New Railgun World Record Hints at Space Applications

A group of experts at the Naval Surface Warfare Center Dahlgren Division recently tested a new railgun, whose energy managed to smash the previous world record, which was established back on January 31, 2008.

The achievement belongs to the Office of Naval Research Electromagnetic Railgun, a large gun that is capable of blasting a way a 33 megajoule shot. It is the only device in the world capable at launching projectiles at these operations parameters.

Railguns have entered the spotlight in the past few years, due mostly to the fact that they look and operate as if they were taken straight out of a science-fiction book.

They use electricity to fire off their shots, and work by accelerating a projectile so fast that the latter manages to ignite the atmosphere around it. These weapons are extremely powerful, but require vast amounts of electricity to operate as well.

The general public began taking an interest in the device after it was featured in the second installment of the successful Transformers franchise, while installed aboard a US Navy ship, SpaceRef reports.

But possible applications for railguns go way beyond hitting targets at a distance, or bringing down enemy aircraft. They could also be used to further space exploration, or even to establish a successful mining outpost on the Moon.

For instance, here on Earth, the instruments could be used as launch pads for small satellites. Encapsulated in protective fairings, the spacecraft could be launched into low-Earth orbit (LEO).

They would be place directly into orbit, eliminating the need for expensive delivery systems that may be prone to failing if a simple circuit gets damaged.

The downside is that satellite design procedures may need replacing, given that the spacecraft currently produced are very delicate, and could not possibly withstand the enormous, sudden acceleration of a railgun blast.

An additional application could be on the surface of the Moon, augmenting the capabilities of a manned colony. Due to the thin atmosphere around our planet's natural satellite, escaping to space would not be too difficult.

The task would be made even easier by the fact that the gravitational pull of the Moon is around six times less intense than that of our own planet, which means that objects are a lot lighter.

Some experts also believe that railguns can be installed aboard spacecraft, allowing them to either propel themselves using it, or launch smaller payloads into space.

Feasibility studies are currently being conducted to test the idea. The technology is still fairly new, and so a few years might pass before we see any railguns launching satellites into space.