In the quest for space exploration, humanity has achieved milestones once considered unattainable. Similarly,
horrible incidents have tarnished the history of space travel
, making later achievements even more poignant. One impressive feat of space travel is humans’ ability to build spacecraft that can sustain high speeds, not only during launch, but while traveling throughout the solar system. While
Spacecraft such as the International Space Station are captivating.
— moving at approximately 17,500 miles per hour — there are numerous quicker man-made objects currently orbiting in space.
However, what precisely defines space, and at what speed does it occur?
fast
It turns out that even the
highest-flying military jets
Don’t really attain space. Space officially begins approximately between 50 to 62 miles above the Earth’s surface, varying according to different scientific interpretations. This implies that although satellites qualify as man-made objects present in space, they aren’t sufficiently swift to feature among the top contenders for the title of fastest spacecraft ever. For instance, even Starlink satellites, known for their typical speed of around 17,000 mph, do not meet this criterion.
You can identify them from below.
), can’t beat the fastest human-made objects to enter space. For reference, the land speed record is 763.035 mph and a bullet can travel at up to 2,727 mph. The speed of sound, Mach 1, is 761.2 mph, making these spacecraft and other objects excessively fast, to a point humans can only begin to comprehend.
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Apollo 10 Command Module
Only those aboard Apollo 10 could truly grasp the velocities achieved by the quickest man-made entities in space. This team was the first to execute a rehearsal for a lunar landing without actually touching down on the surface. Their mission entailed circling the Moon, linking up with a separate module, and sending information back to Earth-based teams, which included television broadcasts.
The three astronauts—Thomas Stafford, Eugene Cernan, and John Young—successfully accomplished their mission and established a new record simultaneously. When they returned to Earth with the Apollo 10 Command Module on May 26, 1969, it claimed the title for achieving the highest speed recorded for a manned spacecraft. During this journey back from space, it attained an impressive velocity of 24,791 miles per hour—a feat unmatched since then. As stated by Cernan, who served as the Lunar Module pilot, witnessing the fiery descent felt like being engulfed within a blazing sphere. Additionally, Apollo 10 holds significance not only because it marked humanity’s swiftest travel but also due to its role as the inaugural crewed lunar flight simulating a complete moon touchdown. Notably, all previous vehicles reaching such speeds were unmanned, perhaps indicating safer ventures into the cosmos without passengers.
Pioneer 10
Although Apollo 10 achieved remarkable speeds during its return trip at more than 24,000 miles per hour, numerous man-made vehicles have surpassed this velocity in subsequent decades. Following Apollo 10’s achievements, Pioneer 10 emerged as another significant milestone in space exploration history, particularly starting from its launch in 1972. As the inaugural NASA endeavor to investigate the outer planets, Pioneer 10 initially had an intended lifespan of just under two years but ultimately remained operational for over three decades. Its primary objective was to traverse our solar system and proceed towards interstellar space, accomplishing feats such as flying past Jupiter, Saturn, and Neptune along the way. Additionally, it became the pioneering robotic craft to navigate through both the asteroid belt and regions beyond Jupiter.
Everything mentioned here was accomplished with the help of nuclear electric power, generating approximately 140 watts as Pioneer 10 journeyed near Jupiter. Notably, Pioneer 10 attained an impressive speed of about 32,110 mph for escaping from Earth’s gravity, setting a new pace benchmark during its era. As of now, Pioneer 10 remains adrift in space, having surpassed the distance of over 7.6 billion miles since sending its final transmission back to our planet in 2003.
Voyager 2
During the 1970s, NASA sent off the Voyager missions; these spacecraft have since crossed into interstellar space and won’t come back to our planet. Upon their launch, they likely traveled somewhat slowly compared to what we see now—both currently cruise faster than 30,000 miles per hour. To put this velocity in perspective: traveling over 30,000 mph equates to approximately 39 times the speed of sound, or roughly Mach 39 within Earth’s atmosphere, although Mach values aren’t strictly relevant outside our air-filled environment. As reported by NASA, Voyager 2 stands out as the sole man-made entity to explore Uranus and Neptune. Additionally, during its journey, it uncovered an extra moon orbiting Jupiter along with ten fresh satellites and another pair of rings circling Uranus. Presently, Voyager 2 continues its voyage at a pace just above 35,000 mph, distancing itself further from Earth.
