ALTERNATIVE FLIGHT TEST LAUNCHER EVALUATION

THE PROPOSED STUDY WILL CRITICALLY EVALUATE SIX OR MORE INNOVATIVE CONCEPTS FOR LAUNCHING FLIGHT TEST PAYLOADS TO KWAJELEIN ATOLL, WITH EMPHASIS ON COST EFFECTIVENESS, PARTICULARLY FOR SMALL PAYLOADS (UNDER 50 LBS). CANDIDATE CONCEPTS WILL BE COMPARED FOR PERFORMANCE OVER THE FULL SPECTRUM OF ANTICIPATED PAYLOAD WEIGHTS AND FULL FLIGHT TEST ENVIRONMENT ENVELOPE. EVALUATION OF PAYLOAD LAUNCH ENVIRONMENT, AND PROJECTED TOTAL COST WILL BE STRONG DISCRIMINATORS IN SELECTING PREFERRED OPTIONS AS WILL THE READINESS OF THE REQUIRED TECHNOLOGY INVOLVED. A HARDWARE DEVELOPMENT AND TEST PROGRAM WILL BE DEVELOPED FOR SELECTED CONCEPTS, WITH EMPHASIS DIRECTED TOWARDS THE SMALL PAYLOAD SOLUTION.