Simulation and Visualization for Aircraft and Spacecraft Design

A critical element of spacecraft design and mission planning is maximizing propulsion system efficiency, particularly for more ambitious missions. To accomplish this, NASA employs gravity assists, also known as a gravitational slingshot or flyby. Every planet in our solar system has a unique orbital speed as it travels around the Sun. When a spacecraft approaches a planet in orbit, it's pulled into the planet's gravitational field, changing trajectory and increasingly gaining speed as it nears t