Oberth Effect Near Sag A*

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SUMMARY

The discussion centers on the feasibility of achieving a final velocity of 0.95c for a Falcon 9-sized spacecraft using the Oberth effect near Sagittarius A* (Sag A*). With an initial delta-v of 0.33c and 0.1c already consumed, calculations indicate that a periapsis burn of 0.23c does not yield sufficient velocity gain to reach the desired speed. The analysis utilizes equations from "Orbits in Strongly Curved Space-time" and MTW's "Gravitation," concluding that while the Oberth effect provides a boost, it is inadequate for the target velocity. The optimal periapsis altitude for maximum gain was found to be at r = 3M.

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  • #31
PeterDonis said:
Heuristically, at periapsis it's going to slightly squeeze the ship, since the ship will be oriented tangentially.
"Slightly" depends on ship size and black hole size, so if @Devin-M is considering a flight path via other BHs then that might affect his thinking. That's the only point I was making.
 
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  • #32
Ibix said:
E is the kinetic energy at infinity
kinetic energy per Kg?
 
  • #33
Devin-M said:
kinetic energy per Kg?
My apologies - it's the total energy per kilogram.

I'll edit my post above.
 
  • #34
Sorry it’s taken me so long. I’m planning to run the numbers with a 5 solar mass black hole and a 1 solar mass black hole - in a conversation I had with Grok, it told me that the 5 solar mass BH could give 0.95c and the solar mass black hole could give 0.99c at a large distance in this scenario (with a .1c approach speed and 0.23c burn). Does that seem reasonable? I’m very curious if when I run the numbers that will indeed be the case.
 
  • #35
Devin-M said:
in a conversation I had with Grok, it told me that the 5 solar mass BH could give 0.95c and the solar mass black hole could give 0.99c at a large distance in this scenario (with a .1c approach speed and 0.23c burn). Does that seem reasonable?
Not even close, based on calculations posted earlier in this thread.
 
  • #36
Devin-M said:
I’m planning to run the numbers with a 5 solar mass black hole and a 1 solar mass black hole
Note that in the calculations posted earlier in the thread, the mass of the central object (whether it's a black hole or the planet Jupiter or anything in between) doesn't matter in itself. All that matters is the ratio ##M / r## at periapsis.
 

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