gravity-assist
Orbital speed boost
Gravity-assist is a spaceflight technique that uses a planet's gravitational field to alter a spacecraft's speed and trajectory.
As a craft swings around a celestial body, it gains or loses momentum relative to the Sun without expending fuel: The Voyager probes used gravity-assist maneuvers to reach the outer planets.
Also called a gravitational slingshot.
Close pass without landing
- swingbyBrief casual visit
- trajectoryPath of moving object
- slingshotForked projectile launcher
- course correctionMid-journey directional fix
navigation · insertion · rendezvous · burn · perigee · escape · transfer · aerobraking
NASA interstellar mission name
- CassiniSaturn mission namesake
- GalileoRenaissance astronomer from Italy
- New HorizonsUndiscovered opportunities ahead
- PioneerAudio-visual equipment manufacturer
Juno · Ulysses · Rosetta · MESSENGER · probe · deep space · space exploration · interplanetary
Directed rate of motion
- momentumProduct of mass, velocity
- accelerationRate velocity changes
- delta-vSpacecraft maneuver measurement
- escape velocitySpeed to overcome gravity
kinetic energy · centripetal force · angular momentum · mass · Newtonian mechanics · perturbation · eccentricity · inclination
Largest solar system planet
solar system · planetary science · gas giant · inner planets · outer planets · orbital path
flyby
Close pass without landing
- swingbyBrief casual visit
- trajectoryPath of moving object
- slingshotForked projectile launcher
course correction · navigation · insertion · rendezvous · burn · perigee · escape · transfer · aerobraking · orbital mechanics
Voyager
NASA interstellar mission name
- CassiniSaturn mission namesake
- GalileoRenaissance astronomer from Italy
- New HorizonsUndiscovered opportunities ahead
Pioneer · Juno · Ulysses · Rosetta · MESSENGER · probe · deep space · space exploration · interplanetary · mission planning
velocity
Directed rate of motion
- momentumProduct of mass, velocity
- accelerationRate velocity changes
- delta-vSpacecraft maneuver measurement
escape velocity · kinetic energy · centripetal force · angular momentum · mass · Newtonian mechanics · perturbation · eccentricity · inclination · speed boost
Jupiter
Largest solar system planet
Mars · solar system · planetary science · gas giant · inner planets · outer planets · orbital path
grave, gravity, assist, assistant, assistance, gravitate, gravitation, gravitating, antigravity