Two former rocketeer
rivals are teaming up to develop privately-built spacecraft, officials with
both groups said Friday.
Canada's
London, Ontario-based firm PlanetSpace
and the Romanian aerospace company ARCA - both past competitors in the $10 million Ansari
X Prize contest for suborbital spaceflight - are pooling their expertise or
a joint space project.
While some
details of the partnership remain under wraps, the collaboration will likely include
the sharing of technology and other resources, PlanetSpace officials said.
"We both
have capabilities to bring to each other," PlanetSpace president and CEO Geoff
Sheerin told SPACE.com. "It's a good fit to test out some concepts and
ideas."
Sheerin
entered the Ansari X Prize with plans for a V2 rocket-derived, reusable manned spacecraft
dubbed the Canadian
Arrow. ARCA - short for Aeronautics and Cosmonautics Romanian Association -
also cast its Orizont vehicle in the manned suborbital contest with plans for a
reusable rocket engine built from composite materials.
Mojave,
California-based aerospace and aviation veteran Burt Rutan's SpaceShipOne
vehicle won
the $10 million prize in October 2004.
"By joining
forces with one of the leaders in private space exploration, we are certain
that we will succeed in creating a reliable and efficient technology, as well
as other exciting spaceflight projects," said ARCA president Dumitru Popescu in
a statement.
Since the
end of the X Prize, Sheerin, ARCA leaders and other former competitors have continued
to pursue their goal of offering private flights into suborbital space.
Under PlanetSpace,
Sheerin and business partner Chirinjeev Kathuria have settled
on a military base near Canada's Cape Rich along the Georgian Bay as the
initial launch site for their vehicle. They hope to conduct the first manned
test flights of the vehicle by 2007, though plans to test fire a hybrid rocket engine
and escape tower have been delayed pending the completion of an environmental
study, they said.
"I think
you're going to see more groups coming to work together," Kathuria said of the
cooperative effort. "It will give us a significant advantage."
Reaching
for suborbital space
The Rm. Valcea, Romania-based ARCA also announced Friday
that construction is underway for its new suborbital spacecraft Stabilo.
The vehicle
is derived from the firm's hydrogen peroxide-powered Demonstrator 2B rocket,
which launched successfully in a Sept. 9, 2004 test from an Air Force launch
site at Midia Cape on the shore of the Black Sea, they added.
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.
"It's a lot
of work that they did," Sheerin said of the ARCA team. "Together we can do some
extraordinary things."
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