The oldest person in space
John Glenn participated in a space flight aboard the shuttle Discovery (mission STS-95) in October 1998 at the age of 77. Being the first American to orbit the Earth in February 1962, the next time he flew into space was 36 years later. Another record.
The youngest astronaut in history
German Titov made a space flight on Vostok 2 in August 1961. He was 25 years old.
Longest continuous stay in space
Valery Polyakov spent 438 days in space aboard the Mir station from January 1994 to March 1965.
The shortest space flight
In May 1961, Alan Shepard made a 15-minute suborbital flight
The farthest distance from Earth
In April 1970, the ill-fated Apollo 13 capsule ended up on the far side of the Moon at an altitude of 254 km, while the astronauts were at a distance of 400,171 km from Earth.
Record for the total time spent in space
Sergei Krikalev spent a total of 803 days in space over 6 flights.
Spacecraft continuous habitation record
This record belongs to the ISS. Since November 2, 2000, people have been on board.
Longest shuttle flight
The shuttle Columbia flight (mission STS-80) began on November 19, 1996 and lasted 17 days 16 hours.
Longest stay on the moon
In December 1972, Harrison Schmidt and Eugene Cernan, members of the Apollo 17 crew, spent nearly 75 hours, over three days, on the lunar surface.
fastest space flight
During the return to Earth of Apollo 10 on May 26, 1969, a speed of 39.897 km / h was reached.
Maximum number of space flights
Franklin Chang-Diaz (pictured) and Jerry Ross flew into space seven times aboard the shuttles. Chang-Diaz flew between 1986 and 2002, Ross between 1985 and 2002.
The largest number of people in space at one time
In 2009, the shuttle Endeavor (mission STS-127) docked with the ISS and 7 members of its crew joined the 6 inhabitants of the station. Thus, 13 people were simultaneously in space. (There are only 9 in the photo.)
Longest spacewalk
On March 11, 2001, NASA astronauts Jim Voss and Susan Helms spent 8 hours and 56 minutes away from the Discovery Shuttle (mission STS-102) and the ISS, performing some maintenance work and preparing the orbiting laboratory for the arrival of another module.
Most women in space at the same time
Four women were in space in April 2010. NASA astronaut Tracey Caldwell-Dyson traveled to the ISS aboard the Soyuz. She was soon joined by Stephanie Wilson, Dorothy Metcalfe-Lindenburger, Lindenburger Naoko Yamazaki, who arrived at the ISS aboard the shuttle Discovery (mission STS-131).
most expensive spacecraft
The ISS is currently worth $100 billion and is not only the most expensive spacecraft, but the most expensive object ever built.
largest spacecraft
Largest Spaceship
The International Space Station sets this record. The space station is so large that it can easily be seen by the unaided eye from the ground (under the right conditions). It measures about 357.5 feet (109 meters) across. There are huge solar arrays at each end of the truss, and they have a wingspan of 239.4 feet (73 m).
This record belongs to the ISS. The station is so large that it can be easily seen with the naked eye from Earth (under certain conditions). The ISS is about 109 meters across. The size of the huge solar panels is 73 m.
Space history, as everyone knows, begins about half a century ago. During this period, a lot of interesting record data was recorded. In this article, we will present seven major records of the cosmic plan. So stay with us, read the article to the end.
The farthest space flight
Voyager 1 has reached the furthest distance so far. He was sent to endless expanses, and he traveled an incredibly long distance during his long journeys. This device was created in order to study the solar system and its surrounding areas. It was launched back in 1977, on September 5, and for such a long time of its flight, namely almost 40 years, it managed to move away from the Sun at a distance of more than 19 trillion km. km.
Longest stay in orbit
In view of the appearance of orbital stations, mankind has been given the opportunity to send people into space for periods of more than six months. Sergey Konstantinovich Krikalev, who is a Russian cosmonaut, managed to stay in orbit the longest and became the record holder in this regard. He made his legendary first flight in 1988. After that, he flew five more times to the stars. In total, he spent 803 days 9 hours 42 minutes outside the Earth. However, this is still not a record at the moment, because in 2015 it was beaten by Gennady Padalka, but this remains the property of Russia in terms of space exploration.
