Optimal two-impulse orbital transfer between coplanar orbits

This paper consider the minimum fuel two-impulse orbital transfer between coplanar orbits. The transfer orbit is parameterized in terms of the eccentricity vector component in the direction perpendicular to the chord connecting the two points. The total increment of the velocity is expressed as a function of the transverse eccentricity. The proposed method accommodates for both circular orbits and elliptic orbits and it does not have the limitations that the apsidal lines must be coincide. It is proved that Hohmann transfer is a special case of the proposed method when the transfer angle is 180 degree. Numerical simulation example is given to show the effectiveness of the proposed method.