The fastest man-made object in history, the speed reached 532,000 km/h

The fastest man-made object in history, the speed reached 532,000 km/h Picture 1

On April 29, 2021, the Parker Solar spacecraft flew through the outer atmosphere of the Sun at a speed of 532,000 km/h, or 0.05% of the speed of light. At this speed, the ship can fly around the Earth 13 times in an hour. At that time, the ship was only 10.4 million km away from the 'fireball', setting a record for the closest approach to the Sun.

It is expected that the Parker Solar spacecraft will break its own record for the fastest man-made object in history during its final approach to the Sun in 2025. At that time, the spacecraft will likely reach a speed of 690,000 km / h, equivalent to equivalent to 0.064 % of the speed of light.

Parker Solar launched into space in August 2018, from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Florida, USA. The spacecraft has collected and sent back valuable information about electrically charged particles and plasma in the Sun's outer atmosphere.

Some of the fastest man-made objects, after Parker Solar, that man has ever created include:

Helios satellite (252,792km/h) : Designed in the 70s to study the Sun.

A manhole cover made of iron (201,168km/h) : In 1957, American scientists accidentally 'fired' a 10cm thick manhole cover, weighing nearly 227 kg into the air during a nuclear bomb test. underground human. Dr. Robert Brownlee - who designed the test - suggested that the cap could have reached six times the speed needed to overcome the Earth's gravity (ie 70km / s).

David Pac

Update 02 August 2023