Gravity Slingshot: Steal the Planet's Speed
Your spacecraft is drifting toward a planet, and a distant target station needs a delivery. Aim your flyby so the planet's gravity bends your trajectory onto the target. Real missions like Voyager did exactly this.
Slingshot around the planet and hit the station!
How to play
Drag to set your approach direction and speed.
Release to launch the spacecraft toward the planet.
Watch gravity bend the trajectory — the closer the pass, the sharper the bend.
Hit the target station to score. Missing by a wide margin or crashing into the planet ends the attempt.
You have 5 attempts per mission; 3 missions total.
Scoring
Hitting the station scores 100 points plus a fuel bonus for slower approach speeds (slower = harder). Crashing costs 25 points. Complete all 3 missions for a mission bonus of 100.
Levels
First flyby
One planet, one wide target. Feel how gravity curves the path.
Grand tour
Smaller target, faster planet. Precision approach angles required.
Voyager run
Two planets in sequence — chain two gravity assists to reach the outer target.
What physics did you just use?
You just performed a gravity assist: the planet's gravity changes your direction, and because the planet itself moves, you can gain or lose speed relative to the Sun — effectively stealing orbital energy. Voyager 2 used four such slingshots to visit all four outer planets with almost no extra fuel. The bending follows the same inverse-square gravity that holds the Moon in orbit.
Key concepts
- Gravitational force
- Gravity assist
- Orbital mechanics
- Conservation of energy and momentum