Michael Minovitch

Michael Minovitch is an American mathematician who showed that spacecraft trajectories could be designed such that they could gain velocity by travelling close to a planet orbiting the sun. This gravity assist technique was developed in the early 1960s when he was a UCLA graduate student working summers at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory^[1].

Early studies of comets in the late 19th century showed that their orbits were quite different after they had made a close approach to Jupiter. This indicated that a transfer of energy had occurred during the encounter, but it was not until Minovitch's work that it was shown to be useful in planning an interplanetary voyage.

The first mission to use this technique was the Mariner 10 trip to Venus and Mercury in 1973.

• Gravity assist
• Gary Flandro

References

• Wolverton, Mark. The depths of space : the Pioneer planetary probes ISBN 0-309-09050-4

1. ^ Minovitch, Michael, "A method for determining interplanetary free-fall reconnaissance trajectories," Jet Propulsion Laboratory Technical Memo TM-312-130, pages 38-44 (23 August 1961).

External links

• Michael Minovitch's Gravity Assist History Site.
• Jupiter swing-by trajectories passing near the earth Includes comprehensive history of the development of gravity-assist trajectories.