Even so, at certain times of the year, Earth’s orbit causes our planet to get nearer to the Voyager spacecraft. For several months annually, we come closer to these space probes compared to the rest of the year due to Earth’s higher speed relative to the spacecraft. To truly astonish you: Earth travels at an impressive pace of 67,100 miles per hour as it orbits the Sun, making it straightforward for us to overtake the Voyager missions during this oval path.
New Horizons
In 2006, New Horizons embarked on a journey with multiple objectives: exploring Pluto being one of them. Additionally, the spacecraft aimed at investigating the Kuiper Belt and particularly focusing on an entity named Arrokoth. According to NASA, this celestial body represents the farthest point from Earth where humans have sent a probe for direct observation. During its voyage, New Horizons captured images of Jupiter’s satellites as well.
Although New Horizons might not match the velocity of certain contemporary space vehicles, it boasted the greatest launch speed.
NASA
called it the “highest launch velocity attained by a human-made object relative to Earth.” The craft reached 36,400 mph before its journey even really began. Later, NASA reported that New Horizons passed by Jupiter for a gravity assist, which sped it up to about 45,400 mph. Despite its velocity, it was able to snap photographs of Pluto and its moons, and ultimately determine Pluto’s actual size (about 1,470 miles in diameter). Since its launch, New Horizons has traveled about 300 million miles each year. It has completed multiple missions, and researchers have occasionally placed the spacecraft into hibernation mode as it continues through the solar system.
Voyager 1
Even though both Voyager spacecraft travel at remarkable speeds, Voyager 1 is just a bit quicker when compared to the vast velocities involved.
It was sent to space to explore Jupiter and Saturn
Back in 1977, although it has the same design as Voyager 2, Voyager 1 was launched after it. It managed to exit the asteroid belt prior to Voyager 2 as well. Traveling at approximately 38,210 miles per hour and continually moving away from our planet, Voyager 1 will not come back. In 2012, it crossed into interstellar space; Voyager 2 achieved this feat six years later. Its present objective is to investigate the outer limits of our solar system and venture further outward.
Besides its extensive journeys and remarkable velocity, Voyager 1 gained recognition for an image snapped in 1990. This photograph depicts Earth as a tiny speck within a ray of sunlight from such great distances — famously referred to as the “Pale Blue Dot”. The spacecraft acquired this picture on Valentine’s Day, 1990, at a point about 3.7 billion miles from the Sun. It kept capturing additional images of our solar system during its ongoing voyage.
Stardust Capsule
In contrast to numerous other swift spacecraft, Stardust was designed for a round trip back to our planet following its remarkable journey through space. Despite its unassuming appearance, the Stardust Capsule held a crucial mission; therefore, aesthetics were secondary to functionality. Its primary objective involved gathering materials beyond Earth’s boundaries—particularly particles from a single comet—and capturing interstellar dust using a specially crafted porous substance meant for collecting “cometary and interstellar dust samples.”
Launched in 1999 and returning to Earth in 2006, Stardust set records upon re-entry when it hit our planet’s atmosphere traveling approximately 29,000 mph, surpassing the previous mark for fastest man-made object during atmospheric descent. However, this was not its peak speed; throughout its journey across space, Stardust maintained an average pace of roughly 48,000 mph as it traversed almost three billion miles over the course of its assignment. Similar to many devices built with Earthward trajectories, Stardust featured both a protective heat shield and parachutes before making a smooth landing in the deserts of Utah. Currently, you can view the Stardust capsule exhibited at the National Air and Space Museum located in Washington, D.C.
Pioneer 11
Should the speed of Pioneer 10 at 32,110 miles per hour have left an impression on you, consider this: Pioneer 11 might just leave you speechless. Launched with the objective of exploring Saturn back in 1973, this craft weighed around 570 pounds. After successfully completing its close encounter with Jupiter in 1974, Pioneer 11 made it to Saturn by 1979. As it zipped past Saturn, it achieved a remarkable relative velocity of approximately 71,000 miles per hour—solidifying its status as among the swiftest man-made creations ever sent into the cosmos.
