Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
06SAOPAULO251
2006-03-07 17:40:00
UNCLASSIFIED
Consulate Sao Paulo
how-toVZCZCXRO1077 RR RUEHRG DE RUEHSO #0251/01 0661740 ZNR UUUUU ZZH R 071740Z MAR 06 FM AMCONSUL SAO PAULO TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 4615 INFO RUEHBR/AMEMBASSY BRASILIA 5775 RUEHMO/AMEMBASSY MOSCOW 0165 RHEHNSC/NSC WASHDC RUCPDOC/USDOC WASHDC 2296 RUEHMN/AMEMBASSY MONTEVIDEO 1836 RUEHBU/AMEMBASSY BUENOS AIRES 2069 RUEHSG/AMEMBASSY SANTIAGO 1583 RUEHLP/AMEMBASSY LA PAZ 2617 RUEHRG/AMCONSUL RECIFE 2738 RUEHRI/AMCONSUL RIO DE JANEIRO 6866 RUEHAC/AMEMBASSY ASUNCION 2420
UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 SAO PAULO 000251
SIPDIS
DEPT FOR WHA/BSC AND OES/SAT
STATE PASS TO USTR FOR MSULLIVAN
NSC FOR SUE CRONIN
NASA FOR DKRIEGER
SIPDIS
E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: TSPA PREL EAIR PGOV BR
SUBJECT: Brazil's Cosmonaut
UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 SAO PAULO 000251
SIPDIS
DEPT FOR WHA/BSC AND OES/SAT
STATE PASS TO USTR FOR MSULLIVAN
NSC FOR SUE CRONIN
NASA FOR DKRIEGER
SIPDIS
E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: TSPA PREL EAIR PGOV BR
SUBJECT: Brazil's Cosmonaut
1. SUMMARY: In late March, Brazil plans to send its first astronaut
into space aboard a Russian rocket. This event appears to be the
first step in space-related cooperation between Brazil and Russia.
Despite the historic significance of this flight for Brazil, the
director of Brazil's National Space Agency has derided the event as
a mere "publicity stunt." END SUMMARY.
--------------
HITCHING A RIDE TO SPACE
--------------
2. On March 29, Air Force Lt. Col. Marcos Cesar Pontes will become
Brazil's first person in space when he flies on a Russian Soyuz
rocket to the International Space Station. Pontes will blast off
from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan with Russian astronaut
Pavel Vinogradov and American astronaut Jeffrey Williams and spend
eight days on the International Space Station before returning to
Earth with the outgoing two-man crew.
3. Pontes began training in 1998 in the U.S. After the GOB
reevaluated their participation in the international space station,
Pontes' participation with the U.S. crew was put on an indefinite
hold. Press reports indicate that in 2005, the GOB began
discussions with Russia about the possibility of Pontes traveling
aboard a Russian rocket. During a November 2004 visit to Brazil,
Russian President Vladimir Putin pledged Russian support to help
Brazil resume its space program and restore its rocket-launching
base, which was destroyed by a rocket explosion in 2003 that killed
21 people. Brazil and Russia signed an agreement for Ponte's space
mission during Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva's visit
to Moscow in October 2005.
4. During the mission, Pontes will conduct nine scientific
experiments in the sphere of nano-technology, bio-technology, and
plant behavior in micro-gravitational conditions. A former test
pilot, Pontes, who is currently making final preparations for the
flight at the Star City astronaut training center outside Moscow,
told reporters, "I started as a technician on the railroad. My
first dream was to join the air force and fly fighter planes. It
wasn't until I was an Air Force pilot that I began to dream about
space."
5. The last person to buy a ticket on a Soyuz rocket was American
entrepreneur and scientist Gregory Olsen, who returned safely to
earth October 2005. Olsen paid an estimated USD 20 million for the
trip.
--------------
THE BEGINNING OF A BEAUTIFUL FREINDSHIP
--------------
6. The low price Brazil paid to Russia (supposedly USD 10.5
million, versus Olsen's USD 20 million) was not just a friendly
gesture. According to Brazilian news reports, the Russian
government considers Pontes' flight the first stage of cooperation
between the two nations in the space sector and expects to win the
bid for the construction of a Brazilian satellite. The cooperation
includes negotiations to use the Brazilian Alcantara facility
(located in the northeastern state of Maranhao close to the equator)
to launch Russian commercial satellites. According to Moscow, the
Alcantara base needs about USD 300 million worth of upgrades in
order to become a launch center. While not committing to the full
amount needed to refurbish the site, the Russians are considering
providing financial assistance for the upgrades.
