Key Technologies    

• Composite Primary and Secondary Airframe Structures
  A composite airframe including primary structure, aerosurfaces, and thrust structures. The high-margin structure is designed to require minimal inspection, with modular design and numerous access ports for maintainability.
  
  
• Composite Reusable Propellant Tanks, Cryogenic Insulation, and Propulsion System Elements
  
  
  
• Advanced Thermal Protection Systems and Materials
  Low-cost low-weight thermal protection systems and materials on the leading edges and other critical heating areas and over the large surfaces subjected to lower heating. The new ceramic thermal protection systems are far less expensive than either the current Shuttle ceramics or an advanced metallic system.
  
  
• Low-cost Avionics Including Differential GPS Integrated GPS / INS
  Low-cost flight proven avionics including differential GPS and integrated GPS/INS. The X-34 and the RLVs will depend heavily on automatic navigation, guidance, and control for autonomous landing, so it becomes important to demonstrate that performance, simple checkout and testing, and operational cost objectives can be met.
  
  
• Integrated Vehicle Health Monitoring System
  Integrated vehicle health monitoring system which, together with rapid software reprogramming, will make possible the quick turnaround which is a major demonstration goal.
  
  
• Flush Air Data System
  Flush air data system, a concept proven in early Shuttle experiments to be a valuable tool in hypersonic flight testing.
  
  
• Provide Platform for Demonstration of "Added On" or Additional Experiments

NOTE:
As of March 1, 2001, the x-33 project as well as the x-34 project were discontinued by NASA. See the following

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