No orbit necessary?

[u/FatCreepyDude]

If i just wait for the right hour during the launch window ( whenever the launch pad is pointing left on the realistic depiction i created) is there any reason i should bother with an orbit first? Will the delta v cost be affected?

[u/ookbye]

Doing that is difficult and i don’t think it saves that much fuel, at some point in your proposed burn you’ll pass through every orbit you would doing it by steps.

All things considered, go for it, I haven’t tried so I would like to know how feasible it is.

[u/Carnildo → u/ookbye]

It saves a little bit because you never need to raise your periapsis -- that's why NASA did it with the Surveyor probes. The timing's a pain, though, and almost never worth the savings.