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Satellite Deployment


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So I have a pair of contracts in my career game I can pick up, both to deploy satellites.  Each satellite has specific build requirements, and one needs to be in high Kerbin orbit (16 million m) and the other in Mun orbit.  And so, I have questions on how to go about doing this.

1.  What id optimally like to do is to deploy both in the same mission, but I'm unsure how to build a rocket to do that.  Will having multiple probe cores on the same rocket cause issues with flight?  If I have 2 OKTO cores and a pilot, which one takes precedence?

2.  I dont see fairings available in my list of parts, so I'm unsure as to how to protect the satellites during launch and escaping Kerbin.  What parts can I use to protect the satellites?

3.  Are there any resources on satellite design i should be looking at?  I dont want to just stuck an OKTO on a Stayputnik and then stick a bunch of parts on it.  Aesthetics aside, I just don't like things that look like you spent no time on them.

4.  How does it work to switch between controlling things?  Is have a rocket in orbit and deploy a satellite, that id have to control long enough to get it into the right alignment and such..and I'm thinking about putting an engine on one of them to get it to the Mun (instead of sending the whole rocket).

As you can see, I'm trying to be able to get experience and science, as well as salvage some pieces at the same time.  I'm just not sure how to go about this?

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1. Satellites are extremely light. Small tanks and engines can get them far. It's actually a bit difficult to design a satellite that can't get itself to its destination from LKO. So, I'd say design 2 satellites, with the dV to get to their destinations, and just launch them as the payload of your rocket that's just good enough to get them to LKO. Regarding 2 cores, the "root" OKTO will be the default, but you can change it at any time during the flight.

2. If you don't have fairings (they're in Payload) then your best bet is to just make the satellites as aerodynamic as possible and maybe put a nosecone on top on top of a decoupler so you can toss it once you get up out of the thick atmosphere.

3. I don't know of any. I tend to build for the job and not care too much about how something looks.

4. Switching between controlling things is easy. If you're nearby, you switch between them wiht [ and ] (or is it . and , I never remember. One of those) and if they're too far apart for that, you can go into map mode, click the one you want to control, and jump to it. As I said in 1. above, it's very doable, and likely better in this case, to actually have two individual satellites that you send different places from LKO.

 

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48 minutes ago, Popestar said:

But how to get them into LKO from one rocket?  Are there special design requirements?  How do you launch them from a rocket?

From the top down, nosecone, decoupler, okto with some solar panels on the side, whatever the contract requires, fuel tank, engine, decoupler, okto with some solar panels on the side, whatever the second contract requires, fuel tank, engine, decoupler, then the launcher rocket.

Just make sure that each "okto, extras, tank, engine" by itself has - say - 2000 m/s of dV and you should be able to complete any contract Kerbin's SOI that doesn't require a retrograde or super tilted orbit. And even those you can do with planning.

Note Okto's aren't exactly aerodynamic, but with the nosecone it won't be too bad.

Once in orbit, just decouple the satellites from each other by right clicking the decouplers, or even just hitting space until everything's separate. Just make sure you're throttled all the way down first :D

Edited by Superfluous J
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When designing a craft, no matter what for, design it in the reverse order of use. That is: design first what you will use last.

In your case, first design the satellites, bellow it put a small tank and a terrier engine (for this stage, aim for about 1km/s deltaV at 15km altitude) bellow that you build a launcher vehicle that can send the upper stage faster and high enough to work. 

 

You may use service bay If fairings are unavailable. However it's possible to get a "good enough" results with just a nose cone on top of the satellite (mismatched node are a issue, but very manageable for a light payload as satellites tend to be)

 

 

 

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1) The root part takes priority, so start with a probe core for your rocket. You can also right click a command part and pick ‘control from here’.

2) Do you mean you haven’t unlocked them, or you don’t know where they are? If you haven’t unlocked them, try sticking them in service bays instead with a nose cone on the top, that will protect them from the airflow until you get to space; if you don’t know where to find them, they’re in the “payload” tab. Fairings are the best choice for a multiple launch as you can switch on ‘interstage nodes’ and attach multiple data to the same fairing, though you need to remember a decoupler for each one! If you have Making History (or Restock+) you can also try structural tubes, which are hollow and can be used to carry things inside them- again remember decouplers and put a detachable nose cone on the front so the satellites can get out.

3) Unless you’re going to be doing a lot with it, the simplest sat design is best- OKTO, two solar panels, one antenna and whatever science stuff you need on it, then an Oscar-b fuel tank and an ant engine will be enough to get you anywhere in Kerbin’s SOI and possibly beyond. You can put a relay dish on it to provide communications in future, but it’s probably better to stick with the cheapest and lightest option. Build the says separately to get a better idea of their delta-V in space then use the ‘merge’ button (except in KSP 1.10.x where that doesn’t work) to add them to the launch rocket.

4) [ and ] switch between different crafts at close range, if you’re beyond a few km then go to map view, click the desired vessel then switch to it; the tracking station is the long way round.

For such small probes you can try building a small rocket to put one in space at a time, using a 1.25m first stage and a 0.625m second stage, but it would be more efficient to launch them together on a single rocket.

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