A gravity tractor (GT) is a spacecraft that deflects another object in space, typically a potentially hazardous asteroid that might impact Earth, without physically contacting it, using only its gravitational field to transmit the required impulse. The tractor spacecraft could either hover near the object being deflected or orbit near it. The concept has two key advantages: namely that essentially nothing need be known about the mechanical composition and structure of the asteroid in advance and that the relatively small amounts of force used enable extremely precise orbit manipulation and determination.
Read more about Gravity Tractor: Advantages, Limitations, Example
Famous quotes containing the word gravity:
“Here I sit down to form characters. One I intend to be all goodness; All goodness he is. Another I intend to be all gravity; All gravity he is. Another Lady Gish; All Lady Gish she is. I am all the while absorbed in the character. It is not fair to say—I, identically I, am anywhere, while I keep within the character.”
—Samuel Richardson (1689–1761)