Planar Circle to Circle Transfer with Two Fixed Impulse V Burns Consider the situation in which a spacecraft is in a low

w circular orbit and must transfer to a higher circular orbit using a two burn transfer. Assume that the propulsion units are solid rockets and that the amount of v available for each burn is in excess of that needed for the Hohmann transfer between the two orbits. Let the initial orbit radius be r1 and the target orbit radius be r2 . The velocities in the two circular orbits are Vc1 and Vc 2 , respectively, where Vc1 = r 1 , and Vc 2 = r2 .

Reference Hohmann Transfer: It is advantageous in our analysis to know the details of the Hohmann transfer between the two orbits. The semi-major axis of the Hohmann transfer between the two orbits is given by the equation a H = ( r1 + r2 ) /2 . The velocities in the 2 1 and Hohmann transfer orbit at r1 and at r2 are given by Vt1H = r1 aH 2 1 , respectively. The individual V maneuvers for the r2 aH Hohmann transfer are V 1 H = Vt 1H Vc1 , and V 2 H = Vc2 V t 2 H . The total velocity change required for the Hohmann transver, VHtotal , is given by VHtotal = V 1 H + V 2H. Vt 2H = Knowing the Hohmann values for V 1 H and V 2 H , we have a basis for investigating the range of values of excess V over which a transfer between the two orbits is possible. Planar Circle to Circle Transfers with Excess v and Fixed Burn Magnitudes Let us assume that the amounts of v available for the first and second burns are v1 avail = f1 v1H and v2 avail = f2 v2 H , where f1 > 1, and f2 > 1 . In practice, the factors f1 and f2 will usually be no larger than 105% of the corresponding Hohmann velocity impulse value. Anything larger would be very uneconomical. It should be obvious that f1 and f2 cannot be smaller than 1.0. For the current analysis, we will assume that the transfer and the v s take place in the plane of the two orbits. The eccentricity and semi-major axis of the transfer orbit will not be the same as for the Hohmann transfer. Let us denote these variables by aTran and eTran . We will present the equations and will then discuss how they might be solved.

In terms of the semi-major axis of the non-Hohmann transfer orbit, the magnitudes of the velocity in this orbit at r1 and r2 , respectively, are given by vTran1 = 2 1 r1 aTran and vTran2 = 2 1 . r21 aTran

Note that these relations give only the magnitudes of these velocities and not their directions. The angles between the velocity vectors and the local circumferential direction (the flight path angles), denoted by the symbol with appropriate subscripts, must be known before we can find the directions of the velocities. The angles 1 and 2 can be written in terms of the radii, the velocities, and semi-latus rectum of the transfer orbit, pTran . The equations are pTran pTran cos ( 1 ) = and cos ( 2 ) = . (r1vTran1) (r2 vTran 2) The angles 1 and 2 are also related, through the law of cosines, to the velocities involved in the burns at the ends of the transfer trajectory. Specifically, the equations are
2 2 v12avail = vTran ( 1 + v c1 2 vTran1 vc1 cos 1

and

2 2 v22avail = vTran 2 + vc 2 2vTran2 vc2 cos(

).

We have eight nonlinear equations in eight unknowns. We can guess a variable, perhaps aTran , to begin an iterative solution to the problem. After the equations above have been solved, the eccentricity, the perigee radius, and the apogee radius of the transfer orbit can be determined 2 from the equations pTran = aTran (1 eTran ) , rPTran = aTran (1 eTran ) , and rATran = aTran (1 + eTran ) , respectively.

Algorithm Summary
Hohmann Equations vc1 = vc 2 =

r1

r2

a H = ( r1 + r2 ) /2 vt 1H = 2 1 r1 aH vt 2H = 2 1 r2 aH

v1 H = v t1H vc1 vHtotal = v1 H + v2 H .

v2 H = vc2 vt 2 H

For the Hohmann transfer, we have 8 equations involving 11 parameters. The three known parameters are , r1 , and r2 . The other 8 parameters, vc1 , vc 2 , a H , vt 1H , vt 2H , v1 H , v2 H , and vHtotal , can be determined from the 8 equations. We will now assume that the Hohmann variables are now known and will use them as reference values. Fixed v Analysis: For the analysis of transfers with fixed v , it is convenient to specify the two propulsion multipliers, f1 and f2 . There are 8 equations which govern the transfer . These are v1 avail = f1 v1H vTran1 = cos ( 2 1 r1 aTran pTran (r1vTran1)
1

v2 avail = f2 v2 H vTran2 = cos ( 2 1 r21 aTran pTran

)=

)=

(r2 vTran 2)
2

2 2 v12avail = vTran ( 1 + v c1 2 vTran1 vc1 cos

2 2 v22avail = vTran 2 + vc 2 2vTran2 vc2 cos(

).

In addition to the known quantities , r1 , r2 , f1 and f2 , and the derived quantities v1 H , and v2 H , these eight equations involve the eight unknowns v1 avail , v2 avail , pTran , aTran , vTran1 , vTran2 , 1 , and 2 .

