Paul, The explanation is more Scriptural than geocentric. The aether pushes on masses with an inverse square law, which explains the source of gravity (unlike Sir Isaac?s law) From http://www2.jpl.nasa.gov/basics/bsf4-1.html To launch a spacecraft from Earth to an outer planet such as Mars using the least propellant possible, first consider that the spacecraft is already in solar orbit as it sits on the launch pad. This existing solar orbit must be adjusted to cause it to take the spacecraft to Mars: The desired orbit's perihelion (closest approach to the sun) will be at the distance of Earth's orbit, and the aphelion (farthest distance from the sun) will be at the distance of Mars' orbit. From the above, we know that the task is to increase the apoapsis (aphelion) of the spacecraft's present solar orbit. A spacecraft's apoapsis altitude can be raised by increasing the spacecraft's energy at periapsis. Well, the spacecraft is already at periapsis. So the spacecraft lifts off the launch pad, rises above Earth's atmosphere, and uses its rocket to accelerate in the direction of Earth's revolution around the sun to the extent that the energy added here at periapsis (perihelion) will cause its new orbit to have an aphelion equal to Mars' orbit. After this brief acceleration away from Earth, the spacecraft has achieved its new orbit, and it simply coasts the rest of the way. Earth to Mars via Least Energy Orbit Hohmann transfer to Mars <http://www2.jpl.nasa.gov/basics/bsf16-20.gif> Getting to the planet Mars, rather than just to its orbit, requires that the spacecraft be inserted into its interplanetary trajectory at the correct time so it will arrive at the Martian orbit when Mars will be there. This task might be compared to throwing a dart at a moving target. You have to lead the aim point by just the right amount to hit the target. The opportunity to launch a spacecraft on a transfer orbit to Mars occurs about every 25 months. GC: But why is perihelion the best launch time? Prior sections only show that this condition is needed, but not why. [Like Newton?s law of gravity, we know how to use it , but not why it works : what is the source of the attraction, why always attraction, not also repulsion, why inverse square force, why a mass-dependence, etc. ] The aether vortex surrounds the Earth, rotating E to W above the geo-sat distance. Objects moving through this aether will be boosted in speed (aether-assisted) if moving in the same direction, E to W. Else they will be retarded/ decelerated. That explains the general feature of aether-assistance, as applied to the Earth flyby and the claim of project Rosetta. Now, why the timing of launch at solar periapsis? Because at that time the aether which carries the Sun around the earth will be maximum (the Earth-Sun distance is minimal) . The apses are the same for the GC and HC coordinate systems. Inward Bound To launch a spacecraft from Earth to an inner planet such as Venus using least propellant, its existing solar orbit (as it sits on the launch pad) must be adjusted so that it will take it to Venus. In other words, the spacecraft's aphelion is already the distance of Earth's orbit, and the perihelion will be on the orbit of Venus. This time, the task is to decrease the periapsis (perihelion) of the spacecraft's present solar orbit A spacecraft's periapsis altitude can be lowered by decreasing the spacecraft's energy at apoapsis. To achieve this, the spacecraft lifts off of the launch pad, rises above Earth's atmosphere, and uses its rocket to accelerate opposite the direction of Earth's revolution around the sun, thereby decreasing its orbital energy while here at apoapsis (aphelion) to the extent that its new orbit will have a perihelion equal to the distance of Venus's orbit. GC: It?s a lot simpler to see in aether terms: to slow down the spacecraft, move counter to the aether flow ? W to E, not E to W. Gravity Assist Trajectories The planets retain most of the solar system's angular momentum. This momentum can be tapped to accelerate spacecraft on so-called "gravity-assist" trajectories. Consider Voyager 2, which toured the Jovian planets. Voyager's arrival at Jupiter was carefully timed so that it would pass behind Jupiter in its orbit around the sun. As the spacecraft came into Jupiter's gravitational influence, it fell toward Jupiter, increasing its speed toward maximum at closest approach to Jupiter. Since all masses in the universe attract each other, Jupiter sped up the spacecraft substantially, and the spacecraft tugged on Jupiter, causing the massive planet to actually lose some of its orbital energy. GC: Since Jupiter?s loss of orbital energy to the spacecraft is infinitesimal , MS is safe in saying this, to assure that total energy is conserved But there is really no loss of energy by Jupiter (even if it were possible to measure it). The aether flow around Jupiter supplies the speed boost for the spacecraft and increase in its kinetic energy An interesting fact to consider is that even though a spacecraft may double its speed as the result of a gravity assist, it feels no acceleration at all. If you were aboard Voyager 2 when it more than doubled its speed with gravity assists in the outer solar system, you would feel only a continuous sense of falling. No acceleration. This is due to the balanced tradeoff of angular momentum brokered by the planet's -- and the spacecraft's -- gravitation. GC: Interesting it is ? but not a fact. If the speed doubles in a time interval, as measured from Earth, the absolute reference frame, there must be an acceleration in the interval. The change in direction alone during flyby implies an acceleration. The flyby interval is always long, so the acceleration is small, so small it may not be detected by the crude estimate of a human sensing the change in speed internally, rather than using the precision of an accelerometer. It may be true that there is no detectable acceleration by a human, but the wording implies there is no acceleration at all, which is rrrrrubbish. More MS doublespeak? And yes, Neville, more NASA doublespeak? Robert -----Original Message----- From: geocentrism-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx [mailto:geocentrism-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx]On Behalf Of Paul Deema Sent: Thursday, March 01, 2007 10:41 AM To: Geocentrism@xxxxxxxxxxxxx Subject: [geocentrism] Project Rosetta Greetings all I wonder did anyone miss the recent Rosetta press release? (See attachment). What is the geocentric explanation for Rosetta making three of its four gravity assist flybys around Earth? Paul D Send instant messages to your online friends http://au.messenger.yahoo.com