Gravity-gradient stabilization

Gravity is a force that pulls everything towards the center of the earth. It's why we don't float off into space. Gravity-gradient stabilization is a way to make an object in space stay in a certain position or orientation by using the force of gravity.

Imagine I have a long stick with a weight on one end and a ball on the other. If I put this stick in space and the weight end is pointed towards the earth, the ball end will be pointed away from the earth. This is because the force of gravity is stronger towards the earth, so the weight end is pulled more strongly towards it. This creates a sort of "tug-of-war" between the weight and the ball, which keeps the stick stable and pointed in a certain direction.

This same principle is used to keep satellites and other objects in space stable. They might have long, skinny arms sticking out from them with weights on the end, which are arranged in such a way that they keep the object in the right orientation. This is important because if a satellite starts spinning or moving around too much, it won't be able to do its job properly. So gravity-gradient stabilization helps keep things in space where they need to be!