Longest stay in open space
A new relay race for the achievements of the Soviet Union was opened by Alexei Leonov, a Soviet pilot who went beyond the spacecraft during his first flight back in 1965. After that, there were already many exits into outer space, called extravehicular activities. There are over 370 of them in total, and Anatoly Solovyov became the winner here in terms of long stay. He managed to carry out 16 acts of extravehicular activity and eventually broke the record for the duration of being in outer space. It was 82 hours 22 minutes. Anatoly at that moment was in the middle of a vacuum and an eternally cold environment and was performing all kinds of experiments and maintenance work with station equipment.
Kommunalka in orbit
In 1975, for the first time ever, it was possible to dock international spacecraft with astronauts on board. Over forty years of activity, they managed to build all kinds of modules in which the astronauts had the opportunity to conduct experiments within the framework of international cooperation.
Although there was a Soviet program called Interkosmos, as well as its counterparts from the United States, the first permanent project of the international plan actually turned out to be the MIR station. In addition to astronauts from Russia, shuttle expeditions flew to her, on which there were representatives of different countries. But now the record for the number of visits has been broken by the International Space Station. Since 1998, 216 people have visited the laboratories, some of whom have visited the station twice or even three times.
Record holder of astronauts by age
When the first members of the space detachment were still being recruited, the most stringent selection rules were in force for all sorts of restrictions: that and health, and weight, height, and even age. Scientists then only assumed and did not know exactly what awaits the pioneers of space, so it was logical to send young pilots there. For example, Yuri Gagarin was only 27 years old at the time of his flight, and the youngest was German Titov, who is Yuri's understudy, because he was only almost 26 years old during takeoff. But over time, the astronauts seemed to get older and older. In 1988, John Glenn flew into space, whose statistics are very, very impressive, right from the time he was the first from the United States to make an orbital flight. He is the first who managed to cross the line of 90 years. At the last flight, he was 77 years old.
Heavyweight
As the space industry developed, there was a need to increase the number and mass of launch vehicles, and subsequently the development of superheavy launch vehicles arose. Many ideas, so to speak, have sunk into oblivion for some inexplicable reason. For example, there was such a Soviet launch vehicle as Energia. He was capable of launching a payload of 100 tons into orbit, but the USSR collapsed, and this creation was out of work. At the same time, it is worth remembering the past and paying attention to the time of the space race between the two superpowers. There it is worth taking a closer look at the brainchild of the US lunar program called Saturn-5. For the flight to the Moon of modules capable of returning to Earth, an extremely huge power was needed, and the Wernher von Braun apparatus had a carrying capacity of 140 tons, which gave it the right to be called a champion in terms of heavyweight.
The fastest people
A school physics course tells us that in order for an object to leave the orbit of another body, it is necessary to reach the second cosmic velocity, which can provide an opportunity to overcome the attraction of the gravitational force. The American program for the exploration of the moon assumed that it was necessary to achieve the second earth space velocity. If in order to fly to the ISS it is necessary to gain speed of 8 km/s, to send to the Moon it will be necessary to reach 11 km/s. During the period of the Apollo 10 mission, three astronauts could move through space at a speed of 39,897 km/h relative to the Earth. Their names were John Young, Thomas Stafford and Eugene Senan. They managed to reach even 11082 m/s at the time of their return to the planet. To understand how much this is, one should imagine the time required to travel from Moscow to St. Petersburg. The distance between these great cities is 634 km, and it follows that the astronauts would fly from one city to another in 58 seconds.
Such interesting records, it turns out, were made by people in terms of space exploration. These are truly magnificent results, although even greater ones can now be achieved. But still, they remained in history as one of the main records for the entire period of space exploration, which can serve as a reason for pride.
