photos from the launch of ARCA

you can see them on the ARCA*s site at this link : http://www.arcaspace.ro/ro/lansare_Demonstrator2B.htm

i think i missed something in this ARCA story, but isn't their rocket a model rocket? Looks very small to me (nofi), so what's the deal with ARCA, i simply don't get it.

on their front page:

Firstly, it's not a "model rocket", it's a prototype, half the scale of the operational vehicle.

Secondly, it's the world's first reusable monoprop rocket engine made from composite materials.

The "deal with ARCA" is that they're accomplishing a heck of a lot with very limited resources.

Yeah, ARCA is making some serious progress in engine development. I bet they are a big deal at home. Does anyone know if their engine is pressure-fed or uses turbopumps?

Thanx for the explanation

umm are the combustion chamber and the nozzle made of composite materials too? cause I don't buy that.

a ceramic composite matrix?

ok, ok. That being said, it really does resemble a model rocket and the diminutive size of the prototype didn't help that.

furthermore, while its fair to say they are doing quite a bit with a limited budget, they are also only really scaling up existing technology. Yeah, SS1 had existing tech all over it, but in this case, it's tech a child puts together for roughly a total price of 40 bucks.

Diminutive size? Demonstrator 2B is a half-scale prototype and roughly 20ft long.

Pressure-fed peroxide-ethanol rockets with composite fuel tanks are childish?? Don't think I've seen anything like that in Toys'R'Us recently...

Stellvia, I'm aprt of a small rocketry club that is building a 5 foot long liquid fuel rocket with pressure fed engines. we purchased the kit from Canada for $1000.
so you're right, the ARCA rocket is not a toy, maybe a good project for a large rocketry club, like the guys that recently senta model rocket into space.

I think what he meant is that, even if you scale your demo vehicle by a factor of two, it still won't be able to carry three people in space so its presence in the X-Prize cmpetition was not justified, but merely a publicity stunt.

You got any figures to justify that assertion?

It's worth pointing out that the Demonstrator-2B launch did NOT show the full performance of the prototype. The rocket was loaded with less than 20% of a full tank of propellant, because of (a) weather and (b) range safety limits.



That's pretty patronising Why should ARCA be any more of a "publicity stunt" than say Armadillo or STC, neither of which has had a successful launch of a full-scale vehicle yet? Carmack seems to think that he could build an X-prize-class vehicle using mixed-monoprop engines, so why couldn't the Romanians do the same?

Someone needs some anger-management training.. lol.

ahh she set herself up for this one ...
Carmack can do anything because he made Doom

i think it's because we're racist.






(i'm being sarcastic)