-------------- --------------
BRAZILIAN SPACE FLIGHT IS A MERE "PUBLICITY STUNT"
-------------- --------------
7. COMMENT: The new director of the Brazilian Aerospace Technology
Center, Air Force Lt. Brigadier Carlos Augusto Leal Velloso, said in
a recent interview with daily Folha de Sao Paulo that the Pontes's
upcoming space flight is a mere "publicity stunt" that "will bring
no scientific benefit to Brazil." In an election year that has
seen President Lula up and down in the polls, it isn't hard to
imagine who the "publicity stunt" is meant to benefit. This may be
the final word in a mission that may ultimately be described as
SAO PAULO 00000251 002 OF 002
merely "one small step" for Brazil. END COMMENT
8. This cable was cleared/coordinated with Embassy Brasilia.
McMullen
SIPDIS
DEPT FOR WHA/BSC AND OES/SAT
STATE PASS TO USTR FOR MSULLIVAN
NSC FOR SUE CRONIN
NASA FOR DKRIEGER
SIPDIS
E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: TSPA PREL EAIR PGOV BR
SUBJECT: Brazil's Cosmonaut
1. SUMMARY: In late March, Brazil plans to send its first astronaut
into space aboard a Russian rocket. This event appears to be the
first step in space-related cooperation between Brazil and Russia.
Despite the historic significance of this flight for Brazil, the
director of Brazil's National Space Agency has derided the event as
a mere "publicity stunt." END SUMMARY.
--------------
HITCHING A RIDE TO SPACE
--------------
2. On March 29, Air Force Lt. Col. Marcos Cesar Pontes will become
Brazil's first person in space when he flies on a Russian Soyuz
rocket to the International Space Station. Pontes will blast off
from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan with Russian astronaut
Pavel Vinogradov and American astronaut Jeffrey Williams and spend
eight days on the International Space Station before returning to
Earth with the outgoing two-man crew.
3. Pontes began training in 1998 in the U.S. After the GOB
reevaluated their participation in the international space station,
Pontes' participation with the U.S. crew was put on an indefinite
hold. Press reports indicate that in 2005, the GOB began
discussions with Russia about the possibility of Pontes traveling
aboard a Russian rocket. During a November 2004 visit to Brazil,
Russian President Vladimir Putin pledged Russian support to help
Brazil resume its space program and restore its rocket-launching
base, which was destroyed by a rocket explosion in 2003 that killed
21 people. Brazil and Russia signed an agreement for Ponte's space
mission during Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva's visit
to Moscow in October 2005.
4. During the mission, Pontes will conduct nine scientific
experiments in the sphere of nano-technology, bio-technology, and
plant behavior in micro-gravitational conditions. A former test
pilot, Pontes, who is currently making final preparations for the
flight at the Star City astronaut training center outside Moscow,
told reporters, "I started as a technician on the railroad. My
first dream was to join the air force and fly fighter planes. It
wasn't until I was an Air Force pilot that I began to dream about
space."
5. The last person to buy a ticket on a Soyuz rocket was American
entrepreneur and scientist Gregory Olsen, who returned safely to
earth October 2005. Olsen paid an estimated USD 20 million for the
trip.
--------------
THE BEGINNING OF A BEAUTIFUL FREINDSHIP
--------------
6. The low price Brazil paid to Russia (supposedly USD 10.5
million, versus Olsen's USD 20 million) was not just a friendly
gesture. According to Brazilian news reports, the Russian
government considers Pontes' flight the first stage of cooperation
between the two nations in the space sector and expects to win the
bid for the construction of a Brazilian satellite. The cooperation
includes negotiations to use the Brazilian Alcantara facility
(located in the northeastern state of Maranhao close to the equator)
to launch Russian commercial satellites. According to Moscow, the
Alcantara base needs about USD 300 million worth of upgrades in
order to become a launch center. While not committing to the full
amount needed to refurbish the site, the Russians are considering
providing financial assistance for the upgrades.
-------------- --------------
BRAZILIAN SPACE FLIGHT IS A MERE "PUBLICITY STUNT"
-------------- --------------
7. COMMENT: The new director of the Brazilian Aerospace Technology
Center, Air Force Lt. Brigadier Carlos Augusto Leal Velloso, said in
a recent interview with daily Folha de Sao Paulo that the Pontes's
upcoming space flight is a mere "publicity stunt" that "will bring
no scientific benefit to Brazil." In an election year that has
seen President Lula up and down in the polls, it isn't hard to
imagine who the "publicity stunt" is meant to benefit. This may be
the final word in a mission that may ultimately be described as
SAO PAULO 00000251 002 OF 002
merely "one small step" for Brazil. END COMMENT
8. This cable was cleared/coordinated with Embassy Brasilia.
McMullen