A Brazilian Space Agency VLS-1 space rocket explodes on its launch-pad at Alcântara space base, killing at least 21 people. It is thought that one of the rocket's four motors caught fire the subsequent explosion destroyed the rocket, its cargo of two satellites, and the launch-pad, as well as the deaths of many of Brazil's space-specialists, causing an estimated US$ worth of damage. This ends Brazil's third attempt since 1997 at becoming a space power.
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