Major design goals for FED-R are the achievement of (1) a high level of neutron exposure of the test modules and (2) a capability for rapid changeout of test modules. 1,2 A major factor in rapid changeout is perceived to be the location of the vacuum boundary. In FED-R this boundary was set at the first wall so that module changeout did not require the plasma chamber to be brought up to atmosphere. Efforts to realize these goals in the design resulted in a neutronically thin outboard wall for the vacuum vessel constructed of 316 stainless steel (SS) with helium as a coolant. A normalized 14-MeV neutron transmission of 0.82 is expected, with an inlet pressure of 2 MPa and a pumping power requirement of 8.7 MW. Other options considered in the study were aluminum as a wall material and water and sodium potassium (NaK) as coolants.