Orbital maneuverIn spaceflight, an orbital maneuver (otherwise known as a burn) is the use of propulsion systems to change the orbit of a spacecraft. For spacecraft far from Earth, in deep space, an orbital maneuver is called a deep-space maneuver (DSM). When a spacecraft is not conducting a maneuver, especially in a transfer orbit, it is said to be coasting.
Reaction engineA reaction engine is an engine or motor that produces thrust by expelling reaction mass (reaction propulsion), in accordance with Newton's third law of motion. This law of motion is commonly paraphrased as: "For every action force there is an equal, but opposite, reaction force." Examples include jet engines, rocket engines, pump-jets, and more uncommon variations such as Hall effect thrusters, ion drives, mass drivers, and nuclear pulse propulsion.
VelocityVelocity is a measurement of speed in a certain direction of motion. It is a fundamental concept in kinematics, the branch of classical mechanics that describes the motion of physical objects. Velocity is a vector quantity, meaning that both magnitude and direction are needed to define it (velocity vector).
Rocket engineNon-airbreathing engine used to propel a missile or vehicleRS-68 being tested at NASA's Stennis Space CenterViking 5C rocket engine used on Ariane 1 through Ariane 4A rocket engine is a reaction engine, producing thrust in accordance with Newton's third law by ejecting reaction mass rearward, usually a high-speed jet of high-temperature gas produced by the combustion of rocket propellant stored inside the rocket.SpeedIn kinematics, the speed of a moving object is the rate at which the distance travelled by the object changes with time. The average speed of an object in an interval of time is the distance travelled by the object divided by the duration of the interval; the instantaneous speed is the limit of the average speed as the duration of the time interval approaches zero. Speed is the magnitude of velocity (a vector), which indicates additionally the direction of motion.
MassAmount of matter present in an objectMass is an intrinsic physical quantity of a body which in modern physics is generally defined as the strength of an object's gravitational attraction to other bodies. The unit of mass in the International System of Units (SI) is the kilogram (kg). Mass can also be understood as a measure of the energy content of a body (see E=mc²).
Delta (letter)HistoryArchaic local variants Diacritics and other symbolsDiacriticsάὰᾶἀἁᾱᾰϊᾳσ̌LigaturesϗϛNumerals (Attic)ϛ (6)ϟ (90)ϡ (900) Related topicsUse as scientific symbolsOrthographyRomanizationCyrillizationDelta ( ; uppercase Δ, lowercase δ; Greek: δέλτα, délta, ) is the fourth letter of the Greek alphabet. In the system of Greek numerals, it has a value of four. It was derived from the Phoenician letterdalet 𐤃.
Impulse (physics)In classical mechanics, impulse (symbolized by J or Imp) is the change in momentum of an object. It is most often used to describe forces which act over short time periods, specifically in the case of impacts and collisions, for which it gets its namesake. Impulse is a vector quantity, meaning it has both a magnitude, which describes the amount by which the momentum changed, and a direction, which describes the direction in which the momentum changed.
Scalar (mathematics)In mathematics, more specifically in linear algebra, a scalar is an element of a field which is used to define a vector space through the operation of scalar multiplication: a vector (denoted v) multiplied by a scalar (denoted a) produces another vector (av). Real numbers and complex numbers may be used as scalars in real and complex vector spaces, respectively.
PlanetA planet is a large, rounded astronomical body that is generally required to be in orbit around a star, stellar remnant, or brown dwarf, and is not one itself. The Solar System has eight planets by the most restrictive definition of the term: the terrestrial planets Mercury, Venus, Earth, and Mars, and the giant planets Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune.
Natural satelliteAstronomical body that orbits a planetThe Moon orbiting around Earth (observed by the Deep Space Climate Observatory)A natural satellite is, in the most common usage, an astronomical body that orbits a planet, dwarf planet, or small Solar System body (or sometimes another natural satellite). Natural satellites are colloquially referred to as moons, by analogy with the Moon, Earth's natural satellite.
Spacecraft flight dynamicsSpacecraft flight dynamics is the application of mechanical dynamics to model how the external forces acting on a space vehicle or spacecraft determine its flight path. These forces are primarily of three types: propulsive force provided by the vehicle's engines; gravitational force exerted by the Earth and other celestial bodies; and aerodynamic lift and drag (when flying in the atmosphere of the Earth or other body, such as Mars or Venus).*As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.