OK, this is dumb, but it’s gone through my head a couple times. I’ve seen a few science fiction movies and shows where the people in the spaceship use a gravity assist and lean into the turns like they’re driving NASCAR or riding a roller coaster.
I think they wouldn’t feel the acceleration (vector change) because gravity is doing the acceleration on every molecule and there would be nothing to lean against. I’m often wrong though. Someone smarter than I am have some insight?
EDIT: For what it’s worth, I guess I shouldn’t have used the Expanse clip as it upset some people. I just used it for an example of what I was asking. The question is this: Under little or no thrusters, would you feel a gravity assist? Even a radical one that changes your direction 90 degrees and greatly increases your velocity?
Most space fiction is science fantasy not science fiction. Made up things like gravity assist are essentially as rational as if they were casting a gravity spell. There’s nothing useful in rationalizing the fiction about how a gravity spell makes you lean. It just looks cool and sells the emotion and experience to the audience.
Most any probe that’s gone out beyond earth’s orbit would be extremely surprised to hear their gravity assists were not real.