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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What electronic game was first to be played in space?
Analogously to What card or board game was first played in space? I'd like to ask what electronic game was first to be played in space.
It could be a handheld dedicated game or something running on a ...
1
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1answer
73 views
Was the teletype machine on MIR the first printer in space? Is there a photo, and what frequencies were used?
Seeing the video KK5IM 2021 Shack Tour spotted in The Ham Shack lead me to What paper size do they use on the International Space Station? which begins:
We know they have at least one printer on the ...
3
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1answer
77 views
In their first 100 sols which NASA Mars rover drove the furthest and which one the least?
It seems we've passed the 100 day/sol mark for Perseverance.
Perseverance and Curiosity are comparable in designs but have had significantly different short term goals; Curiosity was the first of it's ...
3
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1answer
238 views
Most noodle-like (highest aspect ratio) orbital launch vehicle ever?
Just how much can tall skinny rockets bend? (roughly, safely)
Why is Falcon 9's shape so tall and skinny?
If not constrained by underpasses, etc., would Falcon 9 have been less of a flying noodle?
...
9
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1answer
839 views
Is there a record for unbroken series of “successful launches” by some objective criteria? Who has it now? What has to happen for it to change hands?
From the (I'd say) historic and pivotal hearing Wednesday, March 5, 2014 Defense Subcommittee (Chairman Durbin) Time and Location: 10:00 a.m., in Room SD-192 of the Dirksen Senate Office Building ...
9
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1answer
866 views
How many satellites were orbited from Australia in total?
WRESAT; The first Australian Satellite Launched Wednesday November 29, 1967 on Colin Mackellar's Honeysuckle Creek website links to several other pages with various details and photos of the mission.
...
2
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0answers
43 views
Has a spacecraft ever actually sprayed a chemical (or anything) on to another spacecraft intentionally for any reason at all?
The question How many of these six military "orbital threat" techniques have been demonstrated in a (more or less) publicly recognized way? begins:
If you are having a good day then under ...
2
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2answers
186 views
Is New Shepard an orbit-capable first stage? Could an (albeit small) 2nd stage with propulsion be put on top that could put a smallsat into orbit?
This answer to How is New Shepard the first suborbital booster to successfully perform a powered vertical soft landing? discusses a potential differentiation between Falcon 9's first successful ...
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63 views
What's the lowest periapsis of a successful orbit around the Moon? [duplicate]
What's the lowest periapsis of a successful orbit around the Moon ever made by a moon-orbiting spacecraft?
Theoretically, Moon-orbiters can go as low as a foot above the surface due to the lack of an ...
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2answers
2k views
When was the last time that an incandescent light bulb was launched into space?
Certainly the first crewed spacecraft had some incandescent light bulbs for indicators, though for cabin illumination the higher efficiency of fluorescent lights was often exploited. The question ...
2
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0answers
34 views
Biggest orbital inclination change done in Earth's orbit
Generally orbital inclination change is said to be (fuel) expensive. What is the biggest orbital inclination change (in degrees) done in Earth's orbit for an orbiting object? Can this be broken down ...
2
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0answers
102 views
First instance of a frangible nut in space? Which space-nut was first successfully “franged”?
Wikipedia's Frangible nut begins:
Not to be confused with Explosive bolt.
The frangible nut is a component used in many industries, but most commonly by NASA[citation needed], to sever mechanical ...
7
votes
2answers
276 views
Which explode in spaceflight more often, nuts or bolts?
The history of spaceflight is littered with exists because of exploded nuts and bolts (and upon further reflection, a whole lot of other items!)
"Exploding bolts" is really a generic term. ...
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152 views
How often are fewer than three astronauts present when moving a Soyuz spacecraft from one docking port to another?
CNN's Astronauts relocated a spacecraft outside the International Space Station (was it inside before?) says:
Russian cosmonauts Sergey Ryzhikov and Sergey Kud-Sverchkov, along with NASA astronaut ...
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0answers
51 views
Has Hubble ever focused on something close enough that it had to move away from being focused at infinity?
Hubble wouldn't have to change focus for Pranksat to work because Pranksat is cleverly designed to present a virtual image with a focus at infinity. But if the diffraction-limited Hubble wanted to ...
7
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1answer
277 views
What was the first Soviet spacecraft that could recharge its battery it each orbit? Where were the photovoltaic cells made?