For more than half a century of history of space exploration, many records have been set. The desire to be in space longer, to expand the boundaries of its study has already led humanity into a new era.
The furthest flight
The most distant object sent into the infinite expanses is Voyager 1. This is a spacecraft designed to explore the solar system and its environs. Its launch was made on September 5, 1977, and in less than 40 years it moved away at a distance of more than 19,000,000,000 kilometers from the Sun.
Longest in orbit
Thanks to the emergence of orbital stations, humanity has been able to send its delegates into the airless space for more than six months. The record holder for the amount of time spent in orbit is Russian cosmonaut Sergei Konstantinovich Krikalev. Having made his first flight back in 1988, Sergei went to the stars five more times. Having spent a total of 803 days 9 hours and 42 minutes outside the home planet. And although not many of the representatives of the Earth have a chance to get into space, already during 2015 this record will be broken by another Russian cosmonaut - Gennady Padalka.
Longest in outer space
Soviet pilot Alexei Leonov, with his first exit outside of a spacecraft in 1965, opened a new relay race for achievement. Since then, more than 370 EVAs have been conducted. The winner in this nomination is Anatoly Solovyov. During his 16 acts outside of ship activity, he spent 82 hours and 22 minutes in the midst of vacuum and eternal cold, performing a variety of experiments and maintenance work on station equipment.
Orbital communal apartment
In 1975, for the first time, docking of international spacecraft with astronauts on board was made. For 40 years, various modules were built in which astronauts were able to conduct experiments within the framework of international cooperation. Despite the Soviet Interkosmos program and its American counterparts, the first permanent international project was, in fact, the MIR station. In addition to Russian cosmonauts, shuttle expeditions with representatives of different countries flew to it. However, to date, the International Space Station holds the record for the number of visits. Since 1998, 216 people have visited the space laboratory. Moreover, some of them were at the station for two or even three expeditions.
Age records
At the time of the first recruitment into the cosmonaut corps, there were strict limits on various restrictions. In addition to health, there were weight, height and, of course, age limits. Since scientists could only guess what the pioneers would expect, it was considered logical to send a young spacecraft pilot.
If Yuri Gagarin was 27 years old at the time of the flight, then the youngest cosmonaut in history was his understudy - German Titov. At the time of takeoff, he was 25 years and 330 days old.
However, over time, the representatives of the Earth became older and older. Astronaut John Glenn went into space in 1988. The statistics of this man are extremely impressive, starting with the fact that he was the first American to make an orbital flight, he became the first astronaut to cross the line of 90 years. Ending with the fact that at the time of his last flight he was 77 years old.
Heavyweight
With the development of the space industry, there was a need to increase the number and mass of the launch vehicles. As a result, the development of super-heavy launch vehicles appeared. Many ideas have sunk into oblivion for one reason or another. For example, the Soviet launch vehicle Energia, capable of launching a payload weighing 100 tons into orbit. However, in connection with the collapse of the USSR, it was not a destiny. But if we go back to the time of the space rivalry between the two superpowers, we will be forced to look at the brainchild of the American lunar program - Saturn 5.
For the flight of the return modules to the Moon, truly infernal power was required. The creation of Wernher von Braun had a load capacity of 140 tons. What gives the palm in this category to American astronautics.
The fastest people
As is known from the school physics course, in order for an object to leave the orbit of another body, it is necessary to develop a second cosmic velocity, which will provide an opportunity to overcome the gravitational attraction. In the case of the American program for the exploration of the moon, it was necessary to overcome the second terrestrial space velocity.
If for a flight to the ISS it is required to develop about 8 km / s, then in order to go to our only satellite, you need to accelerate to 11 km / s.
During the Apollo 10 mission, a trio of astronauts moved through space at a speed of 39,897 km/h relative to the Earth.
