Gravity loss
subject in astrodynamics and rockety
In astrodynamics and rocketry, gravity loss is a measure of the loss in the net performance of a rocket while it is thrusting in a gravitational field. In other words, it is the cost of having to hold the rocket up in a gravity field.
Gravity losses depend on the time over which thrust is applied as well the direction the thrust is applied in. Gravity losses as a proportion of delta-v are minimised if maximum thrust is applied for a short time, and by avoiding thrusting directly away from the local gravitational field. During the launch and ascent phase, however, thrust must be applied over a long period with a major component of thrust in the opposite direction to gravity, so gravity losses become significant. For example, to reach a speed of 7.8 km/s in low Earth orbit requires a delta-v of between 9 and 10 km/s. The additional 1.5 to 2 km/s delta-v is due to gravity losses, steering losses and atmospheric drag.
Example
Consider the simplified case of a vehicle with constant mass accelerating vertically with a constant thrust per unit mass a in a gravitational field of strength g. The actual acceleration of the craft is a-g and it is using delta-v at a rate of a per unit time.
Over a time t the change in speed of the spacecraft is (a-g)t, whereas the delta-v expended is at.
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This entry incorporates text from “Gravity loss” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.