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1) No

2) * Escape velocity is the velocity required to counter the force of gravity, ie 'away' or 'out' from the center of the planet, opposite the force of gravity.

* Edit: Looks like I'm wrong, guess I slept that day in physics

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Escape velocity is actually the same in any direction, not just directly upward. This is true because in a two-body system, whether or not a trajectory escapes to infinity depends only on whether the sign of specific orbital energy[1] is positive or negative. Specific orbital energy is a function of kinetic energy and potential energy, but is independent of the direction of motion.

[1]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Specific_orbital_energy

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