foundation and developed a conceptual design of a test stand where the reactor and the test stand are enclosed in a small containment system. A cleanup scrubber system is part of the design which includes a diffuser for pressure recovery, massive water washes for cooling and filters for final cleanup. Another option for open cycle testing is the possible use of tunnels to exhaust the hydrogen. Tunnels are constructed for weapons test programs and are readily available. Tunnels exist at Jackass Flats, Nevada (where NERVA was tested) and at HEDL, where the Basalt Waste Isolation Project uses a large tunnel in the side of the mountain. MIL-STD-1540B, ‘Test Requirements for Space Vehicles', was written to establish uniform test requirements and test methods for qualification, acceptance, and prelaunch validation testing. This standard includes guidelines for component, subsystem, and system tests. The guidelines set forth and the optional tests for qualification testing are shown in Table I. This guideline forms the test baseline for the NDR. Several options for flight qualification testing of the NDR are being defined. Each option incorporates the proper testing required. However, different test articles are used for each option. Possible options for qualification testing of the MSNPS have been identified and are discussed briefly below. Each option will include the qualification tests required by MIL-STD-1540B. It is anticipated that each option will incorporate the same test sequence. A generic test sequence will simulate the MSNPS mission sequence: launch, ready state, startup, operation, and shutdown. Option 1 is a full-scale MSNPS, including the nuclear subsystem. For the acoustic and pyro shock tests, the test article will be a full-scale prototypic MSNPS with one exception: the reactor will be loaded with a mass mockup of the fueled core so that the tests can be conducted at an existing test facility without the possibility that the reactor will become critical. Option 2 is also a full-scale MSNPS, identical to Option 1 except that the nuclear reactor is replacd with an electrically heated simulator. The second test article under Option 2 is the nuclear subsystem which includes the reactor, the reactor controller,
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