Successful static firing test with DLR involvement

The S50 is the largest rocket motor ever manufactured in Brazil, with 12 tonnes of solid propellant, and employs innovative technologies such as the use of carbon-fibre-reinforced composites for the engine casing, which makes it lighter and more efficient. The first launch with an S50 is planned for 2023 from the Alcântara Space Center (Centro Espacial de Alcântara; CEA).

The static firing lasted 84 seconds and tested the behaviour of the motor. The successful completion of this test was critical for the final stages of development of the S50 motor, which will provide Brazil with new capabilities in terms of the deployment of suborbital vehicles and microsatellites through the Microsatellite Launch Vehicle Project (Projeto do Veículo Lançador de Microssatélites; VLM-1).

Sounding rockets for experiments in microgravity

The scientific community will also benefit from the technical potential of the engine in the context of rocket research platforms. Sounding rockets provide scientists with independent and regular access to perform experiments under space conditions, for example in microgravity. They reach an altitude of up to 270 kilometres and thus enable approximately six minutes of microgravity before re-entering Earth's atmosphere. The new VS-50 sounding rocket, which is being developed and will be launched by DLR's Mobile Rocket Base, will offer the scientific community experiment durations of up to 30 minutes in microgravity, as well as hypersonic conditions at speeds of up to Mach 15.