List of vehicle speed records - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

Land vehicles

The land speed record is the highest speed achieved by a wheeled vehicle on land. There is no single body for validation and regulation; in practice the Category C flying start regulations are used, officiated by regional or national organizations under the auspices of the Fédération...

Category	Speed (km/h)	Speed (mph)	Vehicle	Operator	Date
Land speed record Land speed record The land speed record is the highest speed achieved by a wheeled vehicle on land. There is no single body for validation and regulation; in practice the Category C flying start regulations are used, officiated by regional or national organizations under the auspices of the Fédération...	1,228	763	ThrustSSC ThrustSSC ThrustSSC, also spelt Thrust SSC by secondary sources, is a British jet-propelled car developed by Richard Noble, Glynne Bowsher, Ron Ayers and Jeremy Bliss....	Andy Green Andy Green Wing Commander Andy D. Green OBE BA RAF is a British Royal Air Force pilot and World Land Speed Record holder.-RAF career:...	15 Oct 1997
Wheel-driven land speed record Wheel-driven land speed record The wheel-driven land speed record differs from the absolute land speed record in requiring that the vehicle be wheel-driven; thus, vehicles that use thrust from a jet engine or rocket are ineligible .Until 1963, the absolute land speed record holder was always a wheel-driven car...	737.794	458.444	Vesco Turbinator	Don Vesco	18 Oct 2001
Motorcycle land speed record Motorcycle land speed record The motorcycle land speed record is the fastest speed achieved by a motorcycle on land. It is standardized as the speed over a course of fixed length, averaged over two runs in opposite directions. These are special or modified motorcycles, distinct from the fastest production motorcycles. The...	605.697	376.363	Top Oil-Ack Attack	Rocky Robinson	25 Sep 2010
Diesel Diesel engine A diesel engine is an internal combustion engine that uses the heat of compression to initiate ignition to burn the fuel, which is injected into the combustion chamber... -powered land speed record	563.995	350.452	JCB DieselMax JCB Dieselmax The JCB Dieselmax is a diesel-engined 'Streamliner' car designed for the purpose of breaking the land speed record for a diesel-engined vehicle.The car was built for JCB...	Andy Green Andy Green Wing Commander Andy D. Green OBE BA RAF is a British Royal Air Force pilot and World Land Speed Record holder.-RAF career:...	23 Aug 2006
Electric-powered land speed record	495.140	307.666	Buckeye Bullet 2.5 Buckeye Bullet The Buckeye Bullet is the name of a series of student-built, alternative-fuel race cars created by The Ohio State University students led by Dr. Giorgio Rizzoni at the Center for Automotive Research...	Roger Schroer	24 Aug 2010
Solar-powered land speed record	88.8	55.18	Sunswift IV Sunswift The UNSW Solar Racing Team is a solar car racing team from the University of New South Wales. The team has built four cars since 1996...	Barton Mawer	07 Jan 2011
Wind-powered land speed record	202.9	126.1	Ecotricity Greenbird	Richard Jenkins Richard Jenkins (British engineer) Richard Jenkins is a 32-year-old engineer from Lymington, UK. He is known for engineering and sailing wind driven vessels on land, ice, and water. In 1999, he founded the Windjet Project while studying Mechanical Engineering at Imperial College...	26 Mar 2009

Railed vehicles

Land speed record for railed vehicles

Determination of the fastest rail vehicle in the world varies depending on the definition of "rail".Official absolute world record for conventional train is held by the French TGV...

Category	Speed (km/h)	Speed (mph)	Vehicle	Operator	Date
Unmanned railed vehicle (rocket sled Rocket sled A rocket sled is a test platform that slides along a set of rails, propelled by rockets.As its name implies, a rocket sled does not use wheels. Instead, it has sliding pads, called "slippers", which are curved around the head of the rails to prevent the sled from flying off the track... )	10,400	6,462		(unmanned)	30 Apr 2003
Manned railed vehicle (rocket sled Rocket sled A rocket sled is a test platform that slides along a set of rails, propelled by rockets.As its name implies, a rocket sled does not use wheels. Instead, it has sliding pads, called "slippers", which are curved around the head of the rails to prevent the sled from flying off the track... )	1,017	635	Sonic Wind No. 1	John Stapp John Stapp John Paul Stapp, M.D., Ph.D., Colonel, USAF was a career U.S. Air Force officer, USAF flight surgeon and pioneer in studying the effects of acceleration and deceleration forces on humans...	10 Dec 1954
Magnetic levitation train Magnetic levitation Magnetic levitation, maglev, or magnetic suspension is a method by which an object is suspended with no support other than magnetic fields...	581	361	JR-Maglev JR-Maglev JR-Maglev is a magnetic levitation train system developed by the Central Japan Railway Company and Railway Technical Research Institute . JR-Maglev MLX01 is one of the latest designs of a series of Maglev trains in development in Japan since the 1970s...	unknown	02 Dec 2003
Wheeled train Train A train is a connected series of vehicles for rail transport that move along a track to transport cargo or passengers from one place to another place. The track usually consists of two rails, but might also be a monorail or maglev guideway.Propulsion for the train is provided by a separate...	574.8	357.18	TGV TGV The TGV is France's high-speed rail service, currently operated by SNCF Voyages, the long-distance rail branch of SNCF, the French national rail operator....	Eric Pieczak	03 Apr 2007

