THE PHASE I PROGRAM WILL DEFINE CRUCIAL AFT COVER DESIGN PARAMETERS FOR MEETING THE HIGHER NUCLEAR HARDNESS AND SURVIVABILITY (NH&S) REQUIREMENTS OF ADVANCED REENTRY VEHICLES (RVS).

THE PHASE I PROGRAM WILL DEFINE CRUCIAL AFT COVER DESIGN PARAMETERS FOR MEETING THE HIGHER NUCLEAR HARDNESS AND SURVIVABILITY (NH&S) REQUIREMENTS OF ADVANCED REENTRY VEHICLES (RVS). COMPARED TO THE RV SHELL, AFT COVERS MUST SURVIVE LOWER NON-NUCLEAR REENTRY ENVIRONMENTS BUT POSSIBLY HIGHER NUCLEAR ENVIRONMENTS. AFT COVERS MUST ALSO ACCOMODATE DISCONTINUITIES, SUCH AS ATTACHMENT POINTS AND FEEDTHROUGHS. DESIGNS TO MINIMIZE THE AFT COVER WEIGHT, COST, AND DEVELOPMENT RISK WILL BE SOUGHT USING (1) MATERIALS AND DESIGN CONCEPTS ALREADY VERIFIED TO MEET NH&S REQUIREMENTS IN OTHER PROGRAMS AND (2) MATERIALS/CONCEPTS CURRENTLY AVAILABLE OR IN DEVELOPMENT WHOSE PROPERTIES SUGGEST HIGH HARDNESS. CROSS PLOTS OF WEIGHT AND COST VERSUS MATERIAL AND DESIGN PARAMETERS WILL BE USED TO IDENTIFY THE CRUCIAL PARAMETERS.