Another question for tim: accepting for the moment Orion and Apollo had the same parking orbit in LEO, and remained have you considered the effect of Orion and Apollo starting their apogee-raising burns at different points in their orbit?
I've been discussing this with another forum member in private, just to clarify my thinking. Since Tim is moderated, can you explain where you are going with the line of question. I think it marries with mine. It would be appreciated for the sake of doing some actual learning.
I really did like the cardboard model.
I'm glad you liked the model. The reason for my question is that, since the belts and the orbits are inclined with respect to each other, it is quite possible from the same orbit to either fire yourself into an 'up and over' path or a 'diving straight into it' path, depending on where you start.
Of course, the model I made showed you can do either of those even if you do happen to fire your engines at the same point. All depends on the relative positions of everything.