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| title | chunk | source | category | tags | date_saved | instance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ARCAspace | 3/8 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ARCAspace | reference | science, encyclopedia | 2026-05-05T12:56:53.489424+00:00 | kb-cron |
After the difficulties encountered with the stratospheric balloons, ARCA decided to change their approach to orbital launch for the Google Lunar X Prize. They designed a supersonic rocket plane powered by a liquid-fueled rocket engine using kerosene as fuel and liquid oxygen as oxidizer. The aircraft, initially named E-111, was renamed IAR-111 after ARCA received permission from IAR S.A. Brasov to use the traditional IAR designation for military and civilian aircraft constructed since 1925. The aircraft was intended to fly to an altitude of 17.000 m and launch a heavily modified version of the Haas rocket, named Haas 2. Haas 2 was an air-launched three-stage orbital rocket intended to place a 200 kg payload into orbit. Work on the plane structure began in late 2010. By 2011 all the fiberglass molds for the aircraft were finished and one-third of the aircraft structure was completed. The crew capsule escape system was tested on September 26, 2011, when a Mil Mi-17 helicopter belonging to the Special Aviation Unit dropped the capsule from an altitude of 700 m over the Black Sea. The emergency parachute deployed successfully and the capsule was recovered from the sea surface by the Romanian Coast Guard. In 2012 ARCA decided to focus on the construction of the rocket engine of the IAR-111 aircraft. The engine, named Executor, is made of composite materials, has a thrust of 24 tons force (52,000 lbf) and is turbopump fueled. It uses ablative cooling for the main chamber and nozzle where the outer layers of the composite material vaporize in contact with the high temperature exhaust mixture and prevent overheating. ARCA also presented a long-term space program, until 2025, that besides IAR-111 envisioned a small scale orbital rocket (Haas 2C), a suborbital crewed rocket (Haas 2B) and a medium scale crewed orbital rocket (Super Haas). In March 2012, ARCA tested an extremely lightweight composite materials kerosene tank that is intended to be used for the Haas 2C rocket. After criticism from the Romanian Space Agency (ROSA) intensified in printed media and television, ARCA decided to send a public letter to the Romanian Prime Minister to intervene in this matter. ARCA mentioned that the Romanian Space Agency is in no position to criticize after the failure of their cubesat Goliat recently launched with a Vega rocket. Furthermore, ARCA was privately funded compared with ROSA which uses public funding.
In June 2012 ARCA presented their Haas 2C rocket in Victoria Square in Bucharest, in front of the Romanian Government palace. The same year ARCA won a $1,200,000 contract with the European Space Agency to participate in the ExoMars program. Named the High Altitude Drop Test, the contract consisted of a series of stratospheric balloon drop tests to verify the structural integrity of the EDM parachutes used in Martian atmospheric deceleration. On September 16, 2013, ARCA performed the first successful flight in the ExoMars program, lifting three pressurised avionics containers over the Black Sea to an altitude of 24,400 m. In November, the concrete test stand for the Executor engine was completed.
=== 2014–2019: AirStrato to Launch Assist System === On February 10 ARCA presented a high-altitude uncrewed aerial vehicle, named AirStrato, that was meant to replace stratospheric balloon usage for equipment testing and other near space missions. It was intended to be solar powered for extended endurance, was 7 m in length and had a 16 m wingspan with a takeoff weight of 230 kg. The aircraft first flew on February 28. ARCA announced that if the development was successful they would consider developing a commercial version available for sale to customers. On October 17, 2014, ARCA announced that it had transferred its headquarters to the United States to Las Cruces, New Mexico. In a press release they announced that in Romania activities related to software and rocket engine development will continue. They also announced that Air Strato UAV would be available for purchase to customers and that Las Cruces will also serve as a production center for the aircraft. On November 25 they released a website for the UAV revealing two models available for purchase, AirStrato Explorer that could reach altitudes up to 18,000 m with 20 hours endurance and AirStrato Pioneer that would be limited to 8000 m and 12 hours endurance. On July 13, 2015 ARCA announced the beginning of activities in New Mexico, including production and flight tests of AirStrato UAS and Haas rockets, investing US$1.2 million. In November 2017, CEO Dimitru Popescu was arrested and charged with 12 counts of fraud. As a result, he left the country and reestablished operations in Romania. The charges were later dropped. In early 2019, ARCA announced the development of the steam-powered Launch Assist System and began testing the aerospike engine.
=== 2020–Present: EcoRocket, AMi, and Pivot to Asteroid Mining === In 2020, tests of the steam-powered aerospike continued and ARCA announced a new launch vehicle, the EcoRocket, derived from the LAS technology. In 2021, the EcoRocket design was altered slightly to a three-stage vehicle as tests of the steam-powered aerospike continued. In 2022, ARCA announced the AMi Exploration Initiative, effectively pivoting its business model away from the commercial launch sector and towards cryptocurrency and asteroid mining. The AMi program will utilize the AMi Cargo vehicle and EcoRocket Heavy to mine valuable materials from asteroids. Beginning in the late 2020s, the company plans to start a series of asteroid mining missions to return valuable metals (mostly platinum) to Earth for sale. It intends to fund this venture primarily through the sales of the AMi token, an upcoming cryptocurrency on the Ethereum blockchain. Since then, it appears ARCA is shifting its main focus away from AMi, and towards the CER/military-related programs.
== Vehicles ==
=== Haas rocket family ===