The ground explosion of a satellite launcher rocket at the ALCANTARA Space Centre killed 10 operators and 11 highly-qualified civil engineers at 1:30 pm (local time: 16:30 GMT). The explosion caused a fire and led to the destruction of the launcher, 2 Brazilian remote sensing satellites and the adjacent shooting range. This rocket launch had been scheduled for Monday, 25th August. The cost of this 50-tonne, 30-m tall rocket and its 40-tonne combustible load amounted to $6.5 million.
This accident occurred during a designed operating sequence of the first-stage “A” propulsion unit, lasting 40 seconds, and was triggered by the untimely ignition of a propulsion unit lighter, which itself was due to the presence of either an electrical current in the “line of fire” or an electrostatic discharge inside the detonator. The second hypothesis was deemed more probable given that the line of fire had in theory been protected.
The investigation conducted by the Brazilian Minister of Defence, assigned to oversee the national space programme, was concluded in 2004. While meteorological factors did not seem to be directly involved, a number of related points were still cited for improvement (inoperable weather radar, need for highly-skilled personnel). The organisational and human factor was also mentioned in the investigation report: more fluid information exchange among the various participants, more effective inclusion of risk during launcher integration and preparation, better quality management. Recommendations were issued for the resumption of Brazil’s space programme (with increased reliability of both the equipment and organisation).
