Alcantara is located in northeastern Brazil, close to the equator, which is advantageous for launches into equatorial orbits. The agreement to launch the Ukrainian Cyclone-4 rocket from this base was signed in 2003, with the first launch planned for late 2014. The ground complex was built in 2011–2012. In March 2013, Brazil stopped funding, and work halted. Ukraine managed to send three batches of equipment, but the rockets themselves never arrived at the base.
In 2015, Brazil delivered a note of denunciation, that is, official notification of withdrawal from the treaty. Ukraine did not object within a year, and on July 16, 2016, the agreement ceased to be in force. According to 's background, Russia offered to replace Ukraine for Brazil, and in October 2019, Volodymyr Zelensky discussed a possible relaunch of the project with Jair Bolsonaro.
Pressure or Own Mistakes
Usov links the project's failure to Moscow's actions. According to him, "Russia, as usual, took advantage of all possible problems and mistakes that we eternally make." At the same time, he acknowledged the fault of both sides. Had obligations been fulfilled on time, he said, "nothing of the sort would have happened." In another excerpt from the same conversation, he clarified that there was no economic pressure, only political, and Brazil unilaterally took back what was theirs.
Russia, as usual, took advantage of all possible problems and mistakes that we eternally make.
Now, according to Usov, this is no longer a matter of an interstate project but a commercial one. It could involve a Ukrainian enterprise, an international fund, and American, Japanese, and European corporations. No specific company names were mentioned in the interview.
Money Listed as Spent
Separately, Usov cited about 250 million dollars under Ukrainian contracts. According to the documents, this money has been spent, but in reality it sits as mothballed products at factories. The agency sent requests to 20 enterprises and received confirmations from two.
Brazil's version in publications differs from Ukraine's. In 2022, Usov repeated Space.com's claim that Brazil spent about 500 million dollars and closed the project in 2015. The figures of the two versions do not match: the Ukrainian side cited 250 million, while according to Space.com, Brazil spent about 500 million.
Usov himself was already head of the agency in May 2020. By a Cabinet of Ministers order dated January 24, 2020, he was appointed head of the State Space Agency of Ukraine for five years with a six-month probation period. He was introduced to the agency's staff on February 5. Before that, he founded Gutenbergz, a company that produced interactive books and electronic textbooks. In 2019, the State Bureau of Investigations opened proceedings related to textbook procurement through the Mykolaiv Regional State Administration. According to 368.media, the company Electronic Solutions, a Gutenbergz dealer, received 12.9 million hryvnias under a tender. No one has personally accused Usov in this case, and there is no verdict. According to TSN, searches at Usov's home and office took place in December 2019, the night before the final of the competition for the agency's head position.
Usov won the competition, and on November 16, 2020, the Cabinet dismissed him under Article 87 of the Law on Civil Service. Mykhailo Lev became acting head. On December 15, 2020, Usov filed a lawsuit against the Cabinet of Ministers and the State Space Agency in the District Administrative Court of Kyiv. Proceedings were opened on December 21, and a preparatory hearing was scheduled for January 18, 2021.
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