Question

At full speed, how long would it take a space shuttle to reach the moon?

Answer 1

13 hours and 39 minutes

Explanation:

The Space Shuttle never went to the Moon, and it did not have enough fuel on board to make the trip, nor could it survive the extra stress of reentry at the higher speeds necessary for the return trip. That being said, its top speed was rated at 17,500 miles per hour and the Moon is at an average distance from Earth of 238,855 miles, so dividing one by the other we get:

`(238855" miles")/(17500" miles per hour")= 13.64" hours"`

OR

13 hours and 39 minutes.

In case you're interested, here is an article by the Artemis Project (http://www.asi.org/) on "Why We Won't Fly a Space Shuttle to the Moon" (http://www.asi.org/adb/05/sts-to-the-moon.html)