This was the first- ever freeflight of a scramjet-powered vehicle using conventional liquid hydrocarbon jet fuel. The launch and flight test were part of the Freeflight Atmospheric Scramjet Test Technique (FASTT) program sponsored by DARPA and ONR.

As the system integrator, ATK designed and built the FASTT vehicle. This was the first time the company had complete design authority over the hypersonic scramjet propulsion system and the airframe.

In addition, ATK served as the mission manager for both the launch and the flight of the test vehicle including development of test plans and coordination of all design and mission readiness reviews.

Community Email This Article Comment On This Article Related Links ATK SpaceDaily Search SpaceDaily Subscribe To SpaceDaily Express Rocket Science News at Space-Travel.Com Memory Foam Mattress Review SPACE MEDIA NETWORK PROMOTIONS Solar Energy Solutions Tempur-Pedic Mattress Comparison ... Newsletters :: SpaceDaily :: SpaceWar :: TerraDaily :: Energy Daily XML Feeds :: Space News :: Earth News :: War News :: Solar Energy News ROCKET SCIENCE Successful First Test For Vega's Zefiro 9 Engine Paris, France(ESA) Dec 28, 2005 Flames, smoke and a deafening noise accompanied the first firing test of Vega's Zefiro 9 third-stage solid rocket motor. A first examination of the data indicates that everything went well at the test carried out yesterday at Salto de Quirra in southeast Sardinia.