FASTRAC ENGINE

The NASA Marshall Space Flight Center has developed a Fastrac turbopump rocket engine. The Fastrac engine can be built for less than $1 million using commercially available off-the-shelf (COTS) components and simplified manufacturing techniques. Fastrac provides 60,000 pounds of thrust and has many potential launch system applications. The Fastrac engine has been successfully tested.

Benefits - Low Cost of Manufacture

Reduced complexity of engine design
- Simple cycle: liquid oxygen rocket propellant, gas generator
- Simple control system: open loop sequencer
- Simplified geometry: easy to machine
- Fewer parts than previous American-made rockets.
Use of commercially available off-the-shelf components technology
Use of low-cost, high-performance materials

Potential Commercial Uses

Fastrac engine could provide an alternative launch vehicle
Fastrac engine may provide a less expensive launch platform
The Fastrac engine can be used as a reusable launch vehicle thrust system for lower weight launches
Further developments will enable Fastrac to be used as an upper stage engine or scaled to accommodate larger size payloads

The Technology

NASA's goal is to develop a launch infrastructure that reduces the cost-to-orbit of a pound of payload from the current $10,000 to $1,000. This goal has helped define the major attributes of a new generation of low-cost rocket engine technologies that are key components of the new MSFC Fastrac engine. The Fastrac engine is being designed to cost approximately $1 million, about one-fifth the cost of other engines of similar size and performance. The Fastrac engine provides 60,000 pounds of thrust and has many potential launch system applications. The Fastrac engine uses a gas generator cycle to drive the turbine. A mixture of liquid oxygen and kerosene fuels the engine, which has significantly fewer parts than previous American-made rocket engines. The Fastrac engine is 7 feet long and 4 feet wide, and it weighs less than 2,000 pounds. Among the innovative elements of the Fastrac engine are a new low-cost combustion chamber and a low-cost injector.

Commercial Opportunities with NASA

Patent applications have been filed for three elements of the engine technology: (1) the rocket nozzle and combustion chamber structure, (2) the fuel injector, and (3) the combination of the combustion chamber/nozzle with the injector to form the thrust chamber assembly. Commercial opportunities exist through licensing and cooperative development opportunities with NASA.

Patent Number

Contact for Licensing Information

If your company is interested in commercializing the Fastrac Engine or if you need additional information, please reference case no. MFS-31138 and contact:

Technology Transfer Department
Patent Licensing Information
Mail Code CD30
Marshall Space Flight Center, AL 35812
Email: sammy.nabors@msfc.nasa.gov