THE GOAL OF THIS STUDY WILL BE TO PROVE THE FEASIBILITY OF DEVELOPING A HARDENED, LIGHTWEIGHT AFT COVER FOR FUTURE REENTRY VEHICLES.

THE GOAL OF THIS STUDY WILL BE TO PROVE THE FEASIBILITY OF DEVELOPING A HARDENED, LIGHTWEIGHT AFT COVER FOR FUTURE REENTRY VEHICLES. THE INDIVIDUAL TASKS INCLUDE, DETERMINING MATERIAL AND DESIGN REQUIREMENTS FOR FUTURE VEHICLES, IDENTIFYING WHAT MATERIAL AND DESIGN CONCEPTS WILL MEET THESE REQUIREMENTS, AND SELECTION OF THE BEST DESIGNS FOR FURTHER DEVELOPMENT. METHODS OF INTEGRATING THE USES OF MULTIPLE LAYERS INTO A SINGLE LAYER WILL BE INVESTIGATED. HARDNESS, WEIGHT, FABRICATION COSTS, AND RISK WILL BE USED TO RANK THE DIFFERENT CONCEPTS THAT MEET THE MATERIAL AND DESIGN GOALS. OVERLAYS, COMPOSITES, FOAMS, AND "NEW" METALS WILL BE SOME OF THE POSSIBLE MATERIALS TO BE EXAMINED. THIS STUDY WILL LEAD TOWARD AN AFT COVER THAT WILL WITHSTAND HIGHER LEVELS OF EXPOSURE ON FUTURE REENTRY VEHICLES AND AT THE SAME TIME BE LIGHTER IN WEIGHT.