TABLE OF CONTENTS Rendezvous in space between two satellites is accomplished when both satellites attain the same position and velocity, both vectors, at the same time. However, at the time a rendezvous sequence is initiated, the two satellites may be far apart in significantly different orbits. In fact, one satellite may be starting with a launch from the ground.
This chapter will address the rendezvous sequence in two parts. The first part will be concerned with phasing for rendezvous, i.e., developing the maneuvers and timing sequence that will bring the two satellites into close proximity. The material presented in the sections dealing with Hohmann and bi-elliptic transfer is based on the approach presented in Ref. [1]. The second part, terminal rendezvous, will examine the motion of one satellite with respect to the other in a coordinate frame attached to one of the satellites. Relative motion between the satellites and terminal maneuvers required for docking will be examined.
Hohmann transfer. The requirements for rendezvous between two satellites in circular coplanar orbits are both illustrative and operationally useful. Figure 7.1 presents a sketch of two circular orbits with radii r i and r f. Assume the satellite in the inner orbit to be the active rendezvous satellite, i.e., the maneuvering satellite. The satellite in the outer orbit is the passive target satellite, i.e., nonmaneuvering. Further, assume that, at some instant in time, the rendezvous satellite is located at the point shown in Fig. 7.1 and...
