Orbital mechanics can be a bit counter-intuitive. We have to slow down an orbiting space craft to convert kinetic energy for gravitational energy. The orbital altitude is raised at its highest point (perigee) and then the orbit is circularized.
Here are is a video that explains orbital mechanics and another that talks about low thrust propulsion.
Optimizing the orbital moves are hard and take a lot of calculation.
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I always get that confused
The mnemonic is “East takes you out, out takes you west, west takes you in, and in takes you east”.
So you too have read Larry Niven’s “Integral Trees” and “Smoke Ring”.