23 Feb '16 16:23>
Originally posted by sonhouseYou thrust to one side to turn. To achieve a circle you would need to vary your sideways thrust depending on your velocity. The faster you are going the more sideways thrust you will need.
Just if there is a acceleration/deceleration pattern that will allow a circular path going around a planet. Even if you count the 'planet' as a big massless bubble to make things easier. So you are in space millions of Km from any mass and you want to turn, what thrust vector(s) would you need to maintain a circular path in the turn? Like starting with zero ...[text shortened]... 180 degree turn of some radius and at the end of the turn to be again at zero relative velocity.
If you want to do a circle with constant total thrust, your thrust would start directly behind you and slowly rotate around you ending up thrusting directly in front of you.
I am not certain whether you would rotate it at constant angular speed or not.
But it now has no real relation to the initial question.