Designing new rocket engines that are safer and less expensive, a new agreement between a rocket builder and a Space Coast engineering school hopes to blast the effort into the future.

Titusville-based Rocket Crafters Inc. and Melbourne's Florida Institute of Technology are now working together to join the school's faculty and engineering students to analyze the company's cutting edge hybrid rocket motors.

The goal is make the engines more advanced and reliable, but cheaper, and perform better than those of the past, and with that open up the benefits of space to all.

Rocket Crafters CEO Sid Gutierrez is a former NASA astronaut and shuttle commander who says this agreement with Florida Tech is a natural fit.

"The research capabilities, the software they've got, and the experience they have is very valuable in moving our company forward," Gutierrez said.

"Doing some of the chemical modeling, propulsion modeling, some of the physics and details of engineering that we can really help them with because of our expertise," said Florida Tech's Dr. Daniel Kirk.

The company says rocket motor tests are coming up in the not to distant future