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| title | chunk | source | category | tags | date_saved | instance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ARCAspace | 8/8 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ARCAspace | reference | science, encyclopedia | 2026-05-05T12:56:53.489424+00:00 | kb-cron |
=== WP3 === WP3 was a validation test flight for the ExoMars Program High Altitude Drop Test (HADT), carried out in cooperation with the European Space Agency. The launch took place from the Black Sea coast on September 16, 2013, and the hardware comprised three pressurized containers containing the avionics equipment that will be necessary to test the ExoMars spacecraft parachute during future incoming flights. The pressurized containers, carried by a cluster balloon, were launched at 7:15 AM and the ascension took 90 minutes. When the containers reached an altitude of 24.4 km (15.2 mi), they were released under a dedicated recovery parachute and landed on the sea twenty minutes later. The containers and the recovery parachute were recovered by the Navy 92 km (57 mi) from the launch point. The objectives were flight testing the avionics and communication systems, demonstrating the container sealing after sea landing and the capability to identify and recover the equipment from the sea surface.
=== Mission 9 === Mission 9 was to be a short vertical hop of the EcoRocket's first stage, testing the booster landing system in much the same manner as SpaceX's Starhopper. This mission has apparently been scrapped, however, ARCA completed a short, low-altitude flight of the EcoRocket Demonstrator's second stage in the fall of 2021 with no landing attempt to test the RCS systems aboard the rocket. The stage was attached to an umbilical during the flight.
=== Mission 10 === Mission 10 was supposed to be the first suborbital space flight of the EcoRocket Demonstrator in 2021 and then the first orbital space flight in 2022, however, it did not happen.
=== Mission 11 === Mission 11 was the first mission under the new Commercial EcoRocket (CER) program. The test validated the canister exist sequence of the CER-160TR artillery target rocket, in a similar manner to the silo exit of a missile or interceptor. The test took place in November 2023.
=== Mission 12 === Mission 12 tested the new design and landing technique for the AMi capsule in October 2023. Since the capsule’s full scale diameter is ~7 meters, ARCA constructed a subscale vehicle for the test. The demonstrator was carried to an altitude of ~600m by a manned hot air balloon and was released. The vehicle took roughly 15 seconds to impact the ground, where the parachute-less, high-velocity landing method was validated by the acceptable damage the vehicle sustained.
=== Mission 13 === Mission 13 was a launch of the LAS-1 rocket from an ARCA-built water tower, to validate and assess the performance of the engine’s start and thrust while submerged. This will be the case for the EcoRocket Demonstrator, 5, and Heavy’s sea launch procedure. In March 2023, following some delays, the LAS-1 was launched and the test was successful.
=== Mission 15 === The Mission 15 series of EcoRocket flights will eventually lead to ARCA’s first orbital spaceflight. Mission 15 has been described as using the EcoRocket 5 vehicle, with an unknown ecological third stage. Mission 15A aims to reach the orbital altitude of 180 km during a suborbital/vertical flight. 15B intends to place the company’s first satellite into orbit. Timeline is unknown.
=== Mission 16 === Mission 16 was performed with the CER program’s RTV vehicle, a payload launched by a CER rocket in order to simulate an enemy attack and to train anti-ballistic forces. It was performed minutes before Mission 12, as both vehicles were carried by the same manned hot air balloon. The drop test collected data on the vehicle’s stability and flight parameters at low speeds and altitudes, without using the spin stabilization system.
=== Mission 17 === Mission 17 was a launch of the CER-160TR rocket from Cape Midia AFB, Romania, for the purpose of military certification. It was one of at least three flights planned for the homologation process, which will allow the Romanian military forces to use the launch system to train the anti-ballistic forces against enemy missile attacks. It was the first launch of a CER-160TR configuration, the first commercially used vehicle, and the first from the canister featuring “angled support” (the ability to change the firing angle of the system to achieve various flight trajectories). Mission 17 was successful, followed just 2 hours later by the next sequential flight, Mission 18.
== See also ==
ArcaBoard Romanian Space Agency Rockoon
== References ==
== External links ==
Official website Ansari X Prize official site Archived 2008-05-17 at the Wayback Machine Latest ARCA Space, Space Fellowship news Google Lunar X Prize official site Archived 2007-09-16 at the Wayback Machine National Plan for Research Development and Innovation