Editing Rocket sled

{{Short description|Test platform pushed by rockets along a track}}
[[Image:Rocket sled track.jpg|thumb|250px|Lt. Col. [[John Stapp|John P. Stapp]] rides the rocket sled at [[Edwards Air Force Base]]]]
{{for|rocket launches assisted by non-rocket powered guideways|rocket sled launch}}
A '''rocket sled''' is a test platform that slides along a track (e.g. set of rails), propelled by [[rocket]]s. 
[[File:Sonic Wind No 1.jpg|thumb|right|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<ref>{{cite web|title=Ein schneller Schlitten|date=30 December 2013|url=https://blog.deutsches-museum.de/2013/12/30/ein-schneller-schlitten|publisher=Deutsches Museum|access-date=2024-02-17}}</ref> and Harry Bull's BR-1 in 1931<ref>{{cite journal |last=Winter |first=Frank H |author-link=Frank H. Winter |title=Harry Bull, American Rocket Pioneer |journal=AAS History Series |volume=9 |pages=291–312 |year=1989 |publisher=Univelt |publication-place=San Diego |issn=0730-3564 |url=https://epizodsspace.airbase.ru/bibl/inostr-yazyki/iaa/1989/Winter_Harry_Bull_American_Rocket_Pioneer.pdf |access-date=7 September 2024}}</ref>), 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 railway|Standard gauge]] (1.435&nbsp;m / 56.5&nbsp;in) is common but sled tracks of narrower or wider [[Track gauge|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 number|Mach]] 8.5.<ref>{{cite web|title=The Fastest Rocket Sled On Earth|date=16 January 2006|url=http://www.impactlab.com/2006/01/15/the-fastest-rocket-sled-on-earth/|publisher=impactlab.com|access-date=2008-03-18|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220522173022/https://www.impactlab.com/2006/01/15/the-fastest-rocket-sled-on-earth/|archive-date=2022-05-22|url-status=dead}}</ref>

==Usage==
[[Image:8.5 Mach rocket sled 030430.jpg|thumb|The vehicle that achieved Mach 8.5]]
[[Image:Holloman-sledtrack.jpg|thumb|right|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 [[Land speed record for railed vehicles|world speed record]] of Mach 8.5 (6,416&nbsp;mph / 10,325&nbsp;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.<ref>{{cite web|title=Test sets world land speed record|date=30 April 2003 |url=https://www.af.mil/News/Article-Display/Article/139307/test-sets-world-land-speed-record/|publisher=www.af.mil|access-date=2016-04-19}}</ref>

[[Murphy's law]] first received public attention during a press conference about rocket sled testing.<ref>{{cite web|title=Murphy's laws origin|url=http://www.murphys-laws.com/murphy/murphy-true.html|publisher=murphys-laws.com|access-date=2008-03-18|archive-date=2012-03-10|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120310224906/http://www.murphys-laws.com/murphy/murphy-true.html|url-status=dead}}</ref>

==Rocket Sled Tracks==
{| class="wikitable sortable"
|-
! Name
! Location
! Co-ordinates
! Country
! Length
! Gauge
! Rail Type
! Welded/<br>Segmented
! Opened
! Renovated
! Closed
! Notes
|-
| [[Holloman High Speed Test Track]] (HHSTT) Rails 1&2
| [[Holloman Air Force Base|Holloman AFB]], Alamogordo, NM
| {{coord|32.8881|-106.1502}}
| USA
| {{cvt|50,971|ft|km|disp=br()|sortable=on}}
