Purpose

• Development of reliable sliding contacts at high velocities and current densities
• Medium-term applications:
• Multishot tests with a RApid FIre RAilgun (RAFIRA)
• Optimization of payload acceleration
• Development of high-end composite materials
• Innovative segmented railguns
• Concepts for launch to space
• Railgun as a tool for material research. 

Carrier for space payload
(developed by DLR/EADS/ISL)

Skills

• Physics of high-power railguns
• Pulsed power technology for railguns
• Design and installation of railguns
• Innovative metrology (e.g. Doppler radar and CMR sensors)
• Highly dynamical mechanical processes
• Simulation (multiphysics, SPICE, etc.). 

Facilities

• PEGASUS, cal. 40 mm, length 6 m, 10 MJ, for hypervelocity and payload acceleration
• RAFIRA, cal. 25 mm, length 3 m, 2.7 MJ, for air defence
• SR\3-60, cal. 28 mm, 3 segments, 0.7 m each, 500 kJ, for the investigation of novel concepts.

Results

• Hypervelocity: projectiles (300 g) up to
  2.5 km/s
• Multishot projectiles (100 g) up to 2 km/s (1.8 km/s with low rail erosion)
• Proof of concept for space launch (PEGASUS): 4 kg up to 500 m/s
• Highly local measurements of strong transient magnetic fields using CMR sensors.

The segmented railgun SR\3-60