The six ships of the Vanguard class are the mainstays of the space program of the government of Crout (Glisten Subsector). Designed for a vertical launch, the vehicle is winged and lands on a runway. A Vanguard can lift up to 154 tons of cargo into a stable planetary orbit.

The solar cell module is provided for long-endurance missions, and consists of an array of folding screens. It may not be deployed while the ship is under acceleration. Power is provided from the rocket motors during maneuvers. Turnaround time from landing to launch is usually about 13 days. Approximately 6.2 minutes of acceleration are required to achieve stable orbit. Life support is limited to the crew and cargo compartments.

[Designed using rules found in Challenge #45]

CraftID:	Vanguard class Orbiter, TL7, MCr22.5
Hull:	36/90, Disp=40t, Config=1AF, Armor=40C, Loaded=612t, Unloaded=458t
Power:	1/2, SolarCells=2MW, Endurance=Indefinite
Loco:	2/4, High Performance Rocket=1326tons, Endurance=20min
Comm:	Radio=Planetary
Sensors:	Radar=Regional(500), ActObjScan=Diff, ActObjPin=Diff
Off:	Hardpoints=1
Def:	DefDM+3
Control:	Computer Mod1*3, 186*CompLink
Accom:	Crew=3 (2 pilots, flight engineer), Seats=Roomy*4, SmallStaterooms=2, Env=basic env, basic ls, extended ls
Other:	Fuel=264kl (cryogenic), Cargo=154kl, ObjSize=Avg, EmLevel=Faint

Author: R.S.Dean