MOSCOW (Sputnik) – Russia is ready to work with Brazil in the space industry to develop new space centers and Cyclone rockets for launches, Russian Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Rogozin said Friday.
“Brazil is attempting to develop its own space center. Unfortunately, because of the losses by Ukraine of their technology, the Brazilian-Ukrainian project on using the Cyclone rocket on the coastal space center in Brazil has been practically shut down, but Russia has suggested its own ways of work…we have ideas as to how to help Brazil in developing its space centers,” Rogozin told journalists.
Earlier this month, reports emerged that Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff decided to abandon a project for the satellite launch system Cyclone-4, which Brazil and Ukraine had been conducting together for 12 years. The decision was reportedly made last January, after experts declared the $329-million project unfeasible.
Russia and Brazil have long been discussing the latter's space industry. Last July, Russian President Vladimir Putin announced that Moscow was looking forward to deepening cooperation with Brasilia in a number of industries, including space. Brazil is one of the sites where stations for the Russian navigation satellites GLONASS are located.
