Cruising Speed of Mars Phoenix??

[robnissen]

Is the 74,000 mph speed listed below in an SDC article correct? It was my understanding that the fastest speed of any ship was New Horizons which is just under 50K mph AFTER a gravity assist from Jupiter. Has propulsion technology improved that much in the last few years, that we can now reach almost 75K MPH WITHOUT any gravity assist??<br /><br /><font color="yellow">Phoenix blasted off Earth aboard a Delta 2 rocket on Aug. 4 and now careens through space at 74,200 mph (33,180 meters per second)-a speed necessary to cover the 422 millions miles (679 million kilometers) between Earth and Mars by May 25, 2008.</font><br /><br />

 

[3488]

You are correct shuttle_guy. It is a heliocentric velocity.<br /><br />Andrew Brown. <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> <p><font color="#000080">"I suddenly noticed an anomaly to the left of Io, just off the rim of that world. It was extremely large with respect to the overall size of Io and crescent shaped. It seemed unbelievable that something that big had not been visible before".</font> <em><strong><font color="#000000">Linda Morabito </font></strong><font color="#800000">on discovering that the Jupiter moon Io was volcanically active. Friday 9th March 1979.</font></em></p><p><font size="1" color="#000080">http://www.launchphotography.com/</font><br /><br /><font size="1" color="#000080">http://anthmartian.googlepages.com/thisislandearth</font></p><p><font size="1" color="#000080">http://web.me.com/meridianijournal</font></p> </div>

 

[3dmitzi]

Hi all,<br /><br />I'm a new member and probably won't post very much but had a question.<br /><br />Isn't anyone proposing near light or speed of light propulsion technology and is NASA working on it.<br /><br />Read where Dr. Hawkins says important for man's survival.<br /><br />I am sure NASA must be working on something just keeping it secret, I hope.<br /><br />Mitzi Sue<br /><br /><br />

 

[MeteorWayne]

Welcome to SDC.<br />Don't be shy about asking questions <img src="/images/icons/smile.gif" /><br /><br />At this point, anything near light speed travel is completely impossible.<br /><br />Using current technology, even 1/10 light speed is decades away.<br /><br />I'll have to look up what I calculated for New Horizons, but it's WAAAAAAY below that speed, and that's the fastest craft we've ever sent out from the sun.<br /><br />Wayne <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> <p><font color="#000080"><em><font color="#000000">But the Krell forgot one thing John. Monsters. Monsters from the Id.</font></em> </font></p><p><font color="#000080">I really, really, really, really miss the "first unread post" function</font><font color="#000080"> </font></p> </div>

 

[h2ouniverse]

New Horizons speed is about 3AU/yr, i.e. about 15 km/s =c/20000.

 

[robnissen]

<font color="yellow">New Horizons speed is about 3AU/yr, i.e. about 15 km/s</font><br /><br />After its gravity assist from Jupiter, NH is now traveling about 50,000 mph, which is about 14 miles/sec or about 23 km/s.

 

[3488]

AFAIK, the maximum for New Horizons was 83,775 KPH / 52,067 MPH. <br /><br />Mars Phoenix Lander will approach Mars at something like 27,350 KPH / 17,000 MPH. <br /><br />Andrew Brown. <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> <p><font color="#000080">"I suddenly noticed an anomaly to the left of Io, just off the rim of that world. It was extremely large with respect to the overall size of Io and crescent shaped. It seemed unbelievable that something that big had not been visible before".</font> <em><strong><font color="#000000">Linda Morabito </font></strong><font color="#800000">on discovering that the Jupiter moon Io was volcanically active. Friday 9th March 1979.</font></em></p><p><font size="1" color="#000080">http://www.launchphotography.com/</font><br /><br /><font size="1" color="#000080">http://anthmartian.googlepages.com/thisislandearth</font></p><p><font size="1" color="#000080">http://web.me.com/meridianijournal</font></p> </div>

 

[h2ouniverse]

I apologize for the inaccuracy, but I am so obsessed with getting fast to the Kuiper Belt that I am just considering the averaged radial speed from now to destination. This means 8.3 years to go from r=5.2 AU to r=33 AU hence about 3.3 AU/yr.<br />When assessing technological abilities however, I agree that we shall indeed take into account the tangential component as well, and also the instant speed before the Sun's gravity gradually slows it down... Sorry for that coarse approximation!<br /><br />Regards.<br />