How far have astronauts been in space?
I just listened to a podcast where it was said that astronauts have only been at most 400 miles from Earth (except for the moon of course in the '60s/'70s). Is this true?
I know that the ISS orbits at a paltry ~250 miles so lets ignore that!
Have they not visited geostationary orbit at 22-23k miles to maintain or deploy satellites?
orbit astronauts
edited 2 hours ago
uhoh
34.5k17118430
asked 3 hours ago
Richard
1555
add a comment |
I just listened to a podcast where it was said that astronauts have only been at most 400 miles from Earth (except for the moon of course in the '60s/'70s). Is this true?
I know that the ISS orbits at a paltry ~250 miles so lets ignore that!
Have they not visited geostationary orbit at 22-23k miles to maintain or deploy satellites?
orbit astronauts
edited 2 hours ago
uhoh
34.5k17118430
asked 3 hours ago
Richard
1555
1
Can you remember what podcast it was?
– uhoh
2 hours ago
1
A Joe Rogan show IIRC
– Richard
1 hour ago
add a comment |
I just listened to a podcast where it was said that astronauts have only been at most 400 miles from Earth (except for the moon of course in the '60s/'70s). Is this true?
I know that the ISS orbits at a paltry ~250 miles so lets ignore that!
Have they not visited geostationary orbit at 22-23k miles to maintain or deploy satellites?
orbit astronauts
edited 2 hours ago
uhoh
34.5k17118430
asked 3 hours ago
Richard
1555
I just listened to a podcast where it was said that astronauts have only been at most 400 miles from Earth (except for the moon of course in the '60s/'70s). Is this true?
I know that the ISS orbits at a paltry ~250 miles so lets ignore that!
Have they not visited geostationary orbit at 22-23k miles to maintain or deploy satellites?
orbit astronauts
orbit astronauts
edited 2 hours ago
uhoh
34.5k17118430
asked 3 hours ago
Richard
1555
edited 2 hours ago
uhoh
34.5k17118430
asked 3 hours ago
Richard
1555
edited 2 hours ago
uhoh
34.5k17118430
edited 2 hours ago
uhoh
34.5k17118430
edited 2 hours ago
uhoh
34.5k17118430
34.5k17118430
asked 3 hours ago
Richard
1555
asked 3 hours ago
Richard
1555
asked 3 hours ago
Richard
1555
1555
1
Can you remember what podcast it was?
– uhoh
2 hours ago
1
A Joe Rogan show IIRC
– Richard
1 hour ago
add a comment |
1
Can you remember what podcast it was?
– uhoh
2 hours ago
1
A Joe Rogan show IIRC
– Richard
1 hour ago
1
1
Can you remember what podcast it was?
– uhoh
2 hours ago
Can you remember what podcast it was?
– uhoh
2 hours ago
1
1
A Joe Rogan show IIRC
– Richard
1 hour ago
A Joe Rogan show IIRC
– Richard
1 hour ago
add a comment |
2 Answers
2
active
oldest
votes
- Twelve Apollo astronauts landed on and walked on the Moon
- Twelve more Apollo astronauts orbited the Moon without landing
So that's twenty-four individuals that count towards "(except for the moon of course in the '60s/'70s)"
All other known crewed missions have been in "paltry" LEO (low Earth orbit) as you call it.
You'd have to check each space station's maximum altitude to begin to start to look for maximum astronaut altitude excluding Apollo astronauts, but I don't think it could possibly be farther than 500 km or so.
Update: Wikipedia sez:
Highest altitude for manned non-lunar mission
Gemini 11 crew Charles Conrad, Jr. and Richard F. Gordon, Jr. fired their Agena Target Vehicle rocket engine on 14 September 1966, at 40 hours 30 minutes after liftoff and achieved a record apogee altitude of 739.2 nautical miles (1,369.0 km).
Wow!
But nothing even close to MEO or GEO. No reason at all (at least in my opinion and that of lots of others). Instead the focus is on robotic missions to "do stuff" out there in higher orbits. Robots can run for a long time, don't need air or water or bathroom breaks or space suits or sleep... mostly at least.
There was the planned Asteroid Redirect mission that early on had astronauts going into deep space, beyond the Moon, but you can read more about what happened to that in answers to What ever happened to the Asteroid Redirect Mission?.
answered 2 hours ago
uhoh
34.5k17118430
add a comment |
Have they not visited geostationary orbit at 22-23k miles to maintain or deploy satellites?
