We expect to have the full participation of the political, academic and industrial communities at this conference. We hope the appropriate congressional committees, such as the Science and Technology committees of the Assembly and the Senate, will also help craft our new plans for the future of Brazil's space program.

In the last few years, the space program has suffered a series of setbacks, culminating in the explosion of the VLS rocket in 2003 on the launch pad at the country's Alcantara facility, killing 21 people.

A government-appointed legislative commission released a report last month citing inadequate funding as the fundamental cause of most of the program's problems, including the events leading to the catastrophic explosion.

According to the report, the lack of investments in new equipment, security measures and training of the personnel working in the space program led to the tragedy. Terezinha Fernandes, a member of the commission, also said low salaries at Alcantara forced many technicians and officials to work extra jobs to meet their own needs.

The commission's report specifically pointed out the dramatic reductions in the budgets allocated for AEB over the last few years. During its height, in 1992 thru 1994, the entire Brazilian space program received about $100 million a year. In 2002, however, the year before the accident, the budget plummeted to $15.3 million.

Last August, Gaudenzi proposed a 2005 budget for AEB of $36 million, more than double the current level.

We just submitted a proposed budget for 2005 for Brazil's entire space program, including our space agency and the National Space Research Institute, he said.

It comes out to close to $100 million. The Congress, of course, has to approve this, but just this last July, the lower house of the Congress, the Assembly, voted to give our agency additional funds this year for work on the VLS and reconstruction of the launch pad for the VLS.

In July, the Assembly approved a one-time, additional outlay for this year of about $12 million for VLS development, accident recovery and initial preparations to launch the Ukrainian Cyclone-4 rocket, which is being done under a joint space agreement between the two countries.

According to Gaudenzi, $100 million, allocated annually, is the minimum that our space program requires for the continuity of our programs.

Prompted by questions within Brazilian society about the relevance of the space program - known as the National Space Activities Program or PNAE - originally established by the military government in the 1970s, space officials see this year's conference as an opportunity to involve larger segments of society in helping to set the course for the future.

In August, Gaudenzi established a working group to conduct a complete analysis of the current PNAE, covering 1998 to 2007, and to revise it for a new period, from 2005 to 2014.

The working group, headed by Luiz Carlos Miranda, director of the NSRI, is made up of representatives from AEB; the ministries of Foreign Affairs, Science and Technology, Development and Industry and Foreign Commerce, and the Air Force Command, along with representatives from the scientific and industrial sectors.

The working group will have three months to go through a complete re-evaluation of the PNAE and present their findings in November at the conference, which will be open to the pubic.

Gaudenzi said the group has been charged specifically with evaluating the impact of current space projects on the nation's industrial policies, technological development and, most important, how it will benefit Brazilian society.

I want to communicate the benefits of the Brazilian space program to the Brazilian public, Gaudenzi said. Getting the support of the Brazilian public helps to guarantee the approval of the necessary funds for our budget.

By the way, we expect to enlist the help of our Brazilian astronaut in this effort as well, since he is a great communicator and is viewed as a celebrity in our society.

In an earlier conversation with UPI, the astronaut, Maj. Marcos Pontes, indicated that the next two months are crucial in gaining public support for Brazil's involvement in the International Space Station - one of the components of the PNAE.

The working group is considering whether Brazil should continue its ISS participation, and if so, at what level.

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