As it journeyed through space, Pioneer 11 transmitted numerous images back to Earth-based researchers, featuring approximately 200 pictures of Jupiter’s satellites. Additionally, it captured hundreds of photographs of Saturn’s planetary environment and provided information such as the temperature of Titan, which registered at -315°F during its close approach. Later, Pioneer 11 became only the fourth craft to reach Neptune, following in the footsteps of Pioneer 10, Voyager 1, and Voyager 2. Although launched in the early ’70s, Pioneer 11’s mission concluded in 1995 with the receipt of its final transmission consisting of technical data. By 2017, estimates placed Pioneer 11 roughly 9.1 billion miles from Earth, but details regarding its current velocity were not available.
Galileo
In 1989, NASA dispatched the spacecraft named Galileo to investigate Jupiter, and although it concluded with a collision upon completion, the mission itself achieved numerous milestones. Unlike typical solo launches from our planet, Galileo hitched a ride aboard the Space Shuttle Atlantis for its journey outward. Once released into orbit, this pioneering craft claimed several distinctions: executing humanity’s inaugural close encounter with an asteroid which included capturing photographs, witnessing firsthand a comet plunging into a planetary environment, and becoming the initial artificial satellite to circle one of the gas giants beyond Mars’ orbit.
In terms of velocity, Galileo truly stood out, with one of its probes reaching an astounding speed of 106,000 mph as it explored Jupiter’s atmosphere. Throughout its mission, Galileo journeyed over 2.8 billion miles and completed numerous flybys of Jupiter’s moons across several extended missions. Ultimately, scientists deliberately sent Galileo crashing into Jupiter’s atmosphere at approximately 108,000 mph to prevent a possible impact with Europa, due to the craft’s dwindling supply of fuel. Undeniably, the Galileo mission was monumental; however, equally remarkable were those who made up the dedicated team supporting it. Noteworthy among them was a nuclear engineer.
Lonnie Johnson invented the Super Soaker.
(and subsequently became wealthy) while serving on the mission.
Helios 1 Probe
In 1974, researchers launched an advanced spacecraft costing around $260 million to explore the Sun and its activities. This mission, known as Helios 1, involved both American and German experts aiming to investigate deep space phenomena. It proved remarkably effective in achieving this objective. Designed with cutting-edge technology including instruments for detecting plasma, cosmic rays, electrons, and sunlight, the probe aimed to gather extensive scientific data.
At closest approach, Helios 1 ventured nearer to our star than any man-made item had before—approximately 29 million miles away from the Sun’s surface. During these flybys, it reached incredible velocities exceeding 148,000 mph, far surpassing previous records set by human creations in terms of speed. Reflective surfaces were employed to safeguard critical components during its passage near the Sun, whereas various detectors recorded crucial environmental details throughout the journey.
Helios 1 discovered, among other things, that there are 15 times as many micrometeorites near the Sun compared to those around Earth. According to NASA, the final transmission from Helios 1 was recorded in 1982; however, they mention that their last communication with the spacecraft occurred in 1986. It suffered damage because it encountered temperatures reaching approximately 270 degrees Fahrenheit during its journey close to the sun, an exposure believed to be responsible for damaging its receiving equipment. Despite this, experts think that Helios 1 continues to orbit our star even now.
Juno Spacecraft
A remarkably swift man-made entity in space, the Juno spacecraft can achieve velocities up to 165,000 mph, as reported by NASA. Launched in 2011, this space probe has been tasked with investigating the Jovian planetary system. The craft bears the name of Jupiter’s spouse from Roman mythology; its purpose is to study Jupiter and relay findings back to our planet. Having finished its initial assignment in 2021, Juno employed various equipment such as a magnetometer, radio and plasma wave sensors, an ultraviolet spectrometer, along with a dedicated camera-telescope setup to examine Jupiter. Although Juno typically cruises at around 150,000 mph, which marked its velocity upon reaching Jupiter, it needed to decelerate so it could be captured into Jupiter’s orbital path. Scientists planned for it to cover approximately 1.8 billion miles within this orbit.
