In 1911, the fastest aircraft could travel approximately 90 mph and the fastest cars could do a little more than 100 mph. One hundred years later, these numbers seem small compared to space shuttles that travel over 17,000 mph and rocket-powered cars that can break the sound barrier. Here is a look at the fastest vehicles people have engineered since–in space, in the air, on the ground and on water.
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Fastest in Space – Unmanned Top Speed: 153,800 mph To escape Earth's gravitational pull, an object must be traveling around 25,000 mph. Accordingly, planetary probes are the fastest objects humankind has engineered. In 1976, the Helios 2 orbiter became the fastest manmade object, traveling twice the speed of Earth's orbit around the sun. The orbiter's speed was caused not by its own thrust but by an eccentric orbit caused by the mass of the sun. In its closest approach, the orbiter was 26 million miles away from the star–10 million miles closer than the planet Mercury. At its top speed, the Helios 2 was traveling 42.7 miles every second.
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Fastest in Space – Unmanned Top Speed: 107,000 mph In 2003, the Galileo mission to study Jupiter and its moons had already been extended several years and the space probe was running out of propellant. Probes to distant planets use nuclear thermal generators, which keep them operational for decades, but eventually wear out, says Roger Launius, an expert on U.S. spaceflight. "Those are good for 30, 40 maybe 50 years, but they have a half-life," he says. "Over the course of a lengthy mission, you find you have less and less power to supply whatever systems are onboard." Instead of risking a crash into Europa, Jupiter's ice-covered moon, the Galileo probe took a controlled dive into the gas giant. Jupiter has a gravitational pull that is 2.5 times the gravitational pull of Earth, and as Galileo entered its atmosphere, it accelerated to a speed of 107,000 mph. At that speed, a trip from the Earth to the Moon would take 2.2 hours.
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Fastest in Space – Manned Top Speed: 24,816 mph The astronauts of Apollo 10 did not get to land on the moon; however, they hold a distinction of their own–fastest humans. After completing a dry-run test flight around the lunar surface, the Apollo 10 command module re-entered Earth's atmosphere faster than any other manned vehicle, completing the trip in 54 hours. In comparison, Apollo 11's trans-Earth voyage took 59 hours.
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Fastest in the Air Top Speed: 7000 mph This experimental jet-powered aircraft can fly at almost 10 times the speed of sound. After being transported to 100,000 feet by a rocket booster, the X43 detaches and its scramjet engine is ignited. Unlike a rocket, which is powered by fuel that requires a bulky oxidizer, a scramjet obtains its thrust by mixing fuel with supersonic air. Just 10 seconds of thrust from the engine accelerates the unmanned plane to Mach 9.2, or two miles per second. NASA hopes this technology can one day make travel to low Earth orbit more affordable.
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North American X-15
Fastest in the Air Top Speed: 4520 mph In 1967, this experimental rocket-powered space plane reached the limits of the atmosphere and traveled at Mach 6.7. After being brought to 40,000 feet by a B-52, the manned rocket-plane detached and soared to 350,000 feet (67 miles!) and became the first winged aircraft to fly at hypersonic (greater than Mach 5) speeds. Data from its flights helped scientists design future hypersonic vehicles such as the space shuttle.
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Fastest in the Air Top Speed: 2200-plus mph Now discontinued, the SR-71 Blackbird could cruise at Mach 3 for over 3000 miles. "It was the pre-eminent reconnaissance aircraft for decades," says Bob Van der Linden, chairman of aeronautics at the National Air and Space Museum. But the planes became too costly to maintain, and new technologies have made aerial reconnaissance easier. Today, the military relies more on satellite imaging for reconnaissance, but satellites have their drawbacks. "Satellites have a set course, they fly over certain times of day, and sometimes the bad guys know that; they won't move anything when they know a satellite is overhead," Van der Linden says. "The SR-71 can pop up at any time, especially in trouble areas." When it flew, the Blackbird could traverse North America in about an hour and a half.
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Fastest on The Ground – Unmanned Top Speed: 6416 mph In 2003, this rocket-powered sled became the fastest vehicle on land, accelerating to Mach 8.5 over the course of a 3-mile track. The sled was propelled by a four-stage rocket and for the first 11,000 feet the track was enclosed in a tube filled with helium, which reduced friction. The sled's acceleration maxed out at 157 g's–52 times greater than the g-forces experienced during a space shuttle launch. The speed was impressive, but breaking a record was not the Air Force's primary goal. Instead, the test was devised as a simulation of a warhead intercepting an enemy missile.
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Fastest on The Ground – Manned Top Speed: 771 Mph During a run in the Black Rock Desert in 1997, this jet car became the first automobile to break through the sound barrier. Two Rolls Royce Spey jet engines powered the 10-ton vehicle and produced 50,000 pounds of thrust and 110,000 hp–91 times more horsepower than the fastest street-legal car. It accelerated from 0 to 600 in 16 seconds and subjected its driver to 3 g's. Most wheels would explode under these conditions, so engineers custom designed aluminum-alloy wheels that were tested to spin at 9500 rpm. Currently, a new car, the Bloodhound SSC, is being created with the goal of breaking the land speed record. It is designed to accelerate to 1000 mph.
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Fastest on The Ground - Manned Top Speed: 650.88 mph The predecessor to the Thrust SSC, the Thrust 2 held the speed record from 1982 to 1997. Powered by one Rolls-Royce Avon jet, the car broke the previous record of 608 mph, but fell short of the 761 mph needed to break the sound barrier. Richard Noble, who piloted the car, was not satisfied and began working on the ThrustSSC. Car speed records are set by taking the average speed of two runs. Although Noble reached a top speed of 650 mph, his first record was set at 633.468 mph.
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Sonic Wind 1
Fastest on The Ground - Manned Top Speed: 632 mph In 1962, John Stapp, "the fastest man alive," manned this rocket sled, which accelerated from 0 to 632 mph in just 5 seconds, subjecting Stapp to a force of 20 g's–more g forces than any other human before him. As the sled decelerated from 632 to 0 in 1.4 seconds, Stapp felt the pressure of a record-breaking 46.2 g's. After the test, he was rushed to the hospital. Although his eyes were bloodshot, he sustained no serious injuries. The test helped the military design safer ejection seats and harnesses for its high-speed vehicles.
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Spirit of Australia
Fastest in The Water Top Speed: 317.6 mph Setting speed records in the water is an extremely dangerous endeavor–a simple wake or swell can result in tragedy. Ken Darby set the record in 1978 with this 6000-hp homebuilt watercraft; since then, many people have died in attempts to break it. However, the danger has not stopped Darby from pushing to break his own record–he is currently working on a new 9000-hp craft.
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Rain X Challenger
Fastest in The Water Top Speed: 300 mph The second-fastest boat in history is marred by tragedy. In 1989, Craig Arfons tried to beat the record of The Spirit of Australia when his carbon-fiber boat flipped over and killed him. The boat, propelled by a 5500-hp jet engine, was destroyed upon impact in the water. Arfons had an emergency parachute onboard, but it failed to deploy.
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