Facility Overview

Sandia National Laboratories' Rocket Sled Track Facility in Albuquerque, New Mexico, provides a controlled environment for high-velocity impact, aerodynamic, acceleration, and related testing of small and large test items.

Projectiles just exiting the center of the fireball
3.2 ms after detonation during a 4,000 ft/s
directed dispersal sled test

Tests can be designed to simulate unique scenarios and to provide the maximum data from each test. The facility provides a 10,000-foot track for testing items at very high speeds and a 2,000-foot railroad gauge track for testing very large items. The combination of ingenuity, experience, and instrumentation available at this facility makes it unique for research, test, and evaluation purposes.

Instrumentation

The Rocket Sled Track has exceptional instrumentation capabilities. The facility uses photometrics, laser trackers, telemetry, and hardwire systems to gather data from a variety of instruments and transducers. Time-space-position information (TSPI) can be acquired at up to 1 KHz with 1-foot accuracy, and transducer data may be sampled at up to 1 MHz. High-speed video, flash x-ray, and film cameras running 40,000 frames per second and higher are available. Hardened data recorders, for use on board sleds or test items, are also available for test purposes.

Reverse Ballistic Testing

Launch of Sprint-rocket-powered reverse
ballistic sled

Reverse ballistic testing—accelerating a target on a sled to impact a stationary test item at the end of the track—was pioneered at the Rocket Sled Track.

This method of testing allows transducers to be hardwired to the data acquisition system, which allows many channels of high-frequency data to be recorded.

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Parachute Testing

Parachutes for weapons, aircraft, and space vehicles can be tested through the use of tower and ejector sleds. TSPI data can be gathered via telemetry, high-speed photography, and Sandia's laser trackers.

The large ejector sled can throw items weighing up to 2,400 pounds to 250 feet of altitude at speeds up to Mach 1.5. The small ejector sled can throw items weighing up to 100 pounds as high as 200 feet at speeds approaching Mach 3.

Acceleration Testing

Aerodynamics Testing

Aerodynamic characteristics—as they relate to a test item's shape, acceleration, velocity, and distance traveled—can be evaluated in a variety of ways depending on evaluation goals. Onboard cameras and data recording systems are routinely used for this type of application.

Free-Flight Rocket Testing

Small free-flight rockets can be designed to deliver payloads and munitions to altitudes and velocities not attainable with ejector sleds. Laser tracking and telemetry can be used to yield real-time trajectory data and high-speed video and film coverage of the flight.

Other Testing Capabilities

The Rocket Sled Facility is also certified to handle

• Items containing radioactive components
• Detonation of up to 250 pounds of high explosives
• Items classified to Top Secret

Additional Information

The Rocket Sled Track is close to Sandia's other testing sites and maintains a variety of data/instrumentation equipment. For shipping and travel purposes, the sites are conveniently located near Albuquerque International Airport and two interstate highways. Sandia can perform the complete tests from theoretical model development to execution and data analysis.

The Rocket Sled Track can be configured to meet a variety of unusual or unique customer needs and testing criteria.

Contacts

For more information, please contact one of the facility representatives below.

Steve Heffelfinger, Test Director, 505-845-3386, srheffe@sandia.gov

Dave Davis, Department Manager, 505-845-0812, ddavis@sandia.gov

fax: 505-845-5131
Sandia National Laboratories
P.O. Box 5800
Albuquerque, NM 87185-1135