DEMONSTRATION OF A 3000 DEGREE COMPOSITE STRUCTURE TPS THE PRIMARY OBJECTIVE OF THIS PROJECT IS TO DEMONSTRATE A LOAD BEARING THERMAL PROTECTION SYSTEM THAT IS LIGHTWEIGHT, RELIABLE, AND REUSABLE. A HONEYCOMB MATERIAL HAS BEEN MADE FROM CERAMIC PAPER, AND TESTS HAVE SHOWN THAT ITS COMPRESSIVE STRENGTH IS SUITABLE FOR USE AS A LOAD BEARING TPS. CELLS OF THE SAME HONEY COMB MATERIAL WERE FILLED WITH INSULATION, AND TESTS SHOWED THAT IT FUNCTIONED WELL AS A THERMAL PROTECTION SYSTEM. THE RESEARCH TEAM PROPOSES TO OPTIMIZE THIS DESIGN FOR USE IN HYPERSONIC VEHICLES. THE TEAM WILL MEASURE THE BASIC PROPERTIES OF THE CERAMIC PAPER SO THAT THE HONEYCOMB STRUCTURE CAN BE OPTIMIZED USING FINITE ELEMENT ANALYSIS. HONEYCOMB SAMPLES WILL BE ASSEMBLED AND TESTED TO VERIFY THE MODEL. THE TEAM WILL INVESTIGATE MATERIALS, COATINGS AND BONDING METHODS APPROPRIATE TO MATCH THE FACE SHEET MATERIAL WITH THE COMPOSITE HONEYCOMB STRUCTURE. THIS DESIGN IS EXPECTED TO ELIMINATE COMPLEX ATTACHMENT SCHEMES. PRELIMINARY DATA INDICATES THE PANELS WILL BE MORE RELIABLE AND LIGHTER IN WEIGHT THAN AETB, IF USED IN A COMPARABLE APPLICATION.