MEDIA ARTICLE SPECULATES ON WHY BRAZIL COULD NOT LIVE UP

UNCLAS BRASILIA 000961 SIPDIS SIPDIS STATE FOR OES/SAT RFORD STATE FOR WHA/BPOPP STATE FOR OES/STC LBLANCAS STATE PLEASE PASS TO NASA FOR MMOORE E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: TSPA SENV TBIO KSCA OSCI BR SUBJECT: MEDIA ARTICLE SPECULATES ON WHY BRAZIL COULD NOT LIVE UP TO SPACE STATION OBLIGATIONS ¶1. (U) SUMMARY: Brazilian newspaper quotes George Washington University director, John Logsdon as saying because of delays and its inability to meet its obligations for the International Space Station (ISS),Brazil has lost its chance to be a space station partner. The article quotes the Brazilian Space Agency (AEB) as saying that it is working with its foreign ministry to negotiate a broader partnership agreement in space with the United States. END SUMMARY ¶2. In a May 29, 2007, article in the newspaper Estado do Sao Paulo headlined "Brazil Is Out of the International Space Station Project", John Logsdon, Director of the Institute for Space Policy at George Washington University, discusses the reasons why Brazil has lost its chance to be an ISS partner. ¶3. The article notes that after almost 10 years of participation, Brazil has not "contributed even a single bolt to the project" and according to the article, Logsdon says that " it is too late for Brazil to do anything other than become a user of the station." ¶4. Logsdon is quoted as saying that it is not likely NASA will take any formal action to cancel the contract with the Brazilian Space Agency. ¶5. The article said that Brazil entered the project in October 1997, responsible for the production of six parts, worth approximately US$120 million, an amount much higher than the AEB could have handled. In exchange for the production of the parts, the article continued, Brazil would have had the rights to use the station for scientific experiments and participation of its astronaut, but nothing was ever built by Brazil. ¶6. When asked by the Estado of Sao Paulo reporter, the AEB press office did not deny Logsdon's statements, but instead, announced plans for an even broader partnership with NASA. "The Brazilian Space Agency and the Brazil Foreign Ministry are beginning negotiations with NASA and the Department of State for a new stage of cooperation between Brazil and the United States, which was, at times, a bit shaky due to the problem of American participation in Alcantara." (The article says in parenthesis that the Brazilian National Congress vetoed a possible agreement for American use of the base). "The interest of AEB is not just participation in ISS, but a much broader cooperation." ¶7. The article goes on to say that in Logsdon's opinion, the inability of Brazil to keep its promises about the space station left a "bad taste" in NASA's mouth, which could make future partnerships more difficult. The decision to send the Brazilian astronaut, Marcos Pontes, to Russia, instead of the United States, also contributed to the bad impression. SOBEL