Bob Schroeck Wrote:Depends on whether he's in atmosphere or not. V&V flight rules say that if you can make at least Mach 1 in atmosphere, then when you get out of the atmosphere you can "shift gears" and the Mach number becomes a multiplier of c instead. So, with "I'm a Pioneer", he goes Mach 6 in atmosphere, and 6c in space. As Doug notes, though, 6c for 3 or 4 minutes isn't very useful.It's enough to get to Luna, drop off an instrument package, and come back... NASA would love this song.
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Rob Kelk
"Governments have no right to question the loyalty of those who oppose
them. Adversaries remain citizens of the same state, common subjects of
the same sovereign, servants of the same law."
- Michael Ignatieff, addressing Stanford University in 2012