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You are gaining (or losing) energy based on if you are traveling in the same direction at the planet or not.
If you are coming from behind (travelling in the same direction) you an falling into the gravity well for longer. Thus gaining more energy. The extra energy is based on the speed of the planet through space.
Conversely if you an coming from the front, you fall for a shorter period. You lose energy at you climb up the gravity well.
What bothers me is I often read they are using the planet’s gravity to gain speed. Whatever speed an objet may gain while entering orbit should be lost when exiting it, right ? So I guess it’s the cinetic energy of the planet that is actually fuelling the spacecraft, isn’t it ?
Yes. If the planet was stationary in space, it wouldn’t work. Approach from ‘behind’ the planet and you get a boost, approach from the ‘front’ and you hit the brakes.
What I see: level up flush
Fellow Balatro enjoyer
It’s also a shield for earth.
LMFAO
Long Mission Fling Assisted Operation
Wow
This is a sling. Bottom right corner is a catapult and uses stored energy (the elastic - sorry if wrong wording.) To me at least the idea of a sling that pivots around the user’s hand is much closer to the action of using a planet’s gravitational pull to sling a
satellitecraft onwards.You wouldn’t want to do it with a satellite and I’ve only ever heard of it being called a slingshot (which usually refers to the device pictured in the meme, likely increasing clarity) or a gravity assist.
The motion does seem to be more accurate though.
Good point! A satellite is more likely to orbit a planet monitoring things I guess? It’s been a while since I’ve played Kerbal Space Program.
Satellites are objects orbiting a planet or some other smaller object. One could argue that it is a satellite on the way though too.
I find the idea of an object like the moon doing a gravity assist around Jupiter to get to us very amusing.
Context?
Jupiter is used as a gravity assist to launch spacecraft further. This maneuver is known as a slingshot.
What worries me is that they’re stealing a little bit of Jupiter’s momentum every time. If they’re not careful it’ll fall towards the sun and we’ll have a Jupiter landing on our heads.
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Ah ok. I remember we also did this with the Moon for one if the Apollo missions
Spacecraft can use the gravitional energy from Jupiter to perform a “slingshot” maneuver, gaining significant momentum and reaching the outer solar system with less fuel.
I can’t help but infer a joke about NASAs budget.
Ironic that Goliath was defeated by a sling and now our solar system’s Goliath is a sling
