Optimal Impulsive Orbital Transfer - SNOPT version

MATLAB script for the solution of the one and two impulse orbit transfer between two Earth orbits.

This submission is a MATLAB script called oota_snopt that can be used to determine optimum one and two impulse orbital transfers between non-coplanar circular and elliptical orbits. The method is general and the initial and final orbits need not be coapsidal.

The algorithm implemented in this script is based on the classic orbit transfer and rendezvous work of Gary McCue, Gentry Lee and David Bender, described in “Numerical Investigation of Minimum Impulse Orbital Transfer”, AIAA Journal, 3, 2328-2334 (1963); and “An Analysis of Two-Impulse Orbital Transfer”, AIAA Journal, 2, 1767-1773 (1964).

The numerical solution of this classic astrodynamics problem involves a combination of one-dimensional, derivative-free root-finding using the Bisected Direct Quadratic Regula Falsi method and multi-dimensional unconstrained minimization using the SNOPT algorithm. Information about MATLAB versions of SNOPT for several computer platforms can be found at Professor Philip Gill’s web site which is located at http://scicomp.ucsd.edu/~peg/. Professor Gill’s web site also includes a PDF version of the SNOPT software user’s guide.

For a two-impulse transfer, this script also provides a graphical display of the primer vector characteristics. This information can be used to verify the optimality of the transfer.