ENGINEERING THE FUTURE
ABOUT US
ARCA develops EcoRocket Heavy, a cost-effective, sea-launched, reusable, sustainable propulsion technology launch vehicle designed to launch the AMi Exploration spacecraft for asteroid mining operations.
Another application of the EcoRocket Heavy is related to the launch of cargo into LEO and deep space.
AMi Exploration is aiming at commercial exploitation of asteroid resources, with the first mining mission scheduled for 2027.
This is our brand story.
2002 - 2004
During the 10 million $ Ansari X Prize Competition, ARCA designed and successfully launched its first rocket, Demonstrator 2B from Cape Midia Air Force Base.
2006 - 2007
ARCA built the world's largest solar balloon that lifted into the stratosphere the crew capsule of Stabilo, a manned suborbital vehicle created after the end of Ansari X Prize Competition. The Stabilo program continued in 2007 at ARCA, this time with an even larger solar balloon lifting the complete Stabilo vehicle into the stratosphere, involving for the first time the Navy for the vehicle recovery from the sea.
2008 - 2010
ARCA joined the $30 million Google Lunar X Prize Competition and in 2013 the team withdrew from the Competition after it launched a technological demonstrator rocket. ARCA's Helen rocket was launched at 40,000m (120,000ft), the event representing the first powered flight in the Google Lunar X Prize Competition. The rocket was transported into the stratosphere with the help of an ARCA built helium balloon.
2012
Haas rocket series was introduced by ARCA consisting of the sub-orbital Haas 2B and orbital Haas 2C launchers.
2013
The European Space Agency (ESA) awarded ARCA with a contract to test the parachutes system for the ExoMars spacecraft that launched to Mars in 2016. ARCA developed the hardware to perform the flight tests for the High Altitude Drop Test.
2013 - 2015
ARCA Space Corporation was incorporated in the United States, New Mexico, as a for-profit corporation.
AirStrato large drone performed the first flight at the beginning of this year and it became ARCA's first product to become commercially available. The aircraft was transferred to the newly created ARCA Space Corporation in the United States and is no longer into our inventory.
2015
ARCA Space Corporation created the ArcaBoard, the world's first real hoverboard commercially available. The company signed in 2017 a contract with DARPA and US Army for this technology, ultimately aiming to improve the mobility and responsiveness of US troops on the battlefield.
2017
ARCA Space Corporation introduced the Haas 2CA, a version of Haas 2C, equipped with an aerospike rocket engine. The rocket is intended for small satellites market, estimated at $5.3 billions in the next decade. Currently ARCA took over the development of this launcher.
2019
ARCA built and tested the Launch Assist System (LAS) as an ecological, water-based electric rocket built in two versions, using a classic bell-shaped nozzle engine and an aerospike engine. LAS is used as first stage for the Haas rocket series, reducing the use of polluting propellants with up to 50% and reducing the launch cost almost fivefold.
2019
ARCA was inducted in the Air Force National Museum and a permanent ARCA exhibition was opened. The exhibition is showcasing some of ARCA's hardware such the Demonstrator 2B, Stabilo, Helen, Haas, IAR-111 Excelsior, ExoMars DTV, AirStrato and ground support equipment for these. This is one of the most important achievements for ARCA since it represents an official recognition of its efforts and of the fact that this team literally made history. The exhibition will receive more hardware in the future.
2020
ARCA announced the EcoRocket on November 17, 2020. This is a small orbital rocket designed around two main features: cost-effectiveness and eco-friendliness, able to launch 10 kg to LEO.
The first two stages are reusable and use water-based propulsion technology that generates water vapours through cold reaction. The expandable third stage uses conventional hot rocket propulsion and it's ignited at high altitude, above the thick atmosphere. Both the first and second stage use the high efficiency aerospike engine technology. The whole rocket uses 86% water-based propellant. ARCA tested this technology at full-scale.
The whole program development cost only EUR 1 million, and the cost/launch was set at $390,000.
ARCA also announced that is developing a heavy version of EcoRocket that was announced in 2022 during the AMi Exploration Keynote.