Thomas Stafford, Eugene Senan and John Young pierced space at a speed of 11082 meters per second at the time of their return to Earth. As an example to give an idea of their movement, we can use the time required to get from Moscow to St. Petersburg. The distance between our capitals in a straight line corresponds to 634 kilometers. Therefore, they would have covered this path in just 58 seconds.
1. The very first astronaut in the history of mankind Yuri Gagarin went to conquer space on April 12, 1961 on the Vostok-1 spacecraft. His flight lasted 108 minutes. Gagarin was awarded the title Hero of the Soviet Union. In addition, he was awarded the "Volga" with the numbers 12-04 SAG - this is the date of the flight and the initials of the first cosmonaut.
2. First female astronaut Valentina Tereshkova flew into space on June 16, 1963 on the Vostok-6 spacecraft. In addition, Tereshkova is the only woman who has made a solo flight, all the rest flew only as part of crews.
3.Alexey Leonov- the first person to go into outer space on March 18, 1965. The duration of the first exit was 23 minutes, of which the cosmonaut spent 12 minutes outside the spacecraft. During his stay in open space, his spacesuit swelled and prevented him from returning to the ship. The cosmonaut managed to enter only after Leonov bled excess pressure from the spacesuit, while he climbed inside the ship head first, and not legs, as was supposed to be according to the instructions.
4. The first American astronaut to set foot on the lunar surface Neil Armstrong July 21, 1969 at 2:56 GMT. Joined him 15 minutes later Edwin Aldrin. In total, the astronauts spent two and a half hours on the Moon.
5. The world record for the number of spacewalks belongs to a Russian cosmonaut Anatoly Solovyov. He made 16 exits with a total duration of more than 78 hours. Solovyov's total flying time in space was 651 days.
6. The youngest astronaut is German Titov He was 25 at the time of the flight. In addition, Titov is also the second Soviet astronaut in space and the first person to make a long (more than a day) space flight. The astronaut made a flight lasting 1 day 1 hour from August 6 to 7, 1961.
7. The oldest astronaut who has made a space flight is considered an American John Glenn. He was 77 years old when he flew on the Discovery STS-95 in October 1998. In addition, Glenn set a kind of unique record - he had a break between flights into space for 36 years (the first time he was in space in 1962).
8. American astronauts have been on the moon the longest. Eugene Cernan and Harrison Schmit as part of the Apollo 17 crew in 1972. In total, the astronauts were on the surface of the earth's satellite for 75 hours. During this time, they made three exits to the lunar surface with a total duration of 22 hours. They were the last to walk on the moon and, according to some reports, left a small disk on the moon with the inscription "Here man completed the first stage of the exploration of the moon, December 1972."
9. The first space tourist was an American multimillionaire Dennis Tito, which went into space on April 28, 2001. At the same time, a Japanese journalist is considered de facto the first tourist. Toyohiro Akiyama, which was paid for by the Tokyo Television Company in December 1990. In general, a person whose flight was paid for by any organization cannot be considered a space tourist.
10. The first British astronaut was a woman - Helena Sharmen(Helen Sharman), which took off on May 18, 1991 as part of the Soyuz TM-12 crew. She is considered the only astronaut who flew into space as an official representative of the UK, all the others had, in addition to British citizenship, another country. Interestingly, before becoming an astronaut, Sharmen worked as a chemist-technologist at a confectionery factory and responded to an appeal for competitive selection of space flight participants in 1989. Of the 13,000 participants, it was she who was chosen, after which she began training in Star City near Moscow.
Duration of continuous human stay in space flight conditions:
During the operation of the Mir station, absolute world records were set for the duration of continuous human stay in space flight conditions:
1987 - Yuri Romanenko (326 days 11 hours 38 minutes);
1988 - Vladimir Titov, Musa Manarov (365 days 22 hours 39 minutes);
1995 - Valery Polyakov (437 days 17 hours 58 minutes).