Aircraft

Flight airspeed record

Category	Speed (km/h)	Speed (mph)	Vehicle	Pilot	Date
Rocket-powered aircraft Rocket-powered aircraft A rocket-powered aircraft or rocket plane is an aircraft that uses a rocket for propulsion, sometimes in addition to airbreathing jet engines. Rocket planes can achieve much higher speeds than similarly sized jet aircraft, but typically for at most a few minutes of powered operation, followed by a...	7,258	4,510	North American X-15 North American X-15 The North American X-15 rocket-powered aircraft/spaceplane was part of the X-series of experimental aircraft, initiated with the Bell X-1, that were made for the USAAF/USAF, NACA/NASA, and the USN. The X-15 set speed and altitude records in the early 1960s, reaching the edge of outer space and...	William J. Knight	03 Oct 1967
Unmanned air-breathing craft	12,144	7,546	NASA X-43	(unmanned)	16 Nov 2004
Manned air-breathing craft	3,530	2,194	Lockheed Lockheed Corporation The Lockheed Corporation was an American aerospace company. Lockheed was founded in 1912 and later merged with Martin Marietta to form Lockheed Martin in 1995.-Origins:... SR-71 Blackbird SR-71 Blackbird The Lockheed SR-71 "Blackbird" was an advanced, long-range, Mach 3+ strategic reconnaissance aircraft. It was developed as a black project from the Lockheed A-12 reconnaissance aircraft in the 1960s by the Lockheed Skunk Works. Clarence "Kelly" Johnson was responsible for many of the...	Eldon W. Joersz Eldon W. Joersz Major General Eldon Wayne Joersz is an American pilot, who jointly holds the World Air Speed Record.Joersz and Ltc George T. Morgan Jr. set the air speed record on July 28, 1976 in an SR-71 Blackbird at Beale Air Force Base. They went to 2,194 mph , breaking the record of Daniel Andre and Robert L...	28 Jul 1976
Propeller-driven aircraft Fastest propeller-driven aircraft A number of aircraft have claimed to be the fastest propeller-driven aircraft. This article presents the current record holders for several sub-classes of propeller-driven aircraft that hold recognized, documented speed records. Fédération Aéronautique Internationale records are the basis for this...	870	541	Tupolev Tu-114 Tupolev Tu-114 The Tupolev Tu-114 Rossiya is a turboprop-powered long-range airliner designed by the Tupolev design bureau and built in the USSR from May 1955....	Ivan Soukhomline	00 Jan 1960
Piston-engined Reciprocating engine A reciprocating engine, also often known as a piston engine, is a heat engine that uses one or more reciprocating pistons to convert pressure into a rotating motion. This article describes the common features of all types... propeller-driven aircraft	850.1	528.33	Grumman F8F Bearcat F8F Bearcat The Grumman F8F Bearcat was an American single-engine naval fighter aircraft of the 1940s. It went on to serve into the mid-20th century in the United States Navy and other air forces, and would be the company's final piston engined fighter aircraft... Rare Bear Rare Bear Rare Bear is a highly-modified Grumman F8F Bearcat that dominated the Reno Air Races for decades.-History:The Bearcat that became Rare Bear was a severely damaged wreck when discovered by Lyle Shelton in 1969. It had been abandoned next to a runway in Valparaiso, Indiana after it crashed there,... (N777L)	Lyle Shelton Lyle Shelton Lyle Shelton was an American aviator who set the world's absolute propeller-driven 3-kilometer speed record of 528.329 mph. He won ten Unlimited air races, the most of any pilot, and six national championships, second only to Darryl Greenamyer...	21 Aug 1989
Helicopter Helicopter A helicopter is a type of rotorcraft in which lift and thrust are supplied by one or more engine-driven rotors. This allows the helicopter to take off and land vertically, to hover, and to fly forwards, backwards, and laterally...	401.0	249.1	Westland Lynx 800 G-LYNX Westland Lynx The Westland Lynx is a British multi-purpose military helicopter designed and built by Westland Helicopters at its factory in Yeovil. Originally intended as a utility craft for both civil and naval usage, military interest led to the development of both battlefield and naval variants...	John Egginton	11 Aug 1986
Glider (sailplane) Glider (sailplane) A glider or sailplane is a type of glider aircraft used in the sport of gliding. Some gliders, known as motor gliders are used for gliding and soaring as well, but have engines which can, in some cases, be used for take-off or for extending a flight...	306.8	190.6	Schempp-Hirth Nimbus-4DM Schempp-Hirth Nimbus-4 The Schempp-Hirth Nimbus-4 is a family of high-performance FAI Open Class gliders designed by Klaus Holighaus and manufactured by Schempp-Hirth Flugzeugbau GmbH in Kirchheim, Germany...	Klaus Ohlmann Klaus Ohlmann Klaus Ohlmann, born 1952 in Neustadt, Germany is a German glider pilot who has established 36 world records approved by FAI. Among these is the record for a free distance flight with up to 3 turn-points by flying 3,009 km from Chapelco Airport at San Martín de los Andes in a Schempp-Hirth Nimbus 4... & Matias Garcia Mazzaro	22 Dec 2006
Human-powered aircraft Human-powered aircraft A human-powered aircraft is an aircraft powered by direct human energy and the force of gravity; the thrust provided by the human may be the only source; however, a hang glider that is partially powered by pilot power is a human-powered aircraft where the flight path can be enhanced more than if...	32	19.8	MIT Massachusetts Institute of Technology The Massachusetts Institute of Technology is a private research university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts. MIT has five schools and one college, containing a total of 32 academic departments, with a strong emphasis on scientific and technological education and research.Founded in 1861 in... Monarch B	Frank Scarabino	01 May 1984

