The Vice-President of the United States, Mike Pence, visited Brasilia in the end of June for bilateral meetings with Brazilian President Michel Temer and other government officials.
One of the original objectives of Pence’s trip to Brazil was to strengthen trade relations between the two nations. However, negotiations about a possible authorization by Brazil to allow the U.S. to use the Brazilian base Alcantra in the Northeastern part of the country was also on the table.
According to Bloomberg, talks over U.S. commercial use of the rocket launch site in Brazil are advancing. No final agreement was reached during the meeting, but concessions have been made from both sides and things are moving forward in a positive way.
“Alcantara’s proximity to the equator makes it cheaper to launch rockets. The base could generate revenue of up to $1.5 billion per year, according to the Brazilian defense ministry. All previous attempts at commercially exploring the base have failed. In 2015 Brazil ended a partnership with Ukraine to develop a launch vehicle at Alcantara, citing Ukraine’s financial problems. A previous cooperation with the U.S. was rejected by Congress for alleged national sovereignty violations”, Bloomberg stated.