Fastrac (engine)
Encyclopedia
Fastrac or alternatively MC-1 engine was a pump-fed liquid rocket engine
developed by NASA
for use on small inexpensive, expendable rockets. Fastrac uses RP-1
kerosene and liquid oxygen
as propellants in a gas-generator
power cycle.
Ignition of engine was achieved via starter fluid injected into combustion chamber before kerosene was fed.
Propellants are fed via a single shaft, dual impeller turbo-pump.
The engine design used an inexpensive, expendable, ablatively cooled
carbon fiber
composite
nozzle, and produced 60,000 lbf (285 kN) of thrust.
Engine system development testing of the MC-1 has been ongoing since 24 Oct 1998. Through cancellation, 48 tests were conducted on three engines using three separate test stands.
The engine never flew.
and X-34 project.
The designation of the rocket engine was changed from the Fastrac 60K to MC-1.
injector and ablatively cooled chamber) lived on in SpaceX's
Merlin 1a engine
, which even uses a turbo pump from the same subcontractor.
The Merlin-1a was somewhat larger engine with a thrust of 77000 lbf (342.5 kN) versus 60000 lbf (266.9 kN) for Fastrac. The same basic design was capable of much higher thrust levels after upgrading the turbopump. The latest variants of the Merlin-1d achieve 155000 lbf (689.5 kN) of thrust, but is a regenerativly cooled engine.
Rocket engine
A rocket engine, or simply "rocket", is a jet engineRocket Propulsion Elements; 7th edition- chapter 1 that uses only propellant mass for forming its high speed propulsive jet. Rocket engines are reaction engines and obtain thrust in accordance with Newton's third law...
developed by NASA
NASA
The National Aeronautics and Space Administration is the agency of the United States government that is responsible for the nation's civilian space program and for aeronautics and aerospace research...
for use on small inexpensive, expendable rockets. Fastrac uses RP-1
RP-1
RP-1 is a highly refined form of kerosene outwardly similar to jet fuel, used as a rocket fuel. Although having a lower specific impulse than liquid hydrogen , RP-1 is cheaper, can be stored at room temperature, is far less of an explosive hazard and is far denser...
kerosene and liquid oxygen
Liquid oxygen
Liquid oxygen — abbreviated LOx, LOX or Lox in the aerospace, submarine and gas industries — is one of the physical forms of elemental oxygen.-Physical properties:...
as propellants in a gas-generator
Gas-generator cycle (rocket)
The gas generator cycle is a power cycle of a bipropellant rocket engine. Some of the propellant is burned in a gas-generator and the resulting hot gas is used to power the engine's pumps. The gas is then exhausted...
power cycle.
Ignition of engine was achieved via starter fluid injected into combustion chamber before kerosene was fed.
Propellants are fed via a single shaft, dual impeller turbo-pump.
The engine design used an inexpensive, expendable, ablatively cooled
Ablation
Ablation is removal of material from the surface of an object by vaporization, chipping, or other erosive processes. This occurs in spaceflight during ascent and atmospheric reentry, glaciology, medicine, and passive fire protection.-Spaceflight:...
carbon fiber
Carbon fiber
Carbon fiber, alternatively graphite fiber, carbon graphite or CF, is a material consisting of fibers about 5–10 μm in diameter and composed mostly of carbon atoms. The carbon atoms are bonded together in crystals that are more or less aligned parallel to the long axis of the fiber...
composite
Composite material
Composite materials, often shortened to composites or called composition materials, are engineered or naturally occurring materials made from two or more constituent materials with significantly different physical or chemical properties which remain separate and distinct at the macroscopic or...
nozzle, and produced 60,000 lbf (285 kN) of thrust.
Engine system development testing of the MC-1 has been ongoing since 24 Oct 1998. Through cancellation, 48 tests were conducted on three engines using three separate test stands.
The engine never flew.
MC-1 later designation
After the cancellation of the FASTRAC program NASA tried to salvage this design for use in other rockets such as Rotary RocketRotary Rocket
Rotary Rocket, Inc, was a rocketry company headquartered in a facility at Mojave Airport that developed the Roton concept in the late 1990s as a fully reusable single-stage-to-orbit manned spacecraft. Roton was intended to reduce costs of launching payloads into low earth orbit by a factor of...
and X-34 project.
