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hydrogen gas reaches maximum pressure, a coupling holding the projectile in place is destroyed and the hydrogen drives the projectile down a 4 in (100 mm) diameter barrel at extremely high velocities until it bursts through a thin plastic sheet covering the end of the gun. All recoil forces are absorbed by the rail-mounted sleds as they are propelled outwards along their tracks.
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gas that fills the other end of the pump tube. As the piston accelerates toward the junction point, it rapidly compresses the hydrogen gas in the pump tube to a pressure of 60,000 psi (4,100 atm). The small projectile, meanwhile, rests in the adjacent depressurized launch tube. As the
53:. 100,000 kg (220,000 lb) rail-mounted sleds sit at both ends of the pump tube to absorb recoil energy from firing and a smaller 10,000 kg (22,000 lb) sled is mounted on a perpendicular set of tracks at the aft-end of the launch-tube near the junction point.
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Rather than a single straight barrel, the SHARP gun uses an L-shape design with two separate sections; the 270 ft (82 m) long steel combustion section & pump tube section is connected to the 155 ft (47 m) long launch tube (or barrel) at a
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8.8 for 5 kg (11 lb) projectiles. Had the project continued, there were plans to elevate the tube and begin space launch trials potentially reaching speeds of up to 7 km/s (16,000 mph), or about Mach 21.
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launch. This was to cost $ 1 billion, but funding was not forthcoming and the project was eventually canceled in 1995. However, the SHARP gun continued to be used for high-speed tests in other areas of research, such as
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is well proven. The largest challenge is maintaining such high velocities, because air resistance and aerothermal heating will significantly slow down any such object.
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gas mixture in the combustion section behind the piston at the far end of the pump tube. The resultant explosion rapidly drives the 1,000 kg (2,200 lb)
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20:(Super HARP, SHARP) was a U.S. government project conducting research into the firing of high-velocity projectiles high into the
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in
California and became operational in December 1992. It is the largest gas gun in the world.
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from the nuclearweaponsarchive.org overview of atmospheric nuclear testing in Nevada.
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piston down the pump tube and further compresses the pre-pressurized
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The flying mineshaft cover is discussed under the section Pascal-B
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and achieved velocities of 3 km/s (6,700 mph) or
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Fiscal and feasibility comparison of various Earth-based
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satellite launching systems including the SHARP from
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93:The tests were designed as a precursor to the "
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38:Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory
169:"SHARP at Encyclopedia Astronautica"
18:Super High Altitude Research Project
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230:Charlene, Crabb (6 August 1994).
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32:. Design work on the prototype
36:began as early as 1985 at the
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205:. April 1998. Archived from
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255:JOBS for the 21st Century
109:The concept of ballistic
245:(subscription required)
288:Non-rocket spacelaunch
232:"Shooting at the moon"
129:Non-rocket spacelaunch
73:Tests and cancellation
199:"The Jules Verne Gun"
175:on November 17, 2016
95:Jules Verne Launcher
44:Design and operation
144:Operation Plumbbob
24:using a two-stage
283:Research projects
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111:escape velocity
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134:Project HARP
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123:Quicklaunch
79:John Hunter
51:right angle
30:Earth orbit
278:Space guns
272:Categories
213:2009-09-03
179:2018-09-26
150:References
77:Headed by
22:atmosphere
139:Verneshot
99:satellite
34:space gun
117:See also
104:scramjet
83:hydrogen
66:hydrogen
240:(1937).
58:methane
62:steel
87:Mach
16:The
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188:^
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