Watercraft

Water speed record

The World Unlimited water speed record is the officially recognised fastest speed achieved by a water-borne vehicle. The current record of 511 km/h was achieved in 1978....

Category	Speed (knots)	Speed (km/h)	Speed (mph)	Vehicle	Operator	Date
Water speed record Water speed record The World Unlimited water speed record is the officially recognised fastest speed achieved by a water-borne vehicle. The current record of 511 km/h was achieved in 1978....	275.98	511.13	317.596	Spirit of Australia Spirit of Australia Spirit of Australia is a wooden speed boat built in a Sydney backyard, by Ken Warby, that broke and set the world water speed record on 8 October 1978.- The Record and Boat :...	Ken Warby Ken Warby Ken Warby is an Australian motorboat racer, who currently holds the Water speed record of 317.60 miles per hour...	08 Oct 1978
Propeller-driven water speed record	229.92	425.815	264.589	Problem Child	Dale Ishimaru	21 Apr 2006
Human-powered watercraft	18.5	34.3	21.3	Decavitator Decavitator The Decavitator is a human-powered hydrofoil that was built by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. It holds the human-powered speed record on water...	Mark Drela	27 Oct 1991
Human-powered submarine	8.035	14.9	9.2	Omer 5 Omer (submarine) Omer is the name of a series of human-powered submarines. The submarines were built by students of the École de technologie supérieure in Montreal, Quebec, for the International Submarine Races. , Omer teams hold the human-powered submarine world speed records for one-seater, two-seater, and...	É.T.S.	00 Jan 2007
Wind-powered watercraft	51.36	95.11	59.10	Hydroptère Hydroptère The Hydroptère is an experimental sailing hydrofoil designed by French yachtsman Alain Thébault. Her multihull hydrofoil design allows the sail-powered vessel to reach high speeds on water. The design is based on experience from a range of hydrofoil sailcraft that Thébault built in cooperation with...	Alain Thébault Alain Thébault Alain Thébault is a French yachtsman and skipper of l'Hydroptère.With Éric Tabarly, he participated in the conception of a multihull on hydrofoils, named l'Hydroptère, with a team of engineers, many of them from the aeronautics industry.The project started in 1975 and a model on a one-third scale...	04 Sep 2009
Underwater speed record Underwater speed record In 1968 there was an incident when a Russian November class submarine tracked an American carrier group traveling at 31 knots . This led the United States Navy to develop the Los Angeles class submarines, whose reported speed is 30-32 knots....	There is no official speed record for underwater craft, due to the secretive nature of military vessels. In 1968, a Russia Russia Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects... n November class submarine November class submarine The Project 627 class submarine was the Soviet Union's first class of nuclear-powered submarines. The North Atlantic Treaty Organization used the standard radio communication phonetic alphabet to denote submarine classes... reportedly tracked an American carrier group traveling at 31 knots (57 km/h or 36 mph). Unmanned torpedo speed claims range from 70 Spearfish torpedo The Spearfish torpedo is the heavy torpedo used by the submarines of the Royal Navy. It can be guided by wire or by autonomous active or passive sonar, and provides both anti-submarine warfare and anti-surface ship warfare capability.It replaces the unreliable Tigerfish torpedo, which was... to 200 VA-111 Shkval The VA-111 Shkval torpedo and its descendants are supercavitating torpedoes developed by the Soviet Union. They are capable of speeds in excess of 200 knots .-Design and capabilities:... knots (80 mph to 230 mph).

