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Author
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Topic: Apollo 10: Fastest recorded speed, why?
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Rick Teklits
Member Posts: 21
From: Yardville, NJ USA
Registered: Dec 2010
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posted 02-18-2011 05:43 PM
   
Does anyone know why Apollo 10 recorded the fastest speed? Was there a longer burn out of lunar orbit? If so, why? Just curious. |
Blackarrow
Member Posts: 3160
From: Belfast, United Kingdom
Registered: Feb 2002
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posted 02-18-2011 08:20 PM
Nine Apollo spacecraft returned from the Moon (eight if you exclude the special case of Apollo 13). One of them obviously had to be fastest. It was Apollo 10. |
Starfighter1
Member Posts: 97
From:
Registered: Feb 2007
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posted 02-18-2011 08:27 PM
What was the exact speed in mph? Where can we find the reference or link? |
Aztecdoug
Member Posts: 1405
From: Huntington Beach
Registered: Feb 2000
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posted 02-18-2011 08:48 PM
I personally asked this very question of John Young once at a public event a few years back in Newport Beach CA. He really didn't have an answer. |
SpaceAholic
Member Posts: 4494
From: Sierra Vista, Arizona
Registered: Nov 1999
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posted 02-18-2011 09:13 PM
quote:
Originally posted by Rick Teklits:
Does anyone know why Apollo 10 recorded the fastest speed?
Primarily the result of the (lunar) orbital altitude upon initiation of the TEI burn coupled with burn duration.
Note that the difference in velocities between the returning spacecraft was quite small (less then a fraction of one percent). There were smaller midcourse corrections which either decreased or added delta V during the return home and accounts for some of the variance. Mass also comes into play (neither Apollo 8, 10 or 13 had rocks onboard - those were the highest return velocities). |
Rick Teklits
Member Posts: 21
From: Yardville, NJ USA
Registered: Dec 2010
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posted 02-19-2011 05:58 AM
Thank you! I always wondered about that... you know, when you look at the speeds posted, in excess of 36,000 fps, its mind boggling really. Just an engineering masterpiece that they could conceive, design, construct and fly those missions. I don't think I will ever lose the sense of awe. |
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