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Due to the complexity of the vehicle, the lack of currently available wind tunnel facilities to investigate in much of the hypersonic flight regime, the many flow regimes experienced during a typical NASP ascent trajectory, and time constraints placed on the pro gram, the dependence on CFD for NASP is quite significant.

America's entrée in the world of hypersonics is spearheaded by the National Aero-Space Plane program. Although the concept of hypersonic flight at speeds above Mach 6 has been investigated before in many countries, the efforts begun in the 1960's in the United States did not result in a major new capability. ...During the 1970's, our hypersonic effort dwindled to a few dedicated research efforts which refined propulsion, aerodynamics, and computational fluid dynamics principles. ...Through the demonstration of single-stage-to-orbit (SSTO) capabilities in a manned vehicle capable of normal aircraft-like operations, the United States seeks to revitalize our advanced hypersonics research, spearhead the rapid development of technology, and conclusively demonstrate through flight testing that the age of hypersonics has arrived.