In Juno’s elliptical orbit, the spacecraft moves far from Jupiter and then gets drawn back towards the planet due to gravitational forces. Most of its travel is managed automatically, as stated by NASA. It takes 48 minutes for commands sent to Juno to be received, similar to how long it takes for responses to come back. Despite having carried out several assignments successfully so far, Juno remains operational and is scheduled to undertake further duties until early 2025 when its present mission concludes.
Operation Plumbbob Pascal B Test
When it comes to spacecraft, it’s quite remarkable that humans have managed to create vehicles capable of traveling faster than 100,000 miles per hour in outer space. However, this isn’t exclusive to traditional spacecraft; some intriguing stories circulate about similarly high-speed achievements. NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory claims that the tale of a manhole cover being inadvertently propelled into space falls under the category of urban legends. Nonetheless, they acknowledge that the Pascal B Cap ranks among the quickest human-made items ever sent to space, exceeding velocities above 100,000 mph. Various accounts indicate that the Pascal B Cap might have reached speeds up to approximately 150,300 mph, supported by photographic evidence captured from a nearby camera whose frame rate was instrumental in calculating these figures.
In the 1957 Operation Plumbbob—a series of nuclear experiments—reportedly one of the 29 underground blasts propelled a utility lid known as the Pascal B Cap so forcefully that it was sent hurtling toward outer space. This uncontrolled object likely achieved speeds exceeding six times what’s needed to break free from Earth’s gravitational pull. Distinctly different from purpose-built rockets meant for space exploration, this manhole cover lacked any mechanisms to decelerate once launched. While uncertainty persists about whether it actually made it to space or disintegrated within our planet’s atmosphere, the incident stands out as an exceptionally peculiar and potentially unparalleled feat concerning human-induced velocities.
Helios 2 Probe
Helios 2 approached the Sun more closely and at higher velocities compared to Helios 1. Although Helios 1 took off in 1974, Helios 2’s departure in 1976 allowed for an even nearer solar encounter. Reaching within approximately 27 million miles from the Sun, Helios 2 surpassed the previous proximity benchmark set by Helios 1; however, this achievement had limited duration. After encountering several technical issues in 1980, scientists understood that Helios 2 was approaching obsolescence. Consequently, by 1981, operations were halted on Helios 2. The rationale behind ceasing communications with the craft aimed to prevent potential signal disruptions affecting subsequent space endeavors.
Significantly quicker compared to similar probes, the Helios 2 holds the record at an impressive 207,408 miles per hour, equivalent to about 92,720 meters per second. This can be attributed to gravity: as a spacecraft approaches the Sun, it experiences greater gravitational forces which necessitate higher velocities to sustain its trajectory. Despite being based on older technology, the achievements of the Helios 2 Probe stood unmatched until very recently. Actually, not until 2018 did another specific solar mission manage to surpass what had been set decades earlier by Helios 2.
Parker Solar Probe
Given the
physics of lightspeed travel
The Parker spacecraft seems almost too incredible to be real. Even though it falls short of light speed, this solar probe is remarkably swift, surpassing all other man-made objects that have ventured into space. Following its launch, the Parker Solar Probe zipped through the Sun’s corona at approximately 430,000 miles per hour. This velocity exceeds anything else created by humans in terms of travel speed, particularly within the realm of outer space exploration.
The Parker SolarProbe is among the
major satellite launches throughout history
, surpassing several milestones, such as approaching nearer to the Sun than any prior space mission. In 2018, it claimed the title from Helios 2 by venturing within 15 million miles of the solar surface. This achievement was even eclipsed later when it got as close as 3.8 million miles in 2024. Despite these distances seeming vast, the spacecraft endured extreme heat reaching almost 2,500 degrees Fahrenheit at closest approach. As of now, the Parker Solar Probe has journeyed through the Sun’s outermost layer known as the corona, symbolically indicating that humanity has crafted an entity capable of making contact with the Sun itself.
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