The Guinness Book Of World Records 2000

Courage: Space Heroes Fastest Speeds Attained The record for the greatest speed at which a human being has ever traveled is 24,791 mph, achieved by the crew of the command module of Apollo 10 (Col. Thomas Stafford, CDR. Eugene Cernan, and CDR. John Young, all US) on the craft's trans-Earth return flight in May 1969. Greatest Altitude Attained by a Woman Kathryn Thornton (US) attained an altitude of 375 miles after an orbital engine burn on December 10, 1993, during the STS 61 Endeavour mission. Most Isolated Human Being The greatest distance that a person has ever been from a fellow human being is 2,234 miles 1,330 yd. This was experienced by command module pilot Alfred Worden during the US Apollo 15 lunar mission, which lasted from July 30 to August 1, 1971. Fellow astronauts David Scott and James Irwin were at Hadley Base exploring the moon's surface. Most Experienced Space Traveler Russian doctor Valeriy Poliyakov clocked up 678 days 16 hr. 33 min. 16 sec. during two space missions. Most People in Space at Once On March 14, 1995, a record 13 people were in space at the same time: seven Americans aboard the US STS 67 Endeavour, three CIS cosmonauts aboard the Russian Mir space station, and two CIS cosmonauts and a US astronaut aboard the CIS Soyuz TM21. Most Nationalities in Space Five countries had astronauts or cosmonauts in space on July 31, 1992: four Russian cosmonauts and one Frenchman were aboard Mir, and one Swiss, one Italian, and five US astronauts were on STS 46 Atlantis. On February 22, 1996, there were four US, one Swiss, and two Italian astronauts on STS 75 Columbia and one German and four Russian cosmonauts aboard the Mir space station. Biggest Shuttle Crew Two shuttles have had a crew of eight: STS 61A Challenger, which was launched on October 30, 1995, and STS 71 Atlantis, which docked with the Mir space station on July 7, 1995. Most People Aboard a Spacecraft In June 1995, a record 10 people (four Russians and six Americans) were aboard the Mir station. Longest Lunar Mission The crew of Apollo 17 (Capt. Eugene Cernan and Dr. Harrison Hagen Schmitt, both US) were on the surface of the moon for a record 74 hr. 59 min. during a lunar mission lasting 12 days 13 hr. 51 min. (December 7 to 19, 1972). Longest Shuttle Flight Columbia's 21st mission, STS 80, began on November 19, 1996, and lasted for 17 days 15 hr. 53 min. 26 sec. (to main gear shutdown), beating its own previous record. Bad weather at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida meant that the landing had to be postponed for two days. Longest Manned Spaceflight Valeriy Poliyakov was launched to the Russian Mir space station aboard Soyuz TM18 on January 8, 1994, and landed aboard Soyuz TM20 on March 22, 1995, after a spaceflight lasting 437 days 17 hr. 58 min. 16 sec. Most Trips Around Earth by a Space Station By March 2, 1999, Mir had completed more than 75,000 trips around Earth. By the time of its scheduled landing, the station will have been in orbit for 13 years. Biggest Space Funeral The ashes of 24 space pioneers and enthusiasts, including Star Trek creator Gene Roddenberry and counterculture guru Dr. Timothy Leary, were sent into orbit in April 1997 on Spain's Pegasus rocket, at a cost of $5,000 each. They will stay in orbit for 3 1/2 to 10 years. Farthest Final Resting Place In January 1998, 1 oz. of the ashes of the celebrated geologist Dr. EGuinness World Records Editors is the author of 'The Guinness Book Of World Records 2000' with ISBN 9780553582680 and ISBN 0553582682.