The fastest manmade object in history is the NASA HELLIOS 2 spacecraft launched

Question

The fastest manmade object in history is the NASA HELLIOS 2 spacecraft launched to study the sun in the 1970s, which attained a speed of 250,000 km/h. (a) What is the length of 1 m measured on the spacecraft? (b) A time interval of 10s on the spacecraft would be measured as _____ (s) from the eather reference frame. (c) If it is in a slingshot orbit around the sun, from General Relativity time slows down/speeds up as it passes by the sun due to the intense gravitational field? (d) When it becomes visible from earth as it passes from behind hte sun, its observedd postion will be slightly off from its true postion due to the curving of spacetime due to gravitation T/F? (e) The correspondence principle states that classical and relativistic mechanics are not seamlessly connected. T/F?

Explanation / Answer

Answer If you meant "unmanned spaceflight" [link 1] it was the two Helios vehicles launched to study the Sun during the 1970s. Both of these probes attained maximum speeds of around 150,000 mph (250,000 km/h) at closest approach to the Sun in their highly elliptical orbits. Helios 2 was slightly faster than its twin craft, and this probe still holds the speed record as not only the fastest spacecraft but also the fastest manmade object in history. (For comparison to atmospheric flight, that would be Mach 210) If you meant "manned spaceflight" the Saturn IX velocity before reentry is reported as 11km/s. Shuttle reentry starts at minimal orbital velocity, ~Mach 25; 8.3 km/s. [link 2] If you meant "unmanned suborbital spaceflight" then probably the boost (launch) phase of ICBMs (7 km/s; Mach 21). This is much faster than the launch velocity of deep-space probes, because they use slingshotting. Slower than that were the unmanned X-43A scramjet test flights that NASA trialed 2004-2006 (Mach 8-10?, theoretically could go up to 15). But superatmospheric designs could go much faster outside the atmosphere. Unpowered solar sailers are possible which would slowly accelerate to high speeds, a fraction of c. These would be the highest speed by an unpowered craft. Solar sailers have been successfully designed and launched in 2004,5,6 but have never properly deployed

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