How fast is a rocket passenger moving relative to the earth?

How fast is a rocket passenger moving relative to the earth?

Why would a spaceship need to “catch up” to Earth? When have we ever left one behind?

Spacecraft either orbit the Earth, or they leave. The Apollo spacecraft went from Earth orbit to lunar orbit, (which is still technically orbiting the Earth) and then came back down. At *no time* were they in any danger of being left behind. They were in Earth orbit the whole time.

All the satellites orbiting Earth are doing just that, orbiting the Earth. They aren’t going anywhere else, so there’s no need for them to “catch up.”

And every spacecraft we have sent out into the universe *isn’t coming back.* It’s a one way trip.

So there has never been a need for a spaceship to “catch up” to the Earth. Either they are already moving with the Earth, or they are leaving and not coming back.