A ground-breaking new rocket concept from Arca would soon replace multi-stage rockets to deliver craft and cargo to orbit. If it proves successful, it will be the fastest and cheapest launcher. 

According to the Daily Mail, New Mexico-based aerospace company Arca Space Corp. has just unveiled a Single Stage to Orbit (SSTO) rocket that is said to be capable of launching 100 kg of payload to lower Earth orbit in less than five minutes.

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Simply put, if this rocket proves successful, it will be the first SSTO in history to place payloads and crew into the Earth's orbit using only one stage and one engine.

Dubbed as the Haas 2CA, the rocket is compatible with nano/micro satellites, and is said to be more cost-effective than the current multi-stage rockets. It is designed for a single stage that is fueled by hydrogen peroxide and kerosene.

Each launch of the Haas 2CA rocket is estimated to cost around $1,000,000.

Arca claims that the rocket uses 30 percent less fuel as it can adapt automatically to any drop in the altitude pressure, thanks to its 'Executor' engine or a linear aerospike engine.

"An aerospike engine exhaust jet ideally expands from sea level up to space, ensuring superior efficiency at all flight levels," the firm explained.

Universe Today reported that Haas 2CA rocket's capability is several times what SpaceX can do with its Falcon 9 rocket, which can deliver 22,800 km payloads to orbit for $62 million a launch.

In an email response to Universe Today, Arca CEO Dumitru Popescu said that a more fair comparison would be between the Haas 2CA, Falcon 1, and Electron.

Falcon 1 had a launch cost of $6.7 millions for a proposed payload of 670kg, or a demonstrated one of the 180kg. In the best case scenario, this leads us to the same price of $10,000/kg. 

In the case of the Electron rocket, the cost per launch is $4.9 million for a 150kg payload. This leads us to a price of a $32.600/kg.

Arca is currently seeking the FAA approval for the rocket and is looking at conducting a test launch next year at NASA's Wallops Flight Facility located on Virginia's eastern shore.