The total time spent by a person in space flight conditions:
Absolute world records were set for the duration of the total time spent by a person in space flight conditions at the Mir station:
1995 - Valery Polyakov - 678 days 16 hours 33 minutes (for 2 flights);
1999 - Sergey Avdeev - 747 days 14 hours 12 minutes (for 3 flights).
Space walks:
On the Mir OS, 78 EVAs (including three EVAs to the depressurized Spektr module) were performed with a total duration of 359 hours and 12 minutes. The exits were attended by: 29 Russian cosmonauts, 3 US astronauts, 2 French astronauts, 1 ESA astronaut (German citizen). Sunita Williams is a NASA astronaut who holds the world record for the longest work in outer space among women. The American worked on the ISS for more than half a year (November 9, 2007) together with two crews and made four spacewalks.
Space Survivor:
According to the authoritative scientific digest New Scientist, Sergei Konstantinovich Krikalev, as of Wednesday, August 17, 2005, spent 748 days in orbit, thereby breaking the previous record set by Sergei Avdeev during his three flights to the Mir station (747 days 14 hours 12 min). The various physical and mental loads endured by Krikalev characterize him as one of the most enduring and successfully adapting astronauts in the history of astronautics. Krikalev's candidacy has been repeatedly elected to carry out rather difficult missions. Texas State University physician and psychologist David Masson describes the astronaut as the best you can find.
Duration of space flight among women:
Among women, world records for the duration of a space flight under the Mir program were set by:
1995 - Elena Kondakova (169 days 05 hours 1 min); 1996 - Shannon Lucid, USA (188 days 04:00, including at Mir station - 183 days 23:00).
The longest space flights of foreign citizens:
Of the foreign citizens, the longest flights under the Mir program were made by:
Jean-Pierre Haignere (France) - 188 days 20 hours 16 minutes;
Shannon Lucid (USA) - 188 days 04 hours 00 minutes;
Thomas Reiter (ESA, Germany) - 179 days 01 hours 42 minutes
Astronauts who have completed six or more spacewalks
at Mir station:
Anatoly Solovyov - 16 (77 hours 46 minutes),
Sergey Avdeev - 10 (41 hours 59 minutes),
Alexander Serebrov - 10 (31 hours 48 minutes),
Nikolai Budarin - 8 (44 hours 00 minutes),
Talgat Musabaev - 7 (41 hours 18 minutes),
Victor Afanasiev - 7 (38 hours 33 minutes),
Sergey Krikalev - 7 (36 hours 29 minutes),
Musa Manarov - 7 (34 hours 32 minutes),
Anatoly Artsebarsky - 6 (32 hours 17 minutes),
Yuri Onufrienko - 6 (30 hours 30 minutes),
Yuri Usachev - 6 (30 hours 30 minutes),
Gennady Strekalov - 6 (21 hours 54 minutes),
Alexander Viktorenko - 6 (19 hours 39 minutes),
Vasily Tsibliyev - 6 (19:11).
First manned spacecraft:
The first manned space flight registered by the International Federation of Aeronautics (IFA was founded in 1905) was made on the Vostok spacecraft on April 12, 1961 by the USSR pilot cosmonaut Major of the USSR Air Force Yuri Alekseevich Gagarin (1934 ... 1968). It follows from the official documents of the IFA that the spacecraft launched from the Baikonur Cosmodrome at 06:07 GMT and landed near the village of Smelovka, Ternovsky District, Saratov Region. USSR in 108 min. The maximum flight altitude of the Vostok spacecraft with a length of 40868.6 km was 327 km with a maximum speed of 28260 km/h.
First woman in space:
The first woman to circle the Earth in space orbit was junior lieutenant of the USSR Air Force (now lieutenant colonel engineer pilot cosmonaut of the USSR) Valentina Vladimirovna Tereshkova (born March 6, 1937), who launched on the Vostok 6 spacecraft from the Baikonur Cosmodrome Kazakhstan USSR, at 9:30 min GMT on June 16, 1963 and landed at 08:16 on June 19 after a flight that lasted 70 hours and 50 minutes. During this time, she made more than 48 complete revolutions around the Earth (1971000 km).
