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Concept

gravity assist

A spacecraft maneuvers near Saturn, exchanging momentum with the planet as part of a gravity assist maneuver, altering its trajectory around the Sun.

Trajectory manoeuvre in which a spacecraft alters its heliocentric velocity by flying close to a planet, exchanging momentum with the planet's motion around the Sun. The spacecraft's speed relative to the planet is unchanged, but its speed relative to the Sun rises or falls depending on the encounter geometry. The technique has been used since 1959 and underwrites essentially every modern deep-space mission.

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