Super High Altitude Research Project

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The Super High Altitude Research Project (SHARP) was a U.S. government project to fire a high-velocity projectile high into the atmosphere.

Headed by John Hunter, the SHARP gun had a 47 m long barrel firing projectiles with expanding hydrogen. The tests were designed as a precursor to the "Jules Verne Launcher" with a 3,500 m barrel length, that was designed in the early 1990s^[1] for first-stage satellite launch.

The concept of ballistic escape velocity is well proven. The largest challenge is maintaining such high velocities, because air resistance and aerothermal heating will significantly slow down any such object. It is claimed that a mineshaft cover for the Pascal-B underground nuclear test explosion on 27 August 1957 reached escape velocity. However, it is very unlikely that the cover was massive enough (or shaped aerodynamically) to have retained sufficient velocity to escape the earth after passing through the atmosphere. To achieve orbit, the object must maintain high speeds for a significant portion of its journey.

[edit] See also

• Project HARP
• Verneshot

[edit] External links

• 1994 Charlene Crabb New Scientist article about SHARP: Shooting at the moon.
• Fiscal and feasibility comparison of various Earth-based satellite launching systems including the SHARP from JOBS for the 21st Century.
• The flying mineshaft cover is discussed under the section Pascal-B from the nuclearweaponsarchive.org overview of atmospheric nuclear testing in Nevada.