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The tidal forces would be no different than using jupiter for an assist. You would still have the probe pass by at several thousand, several tens of thousands
by sandworm101 2y ago
The tidal forces would be no different than using jupiter for an assist. You would still have the probe pass by at several thousand, several tens of thousands of kilometers. A close-in gravity assist may look better on paper, but the practicalities and speeds of such a thing are risky. One small error and the mission would be over quick, launched out at a radically incorrect trajectory.
- tsimionescu 2y agoIsn't the whole advantage that you could get much closer to the center of mass of the black hole compared to a planet, thus gaining much more kinetic energy per unit thrust, but also risking higher tidal forces?
- sandworm101 2y agoOn paper yes, but doing so also reduces the time for the burn. Probes have very low-thrust engines. Even during a jupiter slingshot they barely have time to accellerate much on thier own. Often they do not bother, relying totally upon the grav assist to accellerate. The danger too of a closer approach is that something gets miscalculated. Get too close and an inevitable tiny misalignment will throw you onto a wild unwanted trajectory. There is no gps out there. Knowing exactly where and how a probe is moving isnt easy.