Electromagnetic Railgun

Rockets being passé, China is working on using an electromagnetic railgun to launch crewed spacecraft the size of a Boeing 737, weighing 50 tonnes, into orbit. This remarkably ambitious project is even more ambitious than it seems at first glance.

The US Navy has taken another step closer to swapping powder for electrons with the Office of Naval Research (ONR) announcing that its electromagnetic railgun has moved out of the laboratory and is ready for field demonstrations at the Naval Surface Warfare Center Dahlgren Division.

Giving artillery a speed boost, General Atomics test fired a hypersonic projectile using a three megajoule Blitzer railgun. Subjected to over 30,000 Gs and reaching a velocity in excess of Mach 5 (3,800 mph, 6,125 km/h), the supershell was equipped with a new Guidance Electronics Unit.

The Office of Naval Research is now evaluating the second of two electromagnetic railgun prototypes.

The electromagnetic (EM) railgun prototype launcher that was recently installed at the Naval Surface Warfare Center (NSWC) in Dahlgren, Virginia, has commenced firing, kicking off a two-month-long series of full-energy tests.

BAE Systems has delivered the first industry railgun prototype launcher to the Naval Surface Warfare Center (NSWC) Dahlgren, with testing scheduled to take place in the coming weeks.

February 18, 2009 Think of the electromagnetic railgun as an electric cannon which uses electrical energy instead of chemical propellant to launch projectiles a