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Navy rocket sled sets record at Holloman AFB

HOLLOMAN AIR FORCE BASE, N.M. — A Navy test at Holloman Air Force Base’s high speed test track has set a land speed record — 6,589 mph, or 136 mph faster than the previous record, the base announced.

Holloman officials said initial indications show that the test at 9:20 p.m. Thursday was successful, but that engineers will calculate the official Mach speeds in the coming days.

The Navy blasted a rail-mounted rocket sled — made up of of three pusher sleds and a front sled — about 3.61 miles down the test track in a trip that lasted about 6 seconds. Base officials said a helium tent enclosed 2.77 miles of track to reduce aerodynamic heating and drag on the payload, designed by Sandia National Laboratories in Albuquerque.

The detonation of the payload and speed of the sled created multiple sonic booms felt all over southern New Mexico. The test track acts as a bridge between lab experiments and full-scale flight tests for advanced weapons systems.

“We do everything in-house here at the track, from design, drafting and fabrication of the sleds to rocket loading, target building and preparation, high-speed photography and data analysis,” said Lt. Col. Angie Suplisson, commander of the 846th Test Squadron.

“My team is the best in the world.”