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TDRS Constellation Mission

This launch vehicle delivers a set of 9 TDRS (Tracking and Data Relay Satellite) to as far as Jool system, providing near-constant interplanetary communication for future missions.

I’m currently in love with small to tiny satellites. They are not that boring after all.

Pure stock, no mods, no DLCs. 256 parts, root part is the RC-001S drone core below the RA-100 relay dish.

- 2000m/s dV @ 80x80km LKO from core stage + 2500m/s dV from upper stage
- 8 x ES-17 2.00G TDRS with 1000m/s dV on itself
- 1 x ES-19 100G TDRS with 770m/s dV on itself

[1]= solar panels for LKO
[2]=
[3]=
[4]= satellite solar panels and antennas
[5]=
[6]=
[7]=
[8]=
[9]=
[0]= satellite engines on/off


- Engage SAS, stage once to fire main engine, stage again to lift off.
- Conduct gravity turn, reach 45 degrees pitch at 10km altitude, lock prograde.
- Throttle back to 2/3 at around Mach 1, go full throttle after solid rocket boosters separation. This will save some fuel. It can still achieve orbit with constant full throttle, but likely with 100-200m/s less dV.
- Push AP to 80km, shut down engines, coast till circularization.
- Jettison fairing outside the atmosphere, press 1 to extend selected solar panels.
- Core stage should be able to provide ~2km/s dV at 80x80km LKO. This is enough to send the upper stage into a trans-Jool orbit with a good transfer window, but sometimes it's necessary to burn ~300m/s dV from upper stage for the intercept.
- Use RCS for orbital maneuvering and fine-tuning trajectory. There is plenty of monopropellant on both stages.
- It's up to you how to arrange the constellation in the Jool system. Don't forget the 700-1000m/s dV on the satellites themselves.
- Note that the upper stage is controlled by the ES-19 100G TDRS. It's difficult to control the upper stage after the ES-19 is deployed.