Editing Space rendezvous (section)

{{Short description|Series of orbital maneuvers}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=November 2011}}
[[File:Range finding from shuttle to ISS.jpg|thumb|[[Astronaut]] [[Christopher Cassidy]] uses a [[Rangefinding telemeter|rangefinder]] to determine distance between the {{OV|105}} and the [[International Space Station]]]]
[[File:Apollo 11 lunar module.jpg|thumb|[[Lunar Module Eagle|Lunar Module ''Eagle'']] ascent stage rendezvous with the [[command module Columbia|command module ''Columbia'']] in lunar orbit after returning from a landing]]
A '''''space rendezvous''''' ({{IPAc-en|ˈ|r|ɒ|n|d|eɪ|v|uː}}) is a set of [[orbital maneuver]]s during which two [[spacecraft]], one of which is often a [[space station]], arrive at the same [[orbit]] and approach to a very close distance (e.g. within visual contact). Rendezvous requires a precise match of the [[Orbital elements|orbital velocities and position vectors]] of the two spacecraft, allowing them to remain at a constant distance through [[orbital station-keeping]]. Rendezvous may or may not be followed by [[docking and berthing of spacecraft|docking or berthing]], procedures which bring the spacecraft into physical contact and create a link between them.

The same rendezvous technique can be used for spacecraft "landing" on natural objects with a weak gravitational field, e.g. landing on one of the [[Moons of Mars|Martian moons]] would require the same matching of orbital velocities, followed by a "descent" that shares some similarities with docking.