SAO PAULO (Reuters) - Brazil has decided to scrap its current generation of scientific satellites after two botched efforts to blast one into space, but the glitches do not mean the country's space program has failed, scientists said on Monday.
The latest attempt to launch a Scientific Applications Satellite (Saci) probe into space ended in failure on Saturday when a rocket engine malfunctioned, forcing the control center to destroy it shortly after lift-off from the launch site in Maranhao, a northern state located near the Equator.
"This is not a failure for our space program. It is only one of the tests at the development stage,'' said Otavio Bogossian, a satellite engineer at the National Space Research Institute.
"Other countries have seen many more rockets burst before something started working,'' he said.
Bogossian is now working on a new Brazilian-French project to create the next-generation satellite that will replace the current Saci family. The first launch of the new satellite probe is tentatively slated for the end of 2001.
The satellite would have its own navigation system to keep it stable while in orbit. It would gather meteorological data, but also would be able to conduct scientific experiments.
"Other countries have seen many more rockets burst before something started working."
The $6 million Saci-2 meteorological satellite was destroyed along with its rocket about three minutes after blast-off on Saturday after the four-stage rocket suffered an as-yet-unidentified problem with one of its propulsion units.
Ground control immediately destroyed the rocket and satellite by remote control. The debris fell into the Atlantic Ocean near the coastline of Ceara state, south of Maranhao.
Scientists said the rocket problem would be investigated, but so far it seemed similar to that of the first Brazilian rocket, which blew up soon after blast-off two years ago carrying the first Saci satellite.
Bogossian said the rockets were still in an experimental stage and at least two more launches were needed to test the boosters.
"This is all part of the development process. We knew about the risks when we were sending the satellite with this rocket. It is still cheaper for us than to pay for excessively expensive foreign launches,'' he said.
Defending Brazil's fledgling space program, Bogossian said it allowed the country to be independent in its own continent.
"We cannot always use technologies from other continents, while Latin America so far has no united approach to the issue,'' he said.
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