The oldest and youngest astronauts:
The oldest among the 228 cosmonauts of the Earth was Carl Gordon Henitz (USA), who at the age of 58 took part in the 19th flight of the Challenger reusable spacecraft on July 29, 1985. The youngest was a major in the USSR Air Force (currently lieutenant general pilot USSR cosmonaut) German Stepanovich Titov (born September 11, 1935) who was launched on the Vostok 2 spacecraft on August 6, 1961 at the age of 25 years 329 days.
First spacewalk:
On March 18, 1965, Lieutenant Colonel of the USSR Air Force (now Major General, Pilot-Cosmonaut of the USSR) Alexei Arkhipovich Leonov (born May 20, 1934) was the first to go into open space on March 18, 1965. He retired from the ship at a distance of up to 5 m and spent 12 min 9 s in open space outside the lock chamber.
First spacewalk by a woman:
In 1984, Svetlana Savitskaya was the first woman to go into outer space, having worked outside the Salyut-7 station for 3 hours and 35 minutes. Before becoming an astronaut, Svetlana set three world records in parachuting in group jumps from the stratosphere and 18 aviation records in jet aircraft.
Record duration of spacewalks by a woman:
NASA astronaut Sunita Lyn Williams has set the record for the longest spacewalk for a woman. She spent 22 hours 27 minutes outside the station, exceeding the previous achievement by more than 21 hours. The record was set during work on the outer part of the ISS on January 31 and February 4, 2007. Williams oversaw the preparation of the station to continue construction along with Michael Lopez-Alegria.
First autonomous spacewalk:
U.S. Navy Captain Bruce McCandles II (born June 8, 1937) was the first man to operate in open space without a tether. propulsion plant. The development of this space suit cost $15 million.
Longest manned flight:
Colonel of the USSR Air Force Vladimir Georgievich Titov (born January 1, 1951) and flight engineer Musa Hiramanovich Manarov (born March 22, 1951) launched on the Soyuz-M4 spacecraft on December 21, 1987 to the Mir space station and landed on the Soyuz-TM6 spacecraft (together with the French cosmonaut Jean Lou Chretien) at an alternate landing site near Dzhezkazgan, Kazakhstan, USSR, on December 21, 1988, having spent 365 days in space 22 hours 39 minutes 47 seconds.
The furthest journey in space:
Soviet cosmonaut Valery Ryumin spent almost a whole year in a spacecraft that made 5,750 revolutions around the Earth in those 362 days. At the same time, Ryumin traveled 241 million kilometers. This is equal to the distance from Earth to Mars and back to Earth.
Most Experienced Space Traveler:
The most experienced space traveler is Colonel of the USSR Air Force, USSR pilot-cosmonaut Yuri Viktorovich Romanenko (born in 1944), who spent 430 days 18 hours and 20 minutes in space in 3 flights in 1977 ... 1978, in 1980 and in 1987 gg.
Largest Crew:
The largest crew consisted of 8 cosmonauts (it included 1 woman), who launched on October 30, 1985 on the Challenger reusable spacecraft.
Most people in space:
The largest number of astronauts ever in space at the same time is 11: 5 Americans aboard the Challenger, 5 Russians and 1 Indian aboard the Salyut 7 orbital station in April 1984, 8 Americans aboard the Challenger and 3 Russians aboard the Salyut 7 orbital station in October 1985, 5 Americans aboard the space shuttle, 5 Russians and 1 French aboard the Mir orbital station in December 1988.
