alt=First Arcas meteorological rocket, shown at Wallops prior to flight test, July 31, 1959.|thumb|First Arcas meteorological rocket, shown at [[Wallops Island|Wallops prior to flight test, July 31, 1959.]]

thumb|Arcas rocket being loaded into launch tube

thumb|Arcas rocket in flight

Arcas (originally "All-Purpose Rocket for Collecting Atmospheric Soundings", also designated Big Boy Rocket or "PWN-6"

The Arcas sounding rocket was an unguided vehicle with a diameter of 4.5 inches designed to carry payloads of or less to heights in excess of when launched from sea level. The Arcas had a maximum flight altitude of , a takeoff thrust of 1.5 kN, a takeoff weight of , and a diameter of . in January 1958. ARC designed the Arcas rocket, the first of which was ready for flight tests in late 1958. By the end of 1960, more than 400 Arcas rockets had been launched.

Engine

The Arcas was powered by a slow-burning SR45-AR-1 solid-propellant motor with an end-burning grain, generating an average thrust of for 30 seconds. Total impulse was 9,089 lbf⋅s (40,430 N⋅s).

DMQ-6

:Nominal payload:

:Maximum altitude:

:Time to maximum altitude: 128 seconds

Balloon

:Nominal payload:

:Maximum altitude:

:Time to maximum altitude: 134 seconds

Rocket:

:Altitude at burnout:

:Launch velocity: .

:Total rocket weight:

:Outside dimension of tail:

Transmitter:

:Robin balloon cross section

:DMQ-6 transmitter cross section

Kitty

A variants of the basic Arcas were the Atlantic Research PWN-6A and 6B "Kitty". It had a ceiling of 65 km.

Super Arcas

A higher power version of the Arcas, Super Arcas, was used extensively around the world from a wide variety of platforms on land and at sea. With a boost from a gas generator-fed launch tube, Super Arcas was capable of reaching altitudes as high as . There were many time-based weather experiments launched on this rocket due to the ability of the launch tube to be rapidly turned around for another launch. One of those experiments launched one rocket per hour for 24 hours straight in Antarctica.

Boosted Arcas

thumb| Boosted Arcas sounding rocket shape

Another variation of Arcas was called the Boosted Arcas, which was a 2-stage rocket; one Arcas second stage and one booster.

Sparrow Arcas

Sparrow Arcas was a two stage vehicle, composed of a Sparrow first stage and an Arcas second stage.

Frangible Arcas

Frangible Arcas was an experimental variation launched four times between 1964 and 1965. Rocket was designed to fragment after payload separation, reducing the risk to populated areas from falling spent rocket motor.

See also

  • Skua - British sounding rocket with a similar flight profile

References

  • https://web.archive.org/web/20050412122516/http://astronautix.com/lvs/arcas.htm