Rocket sled

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File:Rocket sled track.jpg
Lt. Col. John P. Stapp rides the rocket sled at Edwards Air Force Base
For rocket launches assisted by non-rocket powered guideways, see rocket sled launch.

A rocket sled is a test platform that slides along a track (e.g. set of rails), propelled by rockets.

File:Sonic Wind No 1.jpg
Sonic Wind No 1. This rocket sled was ridden by John Paul Stapp in the 1950s.

A rocket sled differs from a rocket car in not using wheels; at high speeds wheels would spin to pieces due to the extreme centrifugal forces. Apart from rare examples running on snow or ice (such as Max Valier's RAK BOBs of the late 1920s[1] and Harry Bull's BR-1 in 1931[2]), most rocket sleds run on a track. Although some rocket sleds ride on single beams or rails, most use a pair of rails. Standard gauge (1.435 m / 56.5 in) is common but sled tracks of narrower or wider gauge also exist. The rail cross-section profile is usually that of a Vignoles rail, commonly used for railroads. Sliding pads, called "slippers", are curved around the head of the rails to prevent the sled from flying off the track. Air cushions and magnetic levitation have also been used as alternatives, with potential benefits including reduced sled vibration.

A rocket sled holds the land-based speed record for a vehicle, at Mach 8.5.[3]

Usage

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File:8.5 Mach rocket sled 030430.jpg
The vehicle that achieved Mach 8.5
File:Holloman-sledtrack.jpg
The Holloman Air Force Base track

Rocket sleds were used extensively early in the Cold War to accelerate equipment considered too experimental (hazardous) for testing directly in piloted aircraft. The equipment to be tested under high acceleration or high airspeed conditions was installed along with appropriate instrumentation, data recording and telemetry equipment on the sled. The sled was then accelerated according to the experiment's design requirements for data collection along a length of isolated, precisely level and straight test track. Testing ejection seat systems and technology prior to their use in experimental or operational aircraft was a common application of the rocket sled at Holloman Air Force Base. Perhaps the most famous, the tracks at Edwards Air Force Base were used to test missiles, supersonic ejection seats, aircraft shapes and the effects of acceleration and deceleration on humans. The rocket sled track at Edwards Air Force Base was dismantled and used to extend the track at Holloman Air Force Base, taking it to almost 10 miles (16 km) in length.

Unmanned rocket sleds continue to be used to test missile components without requiring costly live missile launches. A world speed record of Mach 8.5 (6,416 mph / 10,325 km/h) was achieved by a four-stage rocket sled at Holloman Air Force Base on April 30, 2003, the highest speed ever attained by a land vehicle.[4]

Murphy's law first received public attention during a press conference about rocket sled testing.[5]

