The first launch of a Brazilian rocket failed November 2 when one of its booster engines failed to start up, forcing controllers to destroy the rocket.
     The launch of the VLS-1 rocket initially appeared to be a success, as the rocket lifted off from the Alcantara launch center in northern Brazil, an event televised live throughout Brazil.
     However, one of the boosters of the launch vehicle failed to ignite, controllers discovered. The lack of thrust made it impossible to reliably control the booster, they said, and they issued a self-destruct command 65 seconds after launch.
     The debris from the rocket rained down onto the Atlantic Ocean from an altitude of about 3,200 meters (10,600 feet). No injuries or damage were reported.
     The rocket carried a remote sensing satellite built in Brazil that would have returned environmental data on the nation.
     The launch was a setback for a country trying to develop a presence in space, but it is not expected to be a fatal one. The Brazilian Space Agency and its National Institute for Space Research had built four prototype rockets, including the one which failed.
     The country is also seeking other avenues of space development. Last month the United States and Brazil reached an agreement to bring Brazil into the International Space Station program. Brazil will provide equipment, including experiment and logistics carriers, for the station in exchange for flying one Brazilian on the station.

The space shuttle Columbia is on track for a November 19 launch for an extended microgravity and solar science research mission with a crew that includes Japanese and Ukrainian astronauts.
     STS-87 is scheduled for launch at 2:46pm EST (1946 UT) November 19 from the Kennedy Space Center. The 16-day mission will use the Spacelab module for microgravity research and a free-flying satellite to study the Sun.
     The Spartan 201-04 satellite will be deployed by the shuttle and fly free for over two days. The satellite includes instruments to study the Suns outer atmosphere, or corona, to study its heating and its effect on the solar wind (see article in the Science section for more information on recent solar research in this area.) The satellite will be retrieved and returned to Earth.
     Inside the shuttle, the Spacelab module hosts the United States Microgravity Payload 4 (USMP-4), a collection of experiments to study the effects of microgravity, or weightlessness, on materials. Experiments include studies of the development of semiconductor crystals, alloys, and the effects of weightlessness on the solidification of liquid materials.
     The mission also features a six-hour EVA in the shuttle's cargo bay by Winston Scott and Takao Doi. The two will conduct a number of equipment tests in the shuttle's cargo bay, including testing the maneuverability of a remote camera with its own propulsion system. The "spaceball" uses cold gas jets to give it six degrees of freedom and can be controlled from inside the shuttle.
     The mission will be commanded by Kevin Kregel, making his third shuttle flight. He and mission specialist Scott are the only veterans on the crew. Four rookies will be flying, including pilot Steven Lindsey and mission specialist Kalpana Chawla. Also flying are Japanese mission specialist Doi (who will become the first Japanese astronaut to perform a spacewalk) and Ukrainian Leonid Kadenyuk. Kadenyuk, the first Ukrainian to fly on the shuttle, will also supervise a collection of plant growth experiments contributed by the Ukraine.
     If launched on schedule, the shuttle is set to return on the morning of December 5 at the Kennedy Space Center.

NASA has selected cameras and other scientific payloads for its Mays Surveyor 2001 missions, which will feature an orbiter as well as a lander with a long-range rover.
     "The Mars 2001 missions will be a major step forward in advancing our understanding of Mars and preparing to return samples," said NASA's Carl Pilcher in a November 6 announcement.
     The lander spacecraft's primary payload will be an advanced-technology rover currently unnamed. Slightly larger in size than the Sojourner rover which roamed the terrain around the Mars Pathfinder landing site, the new rover will be capable of traveling up to 100 km (62 mi.), 1000 times farther than Sojourner's maximum range, and be able to work for one year.
     The rover will carry an experiment package called Athena, to be developed by Cornell University. The payload is designed to return high-resolution color stereo images of the surface; study the textural properties of the landscape; identify elements and minerals in the rocks and soil, and collect samples for possible retrieval on a future mission.
     Work on the Athena system has already begun, according to project scientist Steven Squyres of Cornell University. "We're starting fast. We're going to hit the ground running," he said. A science team of 20 experts from the U.S., Germany, and Denmark will participate on the mission.
     Also flying on the lander is a descent camera, which will image the landscape around the landing site as the lander makes its rocket-assisted descent. The camera will be provided by Malin Space Science Systems, which also provided the camera on the Mars Global Surveyor and other missions.
     Flying on the orbiter will be the Thermal Emission Imaging System (THEMIS), a multi-spectral camera system that will study the surface at thermal infrared wavelengths. The system will return data on the mineral composition and structure of the surface.
     The orbiter will also fly the backup gamma-ray spectrometer from the failed Mars Observer mission. The instrument will be the last from the original spacecraft's payload to be reflown.
     Experiments for the lander to study the soil, dust and radiation environment have yet to be selected. These experiments will be conducted in cooperation with scientists and engineers studying the Martian environment in preparation for future human missions.

Delta, Titan, Ariane and Proton rockets were in action in early November, launching American military satellites and an array of commercial spacecraft.
     A Titan IV booster launched a classified spy satellite November 7. The launch took place from Cape Canaveral at 9:05pm EST (0205 UT Nov. 8). The satellite is believed to be an electronic eavesdropping satellite for the National Reconnaissance Office, designed to listen to communications between Russia and its nuclear submarine fleet.
     A Delta II launched a GPS satellite from Cape Canaveral, Florida on November 6. Launch of the last Block 2A Navstar GPS took place at 7:30pm EST (0030 UT Nov. 7). The launch was delayed one day when boats in a restricted zone offshore failed to move before the launch window closed.
     Another Delta II launched five Iridium satellites November 8 from Vandenberg Air Force Base. The launch took place at 8:34pm EST (0134 UT Nov. 9), shortly after sunset on the West Coast. The timing of the launch allowed for a dramatic twilight effect, when the rocket rose above the terminator, allowing the Sun to backlight the plume. The effect was seen throughout Southern California and generated hundreds of calls to local authorities, reporting meteors and UFOs.
     An Ariane 4 launched two communications satellites November 12 from Kourou, French Guiana. The Ariane 44L launched at 4:48pm EST (2148 UT), carrying the Sirius-2 satellite for Sweden and the Cakrawarta-1 satellite for Indonesia. The launch, originally scheduled for November 7, was delayed three days to repair minor damage to Sirius-2 that occurred during processing, and two days because of high winds.
     Also on November 12, a Russian Proton rocket launched a satellite for Russia's central bank. The launch of the Kupon rocket took place at approximately noon EST (1700 UT) from Baikonur, Kazakhstan. The satellite will be used by the Central Bank of Russia as part of a worldwide communications and accounting system.