Thu, Sep 06, 2007
Motors Produced Velocity Exceeding Mach 2
Aero-News learned this week the Naval Air Warfare Center Weapons
Division China Lake conducted a successful MK70 drag run at its
Supersonic Naval Ordnance Research Track (SNORT) on August 16.
"This was our second firing run after finishing a yearlong
revitalization project," said Matt Boggs, chief engineer of the
land range. "It was a great team effort and I appreciate the
support from everyone involved who made this another successful
test event at SNORT."
SNORT used an existing sled that was powered by two MK70 solid
rocket motors to obtain a thrust profile for a propulsion motor
that was recently added to its inventory for an upcoming customer
test.
The successful firing of the MK70 motors produced a velocity of
over Mach 2, which proved the desired reliability for high speed
testing capabilities for SNORT customers. The velocity was
monitored by various instrumentations such as a velocity
measurement system and a tracking mount. These instrumentations
measured at 100-foot intervals along the main 4.1-mile track. At
shorter intervals, there were portable tracking systems, which were
used to determine the barriers involved in testing and for the
release of accidental weapons.
Several China Lake employees including some from the Engineer
and Scientist Development Program, as well as other interns turned
out to watch the launch of the drag run.
"I was very impressed with the interest of China Lake employees
in this test," Boggs said. "The enthusiasm they showed for the
launch was great and they were eager to see more."
In over 50 years, SNORT has logged more than 9,000 track test
runs.
"I'm proud to say that we at SNORT continue to meet each of its
customers testing needs," Boggs said. "We look forward to even more
success in the future."
(Aero-News thanks Staci Mathews, NAWCWD Public Affairs, and
Brian Bartels for his photographs.)
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