The Gravitational Slingshot Essay - 1567 Words

The Gravitational Slingshot The gravitational slingshot is a way that scientists have truly harnessed the gravitational pull of a planet by using it to launch satellites and other useful projectiles towards their desired locations. This method was developed through the use of Newtons Laws of Gravity and Keplers Laws of Planetary Motion. When these ideas of gravity and the shape of a planets orbit were brought together piece by piece, this new theory changed how a projectile traveling through space could simply cross an orbital pattern, which would in turn change the path of the moving object. The change in the path accelerates the object at a higher rate and sends it speeding off in its proper direction. The gravitational†¦show more content†¦Kepler established the Laws of Planetary Motion. The first Law states that the orbit of every planet is an ellipse with the Sun at one of the two foci. The second law states that a line joining a planet and the Sun sweeps out equal areas during equal intervals of time. And the final Law tells that the square of the orbital period of a planet is directly proportional to the cube of the semi-major axis of its orbit. Keplers Laws also come into play with the use of the gravitational slingshot, because Kepler believed that the orbit that a planet takes around another body follows an elliptical pattern, instead of traveling in a perfect circle. Of course each planet has a specific elliptical orbit, just as humans have different fingerprints to identify them. Before launching their equipment into space, each planet must have its pattern identified to ensure accurate results for the launch. This knowledge helps scientists identify where the ellipses are in relation to the paths of orbit so that they can launch satellites in the proper direct, at the proper time, with the proper velocity. Combining both of these sets of theories together has lead the way to the effect we know as the gravitational slingshot effect. Today, the gravity assist effect is used extremely often by NASA and the Air Force. It is the most fuel efficient, naturally occurring â€Å"booster† inShow MoreRelatedShort Story1289 Words   |  6 Pagesdata in Johnna’s density and gravitational force data from his space telescope. I did the calculation. It’s coming right towards us.† â€Å"What! How!?† â€Å"This object is denser and bigger that we thought and based on the calculations of Jupiter’s gravitational pull and the density of the object†¦.It is heading towards us.† â€Å"Shit!. How much time do we have to stop it?† â€Å"Umm†¦.the object already exited Jupiter’s gravitational field and its gravitational pull has made it slingshot towards us faster than beforeRead MoreRelativity Essay1956 Words   |  8 Pages Picture two cars, traveling in the same direction at the same rate, Car A’s driver has a slingshot while Car B’s driver has a laser pointer. At the exact same instant both fire in the direction of travel. If you were to measure the speed of the projectile that was fired from the slingshot it would measure v+v’ where v= the velocity of the car and v’= the velocity the projectile would have if the slingshot were at rest relative to the observer. However this is not the same for the beam of light firedRead MoreSolar System Formation Essay1857 Words   |  8 Pageswith the area of higher mass at the center. Due to the inverse square law of gravity, the gravitational pull of the center mass only increased as the radius of the nebula shrank. The small er the nebula became the more dense and hot the center turned. Three distinct things happened as the nebula decreased in size: One, Due to the properties of conservation of energy, as the cloud shrunk the gravitational potential energy of the particles within transformed into thermal energy; two, due to conservationRead MoreLeadership on Apollo 13 Essays749 Words   |  3 Pagesso-called explosion sent Apollo 13 spinning away from the Earth at 2,000 miles per hour, 75 percent of the way to the moon. In order to get the astronauts back to the Earths atmosphere would be to utilize the moons gravitational pull and send them back towards home, like a slingshot. However, this procedure would require three days, and this demanded more oxygen and electricity than the crew had available to them. Eugene Gene Kranz, head of this flight mission, although looking on in horrorRead MoreEssay on Human Factors in Long-Duration Spaceflight1162 Words   |  5 Pagesfactors challenges the crew will face, describe why they are so dangerous, and finally, iden tify ways to mitigate these challenges. The first challenge in a long-duration spaceflight is almost immediately apparent after lift-off, leaving the gravitational pull of Earth, and entering a micro gravity environment. Weightlessness can have several different impacts on the human body. Astronauts who orbit the Earth on the International Space Station (ISS) already experience these effects, and thoseRead MorePhysics Of Kicking A Soccer Ball1353 Words   |  6 Pagessequence . The soccer ball won t ricochet much, yet the tennis ball will get the active vitality from both itself and the soccer ball and will blast upwards. This slingshot impact is even utilized by researchers to build the pace of satellites by having them just about slam into a major planet – utilizing the planet s gravitational draw. Does Size/Weight Matter When Striking a Ball It is normally imagined that the bigger or taller a soccer player is, the harder they will kick. This is most certainlyRead MoreMeteors8010 Words   |  33 Pagesa dense belt of such asteroids outside the orbit of the planet Mars, called the Asteroid Belt. Asteroids are huge in size and their lengths can number to kilometers! Once in a while, small pieces of rock or dust, come into range of Earths gravitational pull and fall on Earth as shooting stars. An asteroid dislodged from its trajectory and falling on Earth is also called a meteorite. However, an asteroid being huge in size, causes a cataclysmic explosion on Earth on impact. Origin Meteor andRead MoreMovie Review : Apollo 132667 Words   |  11 PagesMission Control was split on what to do. Some thought it would be best to turn around immediately, while others thought this was too risky because the engines were likely damages, and that they should instead go around the moon using the gravitational pull to slingshot the LEM to Earth. However, there were problems with this approach also, the LEM was built to land on the moon with two men inside it, not support three men for an extended period of time. It was eventually decided that the best route would