Optimal time-free nodal transfers between elliptical orbits

Fuel- or Time-Optimal Transfers Between Coplanar, Coaxial Ellipses

Undoubtedly, minimum-fuel and -time orbit transfer are the two major goals of the op timal orbit maneuver. This paper considers two coplanar elliptic orbits when the apsidal l ines coincide. We analytically find the conditions for the two-impulse minimum-time tra nsfer orbit using Lambert’s theorem. In the minimum-time transfer, the transfer time is a decreasing function of a variable related t...

Using Direct Transcription to Compute Optimal Low Thrust Transfers Between Libration Point Orbits

The direct transcription method has been used to solve many challenging optimal control problems. One such example involves the calculation of a low thrust orbit transfer between libration point orbits. The recent implementation of high order discretization techniques is first described and then illustrated by computing optimal low thrust trajectories between orbits about the L1 and L2 Earth-Mo...

Design of Optimal Transfers between North and South Pole-sitter Orbits

Explicit Guidance of Drag Modulated Aeroassisted Transfer between Elliptical Orbits

This paper presents the complete analysis of the problem of minimum-fuel aeroassis ted t ransfer between coplanar elliptical orbi ts in the case where the orientation of the final orbi t i s f r e e for selection in the optimization process. The comparison between the optimal pure propulsive t ransfer and the idealized aeroassis ted t ransfer , by severa l passages through the a tmosphere , i s...

Spectroscopic binaries with elliptical orbits

The radial velocity curves of many spectroscopic binaries (SBs) are perturbed by gas streams or proximity effects. For SBs with circular orbits, these perturbations can give rise to spurious orbital eccentricities of high statistical significance. But tests to identify such anomalous orbits can be constructed since perturbed velocity curves are in general no longer Keplerian. The derived tests ...