The highest speed:
The highest speed at which a person has ever moved (39897 km / h) was developed by the main module of Apollo 10 at an altitude of 121.9 km from the Earth's surface during the return of the expedition on May 26, 1969. On board the spacecraft were the crew commander Colonel US Air Force (now Brigadier General) Thomas Patten Stafford (b. Weatherford, Oklahoma, USA, September 17, 1930), US Navy Captain 3rd Rank Eugene Andrew Cernan (b. Chicago, Illinois, USA, 14 March 1934) and US Navy Captain 3rd Rank (now retired Captain 1st Rank) John Watt Young (born in San Francisco, California, USA, September 24, 1930).
Of the women, the highest speed (28115 km / h) was reached by the junior lieutenant of the USSR Air Force (now lieutenant colonel-engineer, pilot-cosmonaut of the USSR) Valentina Vladimirovna Tereshkova (born March 6, 1937) on the Soviet spacecraft Vostok 6 on June 16, 1963.
The youngest astronaut:
The youngest astronaut today is Stephanie Wilson. She was born on September 27, 1966 and is 15 days younger than Anyusha Ansari.
The first living being to travel into space:
The dog Laika, which was put into orbit around the Earth on the second Soviet satellite on November 3, 1957, was the first living creature in space. Laika died in agony from suffocation when the oxygen ran out.
Record time spent on the moon:
The crew of Apollo 17 collected a record weight (114.8 kg) of rock samples and pounds during a 22 hour and 5 minute job outside the spacecraft. The crew included US Navy Captain 3rd Rank Eugene Andrew Cernan (b. Chicago, Illinois, USA, March 14, 1934) and Dr. Harrison Schmitt (b. Saita Rose, New Mexico, USA, July 3 1935), who became the 12th person to walk on the moon. The astronauts were on the lunar surface for 74 hours 59 minutes during the longest lunar expedition, which lasted 12 days 13 hours 51 minutes from December 7 to 19, 1972.
First person to walk on the moon:
Neil Alden Armstrong (b. Wapakoneta, Ohio, USA, August 5, 1930, ancestors of Scottish and German ancestry), commander of the Apollo 11 spacecraft, became the first person to walk on the surface of the Moon in the Sea of Tranquility region at 2 a.m. 56 min 15 s GMT July 21, 1969. He was followed from the Eagle lunar module by US Air Force Colonel Edwin Eugene Aldrin, Jr. (born in Montclair, New Jersey, USA, January 20, 1930.
Highest space flight altitude:
The crew of Apollo 13 reached the highest altitude, being in a settlement (i.e., at the farthest point of its trajectory) 254 km from the lunar surface at a distance of 400187 km from the Earth's surface at 1 hour 21 minutes GMT on April 15, 1970. The crew included US Navy Captain James Arthur Lovell, Jr. (born in Cleveland, Ohio, USA, March 25, 1928), Fred Wallace Hayes, Jr. (born in Biloxi, Missouri, USA, November 14, 1933 ) and John L. Swigert (1931...1982). The altitude record for women (531 km) was set by American astronaut Katherine Sullivan (born in Paterson, New Jersey, USA, October 3, 1951) during a shuttle flight on April 24, 1990.
The highest spacecraft speed:
Pioneer 10 became the first spacecraft to reach space velocity 3, which allows it to go beyond the solar system. The carrier rocket "Atlas-SLV ZS" with the modified 2nd stage "Tsentavr-D" and the 3rd stage "Tiokol-Te-364-4" on March 2, 1972 left the Earth with an unprecedented speed of 51682 km / h. The spacecraft speed record (240 km/h) was set by the American-German solar probe Helios-B, launched on January 15, 1976.
The maximum approach of the spacecraft to the Sun:
On April 16, 1976, the Helios-B research automatic station (USA-FRG) approached the Sun at a distance of 43.4 million km.
The first artificial satellite of the Earth:
The first artificial Earth satellite was successfully launched on the night of October 4, 1957 into an orbit with a height of 228.5 / 946 km and with a speed of more than 28565 km / h from the Baikonur cosmodrome, north of Tyuratam, Kazakhstan, USSR (275 km east of the Aral Sea). The spherical satellite was officially registered as an object "1957 alpha 2", weighed 83.6 kg, had a diameter of 58 cm and, having existed for 92 days, burned down on January 4, 1958. The launch vehicle, modified R 7, 29.5 m long, was developed under the direction of Chief designer S.P. Korolev (1907 ... 1966), who also led the entire project for launching the IS3.
