Orbital Rocket Launcher

Preface
Preface

In 2007, X Prize Foundation together with Google Corporation announced

Google Lunar X Prize, a $30 million competition for astronautics.
The European Lunar Explorer (ELE) is ARCA’s project for this competition. ELE will
be launched to the Moon with Haas Orbital Rocket Launcher. The first flight is
scheduled for 2011.
Haas is a three-stage, balloon-launched vehicle, based on the technology
developed at ARCA for the Demonstrator and Stabilo Programs.
The main source of funding for this vehicle will be through public donations and
sponsorships. ARCA has sponsors that already considered continuing their
financial effort for the Haas-ELE system.
The short-term objective for Haas launcher is to successfully deliver the ELE
spacecraft to the Moon. The long-term objective is to create a reliable, cost-
effective small orbital rocket launcher.

Dumitru Popescu
ARCA President
 Overview
Overview

Conrad Haas
Conrad Haas (1509-1579) was an
Austrian-Romanian medieval rocket
pioneer, the first creator of multiple
stages rockets. In 1529, Conrad Haas
succeeded to launch in Sibiu
County, Romania, rockets with two
and three stages that used black
powder. He understood the role of
rocket propulsion for civil
application. Haas even suggested
an experiment with an animal on
board of a rocket.
Haas launcher, named after Conrad
Haas, is a three-stage balloon-
launched orbital vehicle, able to put
a 400 kg payload into Low Earth
Orbit. The European Lunar Explorer
(ELE) designed for Google Lunar X
Prize space will be launcher’s first
payload.
Innovative Design
Haas is an innovative air-launched, 3 stages orbital rocket. The goal was to create a
simple, reliable and low cost orbital rocket launcher. The high performance was never
an objective. Even so, the Haas launcher has a good launch weight/payload ratio
within the class of small orbital launchers.

There is no external aerodynamic structure on the

The air launched
solution allowed
the rocket to fly
at low dynamic
pressure.
rocket. The oxidizer tanks and rocket engines are
forming the outer shell in order to save weight. The
aerodynamic forces on the rocket are reduced. The
highest drag on the launcher is about 10% from the
thrust of the first stage. This loss is less then twice the gain
obtained from the reduced weight obtained by using
spherical shapes for the oxidizer tanks.
The structure itself for one stage is replicated at different
scales for the other two stages. This solution reduces the
design and test costs. This design for the structure is also
used for ELE.

The first stage is working at low atmospheric pressure

expanding the burned gasses into a huge nozzle,
increasing the specific impulse. The nozzle is expanded
to a much higher value compared with ground-
launched vehicles and it has an advantageous
impulse/weight penalty ratio.
 Structure & Propulsion
Structure & Propulsion

Materials
The rocket’s is entirely made of various composite materials.
Oxidizer tanks internal structure is made of epoxy – “S” type glass fiber and the
external structure is reinforced with epoxy – carbon fiber.
Rocket engines internal structure is made of phenol resin – silica fiber and the
outer structure is reinforced with epoxy – carbon fiber.

Working parameters
The oxidizer tanks are pressurized at values ranging from 20 to 30 bars. First Stage
H1 is pressurized at 30 bars.
Because of pressure fed system, the tank structure is strong. This allows the
removal of several reinforced elements on the rocket structure.
The rocket engines are working at initial pressures ranging from 14 to 24 bars. First
stage engine is working at an initial pressure of 24 bars. Nozzle expansion ratio is
38 for the first stage and 43 for the third stage.
Haas is using the hybrid rocket propulsion. All stages are using Commercial
Grade (CG) Hydrogen Peroxide and bitumen-based, high regression rate solid
fuel. The specific impulse of the first stage is 245 seconds at launch altitude.
Bitumen-based fuel was chosen because of its good regression rate. The high
carbon percentage is not substantially affecting the combustion gasses molar
mass (respectively the specific impulse) because of high percent of water
present in the oxidizer.
Usually, a hybrid rocket engine burning chamber is long, because of the fuel regression rate
dependence. In the case of Haas, the rocket engines burning chambers are placed inside of
the oxidizer tanks allowing a short overall length of the launcher.
Despite the pressure feed system solution, the rocket structure is lighter compared with most
of the small launchers on the market.
The Haas launcher will start engines tests in the spring of 2009. The team estimates a first
launch at the beginning of 2011. On this launch, the rocket will carry the complete ELE
payload for the GLXP Competition.

