ARCA and Canadian Arrow going to be partners!

Built primary from composite materials, Stabilo’s airframe is about 80 percent complete and should launch on its maiden flight – an automated trip more than 62 miles (100 kilometers) above Earth – within the next 12 months, according to ARCA officials.

Fuel tank tests for the vehicle are slated for January 2006, with engine tests to follow in March, they added.

ARCA has also secured a contract with the Romanian Space Agency’s Research Ministry to develop a rocket system to be used for military applications.

Dubbed STRACAAT, the unmanned rocket is slated to simulate airborne targets flying at high altitudes and low altitudes. The rocket is expected to stand 19 feet (six meters) high and weight 881 pounds (400 kilograms) at launch, the company said.