Tangent Orbital Rendezvous with the Same Direction of Terminal Velocities

摘要

This Note studies the tangent orbit rendezvous technique, which requires that two cooperative spacecraft arrive at an assigned point with the same velocity direction after the same transfer time. The transfer time for fixed initial and final points is a function only of the initial flight-path angle. Then, the solutions can be obtained by setting two transfer times equal. There are many solutions for the multiple-revolution case, whereas for two given revolution numbers of the chief's and chaser's orbits, there can be zero, one, or two solutions. Although its energy consumption is not optimal, tangent orbit rendezvous process can be easily controlled for a manned spacecraft rendezvous problem.