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You know how you can use a planets gravity to speed up. How exactly would you calculate the G force and speed you would gain when say using this effect on Jupiter? Wouldn't you use centripetal acceleration?
Though the maximal direction change in the planet's frame may be no direction change in the external frame.K^2 said:You can't get a fly-by boost without changing direction.
K^2 said:How? I think I might need a picture, or a detailed explanation for that one.
By the way, the formula I derived above assumes initial velocity to be collinear with planet's. It might have to be a 2-angle formula. I'll have to think about it a bit more.
This bears repeating. Gs experienced are zero.cesiumfrog said:G-force: zero. Because the projectile stays in gravitational free-fall.
Hmm... Alright, I did not consider situation where planet overtakes the probe. That's an interesting way of making it work. Thank you.Janus said:Imagine you are looking "down" at the solar system. You have a planet moving in its orbit to the "left" at 10 km/sec. You have launched a probe from an inner planet so that it arrives at its perigee just a little ahead of the planet and traveling at 3 km/sec. From our viewpoint, both probe and planet are moving to the left. The probe is placed at just the right distance from the planet that it takes a parabolic orbit around it. From the perspective of the Planet, the probe falls in going left to right with a starting velocity of 7 km/sec, whips around the planet and ends up going 7 km/sec right to left when it reaches its starting distance again.
From our viewpoint, the probe ends up with a velocity of 10 +7 = 17 km/sec moving to the left. It has gained 14 km/sec without a net change in direction.
K^2 said:Hmm... Alright, I did not consider situation where planet overtakes the probe. That's an interesting way of making it work. Thank you.
Though, the maximum change still seems to be when the probe does a 180° in the system fixed to the star. Simple change of the initial probe direction in the above yields 23km/s.
Could you explain what you mean? I would have thought that if a planet is "in orbit", then anything at the same place moving in the same direction with only a third of that planet's speed cannot already have escape velocity.K^2 said:Though, in Janus' example, the object is already past escape velocity for the star after the fly-by (Virial thrm) so I'm not sure there is even a point.
The slingshot effect, also known as the gravitational assist or the gravity assist, is a maneuver used by spacecraft to gain speed and change direction by utilizing the gravitational pull of a planet or other celestial body.
The G force in the slingshot effect is calculated using the equation F = m * a, where F is the force, m is the mass of the spacecraft, and a is the acceleration. The acceleration is calculated by taking into account the initial velocity of the spacecraft, the gravitational force of the planet, and the angle of the spacecraft's trajectory.
The G forces experienced in the slingshot effect are affected by several factors, including the mass of the spacecraft, the velocity and gravitational force of the planet, and the angle of the spacecraft's trajectory. The speed and direction of the spacecraft before and after the maneuver also play a role in determining the G forces.
To predict the G forces in a slingshot maneuver, one can use mathematical equations and simulations that take into account the various factors mentioned previously. These calculations can help determine the maximum G forces that will be experienced by the spacecraft during the maneuver.
Yes, there are potential risks associated with high G forces in the slingshot effect. These include structural damage to the spacecraft, potential harm to any living organisms on board, and a decrease in the accuracy of the spacecraft's instruments. It is important for engineers to carefully calculate and monitor the G forces during a slingshot maneuver to minimize these risks.