 The National Aerospace Plane, or NEST, represents the future in aeronautics and space technology. The X-30 space plane will take off from runways and fly directly into Earth orbit using air-breathing engines as its primary propulsion. NEST technology will lead to operational vehicles that will give flexible, efficient access to space in the 21st century. Technology from NEST is already being applied in the fields of materials and computer science. The NEST program is jointly managed by NASA and the Department of Defense. The NEST Joint Program Office at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base selected NASA's John C. Stennis Space Center on the Mississippi Gulf Coast to conduct high-temperature tests on new materials and structures being developed for NASA. This selection was largely due to Stennis's experience in propulsion testing over the past three decades, the availability of skilled personnel, and the center's unique facilities. The high-heat flux facility being built at Stennis will use rocket engines to simulate the harsh heating environment that the NASA will have to endure during flight. The NASA research vehicle needs new materials and structural concepts to handle the heat of combustion in the air-breathing engine and the heat of air friction during the high-speed flight within the atmosphere. During tests of the high-heat flux facility, structural panels representing large pieces of the engine, wings, or fuselage will be exposed to the flame of rocket engines to reach temperatures of 2,000 degrees Fahrenheit. Beginning in the fall of 1993, this facility will provide these well-controlled high temperatures for extended durations to test NEST components for the engine and fuselage. It will also provide high-pressure liquid or gasses for test article conditioning at variable temperatures and pressures. A high-heat flux facility is unique in the United States in providing the combined environment capability of exposing the NEST materials to both high temperatures and sound waves. The facility will provide the NEST program the ability to evaluate various materials under simulated flight conditions. This data will reduce program risk, thereby reducing total cost. Tests conducted at the high-heat flux facility will be a vital link in the technology development phase of the National Aerospace Plane Program. Later, the facility will be expanded to accommodate larger test panels and longer test durations to better simulate the NEST flight profile. This will further advance technology and make a very positive contribution to the NEST program and America's preeminence in aerospace research. America's National Aerospace Plane technology that is blazing a trail for a new era in the history of human flight.