| {{cvt|84|in|m|abbr=on|disp=br()|sortable=on}}
| 171
| Welded
| 1950<ref>{{cite book |last=Bushnell |first=David |author-link=David Bushnell (historian) |date=1959 |title=Origin and Operation of the First Holloman Track. Volume I. History of Tracks and Track Testing at the Air Force Missile Development Center, Holloman Air Force Base, New Mexico, 1949 - 1956 |url=https://apps.dtic.mil/sti/tr/pdf/ADA323573.pdf |publisher=United States Air Force}}</ref>
| 1956, 1957, 1974, 2000, 2002
| 
| Runs North-South
|-
| Supersonic Naval Ordnance Research Track (SNORT)
| NAWC-WD [[Naval Air Weapons Station China Lake|Naval Air Weapons Station, China Lake]], CA
| {{coord|35.7047|-117.7408}}
| USA
| {{cvt|21,550|ft|km|sigfig=4|disp=br()|sortable=on}}
| {{cvt|56.5|in|m|sigfig=4|abbr=on|disp=br()|sortable=on}}
| 171
| Welded
| 1953
| 2006
| 
| North-South 
|-
| [[Holloman High Speed Test Track]] (HHSTT) Rail 3
| Holloman AFB, Alamogordo, NM
| {{coord|32.9687|-106.15688}}
| USA
| {{cvt|20,200|ft|km|sigfig=4|disp=br()|sortable=on}}
| {{cvt|26.3|in|m|abbr=on|disp=br()|sortable=on}}
| 171
| Welded
| 1974
|  
| 
| North-South 
|-
| Extended High-Speed Rocket Sled Track
| [[Edwards AFB]], Edwards, CA
| {{coord|34.81485|-117.9084}}
| USA
| {{cvt|20,000|ft|km|sigfig=4|disp=br()|sortable=on}}
| {{cvt|56.5|in|m|sigfig=4|abbr=on|disp=br()|sortable=on}}
| 171
| Welded
| 1949
| 1959
| 1963
| Also known as South Base Sled Track (SBST). Rails used to lengthen HHSTT
|-
| Rail Track Rocket Sled Test Facility<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.drdo.gov.in/drdo/English/dpi/press_release/tbrl13052014.pdf|title=SA To RM Inaugurates Unique "RTRS Penta Rail Supersonic Track" at TBRL|date=12 May 2014|website=Defence Research & Development Organisation (DRDO)|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190509084138/https://www.drdo.gov.in/drdo/English/dpi/press_release/tbrl13052014.pdf|archive-date=9 May 2019|access-date=9 May 2019}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.drdo.gov.in/drdo/pub/techfocus/2017/TF_June_2017_WEB.pdf|title=Technology Focus magazine Vol. 25 No. 3, May-June 2017|date=9 June 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190509084111/https://www.drdo.gov.in/drdo/pub/techfocus/2017/TF_June_2017_WEB.pdf|archive-date=9 May 2019|access-date=9 May 2019}}</ref>
| [[Terminal Ballistics Research Laboratory]] Range, Ramgarh, Haryana
| {{Coord|30.641470|76.922399|format=dec}}
| India
| {{cvt|3.8|km|ft|sigfig=5|disp=br()|sortable=on}}
| {{cvt|0.7|-|4.86|m|in|abbr=on|disp=br()|sortable=on}}
|
|
| 1988
| 2014
|
| 5 rails<br>North/South
|-
| Supersonic Military Air Research Track (SMART)
| Aircraft Interior Products Propulsion Systems, [[Hurricane Mesa]], UT
| {{coord|37.2384|-113.22037}}
| USA
| {{cvt|12,000|ft|km|sigfig=4|disp=br()|sortable=on}}
| {{cvt|56.5|in|m|sigfig=4|abbr=on|disp=br()|sortable=on}}
| 105
| Welded
| 1955
|
| 1961*
| *Now Privately Owned & Operational.<br>North-South
|-
| Sandia 2
| Technical Area III, Kirtland AFB, Albuquerque, NM
| {{coord|34.9992|-106.55646}}
| USA
| {{cvt|10,000|ft|km|sigfig=4|disp=br()|sortable=on}}
| {{cvt|0.56|m|in|abbr=on|disp=br()|sortable=on}}
| 
