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| title | chunk | source | category | tags | date_saved | instance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ARCAspace | 5/8 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ARCAspace | reference | science, encyclopedia | 2026-05-05T12:56:53.489424+00:00 | kb-cron |
=== EcoRocket Demonstrator === The EcoRocket Demonstrator (formerly just EcoRocket) is a partially-reusable three-stage orbital launch vehicle currently under development. The EcoRocket Demonstrator had been slated to launch in 2022, however, no launch took place that year. The vehicle's reusable first stage will use a battery-powered steam rocket to propel a small second stage to an altitude of 7 kilometers. The second stage will then proceed to a higher altitude to deploy a smaller third stage, carrying the payload. The third stage utilizes RP-1 and high test peroxide to propel a payload of up to 10 kilograms into orbit. The rocket takes its name from the claimed ecological benefits of not burning as much kerosene (despite using kerosene to achieve most of orbital velocity). The EcoRocket will launch partially submerged in the Black Sea, in a similar manner to the Sea Dragon. Both the first and second stages are intended to be reusable, parachuting back into the ocean for recovery. The vehicle is intended to demonstrate technologies for the upcoming EcoRocket Heavy. As of mid-2024, ARCA announced the reactivation of the Demonstrator program, and has begun work on the refurbishment of a first stage tank to support at least one flight test.
=== EcoRocket Heavy === The EcoRocket Heavy is a planned variant of EcoRocket, designed to support ARCA's AMi asteroid mining initiative. Announced in 2022, the EcoRocket heavy will be a three-stage launch vehicle derived from EcoRocket's technology. The stages will be arranged concentrically around the payload in the center (in a layout occasionally called "onion staging"), with the outermost stage firing, then detaching and allowing the next outermost stage to ignite, and so on. The EcoRocket heavy, like the EcoRocket, will use a three-stage design, with the first two stages using steam power and the final stage using a kerosene/liquid oxygen mixture to propel itself to orbit. Each stage will consist of multiple "propulsion modules" attached together, which the CEO Popescu describes as being inspired by the now-defunct German launch company OTRAG. The vehicle will be thirty meters in diameter, and, like the EcoRocket Demonstrator, will launch from the ocean, and be partially reusable, recovering the first two stages. The EcoRocket Heavy abandons aerospike engines, using only traditional rocket nozzles.
=== AMi Cargo === The AMi Cargo vehicle is the vehicle designed to support ARCA's asteroid mining operations, and as the primary payload for the EcoRocket Heavy. The AMi Cargo vehicle will approach an asteroid, and then release the battery-powered Recovery Capsule (which, in the first iteration, appeared to be derived from the earlier suborbital capsule for the Haas 2B), which will use the engine on its service module to approach the target asteroid. The spacecraft will then harpoon the asteroid, then reel itself in to begin mining operations. Upon completion of mining, it will return to the AMi Cargo vehicle, which will propel it back to Earth. Upon reaching Earth, the capsule will detach and jettison the service module prior to reentry. The capsule will then perform a high-velocity landing at sea, without the use of a parachute, relying on the structural integrity of the 7-meter diameter heat shield on the front of the return capsule for safe recovery of the material inside. A subscale demonstration of this technique was performed in October 2023, using a manned hot air balloon during Mission 12, carried out alongside the RTV’s Mission 16. ARCA intends to eventually upgrade the spacecraft for uncrewed missions to other planets. To support deep space operations, ARCA intends to construct their own Deep Space Network, akin to NASA's system.
=== A1 Interceptor === The A1 is a strategic anti-ballistic interceptor system, based on the EcoRocket technology, announced in December 2023. The commercially available vehicle comes in two versions; the A1A & A1B. The basic premise and interception method of the vehicle consists of a 6-10 metric ton device (referred to as the “warhead”) carrying between 200,000-2,000,000 metal pellets, chaff, and flares, all of which are “electromechanically” deployed. Following the deployment of the warhead, the enemy ICBM, IRBM, CM, HM, or other form of conventional or nuclear weapon, impacts the dome, cloud, or dome sector created by the warhead. The impact either compromises the enemy weapon’s airframe, deceives and deviates it from the target, or destroying it before reaching the target. As of May 2024, ARCA has constructed one A1 vehicle, and plans to launch it on a demonstration flight in August 2024. ARCA has stated that the interception method was tested and/or demonstrated by the US government under the “Star Wars” program in the 1980s.