NASA's New Horizons probe launched on January 19, 2006, reaching a speed of approximately 58,536 km/h (16.26 km/s) relative to Earth shortly after launch — the fastest launch speed of any spacecraft ever sent from Earth, needed to reach Pluto within a human-scale mission timeframe (it arrived after a 9.5-year journey in 2015).
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NASA's New Horizons probe launched on January 19, 2006, reaching a speed of approximately 58,536 km/h (16.26 km/s) relative to Earth shortly after launch — the fastest launch speed of any spacecraft ever sent from Earth, needed to reach Pluto within a human-scale mission timeframe (it arrived after a 9.5-year journey in 2015).
The greatest speed relative to Earth achieved by any spacecraft at launch — distinct from a spacecraft's peak speed reached later during its mission (such as via a close solar approach), which the Registry tracks as a separate record.
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Permanent ID limitsregistry.com/limits/LR-FASTEST-SPACECRAFT-LAUNCH-SPEED
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Limits Registry. LR-FASTEST-SPACECRAFT-LAUNCH-SPEED. Fastest spacecraft launch speed. 2026.