The nozzles for the second and third stages are extendable, in order to save length and
increase structure strength.
Stage H3
Type: Rocket powered, pressure feed
Used for: LEO injection
Gross weight: 2 100 kg
Burn time: 168 s
Fuel: Hydrogen peroxide CG + bitumen
based
Thrust: 5 900 kgf

Stage H2
Type: Rocket powered, pressure feed
Used for: Rocket acceleration
Gross weight: 7 350 kg
Burn time: 110 s
Fuel: Hydrogen peroxide CG + bitumen
based
Thrust: 25 000 kgf

Stage H1
Type: Rocket powered, pressure feed
Used for: Rocket acceleration
Gross weight: 14 800kg
Burn time: 100s
Fuel: Hydrogen peroxide CG + bitumen
based
Thrust: 48 000kgf

Haas technical data

Type: Air launched orbital rocket
Stages: 3 (H1+H2+H3)
Rocket vehicle length (with ELE payload):
17m
Rocket vehicle diameter: 3.6m
Rocket vehicle gross weight: 23 300kg
LEO mass: 400kg
 System Capabilities
System Capabilities

HAAS is able to put 400kg into Low Earth Orbit (LEO) at an apogee of 200 km and
100kg on a Moon trajectory.
 The
Balloon

ARCA’s Stabilo System launched on Mission2 from

Midia Cape Air Force Base, September 2007
ARCA’s Solar Balloon during inflation at The rocket balloon
Midia Cape Air Force Base, September 2007
launch isn’t a new
approach. It was used in
the past in the US and
by ARCA for the Stabilo
system. All these
initiatives involved only
suborbital rockets. In the
Preliminary Balloon-Haas Launch window determination/ case of orbital launchers
initial choice of launch long term meteorological the launch windows
position and date prediction constraints combined
with meteorological
conditions will raise
special challenges:
Launch window precise - the launch point of the
Final decision on Balloon-Haas
determination/ short-term balloon and the launch
launch position and moment
meteorological prediction point of the rocket from
the balloon will have to
be precisely
Balloon-Haas flight determined.
Balloon-Haas launch - the launch moment of
monitorization/ altitude/ time
the balloon and the
launch moment of the
rocket from the balloon
ELE Trajectory correction Haas launch are another important
parameters to be
considered in order to
accurately insert the
payload on the desired
ELE Moon interception
LEO or flight trajectory to
the Moon.

ARCA created it’s own powerful simulation software that allowed to precisely determine the 3D flight trajectories of the Stabilo System. This
software is working with high quality windgrams and it will be used for the Haas-ELE GLXP launch.
Because it will be able to be launched from sea/ocean surface, close to the Earth’s Equator Haas has some important advantages allowing
to have a much higher number of launch windows compared with ground launched vehicles.
ARCA produced and operated the largest solar balloons in the world for the Stabilo System. Haas-ELE will be the largest payload ever lifted by
a balloon.
 European Lunar Explorer

ARCA Team and Peter Diamandis in front of ELE

mock-up at ISU, Strasbourg, May 2007
 Google Lunar X Prize Flight
Google Lunar X Prize Flight

In order to win the Google Lunar X Prize (GLXP), a private team must build and
send to the Moon a spacecraft able to travel at least 500 m on the Moon surface
and send defined dataset to Earth. The prize is available until 2012 and may be
extended until 2014.

The European Lunar Explorer - ELE is a 400 kg, three stages spacecraft designed
for the GLXP Competition. It is able to fly from LEO to the Moon, to travel 500m on
the Moon surface and to send data back to Earth.

