Question by Ute G: Can our spacecrafts travel North or South on the Solar System plane?
So imagine the planets revolve around the Sun on the X/Y axis plane.
I’ve heard about space probes slingshoting around planets to get to the edge of the Solar System.
What if a spacecraft tried to go up or down along the Z-axis?
Would some gravitational field prevent that?
Best answer:
Answer by Dave M
We can send spacecrafts in any direction. The gravity “slingshot” is used to gain velocity. Most of the reason why most of our craft stay near the ecliptic, is because they have been sent out to study and photograph the planets, which all lie relatively close to the plane of the solar equator.
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Erica S says:
May 26, 2014 at 5:37 pm (UTC 0)
If you mean above or below the plane of the ecliptic, the answer is yes. However, there is very little point in doing so, and people like NASA prefer to expend their energies (and available funds) going to positive destinations, such as the Moon, and the other planets.
slipknotpsycho5891 says:
May 26, 2014 at 6:31 pm (UTC 0)
the galaxy is rather flat when compared to it’s width… it’s actually paper thin…. there’s little of intrest in either direction, atleast as far as space craft is concerned…. you could point telescopes either way and see tons and tons of distant galaxies… but again those are REALLY far away, way too far for us to even concieve of sending a spacecraft t one….
suitti says:
May 26, 2014 at 6:39 pm (UTC 0)
The Ulysses spacecraft has been in solar polar orbit for nearly 18 years. It’s running out of RTG power, and it’s hydrazine is expected to freeze soon, ending the mission.
The spacecraft used Jupiter to swing it into this orbit. But it could have been done with the Moon, Earth or other fairly large object.
JOHNNIE B says:
May 26, 2014 at 7:27 pm (UTC 0)
Almost all things would be the same. One difference is they need to launch from Vandenburg.
Clavius says:
May 26, 2014 at 7:45 pm (UTC 0)
No feature of gravity prevents a spacecraft from departing the ecliptic plane. Our spacecraft tend to stay in it because the things they want to study are in it. But Voyager 1 is, in fact, ascending out of the solar-system plane at an angle of about 35 degrees, having completed its planetary exploration mission.
Whether the so-called slingshot manuever keeps the spacecraft in-plane depends on how it approaches the helper planet. If it approaches below the planet’s orbital path, the spacecraft will be deflected upward. If it approaches the planet above its path, it will be deflected downward. In rough general terms, the plane formed by the vector of the spacecraft’s trajectory and the center of mass of the planet determine the plane of the outbound trajectory. And that can be almost any trajectory you want.
Almost every vehicle launched from any point on Earth not on the equator goes into a naturally-inclined orbit that isn’t the same as the equator or the ecliptic. That’s just the natural outcome of a launch site with a non-zero latitude. So every outbound spacecraft must correct its orbit into the ecliptic in order to get where it needs to go.
As someone else has already mentioned, when you want to begin a mission with a very highly-inclined orbit (e.g., a polar orbit) you need to launch from a place on Earth where a southbound or northbound azimuth can be achieved while maintaining launch range safety. Vandenburg AFB in California lets rockets launch southward over the Pacific Ocean and put payloads into orbits that fly over Earth’s poles. It is perfectly conceivable that such payloads could also depart the solar system directly.
faesson says:
May 26, 2014 at 8:35 pm (UTC 0)
good intuition!
yes, gravity DOES affect the path of a spacecraft that leaves the orbital plane, just not a whole lot.
imagine a STATIONARY particle above the plane of rotation of the planets. What forces would be pulling it up? none. What forces would be pulling it out? a vector component of the outer planets. What forces would be pulling it in? a big component of the inner planets AND the Sun. What forces would pull it down? the resultant of the vectors of all the planets in the plane of rotation.
So, you got a particle above the orbital plane being forced to “GET IN STEP” with the rest.
How do you overcome this? Orbital velocity!
Tina L says:
May 26, 2014 at 9:19 pm (UTC 0)
they can and they do, but with rare exceptions (ulysses, for example) there is little point in doing so.
zahbudar says:
May 26, 2014 at 9:49 pm (UTC 0)
No, nothing would prevent that at all.
The point is that should one travel out into space on a course that does not point towards one of the objects in our solar system, what would be the point? When would the trip be ended? What purpose would it serve to just go out and out and out and out. When you got far enough out there, what would you do, just turn around and come back?