gravity assist

noun

1. the technique of using the energy of a gravitational field and the orbital velocity of a planet to change the speed and trajectory of a spacecraft.

Example Sentences

It will get a gravity assist by sling-shotting around Mars early next year, then boomerang back around Earth in late 2026 before zooming toward the gas giant and its icy, dynamic moon.

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Astronauts journeying a billion and a half miles to one of Saturn’s moons, Titan, will need a whip-around gravity assist — the “slingshot” in question — from Jupiter’s orbital velocity in order to make it all the way.

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After skimming the inner edge of the main asteroid belt, Lucy heads back toward Earth for a gravity assist in December 2024.

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After leaving Dinky, the probe will head back to Earth for a gravity assist maneuver in December 2024.

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It will skim the inner edge of the main asteroid belt before looping back toward Earth for a gravity assist that will fling it out toward the Trojans.

Read more on Los Angeles Times