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Spacecraft can ‘brake’ in space using drag − advancing craft agility, space safety and planetary missions

  • Written by Piyush Mehta, Associate Professor of Space Systems, West Virginia University
Spacecraft can ‘brake’ in space using drag − advancing craft agility, space safety and planetary missionsPlanetary space probes such as Mars Odyssey use a technique called aerobraking to save fuel. NASA/JPL

When you put your hand out the window of a moving car, you feel a force pushing against you called drag. This force opposes a moving vehicle, and it’s part of the reason why your car naturally slows to a stop if you take your foot off the gas...

Read more: Spacecraft can ‘brake’ in space using drag − advancing craft agility, space safety and planetary...

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