The total momentum before the docking maneuver is and after the docking maneuver is
Explanation:
Linear momentum (generally just called momentum) is defined as mass in motion and is given by the following equation:
Where is the mass of the object and its velocity.
According to the conservation of momentum law:
"If two objects or bodies are in a closed system and both collide, the total momentum of these two objects before the collision will be the same as the total momentum of these same two objects after the collision ".
This means, that although the momentum of each object may change after the collision, the total momentum of the system does not change.
Now, the docking of a space vehicle with the space station is an inelastic collision, which means both objects remain together after the collision.
Hence, the initial momentum is:
Where:
is the mass of the vehicle
is the velocity of th vehicle
is the mass of the space station
is the velocity of the space station
And the final momentum is:
Where:
is the velocity of the vehicle and space station docked
