Space Technology Comes to Latin America: Part of the Hemisphere’s Road to Autonomy
In 2006 Marcos Pontes, a Lieutenant Colonel in the Brazilian Air Force, became the first Brazilian national to go into
space as a member of the crew of the Expedition-13. This event is both a landmark in Brazilian history as well as an
interesting example of a developing science that has political, economic and security-related repercussions for space
technology in Latin America.
Today, the area has made considerable progress in trying to break away from Washington’s traditional dominance. A
home-grown hemispheric space program, with the aid of major outside powers like France, Russia and China, represents the
latest round of this growing trend.
ENDS