Questions tagged [record]
Questions regarding extremes or records, such as the smallest, largest, first, last, heaviest, etc. of a thing or event.
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0answers
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What's the longest time that an astronaut remained in free fall?
After watching the video below (found here and here) I am reminded of the series of possibly less than 100% serious questions here about being weightless in the middle of a large volume and ...
19
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1answer
1k views
Who were the youngest and oldest persons in space?
In recent years there has been much talk about the possibility of establishing a permanent space colony somewhere in the solar system. If that happens it's plausible that within the next century ...
16
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2answers
801 views
Was Alexander Gerst the first man to have bare skin exposed to the vacuum of space and live?
On August 30, 2018, a hole was found in the Soyuz Orbital Module on the ISS. Astronaut Alexander Gerst initially plugged it with his thumb, meaning a part of his bare skin touched space. I can't find ...
9
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3answers
1k views
What is the fastest rover that has ever traveled on the surface of an extra-terrestrial body?
What is the fastest rover currently moving on the surface of another celestial body? At what speed with our technology currently does physics restrict our speed limits on the surfaces of solar system ...
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4answers
1k views
What is the fastest can we or have ever traveled in space?
What is the fastest vehicle currently in space? At what speed with our technology currently does physics restrict our speed limits in space?
7
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1answer
245 views
Most orbital launches in one day
There were 3 orbital launches on March 29 2018:
Soyuz 2-1v
GSLV Mk.2
Long March 3B
Is it a record tie for most orbital launches on the same day (as expressed in local time)?
If so, when it was set?...
20
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2answers
9k views
How long will it take Elon Musk's roadster to become the fastest ever car?
In chat, site moderator PearsonArtPhoto raised an interesting question after I'd pointed out that watching this launch could be disguised as watching "A car go faster than any car has gone before."
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8
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2answers
625 views
What is the highest non-equatorial earth orbit used?
When looking at the operational altitude of satellites, it seems that the highest one is GEO (36000km), which is an equatorial orbit. Non-equatorial orbits are less high (from LEO to 20000km for GPS).
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12
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3answers
1k views
What were the biggest and heaviest spacecrafts to safely return from orbit?
How big a thing was able to land or splash down? Was there ever anything bigger or heavier than the Space Shuttle? If no then whats next on the list? And secondary question: what is the maximal ...
22
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3answers
9k views
What's the largest single object payload ever lifted into space?
I am aware that the Saturn V is the largest rocket ever built and was capable of lifting more weight into space than anything that exists today. Modern rockets often carry several satellites up at ...
11
votes
1answer
395 views
What's the furthest a probe has travelled from Earth before returning?
Inspired by this question, I've been wondering how far a probe has been from Earth, conducted its mission, then subsequently returned to Earth.
I'm aware of the Hayabusa and Stardust missions, but I'...
36
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7answers
11k views
Has humanity launched a SSTO … ever?
If you've been reading the news lately, you've probably been reading about Skylon and it being Single Stage To Orbit (SSTO).
I've had a think back and to the best of my knowledge humanity has always ...
13
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3answers
2k views
What is the closest flyby to date?
Cassini is to fly within 50 km of Enceladus.
What is the closest flyby a spacecraft has ever made? What object was targeted and when was it? Is 50 km a new record?
(For the purposes of this question,...
8
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1answer
2k views
How will the Voyager Golden Record last for 1 billion years?
In the Radiolab podcast Space episode (2004) Ann Druyan mentioned that the contents of the Voyager Golden Record will last for 1 billion years before the contents of the Record becomes unreadable. ...
14
votes
1answer
6k views
Who has been the closest to/furthest from the Sun?
Google couldn't find the answer for me.
Technically this is two very closely related questions.
Since no person has yet been much further from the Earth than the far side of the Moon I was wondering ...
5
votes
1answer
968 views
Who has built the largest number of Transport/Erector/Launch (TEL)?
I was looking at some SpaceX pictures and realized that with the last ten years, and the coming two years, SpaceX will have built a TEL for:
Falcon 1 - Kwajelin Atol
Falcon 1 - SLC-4 (before they ...
12
votes
2answers
994 views
What is the largest operational artificial satellite?
Inspired by this question, besides the ISS and Tiangong modules, what is the largest operational, artificial, and uninhabited satellite, by either mass or volume?
4
votes
1answer
630 views
What is the furthest an animal has been sent away from Earth?
What is the furthest an animal (humans included) has been sent away from Earth?
Not counting bacterial contamination or similar things, because it will make Voyagers the hands down winners again.
I ...
14
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2answers
4k views
Which astronaut travelled farthest from Earth?
To-date who has flown farthest from the center of the Earth?
Is he alive now?
8
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1answer
574 views
What is the biggest number of astronauts in EVA at the same time ever reached in space history?
At present days, it's common to have two astronauts/cosmonauts in EVA at the same time during ISS maintenance (or experiments or when expanding the station). But there was a time when three or more ...
15
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9answers
15k views
Highest number of satellites launched on a single rocket
What is the highest number of satellites that have been launched on a single rocket? What were the number of stages used in that launch?
(It may be from the past or a future mission)
7
votes
1answer
2k views
Was Gordon Cooper the last man to fly a whole mission in space alone?
Movie The Right Stuff (1983) claims at the end that Gordon Cooper was the last man to fly alone in space (if I remember it correctly and dubbing is right). Beside that, Wikipedia also states that he ...
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5answers
3k views
What is the smallest operational artificial satellite?
Miniaturisation has many advantages, and in recent times, nanosatellites, picosatellites, and femosatellite concepts have emerged. The Wikipedia article on miniaturised satellite has some pointers.
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18
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1answer
2k views
What is the highest number of humans in space at the same time and what vessels were they on when it happened?
What is the highest number of human beings in space at the same time, and what vessels were they on when it happened?
