KerbalX

Details

• Type: VAB
• Class: satellite
• Part Count: 17
• Mods: 2
• KSP: 1.11.0

Mods

• Bluedog DB
• Squad (stock)

The United States launched its two first satellites in January and March 1957 and by the end of the year there had been 7 successful satellites between the United States and the Soviet Union making a future of artificial satellites for a variety of purposes a certainty and a marked success for the International Geophysical Year which wouldn’t conclude until December 1958.

The fledgling American space program achieved a number of successes with satellites including the first to use solar cells (Vanguard 1), discovery of a second radiation belt (Pioneer 3), and America’s first attempts at reaching the moon with the Pioneer program. Vanguard 2 (2E) became America’s fifth attempt at launching the Vanguard 2 satellite which while similar to Vanguard 1 had more advanced instruments with the goal of observing cloud formations and attempting the first transmitted photograph of the Earth. It became an early successful for the new organization, NASA, and helped to establish a civilian space program.

The Easton is an approximation of the Vanguard rocket with three distinct stages – two liquid-fueled rockets and a solid engine for delivering the final payload. The first stage, which in real life was developed from the Viking sound rocket, It should put the rocket into the upper atmosphere after which the smaller Alpha rocket, based on the original Delta rocket, should put into space and potentially an unstable orbit.

The payload is decoupler and jettisoned through spin stabilization by small spin motors on the decoupler which rapidly spin the payload much like a top with separation also aided by a pair of small retro motors on the side of the spent second stage. This is counteracted by a pair of yo-yo-like stabilizing devices which are deployed after separation is complete but before the solid engine is activated. This sufficiently slows the spin movement if not entirely eliminates as it could be problematic if the payload is still rapidly spinning when the solid engine is fired.

The final stage, the Staara, is fired after the spin has been deaccelerated and should put the payload into a stable orbit. The timing of the solid engine is crucial to the mission and misfiring may result in continuing the unstable orbit or launching the payload well past Kerbin. Once you have achieved a stable orbit of Kerbin then you should jettison the V-2 probe. The V-2 probe lacks solar cells, much like the actual Vanguard 2, so it has a very limited electric supply and a finite mission life.

Built in the VAB in KSP version 1.11.0.