LAUSR

Abstract A novel semi-analytic approach is developed to determine the minimum Δ V for a two-impulse rendezvous and validated both empirically and analytically. A previously published closed-form Δ V estimate and the Lambert minimum energy transfer is used to establish upper and lower bounds of the minimum Δ V transfer between two orbits. These bounds, in conjunction with the bisection method, operate on a nonlinear radical cost function to guarantee linear convergence. This approach has several real world applications including a low earth orbit (LEO) to highly elliptical orbit (HEO), and a HEO to retrograde geosynchronous orbit transfer. The minimum Δ V estimates are better than those reported in the existing literature, while run times improved as much as two orders of magnitude over a fixed time Lambert solver. All singularity cases were addressed such that any orbital geometry, including Hohmann and radial elliptic transfers, converged to the global minimum Δ V . This approach will work for both coplanar and non-coplanar 3D geometries for any orbit type.