NASA’s Voyager 1 Remains the Farthest, Fastest Human-Made Object
Humanity has launched a fleet of vehicles into the cosmos, pushing the boundaries of speed and distance. Here are seven of the fastest man-made objects ever created, based on peak velocity achieved:
1. Voyager 1 (38,610 miles per hour)
Launched to explore the outer solar system, Voyager 1 is the farthest human-made object from Earth. on August 25, 2013, it officially entered interstellar space, becoming the first vehicle to do so. It carries a golden record, a gold-plated disk containing sounds and images of life on Earth.
2. New Horizons (36,373 miles per hour)
Launched january 19, 2006, as part of NASA’s New Frontiers program, New Horizons was designed to examine Pluto, its satellites, and other objects in the Kuiper Belt. utilizing gravitational assists and monopropellant fuel, it reached a peak speed of 36,373 miles per hour. on july 14, 2015, it flew past Pluto from a distance of 7,800 miles, becoming the first spacecraft to directly explore the dwarf planet.
3. Stardust (28,856 miles per hour)
launched in 1999, Stardust undertook the unique mission of collecting particles from Comet Wild 2. The 300-kilogram robotic probe reached a speed of 28,856 miles per hour-many times faster than a bullet. After traveling over 2 billion miles, Stardust successfully returned samples to Earth in 2006, marking one of the most successful space collection missions.
4. Apollo 10 (24,791 miles per hour)
Apollo 10 served as a dress rehearsal for the first human landing on the Moon.Though it did not land, the Apollo 10 capsule achieved the highest speed ever reached by a manned vehicle-24,791 miles per hour-on May 26, 1969. The mission lasted 56 hours and was a crucial milestone leading to the success of Apollo 11 a few months later.
5. Revelation Space Shuttle (17,400 miles per hour)
Discovery was one of NASA’s five space shuttles used for various missions between 1984 and 2011. Reaching a maximum speed of 17,400 miles per hour, Discovery completed 39 successful flights, including the launch of the Hubble Space Telescope. The spacecraft’s structure consisted of an orbiter, external fuel tanks, and two reusable solid booster rockets. Its surface was coated with approximately 25,000 heat-resistant tiles to protect against extreme temperatures during atmospheric re-entry.
6. Juno (130,000 mph relative to Jupiter)
While not its absolute speed, NASA’s Juno spacecraft achieved a relative speed of 130,000 mph during its flybys of Jupiter. Juno’s primary goal is to understand the origin and evolution of Jupiter.
7. Parker Solar probe (430,000 mph)
The Parker Solar Probe is the fastest human-made object, reaching speeds of up to 430,000 mph as it orbits the Sun. Launched in 2018, its mission is to study the Sun’s outer corona.
These vehicles demonstrate the advancements in space technology and humanity’s potential to explore the universe.
Source: themysteriousworld.com
