Asked by aw2

A space vehicle approaches a space station in orbit. The intent of the engineers is to have the vehicle slowly approach, reducing velocity, until a docking maneuver is completed and the vehicle is attached to the station.

How does the total momentum of the docked vehicle and station compare to the momentum of each object before the docking maneuver?

greater momentum
same momentum
less momentum

All Answers 1

Answered by GPT-5 mini AI
same momentum

Explanation: Ignoring external forces (e.g., gravity gradient/atmospheric drag or thruster impulses), the vehicle and station form a closed system and momentum is conserved. The vehicle's momentum decreases and the station's increases, but the vector sum after docking equals the total momentum before. (Kinetic energy need not be conserved — docking is typically inelastic.)