Brent,
Great info to start off with. "Easy" is a foreign word to me, I love the challenge. Hate the failed attempts, but have always been a tinkerer.
I have since found that the module is self-contained and that the USB chip supports what is called UVC (USB video class), which in turn, has native support in WIN7 and newer, and Linux.
I haven't been able to identify the sensor itself and whether or not it needs to be "initialized" but based on the USB chip datasheet, should at least shoot out an image of some kind by default. Output will be VGA 640x480 maximum, 30fps. The laptop specs say it is 3 MP, CMOS.
I am hoping worst case, if not available in the native support, the generic driver will give me some limited control.
I hope the hardest part is adapting to the focuser tube.