Date of Award

5-2026

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Bachelor of Arts (BA)

Department

Natural Sciences

First Advisor

Colladay, Donald

Area of Concentration

Physics

Abstract

This thesis develops a relativistic generalization of the classical Hohmann transfer between circular orbits in a central gravitational field. The problem is formulated in Schwarzschild spacetime, where spacecraft trajectories are modeled as timelike geodesics and orbital transfers as sequences of impulsive velocity changes. Using conserved quantities derived from Killing vectors, the equations of motion are reduced to an effective radial problem, allowing the construction of bound transfer orbits connecting two circular orbits. A parametric representation of the radial motion is used to evaluate the azimuthal advance and time of flight along the transfer trajectory, with numerical methods used where closed-form expressions are unavailable. A key contribution is the incorporation of rendezvous conditions through phase matching, enabling the calculation of arrival synchronization and phase error. The required velocity changes are computed in a local orthonormal frame to ensure physically meaningful comparisons. The relativistic transfer is then compared to the Newtonian, highlighting differences in the velocity boost, transfer time, and orbital precession.

Rights

The author has granted New College of Florida the nonexclusive right to archive, make accessible, and distribute for educational purposes this work in whole or in part in all forms of media, now or hereafter known. The copyright of this work remains with the author.

Download

Share

COinS