The staff on the KSP usually don't do things by halves. And to end the year they embarked on the biggest project yet - the placement of a geo-stationary satellite communications network. A total of four geostationary satellites were put into equitorial orbit around Kerbin, 90 degrees apart from each other. Then a further two were placed in polar orbit. The satellites were named CommSat I - VI and are a successor to the two StarComm's that are doing a similar job at the moment.
A new rocket system needed to be developed due to the amount of fuel required to put each satellite at an orbital distance of 2.8 million kilometers. This makes the CommSat series the furthest Kerbal-made objects to date (roughly one-third of the way to the Mun). To achieve this distance, the Houndstone C-2A was presented to KSP. These also sported reusable boosters and a more sophisticated fuel-delivery system. Once the boosters are jettisoned, they will parachute back down into the ocean for collection, refueled and then re-used for another launch.
In addition, the second stage was also a 'smart booster' and had the ability to be remote controlled once the payload is released. This allowed the booster to be de-orbited back to Kerbin to eliminate any danger of a future collision with the satellites. This heralded the 'Orbital Debris Reduction Program', or ODeRP for short.
The C2-A launcher was also able to carry the polar CommSat's into orbit with some modifications and were re-named to C2-B's. Their boosters were not re-usable, but the launch vehicle was a much cheaper option than the Houndstone II system. During booster separation of CommSat VI, one of the boosters collided with the first-stage after a roll misalignment during jettison. This damaged the first-stage, which had to be immediately shut-down and jettisoned several seconds before originally intended. The second-stage and probe were unaffected and were cleared to continue as normal.
A new Houndstone C2-A lifter on the launchpad sporting it's new reusablebooster system. The C2-B had larger boosters for extra grunt for the polar orbits
The whole mission took nearly seven days to achieve. But now that the satellites are there, Mission Control has global communication with any vehicle they put into space. Gene Kerman said at a press release on the mission's completion:
'This is a very valuable step towards our space program. We no longer have to rely on our communications stations around the world to keep in contact with other probes. This ensure things run much more smoothly.'
What a view! An impression of one of the CommSat's illustrating it's orbital distance from Kerbin
Cool cant wait to see what happens next
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