Abstract : Four panels from a representative Mach 7 hypersonic cruise vehicle were designed and analyzed with state-of-the-art standard methods and tools to verify structural response and life predictive capabilities. Several modifications were made to the Technology Experiment Vehicle (TX-V) to refine the structure and create a Mach 7 closed-concept configuration with an all-metallic, high-temperature airframe. Structural loads and environments from the TX-V were then used to size and design the four panels, and perform thermal, stress, acoustic, flutter, and fatigue analyses. An additional set of explicit dynamic analyses using an alternative method was performed on one of the four panels. Several analysis process and method findings based on these two analysis approaches are compared to previously identified knowledge gaps, confirming several while adding several more. The objectives of a validation test program are also reviewed, and a set of recommended test series are prioritized to best evaluate the accuracy of current structural response and life prediction capabilities.