HUNTSVILLE – Imagine if Santa had these for his sleigh.
However, it will be the Air Force and Navy that will use Aerojet Rocketdyne-produced rocket motors and sleds for the Joint Economical Sled Track Rockets program. The contractor was awarded a $98.5 million contract by the Naval Aviation Systems Consortium to develop and manufacture the program’s motors and sleds.
“Aerojet Rocketdyne solid rocket sled motors helped the Air Force set the land speed record in 2003,” said Eileen P. Drake, Aerojet Rocketdyne CEO and president. “Today, we look forward to supporting the Air Force and Navy with advanced solid rocket motors and sleds to support development of the nation’s next generation defense needs.”
Track testing, an economical precursor to flight testing, enables data collection including impact survivability, weather and aerothermal effects, sensor performance and guidance system performance.
The Defense Department uses sleds as test vehicles to test hypersonic components, missiles and ejection seats. The sleds are accelerated by solid rocket motors on iron tracks, simulating portions of the flight environment. The rocket sleds are engineered to be able to accelerate to supersonic and hypersonic regimes, reaching speeds in excess of Mach 5.
Aerojet Rocketdyne will support the JESTR program for the Air Force’s Holloman High Speed Test Track, China Lake Supersonic Naval Ordnance Research Track, and the Eglin Air Force Base Test Track.
Approximately 9.6 miles long, the Holloman track is the longest facility of its type in the world. The world land speed record was set there when two Aerojet Rocketdyne solid rocket motors propelled a sled called Super Road Runner to a speed of 9,465 feet per second.
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