Rocket sled tracks

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Name Location Co-ordinates Country Length Gauge Rail Type Welded/
Segmented 		Opened Renovated Closed Notes
Holloman High Speed Test Track (HHSTT) Rails 1&2 Holloman AFB, Alamogordo, NM Lua error: callParserFunction: function "#coordinates" was not found. USA 50,971 ft
(15.536 km) 		84 in
(2.1 m) 		171 Welded 1950[6] 1956, 1957, 1974, 2000, 2002 Runs North-South
Supersonic Naval Ordnance Research Track (SNORT) NAWC-WD Naval Air Weapons Station, China Lake, CA Lua error: callParserFunction: function "#coordinates" was not found. USA 21,550 ft
(6.568 km) 		56.5 in
(1.435 m) 		171 Welded 1953 2006 North-South
Holloman High Speed Test Track (HHSTT) Rail 3 Holloman AFB, Alamogordo, NM Lua error: callParserFunction: function "#coordinates" was not found. USA 20,200 ft
(6.157 km) 		26.3 in
(0.67 m) 		171 Welded 1974 North-South
Extended High-Speed Rocket Sled Track Edwards AFB, Edwards, CA Lua error: callParserFunction: function "#coordinates" was not found. USA 20,000 ft
(6.096 km) 		56.5 in
(1.435 m) 		171 Welded 1949 1959 1963 Also known as South Base Sled Track (SBST). Rails used to lengthen HHSTT
Rail Track Rocket Sled Test Facility[7][8][9] Terminal Ballistics Research Laboratory Range, Ramgarh, Haryana Lua error: callParserFunction: function "#coordinates" was not found. India 3.8 km
(12,467 ft) 		0.7–4.86 m
(28–191 in) 		1988 2014 5 rails
North/South
Supersonic Military Air Research Track (SMART) Aircraft Interior Products Propulsion Systems, Hurricane Mesa, UT Lua error: callParserFunction: function "#coordinates" was not found. USA 12,000 ft
(3.658 km) 		56.5 in
(1.435 m) 		105 Welded 1955 1961* *Now Privately Owned & Operational.
North-South
Sandia 2 Technical Area III, Kirtland AFB, Albuquerque, NM Lua error: callParserFunction: function "#coordinates" was not found. USA 10,000 ft
(3.048 km) 		0.56 m
(22 in) 		1966 1985 North-South
Rocket rail track 3500, FKP GkNIPAS Beloozyorsky Lua error: callParserFunction: function "#coordinates" was not found. Russia 3.5 km
(11,480 ft) 		Segmented 2014 Formerly RD-2500. Used by Zvezda for ejection seat testing
RT-2650, FKP NII Geodeziya Krasnoarmeysk Lua error: callParserFunction: function "#coordinates" was not found. Russia 2,650 m
(8,694 ft) 		R-75 1956 1984
TsKP MIK of RFNC-VNIIEF Sarov Lua error: callParserFunction: function "#coordinates" was not found. Russia 3.0 km
(9,843 ft)
B-4 Transonic Test Track NAWC-WD Naval Air Weapons Station, China Lake, CA Lua error: callParserFunction: function "#coordinates" was not found. USA 6,800 ft
(2,073 m) 		56.5 in
(1.435 m) 		75 Welded 1940
Martin-Baker Langford Lodge Langford Lodge, Northern Ireland Lua error: callParserFunction: function "#coordinates" was not found. UK 6,200 ft
(1,890 m) 		30 in
(0.762 m) 		80 1971 Privately Owned & Operated by Martin-Baker
Pendine Long Test Track (LTT) QinetiQ, Pendine, Wales Lua error: callParserFunction: function "#coordinates" was not found. UK 1,500 m
(4,921 ft) 		12 in
(0.305 m) 		103 1956
Centre D'essais Des Landes Single Rail R1[10] Biscarrosse Lua error: callParserFunction: function "#coordinates" was not found. France 2.0 km
(6,562 ft) 		Monorail Square Beam Segmented 1968 1974, ? (Foundation for 2nd rail in place)
G-4 Exterior and Terminal Ballistics Test Track NAWC-WD Naval Air Weapons Station, China Lake, CA Lua error: callParserFunction: function "#coordinates" was not found. USA 3,000 ft
(914 m) 		33.875 in
(0.860 m) 		171 Welded 1954
ETTC KEMTF sled track Test Area C-74, Eglin AFB, Ft. Walton Beach, FL Lua error: callParserFunction: function "#coordinates" was not found. USA 2,000 ft
(610 m) 		56.5 in
(1.435 m) 		171 Welded 1956
Sandia 1 Technical Area III, Kirtland AFB, Albuquerque, NM Lua error: callParserFunction: function "#coordinates" was not found. USA 2,000 ft
(610 m) 		56.5 in
(1.435 m) 		1951 North-South
Edwards North Base Track "G-Whiz" Edwards AFB, Edwards, CA Lua error: callParserFunction: function "#coordinates" was not found. USA 2,000 ft
(610 m) 		Welded 1944 1953 Also known as North Base Sled Track (NBST).
East-West
Redstone Test Center Sled Track 1 Test Area 1, Redstone Arsenal, AL Lua error: callParserFunction: function "#coordinates" was not found. USA 1,900 ft
(579 m) 		Monorail 1956 Formerly Redstone Technical Test Center
Pendine Impact Test Track QinetiQ, Pendine, Wales Lua error: callParserFunction: function "#coordinates" was not found. UK 400 m
(1,312 ft) 		56.5 in
(1.435 m)
Centre D'essais Des Landes Single Rail R2[10] Biscarrosse Lua error: callParserFunction: function "#coordinates" was not found. France 400 m
(1,312 ft) 		0.60 m
(24 in) 		Square Beam Segmented 1967 Former HB3 track, moved from CIEES Colomb-Béchar, Algeria
Redstone Test Center Sled Track 2 Test Area 1, Redstone Arsenal, AL Lua error: callParserFunction: function "#coordinates" was not found. USA 1,200 ft
(366 m) 		Monorail Formerly Redstone Technical Test Center
New Mexico Tech/EMRTC Sled Track Socorro, NM Lua error: callParserFunction: function "#coordinates" was not found. USA 1,000 ft
(305 m) 		Monorail 171 Privately owned & operated.
North-South
Pendine Short Test Track (STT) QinetiQ, Pendine, Wales Lua error: callParserFunction: function "#coordinates" was not found. UK 200 m
(656 ft)
General Dynamics Ordnance and Tactical Systems Rock Hill, FL Lua error: callParserFunction: function "#coordinates" was not found. USA 656 ft
(200 m) 		I-Beam Privately Owned & Operated
Alkantpan Rocket Sled Range Alkantpan Test Range, Copperton, Northern Cape Lua error: callParserFunction: function "#coordinates" was not found. South Africa 200 m
(656 ft) 		0.5 m
(19.7 in) 		Single or Double I-beam Segmented 1985 1999 Runs East to West

Subsonic and supersonic testing

Holloman Maglev Track Holloman AFB, Alamogordo, NM Lua error: callParserFunction: function "#coordinates" was not found. USA 2,100 ft
(640 m) 		North-South
Germany Germany I-Beam
Bundeswehr WTD 91 rocket sled track Meppen Lua error: callParserFunction: function "#coordinates" was not found. Germany 830 m
(2,723 ft)
AVIC ALI track[11] Xiangyang Lua error: callParserFunction: function "#coordinates" was not found. China 6.0 km
(19,685 ft) 		1.435 m
(56.5 in) 		Welded 1993 2006 Also known as XB High Accuracy Rocket Sled Test Track.
Muroran Institute of Technology APReC HSTT[12] Shiraoi Lua error: callParserFunction: function "#coordinates" was not found. Japan 300 m
(984 ft) 		1.435 m
(56.5 in) 		2009
Muroran Institute of Technology APReC SSTT Shiraoi Lua error: callParserFunction: function "#coordinates" was not found. Japan 100 m
(328 ft) 		0.128 m
(5.04 in) 		2008
TÜBİTAK SAGE HABRAS Karapınar Lua error: callParserFunction: function "#coordinates" was not found. Turkey 2.0 km
(6,562 ft) 		2017

Other former rocket sled tracks include those at the following locations:

See also

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References

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