Definition of swingby in English:
swingby
nounPlural swingbysˈswɪŋbʌɪˈswiNGˌbī
A change in the flight path of a spacecraft using the gravitational pull of a celestial body.
Compare with slingshot
Example sentencesExamples
- A swingby is efficient and cost-effective.
- Of course, nothing eventful happened with our Earth swingby.
- This will be the first time lunar swingbys have been used to manipulate orbits of more than one spacecraft.
- The current controversy concerning Cassini's upcoming Earth swingby centers on the risk of the spacecraft accidentally re-entering the Earth's atmosphere.