lot from the growing global demand for the use of commercial satellites. Many entities are tempted to cooperate with Brazil because of the advantage of the location of its launch pad, which is closest to the equator, a fact that allows satellites to rise more easily and consume less fuel.
In contrast, Brazil's missile program is managed by the country's air force. Its critics claim that it lags far behind that of satellite development, due to excessive secrecy and American efforts to prevent the spread of essential missile technologies.
The gap between the two programs forces Brazil to use other countries' rockets to launch its satellites into space, an expensive and difficult task. He also increased the pressure on those involved in the development of the missile program to act quickly to reduce the gaps.
Relatives of those killed in the disaster testified that the victims often complained that ambitious military officers, devoid of understanding in the technical field, urged them to advance quickly in their work. Some also claimed that the army officers forced the technicians to cut corners in their work, even when it came to essential equipment. "My husband told them more than once that they were using outdated equipment," said the widow of one of the dead, who asked to remain anonymous. "The answer he received was that the existing stock of parts should be used in any case, since they do not have the budget to buy suitable spare parts."
Air Force officials did not respond to requests for interviews with those responsible for the missile development program. "The issue was investigated in depth by the investigation committee, and it is not appropriate to issue statements," said a statement that the Air Force gave to journalists in September.
investigate themselves
Critics of the investigation claim that the committee appointed by the government includes members of the organizations that manage the space program, and have expressed concern about the existence of a conflict of interest. "When a plane crashes, the pilot who flew it is not included in the investigation team of the accident," said Jaime Bushkov, who was director of the missile development program in 1992-1980.
Roberto Amaral, Brazil's Minister of Science and Technology, who resigned this month regardless of the problems with the space program, dismissed these claims as "ridiculous." Representatives from the missile development program are members of the committee, he explained, because there is no surplus of experts in the field in Brazil. "These are talented people and we put our full trust in them," he added.
Since the disaster, the voices calling for the missile development program to be taken out of the Air Force's hands and placed under the management of a civilian entity have increased. Past and present employees of the program claim that the hierarchical structure of the military and the secrecy practiced in it undermine the freedom of inquiry necessary for a thriving scientific research. Some add that the satellite development program is a more effective model for the Brazilian space program in the future.
In addition to launching communication satellites into space, Brazil has already launched two multi-purpose satellites into space in cooperation with China. In October, an agreement was signed between the two countries to launch two more. These satellites are expected to move in orbits that will pass over the poles, which will allow Brazil and China to track the Western Hemisphere more precisely.
The meaning for Brazil is the collection of more information about the grain harvest from its competitors in the field of agriculture, including the USA. The other satellites are used to gather information about the logging of the Amazon forests and illegal fishing away from the coasts. The satellites may also be used to collect information for military intelligence purposes, but Brazil states that it uses data for peaceful purposes only.
"Our country is 8.5 million square kilometers, with the longest coastline in the world and extensive land borders," said former Minister of Science and Technology Amaral. "We need better information about our territory and our borders and better planning of the agricultural harvest."
Taking control of the space program from the hands of the military may open up opportunities for international cooperation for Brazil, experts say. Until now, the US has blocked any attempt by Brazil to acquire certain technologies and has put pressure on its allies to act in a similar way, according to sources in the Brazilian space program. The technology embargo led to many secret deals, such as Brazil's arrangement with Russian scientists after the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1989.
Several Russian scientists were brought to Brazil to lecture at universities or advise the space program. This cooperation continues even today. In addition, the Air Force purchased essential missile components from Russia in the mid-nineties and secretly transferred them to Brazil.
Defense Minister Jose Viegas said in an interview that he was "interested in resuming negotiations" with the US on an agreement that would allow American companies to use the Alcantara base, which was destroyed in August, to launch satellites.
In October, Brazil signed a similar agreement, which allows Ukraine to use the launch pad to launch a satellite on missiles manufactured by it. The agreement obliges Brazil to invest 80 million dollars and rehabilitate the launch pad.
"We are determined to continue," said Defense Minister Vaigash. When asked where the funding would come from, he shrugged his shoulders and replied: "Well, that's exactly the problem."
Larry Rutter