No. It takes a fair amount of energy to get from LEO to GEO. The only spacecraft capable of bringing astronauts plus a satellite to space was the Space Shuttle, and it didn't have enough delta-V to get to GEO. It would deploy its satellite in LEO along with a kick stage, and the kick stage would bring the satellite to GEO.
Between LEO and GEO are the Van Allen belts, which have high radiation levels so you don't want to spend too long there. This limits manned missions to LEO, mostly.
answered 1 hour ago
Hobbes
85.9k2243388
add a comment |
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2 Answers
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active
oldest
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2 Answers
2
active
oldest
votes
active
oldest
votes
active
oldest
votes
- Twelve Apollo astronauts landed on and walked on the Moon
- Twelve more Apollo astronauts orbited the Moon without landing
So that's twenty-four individuals that count towards "(except for the moon of course in the '60s/'70s)"
All other known crewed missions have been in "paltry" LEO (low Earth orbit) as you call it.
You'd have to check each space station's maximum altitude to begin to start to look for maximum astronaut altitude excluding Apollo astronauts, but I don't think it could possibly be farther than 500 km or so.
Update: Wikipedia sez:
Highest altitude for manned non-lunar mission
Gemini 11 crew Charles Conrad, Jr. and Richard F. Gordon, Jr. fired their Agena Target Vehicle rocket engine on 14 September 1966, at 40 hours 30 minutes after liftoff and achieved a record apogee altitude of 739.2 nautical miles (1,369.0 km).
Wow!
But nothing even close to MEO or GEO. No reason at all (at least in my opinion and that of lots of others). Instead the focus is on robotic missions to "do stuff" out there in higher orbits. Robots can run for a long time, don't need air or water or bathroom breaks or space suits or sleep... mostly at least.
There was the planned Asteroid Redirect mission that early on had astronauts going into deep space, beyond the Moon, but you can read more about what happened to that in answers to What ever happened to the Asteroid Redirect Mission?.
answered 2 hours ago
uhoh
34.5k17118430
add a comment |
- Twelve Apollo astronauts landed on and walked on the Moon
- Twelve more Apollo astronauts orbited the Moon without landing
So that's twenty-four individuals that count towards "(except for the moon of course in the '60s/'70s)"
All other known crewed missions have been in "paltry" LEO (low Earth orbit) as you call it.
You'd have to check each space station's maximum altitude to begin to start to look for maximum astronaut altitude excluding Apollo astronauts, but I don't think it could possibly be farther than 500 km or so.
Update: Wikipedia sez:
Highest altitude for manned non-lunar mission
Gemini 11 crew Charles Conrad, Jr. and Richard F. Gordon, Jr. fired their Agena Target Vehicle rocket engine on 14 September 1966, at 40 hours 30 minutes after liftoff and achieved a record apogee altitude of 739.2 nautical miles (1,369.0 km).
Wow!
But nothing even close to MEO or GEO. No reason at all (at least in my opinion and that of lots of others). Instead the focus is on robotic missions to "do stuff" out there in higher orbits. Robots can run for a long time, don't need air or water or bathroom breaks or space suits or sleep... mostly at least.
There was the planned Asteroid Redirect mission that early on had astronauts going into deep space, beyond the Moon, but you can read more about what happened to that in answers to What ever happened to the Asteroid Redirect Mission?.
answered 2 hours ago
uhoh
34.5k17118430
add a comment |
- Twelve Apollo astronauts landed on and walked on the Moon
- Twelve more Apollo astronauts orbited the Moon without landing
So that's twenty-four individuals that count towards "(except for the moon of course in the '60s/'70s)"
All other known crewed missions have been in "paltry" LEO (low Earth orbit) as you call it.
You'd have to check each space station's maximum altitude to begin to start to look for maximum astronaut altitude excluding Apollo astronauts, but I don't think it could possibly be farther than 500 km or so.
Update: Wikipedia sez:
Highest altitude for manned non-lunar mission
Gemini 11 crew Charles Conrad, Jr. and Richard F. Gordon, Jr. fired their Agena Target Vehicle rocket engine on 14 September 1966, at 40 hours 30 minutes after liftoff and achieved a record apogee altitude of 739.2 nautical miles (1,369.0 km).
Wow!
But nothing even close to MEO or GEO. No reason at all (at least in my opinion and that of lots of others). Instead the focus is on robotic missions to "do stuff" out there in higher orbits. Robots can run for a long time, don't need air or water or bathroom breaks or space suits or sleep... mostly at least.
