In the hands of the US Air Force
You thought the Thrust SSC was fast, at 1,228 km/h? Although this rocket on wheels holds the land speed record, there is a vehicle that raced across the land a lot faster. At least if you can call it a vehicle. The US Air Force decided in 2003 to put a rocket on wheels, placed the colossus on rails, lit the fuse and set a land speed record.
4.8 kilometers in 6 seconds
The rocket sled, as the Americans called it, was a four-stage rocket with a payload of 87 kilograms. On the rails, the sled accelerated to a speed of 10,385 km/h. Almost ten times as fast as the Thrust SSC, and more than eight times the speed of sound. To achieve the immense speed, there were thirteen rockets in the various stages. The location was the Holloman High Speed Test Track at a US Air Force base, with a length of 4.8 kilometers. A large part of the rails passed through a tube with helium, which resulted in less air resistance. Due to the high speed, the sled covered the 4.8 kilometers in just 6.04 seconds.
Of course, this launch on rails wasn’t just because the US Air Force had something to compensate. The missile was fired to simulate the impact of a ballistic missile impact. The energy released during the impact was comparable to a passenger car hitting a wall at 3,251 km/h.
The land speed record
The test was a success. That’s a good thing too, because it had a price tag of $750,000. Those costs seem hefty, but this was a cheaper option than testing with a real ballistic missile. It also earned the United States Air Force an official Guinness World Records record. The record is in the books as the fastest vehicle on rails. Fortunately there was no leaf on the rails, otherwise the whole test could not have gone through.