There are multiple flight trajectory approaches for an Earth-Moon travel. The most
used and most efficient, from the energetically point of view, is that of placing the
spacecraft into LEO and from there to a Moon trajectory. Another method is a
ballistic vertical launch from the Earth to the Moon. This flight trajectory was never
used before for interplanetary flights because of efficiency loss resulting in a much
smaller mass to be placed on a Moon trajectory. However, this method is to be
considered for GLXP Competition because it can save costs and developing
time.
 Stage E3 – European Lunar Lander (ELL)
ELL is the object that will soft land on the Moon surface, collect data and transmit them back to Earth.
Type: Rocket powered, pressure feed, restartable cold rocket engine
Used for: Moon landing + Lunar surface movement
Max. DV: 300 m/s
Gross weight: 42 kg
Burn time: 120 s
Fuel: Hydrogen peroxide 85%
Max. Thrust: 14 kgf

Restartable hybrid engine technology tested at ARCA,

October 2008

Stage E2
Type: Rocket powered,
pressure feed, restartable
Stage E1 rocket engine
Type: Rocket powered, Used for: Earth-Moon
pressure feed, restartable trajectory correction + Near
rocket engine Moon speed brake
Used for: Earth orbit Max. DV: 2400 m/s
circularization + Lunar Gross weight: 65 kg
injection Burn time: 185 s
Max. DV: 3300 m/s Fuel: Hydrogen peroxide
Gross weight: 316 kg CG + bitumen based
Burn time: 170 s Max. Thrust: 100 kgf
Fuel: Hydrogen peroxide CG
+ bitumen based
Max. Thrust: 500 kgf
 Flight Sequence
Flight Sequence

1. The launch will be made from the sea with the help of a large marine platform designed
by ARCA.
The rocket will be lifted from the sea using the world heaviest “0 pressure” balloon ever
build.
Once the platform into position, the rocket will be placed on the sea surface and the
hydrogen peroxide oxidizer will be transferred into the fuel tanks. After the fuel tanks will be
filled, the team will start the balloon inflation procedure. When the balloon will reach the
necessary lifting capability, the rocket will be lifted from the sea surface and placed into
near vertical position beneath the balloon, attached with a cable. The distance between
the balloon and the rocket will be 200 m. The balloon and rocket will fly to an altitude of
18.000 m for 1 h, 45 min.

2. At 18.000 m the rocket will start it’s first stage rocket engine. After engine cut-off, the first
stage will be detached. Soon after, rocket’s second stage will be ignited.

3. The rocket’s third and last stage will be ignited and it will burn for another 168 sec,
putting the ELE to an elliptical LEO to an altitude of 140 km. At this altitude the rocket’s
third stage will separate from the ELE probe.

4. After the Haas 3rd stage burnout, the ELE

spacecraft will be placed into orbit. ELE will start the
Stage E1 main engine at first orbit’s apogee for a
DV=260m/s in order to circularize the orbit to an
altitude of 250 km. After a short time spent in Earth
orbit, ELE will ignite once again the E1 main engine
that will increase vehicle’s speed to 11,2 km/s. After
Stage H1 fuel depletion it will be ejected on
vehicle’s way to the Moon.

5. As the ELE will head to the Moon, the trajectory

will be periodically corrected using the Stage E2
main brake engine. During the trip from the Earth to
the Moon, ELE will deploy two 100 W solar panels.
Near the Moon, ELE will start Stage E2 in an opposite
direction faced to the speed vector. The team will
try to reduce as much as possible the number of
brake engine starts.

6. After Stage E2 fuel depletion, it will be ejected at an altitude of about

10 km from the lunar surface, the ELE Lunar Lander (ELL) will soft land on
the Moon using the Stage E3 main engine and inertial guidance launch
platform. The Stage E3 main engine is thrust adjustable, gimbaled,
hydrogen peroxide monopropellant 14 kgf, rocket motor. The time from
the Earth launch to the Moon surface will last for 116 hours (4 days, 2
hours).

7. The desired Moon landing point is the North region of the Carpathian
Mountains. This spot was chosen because, the Carpathian Mountains
are also passing Romania from the North to the West.
About ARCA

About ARCA
Aeronautics and Cosmonautics Romanian Association (ARCA) is a non-governmental
organization that promotes innovative aerospace projects. ARCA joined the Ansari X
Prize Competition in 2002. ARCA developed two main projects: the Demonstrator
rockets and Stabilo. Demonstrator 2B rocket, equipped with world first composite
materials reusable monopropellant engine ever to fly, was launched in 2004. Stabilo, a
two stages manned suborbital vehicle completed three flights until now. The first stage
is world largest solar balloon and the second stage is a rocket powered manned
spaceship.

ARCA
Op1, Cp13,
Rm. Valcea
Romania

www.arcaspace.ro
www.arcaspace.com
office@arcaspace.ro
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Fax: 0250 732 466