Robert B The best laid plans o' men and mice ... The following para should of course have read -- 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. As all solar system probes move West to East, are you saying that if we launch eastward (vs west...) for Mercury and Venus and westward (vs east...) for (most) other bodies, we would need less fuel??? Paul D Send instant messages to your online friends http://au.messenger.yahoo.com