Re: How does powered gravity assist work?

ok, in short, its quite simple if u think about it....
velocity, being a vector quantity, means that if u fire the burn when u 
are approaching the point of max gravitationally caused v, the directional 
component of your velocity not only redirects your path away from an ideal
perapsis, but also means that a massive directional acceleration is needed 
above and beyond the gravity to change the direction enough back to the 
course u intended, meaning that u waste more fuel.
Its not nessarily a case of making the exit velocity faster, as making it 
more efficient, and easier to calculate and maintain a course.
Think about race car drivers, they accelerate on the apex of the curve to 
give both maximum turning AND fastest acceleration because they are not 
wasting any energy in coming around the corner, simply using the momentum 
of the car to make the turn...