 A sleek research vehicle called the National Aerospace Plane may one day take off from the runway on this California desert lake bend. Aerospace plane moves thrice through the hydrogen-fueled air-moving engines to take off like an airliner inclined to the edge of space, pushed into orbit. This technology promises to give efficient and flexible access to space in the 21st century. For now, the X-30, as it's also called, is flown only with simulators. Although the plane does not yet exist, it sponsors NASA and the Department of Defense, along with a team of five major aerospace companies are working together to make it a reality in the next decade. Advanced computer technology and mathematical model are used to design a vehicle capable of speeds up to 17,500 miles per hour. Speeds so fast they can't be duplicated in wind tunnels with other experimental facilities. Computers have to be used to simulate the shock waves and air flows the X-30 will encounter. Materials for the plane's skin must withstand serious temperatures or extended periods of time. Composites such as carbon-carbon, ceramics, and alloys of titanium and aluminum are being tested. NASA and the Air Force flew an experimental aircraft for the X-15 in the 1960s. It used more power to find the seven times the speed of sound at altitudes grazing the fringes of space. The next step is an experimental aerospace plane that can travel 25 times the speed of sound, about 30 times faster than a jet airliner. The ultimate goal? To demonstrate the technologies which will allow efficient, flexible access to space. Vehicles incorporating X-30 technology may someday deliver satellites into orbit and visit Space Station Freedom, the nation's most sophisticated research efforts. The national aerospace plane will help maintain world leadership for the United States in aeronautics and space technology. Meeting this challenge can help today's most ambitious space plans become tomorrow's reality.