Hitchhiking on Planetary Gravity — Why the Slingshot Effect Changed Space Exploration
May 20, 2026How can a spacecraft speed up without burning a drop of fuel? Gravity assist — the trick that took Voyager to the edge of the solar system and is now sending NASA's Psyche spacecraft toward a metal asteroid — is one of the cleverest moves in the history of spaceflight. Here's how it actually works.