Word.ws English Dictionary

Hohmann transfer

Hohmann transfer noun: an elliptical orbit used to transfer a spacecraft between two circular orbits of different altitudes in the same plane, with the periapsis of the orbit being tangent to the smaller circular orbit and its apoapsis being tangent to the larger circular orbit.

Noun

Hohmann transfer (plural Hohmann transfers)

  1. An elliptical orbit used to transfer a spacecraft between two circular orbits of different altitudes in the same plane, with the periapsis of the orbit being tangent to the smaller circular orbit and its apoapsis being tangent to the larger circular orbit.
  2. The process of using such an orbit to transfer between two other orbits.

Forms of Hohmann transfer

pluralHohmann transfers

Origin of Hohmann transfer

Named after Walter Hohmann, the German engineer who described it.

Questions about Hohmann transfer

What does Hohmann transfer mean?
Hohmann transfer means an elliptical orbit used to transfer a spacecraft between two circular orbits of different altitudes in the same plane, with the periapsis of the orbit being tangent to the smaller circular orbit and its apoapsis being tangent to the larger circular orbit.
What part of speech is Hohmann transfer?
Hohmann transfer is a noun.
What is the plural of Hohmann transfer?
The plural of Hohmann transfer is Hohmann transfers.

Words near Hohmann transfer in the dictionary

  1. Hohls
  2. Hohman
  3. Hohmann
  4. Hohmann orbit
  5. Hohmann orbits
  6. Hohmann transfer
  7. Hohmann transfer orbit
  8. Hohmann transfer orbits
  9. Hohmann transfers
  10. hohmannite
  11. Hohmanns

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: Hohmann transfer (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

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Cite this entry: “Hohmann transfer.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/hohmann_transfer. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.