A company called ARCA believes their electric rocket can revolutionise the space industry and have built the Haas 2CA to prove it. The single stage to orbit (SSTO), according to ARCA is able to launch 100kg (220lbs) of payload into low earth orbit.

It’s an interesting idea, one that’s been around for quite a long time. Scientists have theorised about it for decades. But up until now, the only water powered rockets most of us are aware of are the ones that blast off on a school playing field in order to observe Newton’s third law of motion in action. Never before has a company actually taken seriously the idea of using water to power a rocket into space.

Space is – obviously – very far away, low earth orbit (LEO) starts at 100 miles straight up.

Rockets haven’t really advanced that much in comparison to other forms of technology. Especially considering how long they’ve been used for. The first rocket ever to be launched into space was the V2 missile in 1942. Almost 100 years ago. Considering it only took 27 years to go from getting to space to landing human beings on the moon, we haven’t really advanced any further.

Electrically propelled spacecraft were first theorised in a publication by Konstantin Tsiolkovsky in 1911. More than 100 years later, some of these ideas are actually being put into practice in order to make space travel more efficient.