The Fastrac engine is scheduled to power the X-34 technology demonstration vehicle on its first flight in late 1998. The effort is one segment of NASA's Advanced Space Transportation Program, managed at Marshall Center. The program is an initiative to reduce the cost of space launch and develop technologies for space transportation needs for the next 25 years. The Fastrac engine may be one of the world's simplest turbopump rocket engines. It's fueled by a mixture of liquid oxygen and kerosene, and has significantly fewer parts than previous American-made rocket engines.
Chamber pressure is supplied by a single turbopump.
The booster relies on a simple gas generator cycle, which burns a small amount of kerosene and oxygen to provide gas to drive the turbine and then exhausts the spent fuel. The engine is tuned to a specific thrust and mixture ratio. There are no expensive electronics that continually monitor and adjust the engine valves. Individual components, such as the gas generator, turbopump assembly and fuel tanks, are undergoing testing at Marshall. The first-stage booster, with the tanks and engine assembled, will be tested at Stennis Space Center in Mississippi beginning in early 1998.