[MtnClimber]

I wonder if you have to start slowing down when you are half way there?

[marktwain]

I wonder if you have to start slowing down when you are half way there?

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If you have been accelerating continuously, yes.

[econjack]

Steve Wright asked an interesting question years ago. If you’re in a car traveling at the speed of light and you turn the headlights on, what happens?

[econjack]

Steve Wright asked an interesting question years ago. If you’re in a car traveling at the speed of light and you turn the headlights on, what happens?

[CurlyDave]

I wonder if you have to start slowing down when you are half way there?

It depends on the mission and the design of the payload.

If the target is Mars, aerobraking in the upper atmosphere can shed a lot of velocity and energy. It is also hard on the capsule, and more dangerous, but a much shorter transit time might be worth it.

[BobL]

“I wonder if you have to start slowing down when you are half way there?”

Yes and no. If you have some type of friction braking when you get there, like dragging a chute through the very thin Mars atmosphere or a heat shield, then you won’t need to slow down nearly as much before you get there. Same on the return.