Thought experiment that prompted the question. Imagine two masses existing in orbit in the far future nearing a big rip so that inflation should be noticeable. It would seem that space expanding should exert a force on them that would change their orbit resulting in them moving farther apart. This would seem to require energy input. Further imagine rockets applied to the masses to slow them down so the masses fell into each other. The longer you let inflation work on the distance between the masses before they're unorbited, the farther they fall. The higher the fall the more gravitational acceleration, the more kinetic energy. This would seem to indicate the mass's potential energy increases as inflation happens.
Is it correct to conclude from that thought experiment, that inflation creates energy? Is the thought experiment flawed?