Apollo missions/ Saturn rocket/ moon
2006-08-28 01:06:04 · 5 answers · asked by pitmonster03 2 in Science & Mathematics ➔ Engineering
Perhaps the fastest "powered" vehicle, but I believe that the Voyager craft as it was 'slingshot' around some planets achieved a faster speed.
Funny, that something designed in the 60s is still the 'champion' with respect to speed. Says somehting about where our priorities are with technology these days.
2006-08-28 01:24:26 · answer #1 · answered by words_smith_4u 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
No it is not.
Rockets are really not measured in speed, but in pounds of thrust, because the speed of a rocket depends entirely where it is. In space, away from heavy gravitational forces found close to planets, the rocket can keep going faster, with either small burns or slingshot maneuvers around planets (at least until the speed of light) and the size of the rocket engine can be very small to power it. That huge amount of initial power was needed only to break away from earth's gravity.
The last Saturn rocket, designated as V, (Apollo manned lunar landing missions), consisted a first stage powered by five F–1 engines, each generating 1.5 million pounds of thrust, the second stage contained five J-2 engines, and the third stage contained one J-2 (200,000 pounds of thrust each) engine. In it's translunar trajectory, the speed was 24,500 mph.
As for the fastest rocket today, that would be the New Horizons spacecraft with an Atlas V 551(Russian RD-180) first stage; Centaur (RL10A-4-2) second stage, and STAR 48B solid rocket third stage. It is on a mission to Pluto. The craft will be speeding past Pluto at roughly 43,000 kilometers per hour/27,000 miles per hour.
2006-08-28 02:47:25 · answer #2 · answered by Seikilos 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I think the key word here is "vehicle", because that implies that it is carrying a person. In that case, yes, the Saturn V is the fastest vehicle because it had to break earth's gravity to go to the moon. Other rockets that have carried probes to the outer reaches of the solar system have probably been faster as other posters have mentioned, but I don't know if you would classify them as a "vehicle".
2006-08-28 15:16:07 · answer #3 · answered by Steve K 2 · 2⤊ 0⤋
It is the most powerful.
2006-08-28 05:10:32 · answer #4 · answered by Scott S 4 · 1⤊ 0⤋
ya its true
2006-08-28 01:09:44 · answer #5 · answered by gym1_ahd 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