Yes, potentially the cap holds the airspeed record, but also only for a fraction of a second until it turned into a cloud of superheated, much slower gas.

Alternatively, if their calculations are wrong and it actually *did* make it into space (only 1.5 seconds or so to the Karman line at that speed!) having multiple times escape velocity, its airspeed has been lower than Parker's for decades now.

"At closest approach to the Sun, while the front of Parker Solar Probe' solar shield faces temperatures approaching 2,600° Fahrenheit, or 1,400° Celsius, the spacecraft's payload will be near room temperature, at about 85° F."

https://parkersolarprobe.jhuapl.edu/The ... /index.php

The heat shield protects the spacecraft. If they lose orientation, the spacecraft will be destroyed in seconds.

More about the thermal design of the probe:

https://spectrum.ieee.org/how-the-parke ... th-the-sun

Mike C.

The Parker probe has significantly less indicated airspeed and thus a lot less drag.

I doubt its KIAS is over 1 knot. But it isn't zero.

Mike C.

Does the location of the clock matter? Is the speed as measured on the probe different than what we observe with our clock on earth? After all, that probe is darn close to a stong gravitational field.

Bill, seems like a reasonable order-of-magnitude estimate, but 0.001 knots is about 6 feet/hour, or 0.00167 fps or 0.51mm/sec.

Dick

I thought it actually reached orbit and became the first manmade satellite.

No way that is possible. Orbit requires up and then sideways. Just up won't do it, and just sideways won't do it. Given the projectile had no thrust capability, it can't make the trajectory work to reach orbit on a single impulse near the ground.

The supposed speed was faster than a meteorite and they burn up in the thin air of the upper atmosphere. Something near sea level will be vaporized nearly instantly.

Mike C.

defintely cool!

defintely cool!