The most distant man-made object:
Pioneer 10 launched from Cape Canaveral, Space Center. Kennedy, Florida, USA, on October 17, 1986, crossed the orbit of Pluto, 5.9 billion km from the Earth. By April 1989 it was located beyond the farthest point of Pluto's orbit and continues to recede into space at a speed of 49 km / h. In 1934 n. e. it will approach the minimum distance to the star Ross-248, which is 10.3 light years away from us. Even before 1991, the faster-moving Voyager 1 spacecraft will be further away than Pioneer 10.
One of the two space "Travelers" Voyager, launched from the Earth in 1977, moved away from the Sun by 97 AU in 28 years of flight. e. (14.5 billion km) and is today the most remote artificial object. Voyager 1 crossed the heliosphere, the region where the solar wind meets the interstellar medium, in 2005. Now the path of an apparatus flying at a speed of 17 km/s lies in the zone of the shock wave. Voyager-1 will be operational until 2020. However, it is very likely that information from Voyager-1 will stop coming to Earth at the end of 2006. The fact is that NASA is scheduled to cut by 30% of the budget in terms of research on the Earth and the solar system.
The heaviest and largest space object:
The heaviest object launched into near-Earth orbit was the 3rd stage of the American Saturn 5 rocket with the Apollo 15 spacecraft, which weighed 140512 kg before entering the intermediate selenocentric orbit. The American radio astronomy satellite Explorer 49, launched on June 10, 1973, weighed only 200 kg, but its antenna span was 415 m.
Most Powerful Rocket:
The Soviet space transport system Energia, first launched on May 15, 1987 from the Baikonur cosmodrome, has a weight at full load of 2,400 tons and develops a thrust of more than 4,000 tons. - 16 m. Basically a modular installation used in the USSR. 4 accelerators are attached to the main module, each of which has 1 RD 170 engine running on liquid oxygen and kerosene. A modification of the rocket with 6 boosters and an upper stage is capable of launching a payload weighing up to 180 tons into near-Earth orbit, delivering a load of 32 tons to the Moon and 27 tons to Venus or Mars.
Flight range record among solar-powered research vehicles:
The Stardust space probe has set a kind of flight distance record among all solar-powered research vehicles - it is currently at a distance of 407 million kilometers from the Sun. The main purpose of the automatic apparatus is to approach the comet and collect dust.
The first self-propelled vehicle on extraterrestrial space objects:
The first self-propelled vehicle designed to work on other planets and their satellites in automatic mode is the Soviet Lunokhod 1 (weight - 756 kg, length with open lid - 4.42 m, width - 2.15 m, height - 1, 92 m), delivered to the Moon by the Luna 17 spacecraft and started moving in the Sea of Rains on command from the Earth on November 17, 1970. In total, it traveled 10 km 540 m, overcoming elevations up to 30 °, until it stopped on October 4, 1971. , having worked 301 days 6 h 37 min. The cessation of work was caused by the depletion of the resources of its isotopic heat source "Lunokhod-1" examined in detail the lunar surface with an area of 80 thousand m2, transmitted to Earth more than 20 thousand of its photographs and 200 telepanoramas.
Record speed and range of movement on the moon:
The record for the speed and range of movement on the moon was set by the American wheeled lunar rover Rover, delivered there by the Apollo 16 spacecraft. He developed a speed of 18 km / h down the slope and traveled a distance of 33.8 km.
Most Expensive Space Project:
The total cost of the US human spaceflight program, including the latest Apollo 17 mission to the moon, was about $25,541,400,000. The first 15 years of the USSR space program, from 1958 to September 1973, according to Western estimates, cost $45 billion. billion dollars