Sputnik 1 (/ˈspʌtnɪk, ˈspʊtnɪk/; "Satellite-1", or "PS-1", Простейший Спутник-1 or Prosteyshiy Sputnik-1, "Elementary Satellite 1") was the first artificial Earth ...
8
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1answer
134 views
When is the last time that a battery-powered spacecraft was launched without an RTG or solar-electric power?
Except for special sun-synchronous, Earth orbit eventually leads to eclipses, so spacecraft in Earth orbit generally have solar panels with electrical energy "buffered" by batteries. And ...
4
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1answer
140 views
What were the stingiest and most generous vacuum nozzle? (records for the smallest and largest expansion ratios)
Vacuum nozzles are huge compared to their sea-level or atmospheric counterparts, as can be seen by comparing the first stage engines on an Electron or Falcon-9 to their second stages, where a big ...
4
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0answers
70 views
Largest single burn spacecraft delta-v in deep space?
This 700 m/s maneuver that was avoided got me thinking and then CNN's NASA mission will zoom by asteroid before returning sample to Earth said:
"Leaving Bennu's vicinity in May puts us in the '...
2
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1answer
231 views
What was the first satellite with mostly COTS electronics?
Computers and memory, radios, cameras, light sensors, temperature sensors, accelerometers & gyros1, power supplies, power conditioners and converters and battery interfaces can all be put together ...
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0answers
61 views
What is the first time that two satellites were launched together as the same payload?
Below I've assembled some research into the question of which launch is actually the first to carry two satellites into orbit, but so far I think the results are inconclusive. So despite there being ...
4
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2answers
225 views
Longest static fire?
What is the longest duration for a static fire of a complete rocket stage?
Initially I wanted to ask this for Falcon 9 and Falcon Heavy
I found a 10 second static fire for Falcon Heavy - https://...
2
votes
1answer
70 views
Largest variety of independent spacecraft types docked, clustered, or otherwise attached at the same time?
speculation and pondering in the Pod Bay has got me wondering; What has been the largest variety of independent spacecraft types simultaneously, docked, clustered or otherwise attached in space?
These ...
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4answers
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What was the “5 minute EVA”? What was the shortest-duration EVA ever?
A comment to this answer makes the claim
humans are so impaired in space that their ability to repair anything is ridiculously low (hours of preparation and debriefing even for a five-minute EVA, and ...
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0answers
54 views
Longest duration of a Moon orbiter?
From all the spacecraft that orbit or orbited the Moon, which one lasted the longest in lunar orbit?
By defunct spacecraft includes.
2
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2answers
136 views
What's the fastest orbital period for a spacecraft?
I'm not asking about velocity, I'm talking about overall speed. Shortest time from perigee to perigee. This orbit would be a low, circular orbit, but I can't really find any specifics on any world ...
2
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1answer
76 views
What was the furthest distance from Earth that Armstrong, Aldrin, and Collins reached in Apollo 11?
An estimate is fine. But if possible, I am looking for a reference that I can cite.
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1answer
40 views
What is the maximum payload in terms of mass delivered to LEO by launch vehicle which used pressure fed cycle in all stages?
Launch vehicles can use pressure fed cycle in any stage of the rocket, but here i am interested for those vehicles which used this cycle in all stages. What is the current record in terms of mass of ...
2
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3answers
119 views
Closest distance at which cubesat (or comparable smallsat) has communicated with the Deep Space Network or any large 10+ meter dish? Cis-lunar ever?
Discussion below Will future deep space optical communications "ground stations" actually be in space, or on the ground? has got me wondering about the improbable situation where a giant ...
2
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2answers
165 views
How many independent demonstrations of optical communications between ground and space have been successful?
As everybody knows, the pioneering work of The Professor and his serendipitous collaborator Gilligan demonstrated the reality of ground to space optical communications back in 1964. In that case ...
2
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1answer
89 views
What was the first successful demonstration of a fuel cell in space?
Hydrogen fuel cells (together with batteries) were used for electrical power in the Apollo program, where it was recombined with oxygen on board to produce electricity.
Doing chemistry in practical ...
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3answers
2k views
What is the lowest first stage thrust for a launch reaching orbit?
What is the lowest thrust for a first stage rocket for a rocket that reached Earth orbit?
