US Air Force Successfully Recovers Hypersonic Sled Traveling at 6,400 Feet Per Second on a Monorail

The US Air Force successfully recovered a hypersonic sled traveling at 6,400 feet per second on a monorail at Holloman Air Force Base in New Mexico. This marks a historic event for the team’s Hypersonic Sled Recovery (HSR) effort, and for those who don’t know how a rocket sled works, it basically boasts sliding pads instead of wheels, which are curved around the head of the rails.

What are rocket sleds typically used for? Well, in many cases, they are used to test missile components without having to resort to live missile launches. The current world speed record of Mach 8.5 (6,416 mph) was achieved by a four-stage rocket sled back on April 30, 2003, and it’s also the highest speed ever attained by a land vehicle. Hypersonic aircraft, like the SABRE spaceplane, would be able to take you from New York City to London in around an hour.

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These efforts will now setup our future HyTIP [Hypersonic Test and Evaluation Investment Portfolio] runs for success and add a new capability for our hypersonic customers. I echo what Lt. Col. Dolce said. Excellent job to the entire team for their hard work and innovation. This just sets the bar that much higher,” said Daniel Lopez, a project manager for the HHSTT