The Truth About "Slingshot" Maneuvers

(This is "Deconstructing The Expanse, Part 2", continued from Part 1, here.)

As luck would have it, I decided to go back and watch part of an episode to check something, mainly to try to pinpoint where exactly the show goes off the rails, and aside from saving myself from a really embarrasing blunder, it also reminded me of a topic I meant to cover but forgot to.

It's Season 3, Episode 7, the one where Maneo, Speed Demon Belter Guy in his tiny racing pinnace decides he's going to be the first one through The Ring and arranges this whole elaborate sequence of "slingshots" to get there first (what happens when he gets there is a fun scene that I liked because I'm actually 12, but I won't spoil it).

And then I realized…

People have multiple misconceptions about gravitational maneuvers. The "slingshot" is badly named. I blame Star Trek.

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