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Re: Orbit Transfer



On Thu, 13 May 1999, Dan Burns wrote:

... If one wants to transfer between 2 circular orbits a Hohmann
transfer is the most efficient way if there is no plane change. If the
energy required for the Hohmann transfer is compared to the difference
in the total energy (-GMm/2a) of the 2 circular orbits, it is always
greater. Where was this energy "lost"? ...

Dan,

Could you explain what you mean by this? As I see it the energy required
for insertion into the transfer orbit *is* the difference between the
energies of the transfer orbit and the original circular orbit. Similarly,
the energy required for insertion into the final circular orbit *is* the
difference between the energies of the final circular orbit and the
transfer orbit. I don't see how these two energies could possibly add up
to anything other than the difference between the initial and final
orbital energies.

John
----------------------------------------------------------
A. John Mallinckrodt http://www.csupomona.edu/~ajm
Professor of Physics mailto:ajm@csupomona.edu
Physics Department voice:909-869-4054
Cal Poly Pomona fax:909-869-5090
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