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HOHMANN_TRANSFER

                                                        March 22, 2018


A Hohmann transfer orbit is the most energy
efficient way to travel between two (roughly)
circular orbits.  One burn initiates the transfer,
switching from a circular to an elliptical orbit
which intersects the destination orbit on the
precisely opposite side, at which point another burn
completes the transfer, switching from the
elliptical to the circular orbit.


   But just getting from one orbit to another
   doesn't get you to your destination:
   there's also the matter of timing, to
   travel between planets you need to arrive
   at the final orbit at the moment that the
   the other planet happens to be there.

   For the earth-mars system, the window for
   a Hohmann transfer occurs only once every
   26 years.


                        http://www.planetary.org/multimedia/space-images/charts/hohmann-transfer-orbit.html









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