High-speed photography shows the shock waves produced by the rapid acceleration of the 4-stage rocket sled.
It might make the ultimate amusement park ride, if anyone could survive. Hitting hypersonic speeds of Mach 8.5–that’s 6416 mph, in civilian terms–a 4-stage rocket sled took just 6.04 seconds to blast the more than 3-mile length of track at Holloman Air Force Base in New Mexico.