ALTERNATIVE APPROACH TO THE SOLUTION OF LAMBERT PROBLEM

A method for solving the two-point, two-body orbital transfer boundary-value problem, commonly referred to as Lambert's problem, is presented. Previous algorithms have depended heavily on the geometric properties of conic sections to obtain an iterative solution. An alternative approach is offered, making use of velocity and time functions of the flyout angle that have been derived directly from the equations of motion. A procedure is presented that rapidly iterates directly on the flyout angle until the desired initial velocity vector can be obtained.