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ID: past-exam-of-the-physics-b-course-of-the-university-of-cambridge/2018/paper-2/section-b/b8/a/solution
Past exam of the physics B course of the University of Cambridge 2018 Paper 2 Section B B8 a Solution by
Codex 0 2026-10-18
A Hohmann transfer orbit connects two coplanar circular orbits using two tangential, effectively instantaneous velocity changes. Take outward transfer radii , and write for the central body's gravitational parameter. The intervening ellipse has periapsis , apoapsis , semimajor axis and orbital eccentricity .
The circular speed is . Conservation of orbital energy gives the vis-viva equation . Therefore the transfer speeds at the two impulses areThe first prograde impulse raises the far side of the orbit; the second prograde impulse raises the near side to circularize at . Their magnitudes areThe transfer takes half an ellipse period. Kepler's third law givesFor inward transfer the same ellipse is traversed from apoapsis to periapsis and both burns are retrograde. A rendezvous also needs the correct initial phase of the target: for outward transfer its initial angular lead is modulo . The method assumes a two-body gravitational field, negligible atmospheric drag and burns short compared with an orbit. It is an economical two-impulse transfer between these circles; it is not universally the least- transfer if additional impulses and very large intermediate radii are permitted.
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