| 
| 1966
| 1985
|
| North-South
|-
| Rocket rail track 3500, FKP GkNIPAS
| [[Beloozyorsky]]
| {{coord|55.48677|38.49836}}
| Russia
| {{cvt|3.5|km|ft|sigfig=4|disp=br()|sortable=on}}
| 
| 
| Segmented
| 
| 2014
| 
| Formerly RD-2500. Used by [[NPP Zvezda|Zvezda]] for ejection seat testing
|-
| RT-2650, FKP NII Geodeziya
| [[Krasnoarmeysk,_Moscow_Oblast|Krasnoarmeysk]]
| {{coord|56.11901|38.20345}}
| Russia
| {{cvt|2650|m|ft|sigfig=4|disp=br()|sortable=on}}
| 
| R-75
| 
| 1956
| 1984
| 
| 
|-
| TsKP MIK of [[All-Russian Scientific Research Institute of Experimental Physics|RFNC-VNIIEF]]
| [[Sarov]]
| {{coord|54.8212|43.2530}}
| Russia
| {{cvt|3.0|km|ft|sigfig=4|disp=br()|sortable=on}}
| 
| 
| 
| 
| 
| 
| 
|-
| B-4 Transonic Test Track
| NAWC-WD [[Naval Air Weapons Station China Lake|Naval Air Weapons Station, China Lake]], CA
| {{coord|35.7063|-117.80516}}
| USA
| {{cvt|6,800|ft|m|sigfig=4|disp=br()|sortable=on}}
| {{cvt|56.5|in|m|sigfig=4|abbr=on|disp=br()|sortable=on}}
| 75
| Welded
| 1940
| 
| 
| 
|-
| [[Martin-Baker]] Langford Lodge
| [[RAF Langford Lodge|Langford Lodge]], Northern Ireland
| {{coord|54.62581|-6.29895}}
| UK
| {{cvt|6,200|ft|m|sigfig=4|disp=br()|sortable=on}}
| {{cvt|30|in|m|sigfig=3|abbr=on|disp=br()|sortable=on}}
| 80
| 
| 1971
| 
|
| Privately Owned & Operated by Martin-Baker
|-
| Pendine Long Test Track (LTT)
| [[QinetiQ]], [[Pendine]], Wales
| {{coord|51.73801|-4.49680}}
| UK
| {{cvt|1500|m|ft|sigfig=4|disp=br()|sortable=on}}
| {{cvt|12|in|m|sigfig=3|abbr=on|disp=br()|sortable=on}}
| 103
| 
| 1956
| 
|
|  
|-
| Centre D'essais Des Landes Single Rail R1<ref name="COMAERO2013">{{cite book |author=<!--Not stated--> |date=2013 |title=Centres et Moyens d'Essais / COMAERO |trans-title=Test Centres and Facilities |url=http://www.eurosae.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/09/Centres_et_moyens_d_essais_tome_1.pdf |language=French |volume=I |location=Palaiseau |publisher=ONERA |isbn=978-2-7257-0017-5}}</ref>
| [[Biscarrosse]]
| {{coord|44.34641|-1.23640}}
| France
| {{cvt|2.0|km|ft|sigfig=4|disp=br()|sortable=on}}
| 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|Naval Air Weapons Station, China Lake]], CA
| {{coord|35.86793|-117.73071}}
| USA
| {{cvt|3,000|ft|m|sigfig=3|disp=br()|sortable=on}}
| {{cvt|33.875|in|m|sigfig=3|abbr=on|disp=br()|sortable=on}}
| 171
| Welded
| 1954
| 
|
|  
|-
| ETTC KEMTF sled track
| Test Area C-74, [[Eglin AFB]], Ft. Walton Beach, FL
| {{coord|30.68503|-86.32713}}
| USA
| {{cvt|2,000|ft|m|sigfig=3|disp=br()|sortable=on}}
| {{cvt|56.5|in|m|sigfig=4|abbr=on|disp=br()|sortable=on}}
| 171
| Welded
| 1956
| 
|
|  
|-
| [[Sandia National Laboratories|Sandia]] 1
| Technical Area III, [[Kirtland AFB]], [[Albuquerque]], NM
| {{coord|34.98955|-106.54407}}
| USA
| {{cvt|2,000|ft|m|sigfig=3|disp=br()|sortable=on}}
| {{cvt|56.5|in|m|sigfig=4|abbr=on|disp=br()|sortable=on}}
| 
| 
| 1951
| 
|
| North-South
|-
| Edwards North Base Track "G-Whiz"
| [[Edwards AFB]], Edwards, CA
| {{coord|34.99641|-117.85798}}
| USA
| {{cvt|2,000|ft|m|sigfig=3|disp=br()|sortable=on}}
| 
| 
| Welded
| 1944
|
| 1953
| Also known as North Base Sled Track (NBST).<br>East-West
