There are a few websites that wrote about our next launch. During the latest team meeting in Strasbourg, we announced two things:
- ARCA teamed up with Pablo de Leon
- we are getting ready for a test launch to 100 km.

This is not an attempt to win the Prize! It's a long, long way to the Moon and all our future plans depend on the result of the next launch.

ARCA had three successful launches until now:
- Demonstrator 2B
- Mission 1
- Mission 2

Now we announced "Mission 4". Since the previous launches achieved their goals, we decided to skip "Mission 3". By doing this, we are taking a lot of chances. We don't follow the cautious step-by-step approach that worked so well in the past. So, why do we change the strategy? There are two reasons:

The first reason is that the technology that we use is mature. We have expertise in balloons, propulsion and materials. Navigation, communication, remote control of the spacecraft, etc are domains where we need to gather more experience. A flight to 100 km is achievable with our current capabilities and competences.

The second reason is time. The original X Prize took 10 years and it was won in the last year even if the experience of the winning team as well as their project budget were more then impressive. This competition is only for 5 years or 7 years if we take into account the extension. Therefore, it's even more difficult from this point of view. In order to keep the pace and to make a realistic attempt to win the competition before the deadline, we had to risk.

Therefore, we're not aiming for the Moon - this time... This launch is just a milestone, even if it's a major one. I just wanted make this clear.

Bogdan Sburlea,
ARCA