delta-v
Sign in to save'Delta-v''''' (also known as "change in velocity"), symbolized as {\Delta v} and pronounced , as used in spacecraft flight dynamics, is a measure of the impulse per unit of spacecraft mass that is needed to perform a maneuver such as launching from or landing on a planet or moon, or an in-space orbital maneuver. It is a scalar that has the units of speed. As used in this context, it is not the same as the physical change in velocity of said spacecraft.
Article
12 sectionsContents
- Definition
- Specific cases
- Orbital maneuvers
- Production
- Multiple maneuvers
- Delta-''v'' budgets
- Oberth effect
- Porkchop plot
- <span class="anchor" id="Delta-vs around the Solar System"></span><!-- This section is linked from [[Spacecraft propulsion]] --> Around the Solar System
- LEO reentry
- See also
- References
'Delta-v''''' (also known as "change in velocity"), symbolized as {\Delta v} and pronounced , as used in spacecraft flight dynamics, is a measure of the impulse per unit of spacecraft mass that is needed to perform a maneuver such as launching from or landing on a planet or moon, or an in-space orbital maneuver. It is a scalar that has the units of speed. As used in this context, it is not the same as the physical change in velocity of said spacecraft.
A simple example might be the case of a conventional rocket-propelled spacecraft, which achieves thrust by burning fuel. Such a spacecraft's delta-v, then, would be the change in velocity that spacecraft can achieve by burning its entire fuel load.