The Planetary Grand Tour trajectory of Voyager 2.
Slingshotting is a practice of using the gravity well of an astronomical body to get a boost in velocity. Slingshotting in The Expanse is also an illegal extreme sport.
Gravitational-assist maneuver[]
Slingshotting is done by passing through a gravity well (it's also good to avoid hitting the atmosphere), but with enough relative velocity to avoid going into orbit. A portion of the momentum of the central body is thus imparted to the slingshotting craft, and if it's a planet, it has a whole lot of momentum to spare. The technique is more formally known as a gravitational assist.
The maneuver can either accelerate you or decelerate you, depending on whether you approach the gravity well prograde (accelerating) or retrograde (decelerating).
The slingshot maneuver is different from aerobraking, wherein the planet's atmosphere is used to slow down or change the orbit of a spacecraft.
Slingshot racing[]
Slingshot Racing is an illegal, dangerous extreme sport practiced mostly by Belters. The ships they use to race are usually homemade one-person craft that fly through space using only a single thrust of the engine and a carefully plotted course. They compete by "slingshotting" around the gravity wells of planets and other celestial bodies, vying for the fast time across an established circuit. Glory awaits those who survive.[1]
Slingshot circuits[]
Jupiter-6 Slingshot Run
- The Grand Tour
- The Jupiter-6 Run
Slingshot racers[]
- Bizi Bitiko burned up with his craft in Saturn's atmosphere in an attempt to break the Grand Tour record.[2]
- Manéo Jung-Espinoza Books • TV set the current record for the Jupiter-6 Run in his ship, the Y Que. He later died in his attempt to be the first slingshotter to shoot through The Ring.[3]
- Julie Mao Books • TV temporarily removed the Epstein drive from her ship, the Razorback, to take part in the Jupiter-6 Run.
- Marco Inaros was a slingshot pilot when he was young.[4]
- Silvestari Campos, a slingshot racer from Ceres.[5]
Slingshot racing ships[]
In the series[]
Slingshotting is a maneuver routinely used by either civilian pilots that wish to save fuel or military pilots who wish to gain an extra amount of velocity and/or wish to rapidly change their direction, as slingshotting is the only way to fly a "right angle" quickly.
Media[]
Events[]
| Occurrences (TV) | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Description | Episode | Timestamp | Vessel | Character Participant |
| Evading MCRN blockade over Jupiter AO and Ganymede | "Here There Be Dragons" | 25:09 | Rocinante | Alex Kamal |
| Enthusiast Club and Gambling Ring | "CQB" | 13:40 | Piper Scout | the real Bizi Betiko |
| Belter slingshot racing vignette | "Delta-V" | 2:48 | Y Que | Manéo Jung-Espinoza |
- The technique of slingshotting was featured in "CQB" and "Here There Be Dragons"
| Occurences (Books) | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Description | Book | Chapter & Page | Vessel | Character Participant |
| Extreme sport | Abaddon's Gate | Prologue | Y Que | Manéo Jung-Espinoza AKA Néo |
See also[]
References
- ↑
www.syfy.com: The Expanse Fun facts, Season 1 Episode 4
- ↑ The Expanse TV Series - Season 1, Episode 4: "CQB"
- ↑ The Expanse TV Series - Season 3, Episode 7: "Delta-V"
- ↑ The Expanse TV Series - Season 5, Episode 3: "Mother"
- ↑ The Expanse Novel Abaddon's Gate - Prologue: Manéo