Canadian Arrow
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The Canadian Arrow is a privately funded rocket and space travel project founded by London, Ontario, Canada entrepreneurs Geoff Sheerin, Dan McKibbon and Chris Corke. The project's objective is to take the first civilians into outer space.
Canadian Arrow was considered one of the top three candidates for the X-Prize competition, along with Scaled Composites (Burt Rutan),and Armadillo Aerospace (John Carmack). Scaled Composites won the competition on October 4, 2004.
The Canadian Arrow team's motto is "making SPACE for you." They have completed the first series of tests on their 57,000 lbf (254 kN) thrust engine and have built a space training centre and a full scale mock-up of their rocket. After an open nomination process, they also recruited an impressive team of six astronauts from around the world, including several seasoned military pilots and a NASA trained astronaut from Ukraine.
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[edit] Design
The Canadian Arrow is a 16.5 m tall two-stage rocket, where the second stage is a three-person space capsule. The Canadian Arrow team's somewhat conservative approach has been to base the design of their rocket engine and aerodynamics on the well proven V-2 design from WWII.
[edit] First stage
The rocket's first stage is 10.2 m long and 1.7 m in diameter. It is propelled by a single liquid fuel rocket engine. It produces a thrust of 254 kN. Graphite jet vanes are used for stabilisation before the rocket has reached a velocity high enough for the four fins to be effectual. About one minute after ignition, the fuel is depleted and the engine shuts off.
[edit] Second stage
The rocket's second stage is 6 m long and 1.7 m in diameter at the base. It carries three astronauts and is propelled by four JATO-type solid rocket engines. These are ignited immediately after stage separation, and will carry the capsule to an altitude of ~112 km. Cold gas jets are used for attitude control.
[edit] Crew Cabin Escape System
The four solid rocket engines in the second stage can be fired at any time, even when the rocket stands on its launch pad. This constitutes an escape system, which can, in a case of an emergency, quickly separate the second stage from the rocket and propel it to an altitude of 1.5 km, where its parachutes can be deployed.
[edit] Rocket engine
The rocket engine uses alcohol and liquid oxygen as propellants, and produces a maximum thrust of 254 kN, and burns for 55 s. It is constructed of low carbon steel, with propellant injectors made out of brass.
[edit] Flight profile
The Canadian Arrow rocket will launch vertically from the ground. Initial thrust is ~75.5 kN, but the rocket quickly reaches maximum thrust. After 55 s, the propellant is depleted and stage separation occurs. The solid fuel rockets in the second stage are ignited and boosts it up to an altitude of ~112 km, where the crew and passengers will experience a few minutes of "zero-G", or weightlessness.
After stage separation the first stage reaches an apogee of over 80 km before descent begins. Four parachutes slow the Canadian Arrow's first stage down before splashdown occurs at a speed of ~9 m/s, after which recovery of the spacecraft can take place.
During descent, the crew cabin (the second stage) will use a ballute to reduce its speed. When its velocity becomes subsonic, the second stage's ballute is released and pulls out the three parachutes before splashdown.
[edit] Testing
- October 5, 2002: The rocket test stand complete.
- August 14, 2004: Canadian Arrow carries out a successful drop test of the crew cabin, to test the parachutes and recovery routines.
- November 7, 2003: First engine tests conducted.
[edit] Funding, commercial aspects and the future
Geoff Sherin, President and CEO of Canadian Arrow, and Dr. Chirinjeev Kathuria announced on May 17, 2005, the creation of Planetspace Corporation. It is through this enterprise that Canadian Arrow will complete the construction of their space craft, and within 24 months offer suborbital space flight to aspiring space tourists. Planetspace expects to fly about 2,000 new astronauts within five years of operation. The price is expected to be $250,000 for each flight, including fourteen days of training. Cape Breton in Nova Scotia in being considered as a launch site, and a contract has been signed with the government of Nova Scotia to provide 120 acres of land for the project. [1]
Canadian Arrow also investigates the possibility of spacediving activities using their spacecraft.
On November 11, 2005 Canadian Arrow teamed up with former Xprize competitor Romanian aerospace company, ARCASPACE, to develop privately built spacecraft.[2]
On December 15, 2005 Planetspace Corporation unveiled plans for an orbital commercial vehicle capable of carrying eight passengers. This vehicle to be called the Silver Dart is based on the U.S. Air Force's Flight Dynamics Laboratory-7 program from the late 1970s. [3]
[edit] See also
- List of private spaceflight companies - A compiled list of private spaceflight companies
