Launch Packages
Launch packages are made up of a sabot and one or more projectiles and are propelled at hypervelocity speeds at the test article. Before impacting the test article, the sabot is separated from the projectile and only the projectile continues forward to strikes the test article.
Projectiles
Projectile shapes range from spheres, cylinders, disks, and cubes to multiple projectile “shotgun” shots. Projectiles range in diameter from 25.4 mm down to .05 mm (the size of a quarter down to half the width of a human hair).
Sabots
Sabots come in various sizes to house different projectiles. Sabots are highly engineered, precision machined plastic parts that are manufactured by our Machining and Fabrication team. They are designed to protect the projectile from barrel friction and abrasion much in the same way that a bullet jacket protects a bullet for a gun. Sabots also provide an effective gas seal until they exit the barrel into the expansion tank and are then stripped away from the projectile.
Target Chambers
Our ASME-rated target chambers replicate the vacuum of space and contain the gas from the second-stage and the eruption of shrapnel and debris from the projectile’s impact of the test article. The chambers range from 3.5 ft. diameter x 7 ft. long to 9 ft. diameter x 30 ft. long and easily accommodate full size test articles. They are also equipped with optical ports for monitoring and data capture.