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Fastrac (rocket engine)
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Fastrac (rocket engine)
Fastrac was a turbo pump-fed, liquid rocket engine. The engine was designed by NASA as part of the low cost X-34 Reusable Launch Vehicle (RLV) and as part of the Low Cost Booster Technology (LCBT, aka Bantam) project. This engine was later known as the MC-1 engine when it was merged into the X-34 project.
The turbopump engine was designed to be used in an expendable booster in the LCBT project. As a result this led to the use of composite materials because of their significantly lower costs and production speed; this also reduced engine complexity since the fuel was not used for nozzle cooling. Based on knowledge and experience from the Space Shuttle's Reusable Solid Rocket Motor (RSRM) and the Solid Propulsion Integrity Program (SPIP), a Silica/phenolic material was chosen for the ablative liner with carbon/epoxy structural overlap.
The engine used liquid oxygen as an oxidizer and kerosene (RP-1) as a fuel. These propellants are used by the F-1 rocket engine on the Saturn V. Kerosene does not have the same energy release as hydrogen, used with the Space Shuttle, but it is cheaper and easier to handle and store. Propellants were fed via a single shaft, dual impeller LOX/RP-1 turbo-pump.
The engine was started with a TEA/TEB hypergolic igniter to maintain a simple design. Kerosene was injected and the engine was then running. The propellants were then fed into the gas generator for mixing and thrust chamber for burning.
The engine uses a gas generator cycle to drive the turbo-pump turbine, which then exhausts this small amount of spent fuel. This is the identical cycle used with the Saturn rockets, but much less complex than the Space Shuttle engine system.
The engine used an inexpensive, expendable, ablatively cooled carbon fiber composite nozzle and produced 60,000 lbf (285 kN) of thrust. After use nearly all of the engine's parts are reusable.
During the research phase in 1999 each Fastrac engine was costed at approximately $1.2 million. Production costs were expected to drop to $350,000 per engine.
Engine system level testing started in 1999 at the Stennis Space Center. Earlier tests were on individual components at the Marshall Space Flight Center. NASA started full-engine, hot-fire testing in March, 1999, with a 20 second test to demonstrate the complete engine system. The engine was tested at full power for 155 seconds on July 1, 1999. A total of 85 tests were scheduled for the rest of 1999. As of 2000, 48 tests had been conducted on three engines using three test stands.
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Fastrac (rocket engine)
Fastrac was a turbo pump-fed, liquid rocket engine. The engine was designed by NASA as part of the low cost X-34 Reusable Launch Vehicle (RLV) and as part of the Low Cost Booster Technology (LCBT, aka Bantam) project. This engine was later known as the MC-1 engine when it was merged into the X-34 project.
The turbopump engine was designed to be used in an expendable booster in the LCBT project. As a result this led to the use of composite materials because of their significantly lower costs and production speed; this also reduced engine complexity since the fuel was not used for nozzle cooling. Based on knowledge and experience from the Space Shuttle's Reusable Solid Rocket Motor (RSRM) and the Solid Propulsion Integrity Program (SPIP), a Silica/phenolic material was chosen for the ablative liner with carbon/epoxy structural overlap.
The engine used liquid oxygen as an oxidizer and kerosene (RP-1) as a fuel. These propellants are used by the F-1 rocket engine on the Saturn V. Kerosene does not have the same energy release as hydrogen, used with the Space Shuttle, but it is cheaper and easier to handle and store. Propellants were fed via a single shaft, dual impeller LOX/RP-1 turbo-pump.
The engine was started with a TEA/TEB hypergolic igniter to maintain a simple design. Kerosene was injected and the engine was then running. The propellants were then fed into the gas generator for mixing and thrust chamber for burning.
The engine uses a gas generator cycle to drive the turbo-pump turbine, which then exhausts this small amount of spent fuel. This is the identical cycle used with the Saturn rockets, but much less complex than the Space Shuttle engine system.
The engine used an inexpensive, expendable, ablatively cooled carbon fiber composite nozzle and produced 60,000 lbf (285 kN) of thrust. After use nearly all of the engine's parts are reusable.
During the research phase in 1999 each Fastrac engine was costed at approximately $1.2 million. Production costs were expected to drop to $350,000 per engine.
Engine system level testing started in 1999 at the Stennis Space Center. Earlier tests were on individual components at the Marshall Space Flight Center. NASA started full-engine, hot-fire testing in March, 1999, with a 20 second test to demonstrate the complete engine system. The engine was tested at full power for 155 seconds on July 1, 1999. A total of 85 tests were scheduled for the rest of 1999. As of 2000, 48 tests had been conducted on three engines using three test stands.
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