Materials Challenges for the National Aero-Space Plane

Abstract

The National Aero-Space Plane Program (NASP) represents a major national initiative in hypersonic technology. It has the goal of developing and demonstrating the technologies for aerospace vehicles capable of cruising at hypersonic speeds and achieving single stage access to space. The specific objective of the program is the construction and operation of an experimental fully reusable flight vehicle—the X-30—that will employ air-breathing liquid-hydrogen-fueled engines and will be capable of horizontal take-off and landing. It will be a piloted research vehicle, designed to expand the envelope of high speed flight in and beyond the atmosphere.