Caption: "The Cassini spacecraft's speed relative to the Sun. The various gravity assists form visible peaks on the left, while the periodic variation on the right is caused by Cassini's orbit around Saturn. The data is from the JPL Horizons On-Line Ephemeris System The speed above is in kilometers per second (km/s) . Note also that the minimum speed achieved during Saturnian orbit is when Cassini's orbital velocity around Saturn partially cancels Saturn's orbital velocity around the Sun which is 9.69 km/s on average." (Somewhat edited.)
For examples of gravity assists, see N-body simulation videos below (local link / general link: n_body_videos.html).
Credit/Permission: ©
User:Python eggs,
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2009) /
CC BY-SA 3.0.EOF
Image link: Wikimedia Commons:
File:Cassini's speed related to Sun.png.
Local file: local link: cassini_gravitational_assists.html.
File: Saturn file:
cassini_gravitational_assists.html.