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0answers
109 views
Smallest orbital rocket by diameter?
Which orbital rocket has the smallest diameter?
Without fins.
Related question:
Smallest orbital rockets by height?
Smallest orbital rocket by mass
Smallest launch vehicle by dry mass
2
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1answer
72 views
Smallest sounding rocket to reach space by height?
Which is the smallest sounding rocket to reach space (100 km)?
By height
Similar question:
Smallest orbital rockets by height?
3
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1answer
211 views
Smallest orbital rockets by height?
Which orbital rocket is the smallest in height (or length) that ever launched?
Would be nice to know the second and third place too.
Similar questions:
Smallest orbital rocket by diameter?
Smallest ...
4
votes
2answers
757 views
What is the closest distance a human being has come to Venus ever since the beginning of the space age?
In line with this question, ever since we started space exploration, what is the closest a living human being has come to Venus?
All I can find on this matter is that the closest distance Venus and ...
60
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4answers
6k views
What is the closest distance a human being has come to Mars ever since the beginning of the space age?
Ever since we started space exploration, what is the closest a living human being has come to Mars?
5
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1answer
467 views
What spacecraft has had the greatest total propulsive delta-v?
How fast is fuel escaping a rocket for it to reach the escape velocity 11 km/s? was an active and well-received discussion! It's always exciting when we first realize that a rocket can go much faster ...
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3answers
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What are the most-delayed missions that eventually launched successfully?
I author this question off of two failed cross-country trips to see NROL-44 and three lost bets on whether it'll launch. As ULA scrubs this Delta IV Heavy yet once again, I wonder, has there ever been ...
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2answers
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First use of an incandescent light in an un-crewed spacecraft?
In early, pre-LED spacecraft indicator lights were incandescent I assume. For larger volumes of crewed areas of spacecraft fluorescent lights were often used.
But what is the first use of an ...
5
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4answers
429 views
First LED left on another planet⁺ by humans?
Light Emitting Diodes or LEDs are ubiquitous now, but I still remember riding my bike to Radio Shack and buying my first LED, checking the diagram on the back of the package, and getting a battery and ...
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5answers
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Highest DC voltage ever intentionally produced in space?
Comments on the page Maximum grid voltage of ion thruster got me wondering; what is the highest DC voltage ever intentionally produced by a spacecraft in space?
Photomultiplier tubes and micro-channel ...
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2answers
152 views
How many maritime launch platforms were ever built?
How many maritime launch platforms has ever been built and used for orbital space launches?
4
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1answer
164 views
Fastest rocket to reach space?
Spaceloft XL can reach space - 100 km - in 60 seconds
So I wonder which rockets can reach that limit fastest
Balloon-launched sounding rockets count but separately (from the moment they launch from ...
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0answers
250 views
How many (presumably friendly) lasers are being shot at us from space? (pew! pew!)
A comment below @A.Rumlin's answer to Is there any spacecraft that is ping-able? links to a Facebook page (in Russian) which shows an astrophotographer's photograph of stars plus a big green flare ...
6
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1answer
373 views
What is the largest proper cubesat?
The sizes of Cubesats are measured in "U" units of volume. Each U is nominally a cube of something like 10 to 12 cm on a side, depending on the specific deploying mechanism it's approved for....
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0answers
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NanoSat/Small Satellite World Record
I have been trying to understand, small sat within 10-30 kg satellite what has been the longest operating satellite? Generally life of such missions is 6 months. Other heavy duty class satellite have, ...
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0answers
109 views
What's the longest crewed space mission flight ever?
I wonder what the longest single space mission ever was/is. This question doesn't ask for the longest single spaceflight of a human (this are Valery Polyakov's 437 d 18 h on Mir who launched with ...
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0answers
80 views
When was the first successful photograph of an orbital spacecraft from Earth taken?
Early artificial satellites were tracked by radio and visually by amateurs, scientists and military personnel for various reasons including fun and improving the understanding of orbital dynamics ...
3
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1answer
196 views
Did Zuma complete at least one orbit? [duplicate]
Question: Did Zuma complete at least one orbit?
CLOSE VOTERS, PLEASE NOTE: answers to What was the outcome of the launch of ZUMA by SpaceX, to the best of the public's knowledge? do not answer my ...
