KerbalX

Context

Launched upon an Atlas Agena-D on the 28th November 1964, Mariner 4 was the first spacecraft that successfully flew past Mars. It weighed only 260kg making it considerably lighter than the Soviet Union’s Zond 2 which came in at a hefty 890kg which was launched only 2 days after Mariner 4. After a successful launch and a 7.5 month cruise, Mariner 4 flew past Mars at over 7000m/s relative to Mars capturing 21 images throughout the duration of the flyby. Houston switched off the probe in 1967 after the spacecraft had used up all of its Nitrogen attitude control propellent.

Details

• Type: VAB
• Class: probe
• Part Count: 720
• Pure Stock
• KSP: 1.10.1

Flags required! Download here: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1MG3LzepQ-ZGrq1Hcqm6vPDBuEUszW9pm/view?usp=sharing

Flight Profile

1. SAS On
2. Stage to activate engines
3. Stage again to release launch clamps
4. Take a gravity turn that reaches 45* by 15km
5. At T+1:00 or at 20km, stage to release the skirt. Make sure to keep the craft steady!
6. Keep burning with the sustainer until near orbital speed. Pitch over aggresively if you have to. Aim to reach at least 2100m/s on the sustainer. Make sure your apoapsis is between 80-100km
7. When out of the atmosphere, Press X to cut throttle. Stage and immediately hit Z to fire up the Agena. Sometimes the Agena may get stuck on the interstage. If this happens either revert to launch or timewarp to get out. Activate RCS.
8. Once in orbit, plot for Duna at the optimal transfer window. Perform the manuever and activate the SPS if needed with AG4 for finer burn control.
9. After the burn, stage to release Mariner 4. Use AG1 to deploy the solar arrays. Limited RCS control is available but only for pitch, yaw and forwards. This can be used to make small RCS corrections on the way to Duna
10. Flyby Duna!

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