Skip to main content
Glite Dictionary
gravity-assist

gravity-assist

1 7.1
A way a spacecraft uses a planet's pull to gain speed
  • noun
  • /ˈɡrævɪti əˈsɪst/
  • Specialized
translation icon : asistencia gravitacional
  • New Horizons experienced only a single gravity assist from Jupiter in 2007 to gain speed on its journey.
  • Earth gravity assist
  • Jupiter gravity assist
  • gravity assist from a planet

I want to work with the NASA on gravity assist and, you know, do this things that I like to do.

Examples

  • He'd have to slingshot the cue around both of them, just like a spacecraft picking up a gravity assist from a planet. We can do it, Charlie assured him.

    Fiction book (1994)

  • These lunar-gravity-assist methods also allow mission planners to tailor the size of the halo orbit, which is useful for some mission purposes.

    Academic text (2005)

  • If we mess up the Earth gravity assist, we die.

    The Martian (2015)

  • I want to work with the NASA on gravity assist and, you know, do this things that I like to do.

    StarTalk

  • We don't intercept with Earth at all... but we come close enough to get a gravity assist and adjust course.

    The Martian (2015)

  • Such encounters, called gravity assists, use a planet's or moon's gravity to propel a spacecraft into a different orbit, increasing its energy.

    Academic text (1992)

  • In addition, the Jupiter flyby will give New Horizons a "gravity assist" that will, in effect, give the spacecraft a boost of speed, which will keep fuel consumption to a minimum on the next and longest leg of the journey.

    Academic text (2004)

  • The Saturn put them into orbit, the final stage launched them out past the Moon for a gravity assist, and the ion rocket kicked in and propelled them gently on toward Mars.

    Fiction book (1999)

  • Launched in early July, Dawn will use a 2009 gravity assist from Mars as it alters its path to reach Vesta in 2011.

  • Seven months after launch, the probe relied on a gravity assist from Earth to adjust its course toward Eros.

Surface Forms

gravity-assist singular
gravity-assists plural

Morphology

gravity-assist = gravity + assist (transparent) = gravity + assist

The compound denotes assistance provided by gravity and the components map directly onto the technical concept.

Etymology

Gravity-assist begins with gravity, from Latin gravis meaning 'heavy' and now used for the pull that makes things fall, and ends with assist, which means 'help', so it literally means 'help from gravity'. A helpful image is a spacecraft using a planet like a slingshot to gain speed and change direction, which shows why the name describes a move that gives extra energy and a new path.