Solution: We have 8 nonlinear equations in 8 unknowns. It is most convenient to use an interative procedure to solve the equations. We can guess one of the unknowns and use this value to start the solution of the entire set of equations. A very logical variable to guess is aTran , the semimajor axis of the transfer orbit. Note that it might be necessary to guess several starting values for aTran in order to get a starting value that will result in convergence. A first consideration might be that or guess for aTran be larger than the value found for the Hohmann transfer, and that aTran not be too large. Auxiliary Equations : These equations can be used to determine the eccentricity, perigee radius, and apogee radius of the transfer orbit after the characteristics of the transfer orbit are determined.
2 pTran = aTran (1 eTran )

rPTran = aTran (1 eTran ) rATran = aTran (1 + eTran )

TK Solver Plus Model

TK Solver Rule Sheet " Hohmann Transfer Reference Information (8 Equations in 8 unknowns) vc1 = sqrt(mu/r1) vc2 = sqrt(mu/r2) aH = (r1 + r2)/2 vt1H = sqrt(mu*(2/r1 - 1/aH)) vt2H = sqrt(mu*(2/r2 - 1/aH)) dv1H = vt1H - vc1 dv2H = vc2 - vt2H dvHtot = dv1H + dv2H " Fixed DV Transfer Calculations (8 Equations in 8 unknowns) dv1avail = f1*dv1H dv2avail = f2*dv2H vTran1 = sqrt(mu*(2/r1 - 1/aTran)) vTran2 = sqrt(mu*(2/r2 - 1/aTran)) cos(gam1) = sqrt(mu*pTran)/(r1*vTran1) cos(gam2) = sqrt(mu*pTran)/(r2*vTran2) dv1avail^2 = vc1^2 + vTran1^2 - 2*vc1*vTran1*cos(gam1) dv2avail^2 = vc2^2 + vTran2^2 - 2*vc2*vTran2*cos(gam2) " Auxiliary Equations pTran = aTran*(1 - eTran^2) " Gives eccentricity of transfer rpTran = aTran*(1 - eTran) " Gives perigee radius of transfer raTran = aTran*(1 + eTran) " Gives apogee radius of transfer

TK Solver Variable Sheet 1

St

Input 39860 6672.756 6750

Name mu r1 r2 aH vc1 vc2 vt1H vt2H dv1H dv2H dvHtot

Output

Unit km^3/s^2 km km km km/s km/s km/s km/s m/s m/s m/s

Comment Gravitational constant Low orbit radius High orbit radius Hohmann semi-major axis Low orbit circular velocity High orbit circular velocity Perigee velocity in Hohmann Apogee velocity in Hohmann Perigee V in Hohmann Apogee V in Hohmann Total V in Hohmann Fixed V Transfer Calculations

6711.378 2.4440834 2.4300587 2.4511058 2.4230565 7.022401 7.0022238 14.024625

1.03 1.04

f1 f2 aTran pTran dv1avai dv2avai vTran1 vTran2 gam1 gam2

6711.5421 6711.3151 7.233073 7.2823127 2.4511354 2.4230864 .0376462 .04963932

km km m/s m/s km/s km/s deg deg

Multiplier for Hohmann V1 Multiplier for Hohmann V2 Semimajor axis of Transfer orbit Parameter of Transfer orbit Available V1 Available V2 Transfer Velocity at r1 Transfer Velocity at r2 Flight Path Angle at r1 Flight Path Angle at r2 Auxiliary values

L L L

eTran rpTran raTran

.00581625 6672.5061 3645.0206

km nmi

TK Solver Variable Sheet 2 St Input 39860 6672.756 42162.632 Name mu r1 r2 aH vc1 vc2 vt1H vt2H dv1H dv2H dvHtot Output Unit km^3/s^2 km km km km/s km/s km/s km/s km/s km/s km/s Comment Gravitational constant Low orbit radius High orbit radius Hohmann semi-major axis Low orbit circular velocity High orbit circular velocity Perigee velocity in Hohmann Apogee velocity in Hohmann Perigee V in Hohmann Apogee V in Hohmann Total V in Hohmann Fixed V Transfer Calculations 1.5 2 f1 f2 aTran pTran dv1avai dv2avai vTran1 vTran2 gam1 gam2 Multiplier for Hohmann V1 Multiplier for Hohmann V2 Semimajor axis of Transfer orbit Parameter of Transfer orbit Available V1 Available V2 Transfer Velocity at r1 Transfer Velocity at r2 Flight Path Angle at r1 Flight Path Angle at r2 Auxiliary values L L L eTran rpTran raTran .84653029 6163.3007 40041.114 km nmi Eccentricity of transfer orbit Perigee radius of transfer orbit Apogee radius of transfer orbit

24417.694 2.4440834 .97231008 3.2116452 .50828242 .76756176 .46402766 1.2315894

40159.722 11380.722 1.1513426 .92805533 3.309766 .94775369 15.33712 57.791361

km km km/s km/s km/s km/s deg deg