There was the planned Asteroid Redirect mission that early on had astronauts going into deep space, beyond the Moon, but you can read more about what happened to that in answers to What ever happened to the Asteroid Redirect Mission?.
answered 2 hours ago
uhoh
34.5k17118430
- Twelve Apollo astronauts landed on and walked on the Moon
- Twelve more Apollo astronauts orbited the Moon without landing
So that's twenty-four individuals that count towards "(except for the moon of course in the '60s/'70s)"
All other known crewed missions have been in "paltry" LEO (low Earth orbit) as you call it.
You'd have to check each space station's maximum altitude to begin to start to look for maximum astronaut altitude excluding Apollo astronauts, but I don't think it could possibly be farther than 500 km or so.
Update: Wikipedia sez:
Highest altitude for manned non-lunar mission
Gemini 11 crew Charles Conrad, Jr. and Richard F. Gordon, Jr. fired their Agena Target Vehicle rocket engine on 14 September 1966, at 40 hours 30 minutes after liftoff and achieved a record apogee altitude of 739.2 nautical miles (1,369.0 km).
Wow!
But nothing even close to MEO or GEO. No reason at all (at least in my opinion and that of lots of others). Instead the focus is on robotic missions to "do stuff" out there in higher orbits. Robots can run for a long time, don't need air or water or bathroom breaks or space suits or sleep... mostly at least.
There was the planned Asteroid Redirect mission that early on had astronauts going into deep space, beyond the Moon, but you can read more about what happened to that in answers to What ever happened to the Asteroid Redirect Mission?.
answered 2 hours ago
uhoh
34.5k17118430
edited 2 hours ago
answered 2 hours ago
uhoh
34.5k17118430
answered 2 hours ago
uhoh
34.5k17118430
answered 2 hours ago
uhoh
34.5k17118430
34.5k17118430
add a comment |
add a comment |
Have they not visited geostationary orbit at 22-23k miles to maintain or deploy satellites?
No. It takes a fair amount of energy to get from LEO to GEO. The only spacecraft capable of bringing astronauts plus a satellite to space was the Space Shuttle, and it didn't have enough delta-V to get to GEO. It would deploy its satellite in LEO along with a kick stage, and the kick stage would bring the satellite to GEO.
Between LEO and GEO are the Van Allen belts, which have high radiation levels so you don't want to spend too long there. This limits manned missions to LEO, mostly.
answered 1 hour ago
Hobbes
85.9k2243388
add a comment |
Have they not visited geostationary orbit at 22-23k miles to maintain or deploy satellites?
No. It takes a fair amount of energy to get from LEO to GEO. The only spacecraft capable of bringing astronauts plus a satellite to space was the Space Shuttle, and it didn't have enough delta-V to get to GEO. It would deploy its satellite in LEO along with a kick stage, and the kick stage would bring the satellite to GEO.
Between LEO and GEO are the Van Allen belts, which have high radiation levels so you don't want to spend too long there. This limits manned missions to LEO, mostly.
answered 1 hour ago
Hobbes
85.9k2243388
add a comment |
Have they not visited geostationary orbit at 22-23k miles to maintain or deploy satellites?
No. It takes a fair amount of energy to get from LEO to GEO. The only spacecraft capable of bringing astronauts plus a satellite to space was the Space Shuttle, and it didn't have enough delta-V to get to GEO. It would deploy its satellite in LEO along with a kick stage, and the kick stage would bring the satellite to GEO.
Between LEO and GEO are the Van Allen belts, which have high radiation levels so you don't want to spend too long there. This limits manned missions to LEO, mostly.
answered 1 hour ago
Hobbes
85.9k2243388
Have they not visited geostationary orbit at 22-23k miles to maintain or deploy satellites?
No. It takes a fair amount of energy to get from LEO to GEO. The only spacecraft capable of bringing astronauts plus a satellite to space was the Space Shuttle, and it didn't have enough delta-V to get to GEO. It would deploy its satellite in LEO along with a kick stage, and the kick stage would bring the satellite to GEO.
Between LEO and GEO are the Van Allen belts, which have high radiation levels so you don't want to spend too long there. This limits manned missions to LEO, mostly.
answered 1 hour ago
Hobbes
85.9k2243388
edited 1 hour ago
answered 1 hour ago
Hobbes
85.9k2243388
answered 1 hour ago
Hobbes
85.9k2243388
answered 1 hour ago
Hobbes
85.9k2243388
85.9k2243388
add a comment |
add a comment |
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1
Can you remember what podcast it was?
– uhoh
2 hours ago
1
A Joe Rogan show IIRC
– Richard
1 hour ago