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Fastest Spacecraft Ever?!?, Which one is it?
Toma B
post Jan 24 2006, 08:43 AM
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There was statement that recently launched New Horizons is the fastest spacecraft to leave Earth. The velocity was 16.2 km/s relative to the Earth according to "Jonathan's Space Report".
QUOTE
After the Star 48B burn, the payload had reached escape velocity not only with respect to the Earth but also relative to the Sun (The velocity was 16.2 km/s relative to the Earth and I estimate an asymptotic velocity of 12.3 km/s, corresponding to 42.6 km/s relative to the Sun...

So:
New Horizons is fastest to leave Earth at 16.2 km/s (relative to Earth).
Voyager-1 is fastest to leave Solar System at 17.374 km/s (relative to Sun).

Now that is OK. but what is this?
Today's "Astronomy Picture of the Day" features launch of New Horizons and in text bellow image is one particularly interesting link to "Guinness world of records"...
Guinness world of records;
There "Mr. Guinness" claims that the fastest spacecrafts ever, were two Solar probes "Helios 1&2"...According to him those spacecrafts had speed of 252,800 km/h which is staggering 70.2 km/s...BUT RELATIVE TO WHAT????? mad.gif mad.gif mad.gif mad.gif
Can somebody explain this?


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Alan Stern
post Jan 24 2006, 09:01 AM
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QUOTE (Toma B @ Jan 24 2006, 08:43 AM)
There was statement that recently launched New Horizons is the fastest spacecraft to leave Earth. The velocity was 16.2 km/s relative to the Earth according to "Jonathan's Space Report".

So:
New Horizons is fastest to leave Earth at 16.2 km/s (relative to Earth).
Voyager-1 is fastest to leave Solar System at 17.374 km/s (relative to Sun).

Now that is OK. but what is this?
Today's "Astronomy Picture of the Day" features launch of New Horizons and in text bellow image is one particularly interesting link to "Guinness world of records"...
Guinness world of records;
There "Mr. Guinness" claims that the fastest spacecrafts ever, were two Solar probes "Helios 1&2"...According to him those spacecrafts had speed of 252,800 km/h which is staggering 70.2 km/s...BUT RELATIVE TO WHAT????? mad.gif  mad.gif  mad.gif  mad.gif
Can somebody explain this?
*


Relative to the Sun, I suspect. They were in very tight solar orbits.
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Posts in this topic
- Toma B   Fastest Spacecraft Ever?!?   Jan 24 2006, 08:43 AM
- - ugordan   QUOTE (Toma B @ Jan 24 2006, 09:43 AM)BUT REL...   Jan 24 2006, 08:53 AM
- - Alan Stern   QUOTE (Toma B @ Jan 24 2006, 08:43 AM)There w...   Jan 24 2006, 09:01 AM
- - edstrick   The fastest spacecraft ever, relative to what it...   Jan 24 2006, 10:21 AM
- - odave   Here's a pointless activity for the space sim ...   Jan 24 2006, 02:52 PM
|- - ljk4-1   QUOTE (odave @ Jan 24 2006, 09:52 AM)Here...   Jan 24 2006, 02:59 PM
- - tasp   I can't find the thread here right now, but th...   Jan 24 2006, 03:15 PM
|- - ljk4-1   QUOTE (tasp @ Jan 24 2006, 10:15 AM)I can...   Jan 24 2006, 03:24 PM
|- - ugordan   QUOTE (ljk4-1 @ Jan 24 2006, 04:24 PM)Ho...   Jan 24 2006, 03:47 PM
- - RNeuhaus   Ulysses still holds as the fastest escape velocity...   Jan 24 2006, 03:57 PM
|- - Alan Stern   QUOTE (RNeuhaus @ Jan 24 2006, 03:57 PM)Ulyss...   Jan 24 2006, 06:23 PM
- - PhilCo126   I guess it's pretty difficult to come up with ...   Jan 24 2006, 05:12 PM
- - remcook   "I guess it's pretty difficult to come up...   Jan 24 2006, 05:37 PM
- - djellison   Who's up for Top Trumps. I think Alan just won...   Jan 24 2006, 08:53 PM
|- - BPCooper   NH is fastest to be propelled away from Earth. The...   Jan 24 2006, 09:14 PM
|- - Bob Shaw   QUOTE (djellison @ Jan 24 2006, 09:53 PM)Who...   Jan 24 2006, 11:06 PM
|- - David   QUOTE (Bob Shaw @ Jan 24 2006, 11:06 PM)Not f...   Jan 24 2006, 11:27 PM
- - djellison   My Estes two-stage Mongoose would shame an Atlas V...   Jan 24 2006, 11:55 PM
- - ljk4-1   Via Solar Array to the Outer Planets New Scientis...   May 2 2006, 06:18 PM
|- - djellison   QUOTE (ljk4-1 @ May 2 2006, 06:18 PM...   May 2 2006, 06:28 PM
|- - ljk4-1   QUOTE (djellison @ May 2 2006, 02:28 PM) ...   May 2 2006, 06:34 PM
- - Bill Harris   ...but, as importantly, how long to decelerate fro...   May 2 2006, 07:11 PM
- - tty   Also the payload would probably have to have some ...   May 2 2006, 07:38 PM
|- - ugordan   QUOTE (tty @ May 2 2006, 08:38 PM) Also t...   May 8 2006, 04:04 PM
- - dvandorn   Yeah -- you'd end up with a pretty ragged, hol...   May 2 2006, 08:12 PM
|- - ljk4-1   QUOTE (dvandorn @ May 2 2006, 04:12 PM) B...   May 2 2006, 09:19 PM
|- - djellison   QUOTE (ljk4-1 @ May 2 2006, 09:19 PM...   May 2 2006, 10:08 PM
|- - Stephen   QUOTE (ljk4-1 @ May 2 2006, 09:19 PM...   May 3 2006, 01:41 AM
- - ljk4-1   My concern is that the VSE is going to become Apol...   May 4 2006, 11:40 AM
|- - djellison   QUOTE (ljk4-1 @ May 4 2006, 12:40 PM...   May 4 2006, 11:49 AM
|- - Stephen   QUOTE (ljk4-1 @ May 4 2006, 11:40 AM...   May 5 2006, 06:56 AM
- - ljk4-1   G. Landis had a similar idea to Meyer's one ye...   May 8 2006, 02:54 PM
- - djellison   Well - consider a 1 gramme projectile at 10km/sec ...   May 8 2006, 04:06 PM
|- - ugordan   That's true, but consider what are the odds of...   May 8 2006, 04:13 PM
- - djellison   I wasn't suggesting we would encounter 1 gramm...   May 8 2006, 04:16 PM
|- - ugordan   QUOTE (djellison @ May 8 2006, 05:16 PM) ...   May 8 2006, 04:19 PM
- - djellison   Oop- yes Doug   May 8 2006, 04:23 PM
- - DonPMitchell   I believe it is the case that it takes far more en...   May 10 2006, 10:37 PM
- - mchan   If one were not permitted to cheat and use one or ...   May 11 2006, 01:49 AM
- - Phil Stooke   No, that would just be the method. Phil   May 11 2006, 03:18 AM
|- - mchan   QUOTE (Phil Stooke @ May 10 2006, 08:18 P...   May 11 2006, 08:41 PM
|- - Bob Shaw   QUOTE (mchan @ May 11 2006, 09:41 PM) I h...   May 11 2006, 09:23 PM
- - djellison   Yes - it seems unintuitive at first, but the numbe...   May 11 2006, 07:46 AM
- - edstrick   "...square of the velocity...." When we...   May 11 2006, 11:03 AM


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