Holloman High Speed Test Track, Military test facility at Holloman Air Force Base, New Mexico.
The Holloman High Speed Test Track is a rail test facility at Holloman Air Force Base in south-central New Mexico, beside the White Sands Missile Range. Its three continuously welded crane rails run almost exactly north–south: the A and B rails are 50,917 feet long and spaced 84 inches apart, while the shorter C rail lies east of B. Rocket-powered sleds ride these rails.
The facility began operations in 1949 and underwent multiple expansions to accommodate increasingly advanced testing needs. This growth reflected the rising demands for high-speed evaluation of aerospace technologies during the Cold War era.
Lieutenant Colonel John Stapp earned recognition as the Fastest Man on Earth after riding a rocket-propelled sled at 632 miles per hour in 1954.
The site is located on a military base and is not open to public visitors. Those interested can learn about the work through documentaries and media coverage of test events.
The track's rails are continuously welded and pre-stressed to stay under tension below 120 °F (49 °C), and they are aligned to within 0.025 inches (0.64 mm) of a reference line, making it the straightest track system ever laid. A third rail, 20,379 feet (6,212 m) long, serves narrow-gauge sleds.
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