GoogleEarth View of the test track http://googlesightseeing.com/maps?p=&c=&t=k&hl=en&ll=32.88507,-106.150015&z=19 Test track review http://www.holloman.af.mil/news/story.asp?id=123289590 http://angiepalmer.wordpress.com/2008/01/31/world-record-high-speed-test-track-on-jan-31-its-officially-a-world-record/ Holloman has successfully made a world record with its Sandia-designed payload that reached a velocity of 6,589 miles per hour today. The following press release is from Holloman AFB today. You can check out the photos of this payload on this link. On 31 Jan. 2008, at 9:20 p.m., Mountain Standard Time, the Holloman High Speed Test Track conducted a Navy Test with a Sandia-designed payload. Initial indications are the test was successful and the payload reached a velocity of 6,589 miles per hour. This test is 136 miles per hour faster that the existing land speed record of 6,453 miles per hour – setting a new world record. “This world record is made possible by the world-class people and technology we have here at the Holloman High Speed Test Track,” said Lt. Col. Angie Suplisson, commander 846th Test Squadron. “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. My team is the best in the world.” Official Mach speeds will be calculated by HHSTT engineers in the coming days. The payload traveled a distance of 3.61 miles in about 6 seconds. The sled consisted of three pusher sleds and a forebody sled. A helium tent enclosed 2.77 miles of the track in order to reduce the aerodynamic heating and drag on the payload. The detonation of the payload at the north end of the track and speed of the sled created multiple sonic booms felt throughout the Tularosa Basin. Congressional staffers from the offices of Rep. Jeff Bingaman and Rep. Steve Pearce were on-hand for the test as were officials from Eglin Air Force Base, Florida; Sandia Laboratories; and White Sands Missile Range, N.M. Col. Suplisson was not only pleased by the results, but the outstanding support the track received from the community and the members of TEAM Holloman. “I would like to thank all of our distinguished guests and especially the men and women of the 846th Test Squadron, 46th Test Group and TEAM Holloman for all the work that goes into a test of this magnitude,” she said. For more information on the Holloman High Speed Test Track, visit the Holloman web site at www.holloman.af.mil. ============== Holloman Sunburst Newspaper: Friday, May 2, 2003 TG sets world land speed record. by Airman 1st Class Vanessa LaBoy 49th Fighter Wing Public Affairs After about 5 years of work, Holloman set the world land speed record for a railed vehicle of 6453 mph, Wednesday (April 30, 2003). The 846th Test Squadron broke their own record by sending a 192-pound, bullet shaped payload, accelerated by a four-stage, rocket propelled sletd, a total distance of 16,120 feet (3.05 miles / 4.9 km) {going from a dead stop to} Mach 8.5 (6,453 mph / 10,385 kph) {in 6 seconds}.