|-
| [[U.S. Army Redstone Test Center|Redstone Test Center]] Sled Track 1
| Test Area 1, [[Redstone Arsenal]], AL
| {{coord|34.60375|-86.64504}}
| USA
| {{cvt|1,900|ft|m|sigfig=3|disp=br()|sortable=on}}
| Monorail
| 
| 
| 1956
| 
|
| Formerly [[Redstone Technical Test Center]]
|-
| Pendine Impact Test Track
| QinetiQ, Pendine, Wales
| {{coord|51.74125|-4.50728}}
| UK
| {{cvt|400|m|ft|sigfig=4|disp=br()|sortable=on}}
| {{cvt|56.5|in|m|sigfig=4|abbr=on|disp=br()|sortable=on}}
| 
| 
| 
| 
|
|  
|-
| Centre D'essais Des Landes Single Rail R2<ref name="COMAERO2013" />
| Biscarrosse
| {{coord|44.35312|-1.23039}}
| France
| {{cvt|400|m|ft|sigfig=4|disp=br()|sortable=on}}
| {{cvt|0.60|m|in|abbr=on|disp=br()|sortable=on}}
| Square Beam
| Segmented
| 1967
| 
|
| Former HB3 track, moved from [[Centre_interarmées_d'essais_d'engins_spéciaux|CIEES]] [[Colomb-Béchar]], Algeria
|-
| Redstone Test Center Sled Track 2
| Test Area 1, Redstone Arsenal, AL
| {{coord|34.60173|-86.63935}}
| USA
| {{cvt|1,200|ft|m|sigfig=3|disp=br()|sortable=on}}
| Monorail
| 
| 
| 
| 
|
| Formerly Redstone Technical Test Center
|-
| [[Energetic Materials Research and Testing Center|New Mexico Tech/EMRTC]] Sled Track
| Socorro, NM
| {{coord|34.02348|-106.97819}}
| USA
| {{cvt|1,000|ft|m|sigfig=3|disp=br()|sortable=on}}
| Monorail
| 171
| 
| 
| 
|
| Privately owned & operated.<br>North-South
|-
| Pendine Short Test Track (STT)
| QinetiQ, Pendine, Wales
| {{coord|51.74375|-4.50908}}
| UK
| {{cvt|200|m|ft|sigfig=3|disp=br()|sortable=on}}
| 
| 
| 
| 
| 
|
|  
|-
| [[General Dynamics]] Ordnance and Tactical Systems
| Rock Hill, FL
| {{coord|30.61492|-86.09640}}
| USA
| {{cvt|656|ft|m|sigfig=3|disp=br()|sortable=on}}
| 
| I-Beam
| 
| 
| 
|
| Privately Owned & Operated
|-
| Alkantpan Rocket Sled Range
| Alkantpan Test Range, [[Copperton]], [[Northern Cape]]
| {{coord|-29.94715|22.22665}}
| South Africa
| {{cvt|200|m|ft|sigfig=3|disp=br()|sortable=on}}
| {{cvt|0.5|m|in|sigfig=3|abbr=on|disp=br()|sortable=on}}
| Single or Double I-beam
| Segmented
| 1985
| 1999
|
| Runs East to West<br>
Subsonic and supersonic testing
|-
| Holloman Maglev Track
| Holloman AFB, Alamogordo, NM
| {{coord|33.01975|-106.16086}}
| USA
| {{cvt|2,100|ft|m|sigfig=3|disp=br()|sortable=on}}
| 
| 
| 
| 
| 
|
| North-South
|-
| Germany
| 
|
| Germany
| 
| 
| I-Beam
| 
| 
| 
|
| 
|-
| [[Bundeswehr]] WTD 91 rocket sled track
| [[Meppen]]
| {{coord|52.8631|7.4084}}
| Germany
| {{cvt|830|m|ft|sigfig=4|disp=br()|sortable=on}}
| 
| 
| 
| 
| 
|
| 
|-
| [[Aviation Industry Corporation of China|AVIC]] ALI track<ref>{{cite journal |last=Yang |first=Xingbang |date=2000 |title=XB High Accuracy Rocket Sled Test Track |url=https://journal.hep.com.cn/sscae/CN/Y2000/V2/I10/98 |language=Chinese |journal=Engineering Science |volume=2 |issue=10 |pages=98–104 |doi=10.3969/j.issn.1009-1742.2000.10.021 |access-date=15 September 2024}}</ref>
| [[Xiangyang]]
| {{coord|32.3939|112.1386}}
| China
| {{cvt|6.0|km|ft|sigfig=5|disp=br()|sortable=on}}
| {{cvt|1.435|m|in|sigfig=3|abbr=on|disp=br()|sortable=on}}
| 
| Welded
| 1993
| 2006
|
| Also known as XB High Accuracy Rocket Sled Test Track.
