The gravitational slingshot is a swing by or gravity assist that can save time and fuel as well as speed up or slow down the spacecraft and alter its trajectory. The assist is provided by the motion of the gravitating body as it pulls on the spacecraft.
A gravity assist around a planet changes a spacecraft's velocity relative to the Sun by entering and leaving the gravitational field of a planet. To increase speed, the spacecraft flies with the movement of the planet; to decrease ...speed, the spacecraft flies against the movement of the planet.
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