aerocapture

Meanings

Noun

• A form of aerobraking in which no initial orbit-injection burn is performed. Instead, the spacecraft plunges deeply into the atmosphere without an initial insertion burn, and emerges from this single pass in the atmosphere with an apoapsis near that of the desired orbit. Several small correction burns are then used to raise the periapsis and perform final adjustments.

Verb

• To perform this maneuver.

Origin

• aero- + capture