VS-40

The VS-40 (Foguete Suborbital VS-40) is a Brazilian sounding rocket using solid fuel and stabilized aerodynamically.

VS-40 (Foguete Suborbital VS-40)

VS-40 rocket on display in Brazil
Function	Sounding rocket
Country of origin	Brazil
Size
Height	9.5 m (31 ft)
Diameter	1.01 m (3 ft 4 in)
Mass	6,800 kg (15,000 lb)
Stages	2
Capacity
Payload to sub-orbital flight
Altitude	650 km (400 mi)
Mass	500 kg (1,100 lb)
Launch history
Status	Active
Launch sites	Alcântara Space Center, Andøya Space, Barreira do Inferno Launch Center
Total launches	3
Failure(s)	1[1]
First flight	2 April 1993
First stage – S40TM
Gross mass	4,200 kg (9,300 lb)
Specific impulse	275 seconds (2.70 km/s)
Burn time	56 seconds
Second stage – S44M
Gross mass	810 kg (1,790 lb)
Maximum thrust	33.24 kN (7,470 lbf)
Specific impulse	282 seconds (2.77 km/s)
Burn time	68 seconds

The original version, VS-40, uses the S-40TM (4,200 kg) first stage engine and the S-44M (810 kg) second stage engine.^[2][3][4] This configuration corresponds to the upper stages of the VLS-1 rocket.^[5]

Version VS-40M used a S-40M engine for the first stage.^[4]

Flights

VS40 performed the following flights:^{[4][6][7][8][9][10][1][11]}

Date	Version	Flight	Site	Mission
1993/04/02	VS-40	V01	Alcântara	Operação Santa Maria - Qualifying flight for the S44 engine. 760 seconds in micro-gravity.[4]
1998/03/21	VS-40	V02	Alcântara	Operação Livramento - VAP-1 (Fokker) payload.[12]
2012/06/22	VS-40M	V03	Andøya	SHEFEX (Sharp Edge Flight Experiment) II payload.[9][10]
2015/11/13	VS-40M		Alcântara	Operação São Lourenço - SARA Suborbital 1 (reentry experiment) – Failure (exploded on pad) [6][7][8][1][12]

A flight of VS-40M carrying "SARA Suborbital 2" was planned but eventually cancelled. A future flight of VS-40M carrying HIFiRE 8 is in development.^[4]

Characteristics

VS-40

• Length (mm) 6725
• Payload Mass (kg) 500
• Diameter (mm) 1000
• Total takeoff mass (kg) 6,737
• Mass of propellant (kg) 5,054
• Structural mass (kg) 1,028
• Apogee (km) 650
• Microgravity time (s) 760

S-40 rocket engine

The S-40 is a solid-propellant rocket motor developed and manufactured by Avibras Aeroespacial, a Brazilian aerospace company, primarily for use in sounding rockets. Different versions were used on several rockets:^[4]

• S-40 - first stage of Sonda-4;
• S-40TM - first stage of VS-40; third stage of VLS-1;^[5][13]
• S-40M - first stage of VS-40M; second stage of VLM.

S-40TM specifications:^[13]

• Total mass: 5664 kg
• Unfueled mass: 1212kg
• Thrust: 208.39 kN
• SI: 275 seconds
• Burn time: 56 s

S-44 rocket engine

The S-44 is a solid-propellant rocket motor developed by the Instituto de Aeronáutica e Espaço (IAE), part of Brazil’s Departamento de Ciência e Tecnologia Aeroespacial (DCTA).^[14] It was used as second stage of VS-40 and VS-40M; the third stage of VLM and the fourth stage of VLS-1.^[4]

S-44 specifications:^[14]

• Total mass: 1025 kg
• Unfueled mass: 190 kg
• Thrust: 33.24 kN
• SI: 282 seconds
• Burn time: 68 s