Arcas (rocket)

"ARCAS" redirects here. For other uses, see Arcas (disambiguation).
Arcas rocket diagram
First Arcas meteorological rocket, shown at Wallops prior to flight test, July 31, 1959.
First Arcas meteorological rocket, shown at Wallops prior to flight test, July 31, 1959.
Arcas rocket being loaded into launch tube
Arcas rocket in flight

Arcas (originally "All-Purpose Rocket for Collecting Atmospheric Soundings",[1] also designated Big Boy Rocket or "PWN-6"[2]) was the designation of an American sounding rocket, developed by the Atlantic Research Corp. (now Atlantic Richfield Company (ARCO)), Alexandria, Va.[3]

The Arcas sounding rocket is an unguided vehicle with a diameter of 4.5 inches designed to carry payloads of 12 pounds or less to heights in excess of 200,000 feet when launched from sea level.[1][4] The Arcas has a maximum flight altitude of 52 kilometers, a takeoff thrust of 1.5 kN, a takeoff weight of 34 kilograms, and a diameter of 11 centimeters.[1] The Arcas was 2.30 m long and had a fin span of 0.33 m.[1]

Including variants, it was launched at least 1441 times between November 4, 1958, and August 9, 1991.[1] Arcas launch sites include White Sands, Vandenberg, Fort Churchill, Point Mugu, San Nicolas, Cape Canaveral LC43, Eglin, Kronogård, Kindley, McMurdo Station, Barking Sands, CELPA (Mar Chiquita), Ascension, Birdling's Flat, Wallops Island LA2, Thumba, Barbados, Keweenaw, Thule AFB, Barreira do Inferno Launch Center, Antigua, Fort Greely, Grand Turk Island, Tartagal, Fort Sherman and Primrose Lake.[1]

  1. ^ a b c d e f "Arcas". Encyclopedia Astronautica. Archived from the original on December 27, 2016. Retrieved 2018-03-22.
  2. ^ Cite error: The named reference Parsch-PWN-6 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  3. ^ "Contracts", Missiles and Rockets, March 20, 1961, p. 42.
  4. ^ Bruce Bollerman, A Study of 30 km to 200 Km Meteorological Rocket sounding systems, Volume 1, Chapter 6.3.2, "Arcas,"' NASA Report CR-1529, May 1970, page 248-258. Retrieved 2018-03-22.