HARP 16 inch gun

Artillery dominated military ballistics from the earliest use of gunpowder in guns and rockets. It was natural that Jules Verne could only realistically consider a cannon for a moon launch in his prescient 1865 novel, From the Earth to the Moon. Until the first V-2 test flights, it was guns that set the altitude and speed records for artificial objects - notably the Paris Gun of World War I. Even after the rocket established its primacy as a method of accessing space, Gerald Bull of the Canadian Armament and Research Development Establishment began a life-long struggle to use guns for cheap access to space.

In the 1950's Bull pioneered the use of gun-fired models as an economical approach to study supersonic aerodynamics. The model was fitted with a wooden shell, or sabot, that matched the diameter of the gun barrel. After leaving the barrel the sabot would fall away and the model would continue, with high-speed cameras recording its behaviour in flight.

By 1961 Bull had expanded his concept and obtained a $10 million joint contract from the US and Canadian Defence Departments for a High Altitude Research Program (HARP). This was to prove the feasibility of using large guns for launch of scientific and military payloads on sub-orbital and orbital trajectories.

For long range shots a range was established at Barbados, where the payloads could be sent eastward over the Atlantic. A surplus 125 tonne US Navy 16 inch gun was used as the launcher. The standard 20 m barrel was extended to 36 m, and converted to a smooth-bore. In 1962 - 1967 Bull launched over 200 atmospheric probes to altitudes of up to 180 km.

By this time relations between Canada and the United States were strained because of the Viet Nam war. Canada terminated the project. Bull managed to retain title to the assets of HARP, and became a consultant to artillery manufacturers and users. This included work with South Africa, supported by the American CIA. This landed him in jail in 1980 for illegal arms dealing.

After release from prison he moved to Europe and continued to help the world's combatants to modify their artillery to out-range their opponents. This eventually led to a contract with Iraq to build the 'Project Babylon' supergun, designed for launch of payloads into orbit or warheads over extreme ranges. Israel did not consider this a threatening weapon, but Bull's work to assist the Iraqi's in a multistage missile using clusters of Scud rockets was another matter. After refusing to break contact with the Iraqis despite repeated warnings, Bull was assassinated in March 1990. The gun was never completed and was disassembled by the United Nations after Iraq's defeat in the Gulf War.

Another approach to gun-launch was the Lawrence Livermore Laboratory SHARP Light Gas Gun. This was funded as part of the Strategic Defence Initiative as a possible anti-missile defence weapon. Efforts by its project leader to develop it into a space launcher or commercialize it came to nought.

The ability of a supergun to launch low cost satellites is usually the sole attribute discussed when gun-launched satellites are compared to those orbited by conventional launchers. However the supergun's real potential is not only low cost, but also the ability to launch a vast numbers of satellites each year in all kinds of weather. Interest in superguns as weapons of war and as space launchers continues in China and Iraq.

	Newton's Orbital Cannon	Isaac Newton discussed the use of a cannon to attain orbit in 1687 in his Principia Mathematica - the very book that defined classical physics and provided...more.
	Jules Verne Moon Gun	Jules Verne's moon gun, as described in his 1865 novel From the Earth to the Moon, was located in Florida. Although some errors were made, Verne used real...more.
	Paris Gun	The Paris Gun of World War I could hurl a 120 kg shell with 7 kg of explosive to a range of 131 km and an altitude of 40 km....more.
	Valier-Oberth Moon Gun	In 1926 rocket pioneers Max Valier and Hermann Oberth, members of the VfR (Society for Space Travel), amused themselves by designing a gun that would rectify Verne's...more.
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	5 inch HARP Gun	When most people think of the HARP Program they usually think of the big 16 inch guns roaring skywards as they launch test probes into the upper atmosphere. What...more.
	7 inch HARP Gun	The highly successful 5 inch HARP gun had demonstrated the immense versatility of small portable gun systems for atmospheric exploration. The 7 inch HARP gun system...more.
	Martlet 1	The Martlet One Flight Vehicle was designed in mid-1962 as a first generation test vehicle for the HARP project. The primary role of the Martlet One was to test...more.
	Martlet 2	The Martlet 2 series were the primary 16" gun-launched sub-orbital flight vehicles used during the High Altitude Research Program (HARP). Martlet 2's were used...more.
	Martlet 3	Single stage vehicle consisting of 1 x Martlet 3...more.
	Martlet 2G	This derivative of the Martlet 2 gun-fired suborbital space probe achieved a higher scientific payload through use of a lighter sabot. 12 were flown before the program was ended....more.
	Martlet 3A	The Martlet 3A was the first serious attempt to produce a sub-calibre, gun-launched, rocket-assisted, vehicle for the 16 inch gun system. The basic design criteria...more.
	Martlet 3B	Once the fundamental design flaws of the Martlet 3A vehicle were identified the system was redesigned and a new vehicle, the Martlet 3B, was created. The...more.
	Martlet 3D	The Martlet 3D concept was intended to serve as a sub-orbital vehicle capable of lifting heavy payloads to satellite altitudes. The Martlet 3D was simply the first...more.
	Martlet 3E	The Martlet 3E vehicle was designed to take advantage of the portability of the HARP 7 inch guns. Unlike the big fixed 16 inch guns the 7 inch HARP guns, were portable...more.
	Martlet 2G-1	The Martlet 2G-1 was the absolute minimum gun-launched satellite vehicle. Conceived when the HARP project was under threat, it was a seven-inch diameter, two-stage...more.
	Martlet 4	The Martlet 4 was ultimate goal of the HARP program - a gun-launched orbital launch vehicle. Two versions were considered: a preliminary version with two solid...more.
	GLO-1B	When compared to the early Martlet 4 designs the GLO-1B was a considerably more sophisticated vehicle with many of the shortcomings of it's predecessor having been...more.
	Babylon Gun	From March of 1988 until the invasion of Kuwait in 1990, Iraq contracted with Gerard Bull to build three superguns: two full sized 'Project Babylon' 1000 mm guns...more.
	SHARP	The SHARP (Super High Altitude Research Project) light gas gun was developed by Lawrence Livermore Laboratory in California. The L-shaped gun consisted of the 82...more.
	Jules Verne Launcher	Following the failure of the US government to fund further development of the SHARP light gas gun, John Hunter founded the Jules Verne Launcher Company in 1996...more.
	Chinese Supergun	In January 1995 the Chinese army unveiled a 21 m long supergun capable of firing large artillery shells into South Korea and Taiwan. The gun could fire 85 mm shells...more.
	Industrial Sounding System	Columbiad Launch Services announced itself publicly in August 2003. They were then developing a high-volume Industrial Sounding System based on gun propulsion technology,...more.