Michael Minovitch

Michael Andrew Minovitch (born c. 1936)^[1] is an American mathematician who produced spacecraft trajectories enabling a craft to gain velocity by travelling close to a planet orbiting the sun. His own personal gravity assist technique was developed in the early 1960s when he was a UCLA graduate student and working summers at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, CA.^[2][3]

In 1961 Minovitch began using the fastest available computer at the time, the IBM 7090, to solve the three-body problem. He ran simulations and developed his own solution by 1962.^[1]

Early studies of comets in the late 19th century showed that their orbits were quite different after they had made a close approach to Jupiter. This indicated that a transfer of energy had occurred during the encounter.

The first mission to use a gravity assist was Pioneer 10, which increased its velocity from 52,000 km/h to 132,000 km/h as it passed by Jupiter in December, 1973.^[4][5]

Inventions[]

Minovitch patented a vehicle for space travel under the patent title Magnetic propulsion system and operating method, US Patent 6193194 B1.

References[]

External links[]

• Michael Minovitch at the Mathematics Genealogy Project
• Jupiter swing-by trajectories passing near the earth Includes comprehensive history of the development of gravity-assist trajectories.
• Interview of Michael Minovitch by BBC Horizon on YouTube
• Gravity-assist "Slingshot", Background, principle, applications, Part 1 and 2 on EEWorldOnline.com

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