The recently launched New Horizons probe to Pluto has been advertised as the fastest object made by man, but it turns out that's not quite true...at least until it gets a gravity-assist boost from Jupiter next February. The Planetary Society Weblog contains this tidbit:
"New Horizons isn't the only thing that was just launched that is on an escape trajectory. New Horizons' spent third stage motor is, too -- and furthermore, because of that upcoming trajectory correction maneuver that will slow New Horizons by 18 meters per second, the third stage motor is moving faster than the spacecraft. "
By the way, there has been precious little in the news about New Horizons since the launch, so if you want to know how it's doing and what's up next, their weblog is the place to find out.
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