|-
| [[Muroran Institute of Technology]] APReC HSTT<ref>{{cite book |doi=10.2514/6.2012-928 |chapter=Research and Development of High Speed Test Track Facility in Japan |title=50th AIAA Aerospace Sciences Meeting including the New Horizons Forum and Aerospace Exposition |date=2012 |last1=Nakata |first1=Daisuke |last2=Yajima |first2=Jun |last3=Nishine |first3=Kenji |last4=Higashino |first4=Kazuyuki |last5=Tanatsugu |first5=Nobuhiro |last6=Kozu |first6=Ami |isbn=978-1-60086-936-5 }}</ref>
| [[Shiraoi,_Hokkaido|Shiraoi]]
| {{coord|42.5358|141.2558}}
| Japan
| {{cvt|300|m|ft|sigfig=3|disp=br()|sortable=on}}
| {{cvt|1.435|m|in|sigfig=3|abbr=on|disp=br()|sortable=on}}
| 
| 
| 2009
| 
|
| 
|-
| Muroran Institute of Technology APReC SSTT
| [[Shiraoi,_Hokkaido|Shiraoi]]
| {{coord|42.5357|141.2552}}
| Japan
| {{cvt|100|m|ft|sigfig=3|disp=br()|sortable=on}}
| {{cvt|0.128|m|in|sigfig=3|abbr=on|disp=br()|sortable=on}}
| 
| 
| 2008
| 
|
| 
|-
| [[TÜBİTAK Defense Industries Research and Development Institute|TÜBİTAK SAGE]] HABRAS
| [[Karapınar]]
| {{coord|37.6212|33.4634}}
| Turkey
| {{cvt|2.0|km|ft|sigfig=4|disp=br()|sortable=on}}
| 
| 
| 
| 2017
| 
|
| 
|}
Other former rocket sled tracks include those at the following locations:
* [[Peenemünde Airfield|Peenemünde]], Germany ([[V-1 flying bomb facilities|V-1 launch ramp]])
* Base B1, [[Colomb-Béchar]], Algeria (HB3 track (330&nbsp;m) of [[Centre interarmées d'essais d'engins spéciaux|CIEES]], built by [[Hotchkiss et Cie|Hotchkiss-Brandt]]<ref name="COMAERO2013" />)
* PISQ, [[Salto di Quirra]], Sardinia, Italy (660-ft supersonic sled track with 8° inclination<ref>{{cite book |doi=10.1016/B978-1-4831-9965-8.50008-3 |title=Progress in Rocket, Missile, and Space Carrier Vehicle Testing, Launching, and Tracking Technology |series=Advances in Space Science and Technology |date=1965 |last1=Sharpe |first1=Mitchell R. |last2=Lowther |first2=John M. |volume=7 |pages=1–145 |isbn=978-1-4831-9965-8 }}</ref>)
* [[Satory]], France
* [[Istres-Le Tubé Air Base]], France (used by [[René Leduc]] for the SE 1910)
* [[Cazaux Air Base]], France (HB1 (200&nbsp;m) and HB2 (600&nbsp;m) tracks of the [[Direction générale de l'armement|DGA]] Centre d'essais en vol, built by [[Hotchkiss et Cie|Hotchkiss-Brandt]]<ref name="COMAERO2013" />)
* [[Aberdeen Proving Ground]], Maryland, USA
* [[RAF Institute of Aviation Medicine|Institute of Aviation Medicine]], Farnborough, UK<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Ellis |first1=Herbert |date=2008 |title=Recollections of Aeromedical Flying Trials |url=https://www.rafmuseum.org.uk/documents/Research/RAF-Historical-Society-Journals/Journal_43_Seminar_Aviation_Medicine.pdf |journal=Royal Air Force Historical Society Journal |volume=43 |pages=97–108 |issn=1361-4231 |access-date=18 February 2024}}</ref>

==See also==
* [[Index of aviation articles]]
* [[Land speed record for railed vehicles]]
* [[Land speed record]]
* [[List of vehicle speed records]]
* [[Rocket sled launch]]

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
{{commons cat|Rocket sleds}}
*[https://www.holloman.af.mil/About/Fact-Sheets/Display/Article/317315/846-ts-the-need-for-speed/ Holloman High Speed Test Track]
*[http://www.sandia.gov/vqsec/SON-ST.html Sandia Sled Tracks] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150223071959/http://www.sandia.gov/vqsec/SON-ST.html |date=2015-02-23 }}
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20070720112641/http://www.rttc.army.mil/resources/ta1.htm Redstone Technical Test Center Test Area 1]
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20081212165131/http://www.martin-baker.co.uk/Contact-Us/UK.aspx Langford Lodge Martin Baker Track]
*[http://www.emrtc.nmt.edu/facilities/sledtrack.php New Mexico Tech EMRTC Sled Track]
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20041016124712/http://www.improb.com/airchives/paperair/volume9/v9i5/murphy/murphy1.html Improbable Research]
* [https://books.google.com/books?id=KS0DAAAAMBAJ&dq=popular+science+titanium+1950&pg=RA1-PA152 ''Airmen "Crash" on Rocket Sled'', March 1950, Popular Science] large article
* [https://www.qinetiq.com/en/pendine/about QinetiQ, MoD Pendine]
* [https://www.habras.gov.tr/en TÜBİTAK SAGE HABRAS]

{{extreme motion}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Rocket Sled}}
[[Category:Rocketry]]