MORABA, the mobile rocket base of the DLR Institute of Space Operations and Astronaut Training, is participating in the development of the VLM-1 launcher (veículo lançador de microsatélites). The VLM-1 is a small satellite launcherwhich is to be qualified for its first space mission by the Brazilian space agency, AEB. In 2016, VLM will to carry the SHEFEX-3 (SHarp Edge Flight EXperiment) spacecraft to the region between the upper layers of the terrestrial atmosphere and space. SHEFEX-3 will then separate from the VLM and return autonomously to the Earth at a velocity of seven kilometres per second. SHEFEX-3 will enable scientists to perform research in technology to reduce the cost of spacecraft re-entries into the Earth’s atmosphere.