Analysis of the use of Aerospace Meteorology in the Brazilian Space Program

This article is a preliminary assessment of the use and applications of Aerospace Meteorology and all actions correlated to the operation of launching rockets in Brazil (Centro de Lançamento de Alcântara - CLA and Centro de Lançamento da Barreira do Inferno - CLBi). Notably, the Aerospace Meteorology information has fundamental importance in all phases of operation of a rocket launch. However, providing weather information to support the decision making process of the operational at a launch center is a complex process and requires a rational tool and objective. Therefore, assessing the actions of Aerospace Meteorology in broader aspect, considering an environment of uncertainty in making the decision, with different factors (internal and external), and multiple decision makers, judgments, risks, among others, is extremely relevant to the operation of a launch center. To survey and evaluate the current scenario of Aerospace Meteorology in the process of launching rockets is proposed in this work using the methodology of Cognitive Maps. We performed a series of interviews with some actors, classified into two groups: performers (staff of meteorology) and customers (users of meteorological information). With the aggregated maps, it was possible to identify the main cause and effect relationships between different concepts raised. Later, these concepts were grouped into clusters: infrastructure, technical personnel, operational procedures and institutional relationships. The findings, although limited due to the small number of interviews, already indicate some potential actions that must be performed to improve the meteorological information in the Brazilian launch centers. The main actions identified were: a) expand the specialized staff, b) review the institutional relations of organs involved, and c) review the actions of executors and operational procedures.