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FAST 20XX (Future high-Altitude high-Speed Transport 20XX) is a European Space Agency (ESA) program to develop the necessary technologies for a hypersonic suborbital spaceplane. Funding for the program was established under the European Commission's Seventh Framework Programme.
The FAST 20XX program is intended to provide a technological foundation for the industrial introduction of advanced hypersonic suborbital spaceplanes in the medium to longer term. No detailed vehicle design is planned under the program in its current form, with work instead focusing on mastering the technologies required for the development of such designs. Once the needed technologies are identified, researchers plan to develop the dedicated analytical, numerical and experimental tools needed to investigate them. The project will also look at the legal and regulatory issues related to suborbital flight in consultation with government and international authorities.
Two concepts will be focused on under the program:
- the ALPHA, is based on SpaceShipOne, which won the Ansari X-Prize in 2003. A key aspect of the design is the need for a carrier plane to launch the suborbital vessel.
- The SpaceLiner is a concept of the DLR (German Aerospace Center). The SpaceLiner is an all–rocket-propelled vehicle intended to achieve a step change in ultra-fast long-haul passenger and freight transport, with the intended ability to transport 50 passengers from Australia to Europe in 90 minutes.
