3 ms·
That's correct. And because the orbit forces it to slowly overtake the comet, it needs to slow down periodically to stay at 100km of it.
by FranOntanaya 12y ago
That's correct. And because the orbit forces it to slowly overtake the comet, it needs to slow down periodically to stay at 100km of it.
- exDM69 12y ago> That's correct. And because the orbit forces it to slowly overtake the comet, it needs to slow down periodically to stay at 100km of it. No, not quite. Remember, we're talking about a three body problem here so any intuition from two body dynamics doesn't really hold. The spacecraft travels 100km closer to the sun than the comet, but that's a very small fraction of the total distance. When you factor in the small acceleration from the comet body, we can no longer think of the orbit as being a slightly smaller orbit with a shorter period (and thus overtaking the comet). My best understanding is that the triangular "orbit" is to measure the mass and gravitational properties of the comet in order to orbit as well as scientific goals.