Answer to Question #149520 in Mechanics | Relativity for Mikkos Joshua Garcia

Question

How can a rocket change direction when it is far out in space and esentially in a vacuum?

Answer 1

Solution:

There are two kinds of directions in space:

• The direction you are pointing.
• The direction you are going.

To change the direction you are pointing, you can usually do one of two things:

• Use directional thrusters. It’s a small rocket that’s pointing off-center, usually driven by nitrogen gas or maybe some hypergolic rocket fuel. Use the right thruster and you start to spin; use another thruster to counter the spinning. Use multiple thrusters to spin in whatever way you want.
• Use directional flywheels. It’s a heavy wheel spinning fast. If you accelerate the flywheel and make it spin faster, whatever it is attached to wants to spin the opposite way. And if you break the flywheel and make it spin slower, whatever it is attached to wants to spin the same way. You can use a number of these flywheels to spin in any direction you want.

To change the direction you are going, you can use two methods:

• Use a rocket engine. Point your rocket in the right way, and fire the rocket (that is in the center). Wait a bit. Turn off the rocket. You are now going in another direction.
• Use gravity. Have your rocket come into the gravity influence of something, for instance, a planet. The gravity influence will now affect the direction you are going. If you use this method to go around a planet, you are in orbit. You can also use this method to “miss” a planet and change direction, while either speeding up or slowing down. Basically, if you pass a planet ahead of the planet in its orbit, the planet will pull you towards it and break you while you pass it. If you pass a planet behind it in its orbit, it will pull you along for a bit while you pass it. In both cases, your direction will change.