“A man’s desire to explore the universe has no bounds but nature has its way.” Picture Source: Google A gravity assist manoeuvre, also known as “gravitational slingshot” or “swing-by” is the technique in orbital mechanics to change the speed (either accelerate or deaccelerate) or trajectory(having either higher energy or lower energy) of the orbit of a spacecraft by the use of the relative movement(with respect to the Sun) and gravity of astronomical objects, without the use of any fuel. The basic principle of the gravity assist manoeuvre is to either gain momentum from or lose momentum to a planet (or any other astronomical body) while moving past it, which changes the spaceship's trajectory and speed relative to the Sun. At the meantime, the speed and trajectory of the planet are also affected but the effect is insignificant due to its huge mass as compared to that of the spacecraft. Depending on the relative direction of motion of the planet and...
British Airtours Flight 28M, a Boeing 737–236 series 1, G-BGJL, named "River Orrin", carrying 131 passengers and 6 crew on a charter flight to Corfu International Airport in Greece, caught fire before take-off at Manchester International Airport, England on 22 August 1985 with the loss of 55 lives. Picture Source: Google At 0612 hrs , G-BGJL, carrying 131 passengers and 6 crew on a charter flight to Corfu, began its take-off from runway 24 at Manchester with the co-pilot handling. About thirty-six seconds later, as the airspeed passed 125 knots, the left engine suffered an uncontained failure, which punctured a wing fuel tank access panel. Fuel leaking from the wing ignited and burnt as a large plume of fire trailing directly behind the engine. The crew heard a 'thud', and believing that they had suffered a tyre-burst or bird-strike, abandoned the take-off immediately, intending to clear the runway to the right. They had no indication of fire unt...