#memóriaBCC - MacJee entra no desenvolvimento do VLM

Did IAE outsource rocket development to Mac Jee? With just over a year remaining until the deadline for the development of the RATO vehicle, Mac Jee's participation in the VLM (Microsatellite Launch Vehicle) project remains a mystery. Brasil com Ciência retrieved an interview, recorded in August 2024, in which the company representative stated verbatim to Brasil com Ciência that the company would become involved in the development of the main national rocket, after the Air Force abandoned the use of the VS-50 as an accelerator for the 14X project. The interview caused controversy, and the company never commented further. Since then, the Air Force has not only signed an agreement with Mac Jee for the development of launch vehicles, but has also contracted renovation work at the Coronel Abner Power Plant to prepare it for loading the S50 engines (propellant for the VS-50 and VLM). Did the Mac Jee representative bluff at that time? Or did the IEA (Institute of Aeronautics and Space) outsource rocket development and simply doesn't want to admit it? What would Mac Jee's remuneration be for working on the VLM development in conjunction with the IAE? According to the aeronautics department, the agreement signed at the end of last year did not establish any amounts. Is the company working for free? It's worth remembering that the IAE obtained R$ 133 million from Finep (Financing Agency for Studies and Projects) for the VLM-AT (Technological Autonomy) project, which had the stated objective of nationalizing technologies that are currently the responsibility of the German Aerospace Center. Of this amount, only R$ 25 million have been spent or, at least, have had documentation located by the Brazil with Science program so far. The fate of the remainder, approximately R$ 108 million, remains uncertain.