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Description
A 1:1 scale replica of Explorer 1. Launched on a Juno 1, this was the first successful orbital launch by the US, in response to the Soviet Union’s Sputnik 1, on February 1st, 1958. The rocket consists of four stages: 1st stage is a Redstone ICBM, and the other three (the high speed stages
) are unguided Sergeant SRB clusters. Starting at launch, the high speed stages were spun using electric motors in order to maintain attitude during firing. A pretty Kerbal rocket if you ask me.
Flight Profile:
- Begin ascent as normal, but use a shallow ascent profile. At 1st stage burnout, the apoapsis should be roughly 100 kilometers. Other ascent profiles will either experience too much drag or have too low a horizontal velocity to reach orbit.
- Despite my attempts at balancing angular momentum, there is some slight counter-rotation caused by the rotating tub. If this is an issue during ascent, press 0 to toggle the motor power.
- After 1st stage burnout, activate RCS and stage to separate the booster from the guidance section.
- Set SAS to prograde and coast to apoapsis.
- 3 seconds before apoapsis, press 1 to begin the High Speed Stages KAL track. This is how the upper stages are controlled without room for a probe core.
- Right after the KAL controller begins, press Alt+] to focus on the satellite. Otherwise, focus will remain on the guidance section, and the satellite will leave physics range, not making orbit.
- KSP will display the satellite as debris, this can be changed in the tracking station. You still won’t have any control though, because there’s no control point.
Flags:
This Google Drive folder contains all the flags used in the replica: https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1lSlk4jwr9xvHo2Hur6o62iC-SfZTOV5w?usp=sharing
If anyone has difficulty with flag application (I don’t know if it’s clear enough from the pictures), let me know and I’ll update this description.
Details
- Type: VAB
- Class: probe
- Part Count: 221
- Pure Stock
- KSP: 1.10.1
