Editing Rocket sled (section)

==Usage==
[[Image:8.5 Mach rocket sled 030430.jpg|thumb|The vehicle that achieved Mach 8.5]]
[[Image:Holloman-sledtrack.jpg|thumb|right|The Holloman Air Force Base track]]
Rocket sleds were used extensively early in the [[Cold War]] to accelerate equipment considered too experimental (hazardous) for testing directly in piloted aircraft.  The equipment to be tested under high acceleration or high airspeed conditions was installed along with appropriate [[instrumentation]], data recording and [[telemetry]] equipment on the sled. The sled was then accelerated according to the experiment's design requirements for data collection along a length of isolated, precisely level and straight test track.
Testing [[ejection seat]] systems and technology prior to their use in experimental or operational aircraft was a common application of the rocket sled at [[Holloman Air Force Base]].  Perhaps the most famous, the tracks at [[Edwards Air Force Base]] were used to test missiles, supersonic ejection seats, aircraft shapes and the effects of acceleration and deceleration on humans. The rocket sled track at Edwards Air Force Base was dismantled and used to extend the track at Holloman Air Force Base, taking it to almost 10 miles (16 km) in length.

Unmanned rocket sleds continue to be used to test missile components without requiring costly live missile launches.  A [[Land speed record for railed vehicles|world speed record]] of Mach 8.5 (6,416&nbsp;mph / 10,325&nbsp;km/h) was achieved by a four-stage rocket sled at Holloman Air Force Base on April 30, 2003, the highest speed ever attained by a land vehicle.<ref>{{cite web|title=Test sets world land speed record|date=30 April 2003 |url=https://www.af.mil/News/Article-Display/Article/139307/test-sets-world-land-speed-record/|publisher=www.af.mil|access-date=2016-04-19}}</ref>

[[Murphy's law]] first received public attention during a press conference about rocket sled testing.<ref>{{cite web|title=Murphy's laws origin|url=http://www.murphys-laws.com/murphy/murphy-true.html|publisher=murphys-laws.com|access-date=2008-03-18|archive-date=2012-03-10|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120310224906/http://www.murphys-laws.com/murphy/murphy-true.html|url-status=dead}}</ref>