Course
Guided
250 XP3–4 hours

Hohmann Transfer Δv Planner

Compute the two burns that move a satellite between circular orbits — and the fuel they cost.

A guided build of the workhorse of mission planning. You will compute both burns of a Hohmann transfer, total the Δv, add the propellant cost via the rocket equation, and compare against a bi-elliptic transfer to see when each wins.

Δv & the rocket equationHohmann transfersVis-viva equation
Milestones
0/4
Use vis-viva: v = sqrt(μ(2/r − 1/a)). • LEO r1 = 6778 km, GEO r2 = 42164 km. • The transfer ellipse has a_t = (r1 + r2)/2. • Print the circular speeds and the transfer speeds at perigee and apogee.
numpy
LEO circular speed ~7.67 km/s
Transfer perigee speed ~10.2 km/s