The first launch of Cyclone-4 rocket in the frame of the Ukrainian-Brazilian project on the construction of Cyclone-4 space rocket complex at Brazil's Alcantara space center has been scheduled for late 2013, head of the State Space Agency of Ukraine Yuriy Alekseyev has said.
The parties have already agreed the updated schedule of work on the project, he said at a press conference in Kyiv on Thursday.
At present they consider Japanese and Spanish satellites as possible payload, but a Japanese spacecraft is currently a more likely choice, Alekseyev said.
Ukraine and Brazil signed an agreement in 2003 on long-term cooperation in constructing the Cyclone-4 space rocket complex at Brazil’s Alcantara space center.
The construction of the launch center was started in autumn 2010: the area was deforested, service roads and a village for constructors were built.
The project costs are estimated at $488 million, with the two countries sharing the expenses fifty-fifty.