The designation of the rocket engine was changed from the Fastrac 60K to MC-1.
Legacy
The basic principles of the Fastrac design (namely, a pintlePintle
A pintle is a pin or bolt, usually inserted into a gudgeon, which is used as part of a pivot or hinge.A pintle/gudgeon set is used in many spheres, for example: in sailing to hold the rudder onto the boat; in transportation a pincer-type device clamps through a lunette ring on the tongue of a...
injector and ablatively cooled chamber) lived on in SpaceX's
SpaceX
Space Exploration Technologies Corporation, or more popularly and informally known as SpaceX, is an American space transport company that operates out of Hawthorne, California...
Merlin 1a engine
Merlin (rocket engine)
Merlin is a rocket engine developed by SpaceX for use on its Falcon 1 and Falcon 9 rockets. Merlin uses RP-1 and liquid oxygen as propellants in a gas-generator power cycle...
, which even uses a turbo pump from the same subcontractor.
The Merlin-1a was somewhat larger engine with a thrust of 77000 lbf (342.5 kN) versus 60000 lbf (266.9 kN) for Fastrac. The same basic design was capable of much higher thrust levels after upgrading the turbopump. The latest variants of the Merlin-1d achieve 155000 lbf (689.5 kN) of thrust, but is a regenerativly cooled engine.
Engine specifications
- Sea level thrust:
- Sea level specific impulse:
- Vacuum thrust: 60,000 lbf (284.41 kN)
- Vacuum specific impulse: 314 s (3.0 kN·s/kg)
- Chamber pressure:
- Total mass flow: 91.90 kg/s
- Gas generator pressure: 39.64 bar
- Gas generator temperature: 888.89 K
- Throat diameter: 0.22 m
- Fuel: RP-1 (rocket grade kerosene)
- Oxidizer: Liquid oxygen
See also
- Merlin (rocket engine)Merlin (rocket engine)Merlin is a rocket engine developed by SpaceX for use on its Falcon 1 and Falcon 9 rockets. Merlin uses RP-1 and liquid oxygen as propellants in a gas-generator power cycle...
SpaceX booster engine - Kestrel (rocket engine)Kestrel (rocket engine)The Kestrel engine is an LOX/RP-1 pressure-fed rocket engine. The Kestrel engine was developed by SpaceX for upper stage use on the Falcon 1 rocket....
SpaceX small upper stage engine for Falcon-1 - RD-180 RP-1 engine currently used in the US
- RS-27ARS-27A (rocket engine)The RS-27A is a liquid-fuel rocket engine developed by Rocketdyne for use on the first stage of the Delta II and Delta III launch vehicles. It provides 1.05 meganewtons of thrust burning RP-1 and LOX in a gas-generator cycle...
RP-1 engine currently used in the US - RD-191RD-191The RD-191 is a high performance single-combustion chamber rocket engine, developed in Russia. It is derived from the RD-170 originally used in the Energia launcher....
contemporary Russian RP-1 engine - NK-33NK-33The NK-33 and NK-43 are rocket engines designed and built in the late 1960s and early 1970s by the Kuznetsov Design Bureau. They were intended for the ill-fated Soviet N-1 rocket moon shot. The NK-33 engine achieves the highest thrust-to-weight ratio of any Earth-launchable rocket engine, whilst...
record setting RP-1 engine, currently resurrected for use by Orbital Sciences in Taurus IITaurus IITaurus II is an expendable launch system being developed by Orbital Sciences Corporation. It is a two stage vehicle designed to launch payloads weighing up to into low-Earth orbit...
launcher - F-1 (rocket engine)F-1 (rocket engine)The F-1 is a rocket engine developed by Rocketdyne and used in the Saturn V. Five F-1 engines were used in the S-IC first stage of each Saturn V, which served as the main launch vehicle in the Apollo program. The F-1 is still the most powerful single-chamber liquid-fueled rocket engine ever...