4 ms·
Most of the Voyager acceleration was done by using gravity assist ("slingshot flybys" -- effectively falling toward a large mass like Jupiter and missing). As f
by bregma 2y ago
Most of the Voyager acceleration was done by using gravity assist ("slingshot flybys" -- effectively falling toward a large mass like Jupiter and missing). As far as I know gravity has not improved or become better since the 1970s.
- consp 2y agoThough calculations about gravity assists have improved and the knowledge about the application as well.
- sfn42 2y agoIt's a bit more complicated than falling and missing. Getting out of the gravity well takes the same amount of energy as you gain from falling into it, so those two things alone would be pointless. I'm not an astrophysicist but I think you have to do it in such a way that you "steal" some of the planet's orbital momentum.