How fast can a space shuttle travel?

Question

How fast are we capable of making a space shuttle travel? I'm asking because I was reading about the new planet, Gliese 581, which is said to have earth like habitation characteristics, but is 20.5 lightyears away-- impossible to reach in a human lifetime. So I would like to know how fast our space shuttles go (in lightyears, preferably), to see how much time it would actually take to reach that planet.

Answer 1

The shuttle goes 17,500 MPH. That speed is not high enough to escape from Earth orbit, but FYI, that is about 38,263 times slower than light speed. (Calculated as 186,000 miles per second times 3,600 seconds in an hour divided by 17,500 miles per hour.) So if the shuttle could leave Earth orbit and travel at 17,500 MPH all the way to that star, it would take 784,391 years to get there. (Calculated as 20.5 * 38,263.)

Answer 2

Travelling in space is different than what everyone here is thinking. Theoretically, the space shuttle can travel in space as fast as you had enough fuel to get you. But that's just the problem with the space shuttle - it only carries enough fuel to get to orbit, and a little extra for maneuvers and re-entry. They could probably install a fuel tank in the payload bay, but then the external tank and boosters would probably not be enough to get it into space with the extra weight. Anyway, be it the shuttle, or any other space craft, the way they would get to Venus is escape Earth's gravity in a direction that left the space ship going slower around the Sun than Earth, so it would start to fall in towards the Sun. This new orbit around the Sun would take it to the same distance from the Sun as Venus and arrive at a point in space where Venus would also be. It's like meeting up with someone - you pick a place in advance and both of you get there at the same time. :) For travel to Venus, this can take a few months, just like going to Mars. It can be faster, though, because the distance from Earth's orbit to Venus's is shorter, and Venus moves faster, so it catches up to the ship quicker than Mars does. You couldn't go too fast, though, because if you did, you wouldn't be able to get captured by Venus' gravity, and you'd slinshot back out into orbit around the Sun.

Answer 3

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How fast can a space shuttle travel?
How fast are we capable of making a space shuttle travel? I'm asking because I was reading about the new planet, Gliese 581, which is said to have earth like habitation characteristics, but is 20.5 lightyears away-- impossible to reach in a human lifetime. So I would like to know how fast our...

Answer 4

A space shuttle flies at 5 miles a second.

Answer 5

Well, warp drive is a great idea.. It expands the fabric of space time in back of the ship, and compresses the one in front of the ship, and compresses it on the sides of the ship, which causes you to reach the stars, in days, hours, or maybe seconds. But you don't break the light barrier, space time moves, not the ship. But before that technology gets developed, there is plasma propellers, which can accelerate you up to a point which is %40 - 60 of speed of light, matters the quality and strength of the engine. Plasma rockets heat up gases extremely high, by making them into ions, just skimming the electrons away from the protons, and then accelerate them out, using powerful magnetic fields.

Answer 6

Well, the space shuttle normally cruises along at 17,000 mph. At that speed, assuming a straight line shot to Gliese 581, it would take 810,502 years to get there.

If we go back to the velocity of the Apollo missions to the moon (..about 45,000 mph..) we're down to a one-way trip of 305,706 years.

Answer 7

Theoretically, using an ion engine, we would be able to make it there in a human lifetime. The big problem with ion engines, it that its acceleration, which is quite slow.

But according to Einstein, one could travel at a velocity just short of the speed of light. Time and mass, however, would approach "near infinity" which may defeat the exercise.

Answer 8

17,000 mph which is roughly .000025 light years.

Answer 9

fast

Answer 10

pool