[ELI5] Why do rockets have to go around in orbit and do a bunch of squiggly maneuvers to get to the moon? Why cant they just go in a straight line?

Question

And by straight, i mean, just… Point the nose of the rocket towards the moon and keep steering till you get there….

In: Physics

Answer 1

To simplify: firing your engines downwards or upwards is incredibly inefficient – you want to fire your engine sideways (and along the path you’re moving at) as much as possible.

Youll notice in the gif you’ve posted the rocket fires it’s engine downwards only when landing and launching. Even during those sequences the engine is firing along the path the rocket is travelling.