Two-tangent-impulse flyby of space target from an elliptic initial orbit

The problem of two-tangent-impulse space target flyby is drawn in this paper. Unlike the traditional method, the transfer orbit is divided into two parts, i.e. the phasing orbit and the approaching orbit, considering the temporal and the spatial constraint respectively. The method of the phasing orbit and approaching orbit determination is formulated firstly. Then, the attainable target areas from a given position on the initial elliptic orbit, the feasible impulse position for approaching to a given point in space and the optimal approaching orbit to a given point are analyzed. Based on the optimal approaching orbit, the optimal solution for target flyby is provided in the time free case, and a suboptimal solution for the case of time-constrained. Numerical simulations demonstrate the application of the solutions to space target flyby in different scenarios.