MEANING
A spacecraft maneuver that uses atmospheric drag during a pass to lose speed and enter orbit around a body.
Use it for
Spacecraft arrival plans, fuel-saving orbital insertion, and high-stakes atmospheric passes.Use when a craft uses a planet’s atmosphere to become orbitally captured, rather than relying only on a propulsive burn.
On the page
The mission chose aerocapture to save propellant on arrival at the giant planet.
Related words
Word forms
- Base
- aerocapture
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