Spacecraft

Speed records relative to the Earth

Frame of reference

A frame of reference in physics, may refer to a coordinate system or set of axes within which to measure the position, orientation, and other properties of objects in it, or it may refer to an observational reference frame tied to the state of motion of an observer.It may also refer to both an...

records

Category	Speed (km/h)	Speed (mph)	Vehicle	Crew	Date
Manned spacecraft	39,896	24,790	Apollo 10 Apollo 10 Apollo 10 was the fourth manned mission in the American Apollo space program. It was an F type mission—its purpose was to be a "dry run" for the Apollo 11 mission, testing all of the procedures and components of a Moon landing without actually landing on the Moon itself. The mission included the...	Thomas Stafford Thomas Patten Stafford Thomas Patten Stafford is a retired American Air Force lieutenant general and former NASA astronaut. He flew aboard two Gemini space flights; and in 1969 was the commander of Apollo 10, the second manned mission to orbit the Moon and the first to fly a lunar module there.In 1975, Stafford was... , John W. Young and Eugene Cernan	26 May 1969
Earth-reentering spacecraft Atmospheric reentry Atmospheric entry is the movement of human-made or natural objects as they enter the atmosphere of a celestial body from outer space—in the case of Earth from an altitude above the Kármán Line,...	46,440	28,856	Stardust Stardust (spacecraft) Stardust is a 300-kilogram robotic space probe launched by NASA on February 7, 1999 to study the asteroid 5535 Annefrank and collect samples from the coma of comet Wild 2. The primary mission was completed January 15, 2006, when the sample return capsule returned to Earth... probe	(unmanned)	15 Jan 2006
Earth-escaping spacecraft Atmospheric escape Atmospheric escape is the loss of planetary atmospheric gases to outer space.- Thermal escape mechanisms :One classical thermal escape mechanism is Jeans escape. In a quantity of gas, the average velocity of a molecule is determined by temperature, but the velocity of individual molecules varies...	58,536	36,373	New Horizons New Horizons New Horizons is a NASA robotic spacecraft mission currently en route to the dwarf planet Pluto. It is expected to be the first spacecraft to fly by and study Pluto and its moons, Charon, Nix, Hydra and S/2011 P 1. Its estimated arrival date at the Pluto-Charon system is July 14th, 2015... probe	(unmanned)	19 Jan 2006

Speed records relative to the Sun

Category	Speed (km/h)	Speed (mph)	Vehicle	Crew	Date	References
Unmanned spacecraft Unmanned spacecraft Unmanned spacecraft are spacecraft without people on board, and probably includes unmanned resupply spacecraft, space probes, and most space observatories. A difference between robotic spacecraft and unmanned spacecraft, is that unmanned spacecraft is inclusive to non-robotic unmanned spacecraft,...	252,792	157,078	Helios 2 Helios probes Helios-A and Helios-B , were a pair of probes launched into heliocentric orbit for the purpose of studying solar processes. A joint venture of the Federal Republic of Germany and NASA, the probes were launched from the John F. Kennedy Space Center at Cape Canaveral, Florida, on Dec. 10, 1974,... probe	(unmanned)	17 Apr 1976
Sun-escaping spacecraft	61,722	38,350	Voyager 1 Voyager 1 The Voyager 1 spacecraft is a 722-kilogram space probe launched by NASA in 1977, to study the outer Solar System and eventually interstellar space. Operating for as of today , the spacecraft receives routine commands and transmits data back to the Deep Space Network. At a distance of as of... probe	(unmanned)

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