Did Apollo 11 reach escape velocity?

Not quite, Apollo 11 achieved a record for the highest speed for any manned vehicle by reaching 24791 mph, but this was on their return voyage and under the gravitational influence of the Earth. read more

Not quite, Apollo 11 achieved a record for the highest speed for any manned vehicle by reaching 24,791 mph, but this was on their return voyage and under the gravitational influence of the Earth. Escape velocity is around 25,000 MPH depending on where you launch on the planet (it varies slightly). read more

The speed at which an object must travel in order to escape from the object which it is orbitting. The Apollo 11 spacecraft had to travel at least 7 miles per second (11.25 km/s) to break free of Earth's gravitational field. This speed is 32.4 times as fast as the speed of sound ('Mach 32.4"). read more

The spacecraft did not travel at 25,000mph all the way there. Escape velocity is defined as the speed you need to reach to escape with no further active propulsion from the engine. If you have a continually firing engine you can escape at any speed you like. However, fuel economy requires a big boost followed by coasting for the rest of the trip. read more