ARCA: Romanian Moon Shot by Balloon

NASA has successfully launched Ares 1-X, the prototype replacement to the space shuttle. But halfway across the globe, a rising power is posing a challenge to America's space dominance. I speak, of course, of Romania, which is readying a critical flight of her mighty moon-balloon.

No typo there, they really are shooting for the moon in a balloon. At least that's the plan of the non-profit Aeronautics and Cosmonautics Romanian Association (ARCA), which is using an oldie but sort-of-goodie idea for getting something into space: Tie a rocket to a balloon, launch the balloon and then launch the rocket from the stratosphere.

The US briefly tried this strategy in the 1950s, but they eventually abandoned it in favour of more stable launch pads, like the one that the Ares 1-X used. There's a few advantages to the more concrete approach: It's easier to orient your rocket from the ground, you don't have to worry about it blowing away, and critically, it's not going to fall on anybody.

It's in part due to that last safety concern that a Romanian frigate is carrying ARCA's Helen test rocket into the Black Sea. The Helen is a tour-de-force in Transylvanian technology. Rather than launching a rocket with a complicated staging system, they're just tying their stages together with string. When the first stage runs out they'll cut the cord and fire the second, and the third, and onward until they deliver their payload (which appears to be some sort of orange football or rugby ball, depending on your nationality).

The Helen, Romania's third test flight, could launch as soon as tomorrow. Stay tuned moon and vampire lovers alike for all your ARCA coverage!

Credit: ARCA