[numpad0]

IIUC real launchers do a single burn to orbit because S2 TWR is not very high and relight is finicky. Launchers that has relightable S2 and/or hypergolic S3 routinely do circularization burns.

There are reasons "apogee" is more recognized word than "apoapsis".

[lupusreal]

> There are reasons "apogee" is more recognized word than "apoapsis".

What are you getting at? The -gee suffix means Earth. Apogee is apoapsis of an orbit around Earth. People playing KSP speak of apoapsis because Kerbin isn't Earth.

[numpad0]

IRL they always did and therefore discussed "apogee kicks" after payload release into elliptical transfer orbit(literally GTO). That's where I'm getting at.

If you think about it, there can't be an ellipse that intersects a circle while also being fully encompassed by the latter. That's to say the periapsis can't be higher than the maneuver altitude that the off-apsis burn takes place as the other guy is suggesting.

On real rockets they add small shelf-stable stage such as the spinny boi Star-48 or the notoriously narcoleptic Fregat, inside fairings between S2 payload interface to actual payload, or let the payload pull itself into the final orbit at a great expense.

Yes, you can keep the S2 burning all the way to Ap and then burn at -45deg at Ap to deform the ellipse back into a circle, or fly a by the book gravity turn trajectory, but that's not the most energy efficient insertion, only what are situationally beneficial when there is land below and acceleration is limited.