Posted: Sat, Aug 17, 2002, 11:01 AM ET (1501 GMT)
The Brazilian government has informed NASA that it is not able to provide a component for the International Space Station it had previously planned to build, SPACE.com reported Friday. Ronaldo Sardenberg, Brazil's minister for science and technology, informed NASA in a mid-July letter that the cost of building the Express Pallet would far exceed what Brazil can currently afford to pay. The pallet, which was to be added to the station in 2005, was designed to provide a site for experiments to be mounted to the exterior of the station. Brazil agreed to build the pallet in a 1997 agreement with NASA in exchange for station resources, as well as the possibility of flying a Brazilian astronaut to the station. The cost of the Express Pallet was estimated to be $200 million at the time the agreement was reached. SPACE.com said that Brazil hopes to find alternative ways to participate on ISS in a less expensive manner; NASA is planning to meet with Brazilian officials in the fall.

Related Links:

•  SPACE.com article