Lagrange points

Lagrange points

✦ Lagrange points, also known as libration points, are unique locations in space where the gravitational force of two massive bodies (like Sun and Earth) precisely equals the centripetal force required for a small object (like spacecraft) to move with them.

✦ This makes Lagrange points an excellent location for spacecrafts as orbit corrections and hence fuel requirements, needed to maintain the desired orbit, are kept at a minimum.

✦ There are five Lagrange points, labeled L1 through L5.

✦ An object placed at one of these points will remain in a stable position relative to the two larger bodies.

✦ Lagrange points were first discovered by the French mathematician Joseph-Louis Lagrange in 1772.