Brazil's defense minister said on Thursday that Boeing, Lockheed Martin, SpaceX and other U.S. aerospace companies have expressed an interest in launching rockets from its Alcantara military base near the equator and visited the site in December.
"They were very impressed," Defense Minister Raul Jungmann told reporters. "They showed an interest, but I can't say whether it will materialize."
Alcantara's location makes it attractive because one-fifth less fuel is needed to launch satellites into orbit along the equator compared with sites farther north or south.