Brazilian President Praises Nation's First Astronaut After Flight

Brazilian Space Agency astronaut Marcos Pontes greets personnel on hand at the Expedition 12 landing site in Kazakhstan on April 8, 2006. CREDIT: NASA/Bill Ingalls.

SAO PAULO, Brazil (AP) - Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva welcomed the return of Brazil's first astronaut to Earth on Sunday, praising his accomplishments in space.

Marcos Pontes landed in the freezing steppe in Kazakhstan on Sunday after a visit to the International Space Station.

"In the name of the Brazilian Air Force, the Science and Technology Ministry and the Brazilian people, I would like to welcome astronaut Marcos Pontes in his return home,'' Silva said in a statement. "The extraordinary success of his mission ... is a motive of great satisfaction for us.''

The 43-year-old lieutenant colonel was featured daily on Brazilian TV news broadcasts and in newspaper pages since blasting into space aboard a Russian Soyuz rocket on March 29. The Brazilian flag he waved in the capsule was seen as a symbol of pride to most Brazilians.

"His dedication and his sympathy were notable,'' Silva said. "He has become one of the greatest personalities of our country.''

Pontes, a Brazilian Air Force fighter pilot, joined the 15 nations involved in the space station project in 1997. A year later he was picked for the flight by NASA and the Brazilian Space Agency.

Pontes' trip was met with criticism by some Brazilians because it reportedly cost the Brazilian Space Agency US$10 million (euro8.2 million).

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