Newtonian gravity (3) - Hohmann transfer orbit

First page: Introduction to the Newtonian gravity demo.
Previous page: Inner solar system demo.

This is part three of a series of three pages describing my Newtonian gravity demo program.

This demo is very similar to the 'inner solar system' demo, except that it performs the additional trick of sending a satellite to Mars.  You might be wondering, why not just combine the two scenarios into one demo.  Indeed, this was my original idea.  However, it turns out that rocket science is not regarded as 'rocket science' for nothing.  You might have noticed in the inner solar system demo that the orbits of Earth and Mars are not perfect circles.  They are slightly elliptical and they are not even in the same plane.  Now, there are zillions of websites that explain the Hohmann orbit calculations but they all assume circular, coplanar orbits for the start and destination bodies.  When I plugged these calculations into the demo and tried to fly the satellite to Mars it missed by millions of miles!  In the end I capitulated and created a separate demo with simplified orbits for Earth and Mars so that at least my satellite gets within shouting distance of its target.