gravity assist.

A spacecraft maneuver that uses motion through a celestial body's gravitational field to alter its trajectory or speed relative to another frame.

Use it for

Words that belong together

• planetary gravity assist
• lunar gravity assist

On the page

The gravity assist carried them outward without exhausting the remaining propellant.

She timed the lunar gravity assist to clear the debris field.

Usage notes

Primary category: sci-fi. Forms: Singular gravity assist; plural gravity assists. Legacy lexical fields mirror sense 1 only. Use numbered sense fields for all meanings.