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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1answer
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Astronaut distance from Earth?
After the Apollo Missions, what is the farthest that any country has sent astronauts into space (distance from Earth)?
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0answers
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What is the largest energy stored in a spring or other mechanical device ever put in space?
The question What is the largest delta-v ever produced in space from mechanically stored energy? asks of course about the delta-v produced, but here I'm asking about the largest amount of stored ...
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1answer
427 views
What's the largest optical telescope mirror ever put in space?
As a follow-on question to What's the largest optical lens put in space? I'd like to ask about mirrors this time.
Question: What's the largest optical telescope mirror ever put in space?
Optical ...
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0answers
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What is the longest manned re-entry from Low Earth Orbit ever recorded?
What is the record for the longest amount of time that a manned spacecraft has taken to re-enter from low Earth orbit (LEO)?
I would prefer the duration between the beginning of the re-entry burn ...
4
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1answer
131 views
What's the largest optical lens put in space?
While star cameras and wide angle cameras in space are built from glass lenses, large aperture optical systems generally use reflective optics. For some large ones see answers to What's the largest ...
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0answers
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Which two spacecraft have spent the longest times in libration point orbits? (Lagrange points, Halo, Lissajous, etc.)
Libration point orbit is a general term including halos, Lissajous', and a whole zoo of others associated with Lagrange points in three-body systems.
Which two spacecraft has been in such an orbit ...
2
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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 ...
9
votes
1answer
361 views
Puzzler: Precisely what maximum distance from the Earth did the Apollo 13 astronauts achieve?
tl;dr:
Both this answer and this answer quote Wikipedia to state that the Apollo 13 astronauts reached 404,171 km from Earth. I'm not able to reproduce that value.
According to JPL's Horizons the ...
20
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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
840 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 ...
6
votes
0answers
330 views
Which astronaut has experienced the largest relativistic shift in time (relative to the surface)?
Following this answer and then this question (where I've linked to Cosmonaut Sergei Krikalev; the World's Most Prolific Time Traveller) I've noticed that currently Krikalev does not hold the precisely ...
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3answers
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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
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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?
3
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3answers
370 views
What is the largest delta-v ever produced in space from mechanically stored energy?
The math behind this answer suggests that while the delta-v delivered from hand-throwing an object from the ISS would not produce prompt de-orbit and atmospheric reentry, it would still lower the ...
12
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3answers
3k views
What artificial satellite has the farthest orbit around the Earth?
What is the furthest Earth orbiting satellite?
What is its speed and purpose?
7
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1answer
246 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
votes
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."
...
9
votes
1answer
847 views
What is the farthest that a “human satellite” has been from their spacecraft?
There are several news items about the recent passing of astronaut Bruce McCandless II, and they generally refer to his work developing, and then using the Manned Maneuvering Unit (MMU).
BBC: Bruce ...
9
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1answer
325 views
What's the record for the longest time a deep space craft has functioned without a reboot?
The question How is Voyager 1 still operating? and the interesting comparison to the record times that Earthbound servers have run without reboot got me thinking about deep space spacecraft.
I'm ...
8
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2answers
634 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).
...
7
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1answer
1k views
What is the current record for the farthest detection of a “dead” spacecraft?
In order to better defend my position that trying to track Juno from Earth once it can no longer transmit would be Quixotic, I'd like to ask what the current record is for the farthest detection from ...
7
votes
2answers
649 views
Is this the longest that a spacecraft “went to sleep” and then woke up on schedule?
For various reasons, spacecraft are sometimes "put to sleep" for periods of time on long voyages. Many systems are shut down, and radio communications suspended. Tracking of spacecraft at very large ...
8
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1answer
283 views
How far from earth have atomic clocks (or ultra-stable oscillators) been placed and monitored?
The various flavors of GPS satellite constellations use atomic clocks on each satellite. As far as I know, all of the constellations are "shells" of circular MEO orbits in 3 to 6 planes, 20,000 to 25,...
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3answers
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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 ...
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3answers
10k 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
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1answer
410 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
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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
votes
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
votes
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
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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
1k 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
1k 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?
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votes
1answer
658 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 ...
19
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1answer
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
votes
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
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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.
...
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?
