After almost two decades, the agreement signed in 2019 between the Brazilian government and the American on the use of the Alcântara Launch Center (MA) brought hope that the sector would finally take off in Brazil. The base is one of the best located in the world, as it is two degrees from the equator and requires 30% less fuel to “reach for the stars”. But the US pressured for there to be no exchange of space technology from Brazil with other nations, putting everything on hold for a while. Now, in 2022, with the new zest for the private space race and the Technology Safeguards Agreement signed, we can take a small bite of that pizza, which in 2021 was valued at $388.5 billion. Added to the announcement of the second Brazilian to go into space (see box on the side), this month we had the SpaceBR Show fair, at the Frei Caneca Convention Center, São Paulo. It was an example of the desire to grow, show itself and create business opportunities in the so-called New Space, a sector that encompasses numerous startups. With close to 90 exhibitors, they also added companies from their ecosystem, such as drones and geomapping.
MORE COMPETITION Among the participants was the Brazilian branch of Canadian C6 Launch, one of the five foreign companies that signed an agreement to manage launches in Alcântara. “Brazil has made the regulatory environment more competitive for commercial space activities, similar to that of the US,” C6 COO Paulo Vasconcellos told DINHEIRO. The big business for Brazil will be the launch of cargo into space, such as large, nano and microsatellites — C6 intends to place equipment with a mass of less than 100 kg in space in 2024. The market in this niche, according to the executive, should grow around 600%, estimating a value of US$ 2 billion.
The director of mechanical projects at Kosmos Rocketry, João Pedro Sandrin, also an exhibitor at the SpaceBr Show, analyzes that few Brazilians will work effectively in the technical development of projects in Alcântara. Foreign companies will bring their engineers. “We will practically only operate the low-orbit launches, with 600 kg equipment. The infrastructure of Alcântara, today, allows this”, the still student of space engineering at the Federal University of Santa Catarina told DINHEIRO. In the 1960s, with NASA, space exploration was purely governmental. Today, they are private companies. Kosmos, a non-profit company, creates rockets for competitions, such as the one it will enter in June at the Spaceport America Cup, a base created by Richard Branson’s Virgin Galactic in New Mexico.
In Brazil, startups such as Visiona, a joint venture between Embraer and Telebrás, already produces large satellites, such as VCUB1. In the nano sector, Pion. In the world, there is a mix of exploration of the sector: part government, as in China and Japan, part startups, as in France. A number of Brazilian professionals migrate to the aeronautical industry or go in search of placements abroad. But some, more romantic and dreamy — and space exploration cannot live without it, see Elon Musk and his multiplanetary life project —, intend to contribute to Brazilian advancement. It’s in Sandrin’s plans to “make a spin-off of Kosmos when he finishes graduation and stays here”.
INTERVIEW: Victor Hespanha
Engineer Victor Hespanha, 28, had no idea that by investing money in Gen-1 NFTs (Non-Fungible Token), an asset of the Crypto Space Agency (CSA), the space agency for the crypto nation, he could be raffled off with a trip to space. It was and will go on the fifth manned rocket flight of Blue Origin, by Jeff Bezos, which was scheduled for Friday (20), but was postponed to a date to be defined.
Did you know that you would compete for a hot ticket to space by investing in NFT?
I always knew that Gen-1 NFT investors would become premium members of the CSA community and enjoy perks like priority access to events, products, and sweepstakes. However, that was not my main motivation. The goal was to start diversifying my portfolio more with assets that could appreciate in value over time.
To be honest: what is your interest in space exploration?
As a child, I dreamed of being an astronaut, I spent hours watching the sky. But I also dreamed of being a football player, which didn’t work out.
Until winning the prize, what did you know about Blue Origin flights?
I followed the coverage of Blue Origin’s manned flights by the press itself. Especially the first one, which had a lot of buzz around the topic. I was curious about the images, to understand what people saw from the rocket… But, obviously, I never imagined that one day I would be going on one of these missions.
Former Minister of Science, Technology and Innovation Marcos Pontes, the first Brazilian astronaut, got in touch with you?
Not. I think because the trip will be short in terms of time: only ten minutes. Pontes went through this on a much larger scale.
Are you good on roller coasters?
No, not very good. My wife said that after the trip I will have to go with her without complaining.
Are you a fan of Star Wars, Star Trek?
I prefer Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy.
#space #Brazil #MONEY