So far, Brazil's three attempts to launch from Alcantara have been unsuccessful - including the third try last year, which resulted in a horrific explosion that killed 21 Brazilian space officials, destroyed the launchpad and dealt a severe setback to the space program.

Still, the tragedy only served to reinforce the commitment by Brazil's President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva to proceed with development of the VLS rocket and continue plans to expand the launch center.

During a memorial last year for the fallen space workers, President Lula promised the nation would launch a VLS before the end of 2006. Now, with the help of the Ukrainians, that dream may come true.

The Ukrainians not only will help the Brazilians with the development of their rocket, they also will play a central role in setting up the coveted international commercial spaceport.

Last week, Brazil's Senate voted to ratify an agreement between the two countries that opens the way for a joint-venture company - called Cyclone-Alcantara Space - to offer commercial launches of the Cyclone-4 rocket at Alcantara.

Immediately following ratification, Sergio Gaudenzi, president of AEB, Brazil's space agency, said Brazil and Ukraine will begin work, even this year, on specific steps to accelerate procedures that permit the operations of the Ukrainian Cyclone-4 rocket from the Alcantara Launch Center by 2007.

Gaudenzi had announced the accelerated-development program for the Cyclone-4 during a meeting last Friday with Yuri Bogaievsky, Ukraine's ambassador to Brazil, and Olexander Serdyuk, chief of the international relations department of the National Space Agency of Ukraine.

Ratification also triggers the immediate availability of 15 million reals (about $5 million) in supplemental funding to begin work on infrastructure improvement at Alcantara to accommodate launches of the Ukrainian rocket.

Serdyuk talked about the joint project with the Brazilians during an exclusive interview recently in Brasilia with United Press International. He said Cyclone-Alcantara Space will be headquarted in Brazil and owned equally by INFRAERO, the Brazilian state company, and Yushnoye, the Ukrainian state company.

Over the next three years, Brazil and the Ukraine will equally invest $105 million, through the (joint venture), to upgrade the facilities at Alcantara and to build a launchpad for the Cyclone-4 rocket, Serdyuk said.

There are three phases to this joint program with the Brazilians, he continued. First, the Ukraine commits its own financial resources to make the changes necessary to transform the Cyclone-3 into the more powerful Cyclone-4.

So far, we ourselves have invested $20 million for those changes, and by the time we are through, we will have put in $90 million to create the Cyclone-4.

Seryduk said the adaptations included new avionics, a new faring or protective payload covering, automatic fuel-loading capabilities to avoid accidents and a new third stage for the rocket, which will allow the engine to be fired five separate times for precise satellite placement.

The second phase of the joint venture requires the Brazilians to make improvements to the Alcantaras site, including improving the roads, port facilities and other basic infrastructure.

The third phase will involve a $105 million investment to build the launch pad and processing facilities specific to the Cyclone-4, including installations for assembling, transporting and fueling the rocket, and a satellite assembly and integration facility.

Although Cyclone-Alcantara Space will be established primarily to meet the needs of the space programs of Ukraine and Brazil, we also hope that it has a commercial return, Seryduk said. Eventually, we will allow other countries to participate in this joint-venture; so far, Argentina has expressed an interest.

The Brazilians and Ukrainians plan to charge about $34 million for launching a payload of 12,000 pounds (5,500 kilograms) into low-Earth orbit, and $38 million to launch a 4,000-pound (1800-kg) payload into the higher, geosynchronous transfer orbit favored for larger telecommunications satellites.

We have done initial market research, which indicates that even under the most pessimistic scenario of four launches a year, the program will pay for itself, Seryduk said.

Meanwhile, just as the Brazilian launch center prepares to open its doors for business, a privately financed program in the United States plans to build a rocket comparable to Cyclone-4 by 2005. That rocket, called the Falcon 5, will offer similar launches to its customers, but at a fraction of the cost.

Space Explorations Technologies, a private rocket firm established by internet entrepreneur Elon Musk, has already built its first rocket, Falcon 1, which is scheduled to launch a small satellite for the U.S. Department of Defense next January.

The larger Falcon 5 will be competing for the same international commercial customers the Brazilian/Ukrainian company is seeking. Both are looking to launch medium- to large-size satellites in roughly the same weight class.

The big difference will be price. Though Cyclone-Alcantara Space plans to charge between $34 and $38 million per launch, SpaceX, as the company is known, plans to offer Falcon 5 for about $12 million a flight.

Next: Brazil's first astronaut talks about his first flight

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