Alcântara Space Center
The Alcântara Space Center (, CEA), former known as "Alcântara Launch Center" (,) is a space center and launching facility of the Brazilian Space Agency in the city of Alcântara, located on Brazil's northern Atlantic coast, in the state of Maranhão. It is operated by the Brazilian Air Force (). The CEA is the closest launching base to the equator. This gives the launch site a significant advantage in launching geosynchronous satellites, an attribute shared by the Guiana Space Centre. Construction of the base began in 1982. The first launch occurred on February 21, 1990, when the sounding rocket  Sonda 2 XV-53 was launched. On August 22, 2003, the explosion of the third VLS-1 (XV-03) killed 21 people. There are also plans to launch several international rockets from Alcântara. In 2003 contracts were signed to launch Ukrainian Tsyklon-4 and Israeli Shavit rockets; In addition there are further plans to launch the Russian Proton rocket. In the beginning of 2018, Brazilian government offered the possibility to use the spaceport to several U.S. companies. The company Virgin Orbit, was selected to fly their LauncherOne rocket from Alcântara in the first half of 2022. Public-private partnership. Companies based in Alcântara as  of 2021, with the objective of orbital and sub-orbital launches, for commercial purposes or in partnership with the Brazilian government: As of August 2021, the Brazilian government established Ordinance No. 698, a regulation that follows the FAA 14 CFR part 450 standard, which deals with launch and re-entry licenses in order to follow the world standard in space activities. Agreement between Brazil and the U.S.. In 2019, Brazil and the U.S. signed an agreement, with the objective of preventing unauthorized access or transfer of U.S. technologies related to the launches from Alcântara. List of launchpads. The Alcântara launch  pads include: Launch list. The list of flights conducted and planned from Alcântara: