RSS/RO Docking Ports

[Mr. Sandman]

Hi KSP Community.I have a problem: I have to dock two big fuel tanks (around 6-8m diameter) in orbit for a trip to Mars.Realism Overhaul gives you pre-sized docking ports and TweakScale can't modify them.So yeah , solutions?Mods that add more docking ports for RO?A cfg to add more different sized docking ports of the same type?I don't want to modify a pre existing docking port , since I'm already using them on smaller ships and I fear to break them by doing that.Thanks!

Edited July 1, 2017 by Mr. Sandman

[Srpadget]

Why do the big tanks need bigger docking ports?  (Serious question--I'm not an RO player, and there may be subtleties either in RO/RSS or in your use case which I'm unaware of.)

If it's just for structural stiffness (which seems to be the most common reason for wanting bigger docking ports), there are other ways to get that. 

• The brute force method, of course, would be the Kerbal Joint Reinforcement mod, but that affects all joints everywhere and is not to everybody's taste. 
• For a more focused solution (though it does increase part count), Kerbal Attachment System has EVA-deployable struts which are designed specifically to add structural strength/stiffness across docked joints.  And I believe there are other mods that offer similar strut-based solutions. 
• You can also increase docked strength with no additional mods by using multiple smaller ports instead of one big one (again, at some cost in part count--and you have to be GOOD at aligning craft properly when docking).
• Not in keeping with the spirit of RO, but probably still doable unless RO changes the dimensions of rocket plume heat/damage effects:  you can dodge the issue by using a "puller" design rather than a "pusher".  Sure, the overall craft may still resemble overcooked spaghetti, but it's a lot easier to pull a noodle than to push it.

I'm sure there are other solutions out there, but those all came to mind immediately.

[CSE]

Large docking ports:

Or weldable docking ports that you can collapse once joined, welding the two parent parts to each other:

But I think the most RO answer is to follow SpaceX's concept - launch the craft with a single large tank, as dry as it needs to be to make orbit, and then top it up from tanker craft over small docking ports.

[Mr. Sandman]

3 hours ago, Srpadget said:

Why do the big tanks need bigger docking ports?  (Serious question--I'm not an RO player, and there may be subtleties either in RO/RSS or in your use case which I'm unaware of.)

If it's just for structural stiffness (which seems to be the most common reason for wanting bigger docking ports), there are other ways to get that. 

• The brute force method, of course, would be the Kerbal Joint Reinforcement mod, but that affects all joints everywhere and is not to everybody's taste. 
• For a more focused solution (though it does increase part count), Kerbal Attachment System has EVA-deployable struts which are designed specifically to add structural strength/stiffness across docked joints.  And I believe there are other mods that offer similar strut-based solutions. 
• You can also increase docked strength with no additional mods by using multiple smaller ports instead of one big one (again, at some cost in part count--and you have to be GOOD at aligning craft properly when docking).
• Not in keeping with the spirit of RO, but probably still doable unless RO changes the dimensions of rocket plume heat/damage effects:  you can dodge the issue by using a "puller" design rather than a "pusher".  Sure, the overall craft may still resemble overcooked spaghetti, but it's a lot easier to pull a noodle than to push it.

I'm sure there are other solutions out there, but those all came to mind immediately.

Your solutions looks good to me , I'll try them , thanks!Yeah the main problem was mostly structural reasons (it will have a pretty heavy payload , powerful engines and it has to spin up to make a simulated gravity)

 

4 minutes ago, CSE said:

Large docking ports:

Or weldable docking ports that you can collapse once joined, welding the two parent parts to each other:

But I think the most RO answer is to follow SpaceX's concept - launch the craft with a single large tank, as dry as it needs to be to make orbit, and then top it up from tanker craft over small docking ports.

I'm trying to do the Ares concept (put in orbit different parts of a huge spacecraft , assemble them and then depart) , so I need big docking ports to attach all those big tanks together and then dump some after they are depleted.Thank for the links , anyway!

[Vanamonde]

This discussion of add-ons has been moved to Add-on Discussions. 

[winged]

My solution for that is simply to create larger docking ports via cfg files and add Quantum Struts to reduce wobbliness.

[Tyko]

On 7/1/2017 at 2:41 PM, Mr. Sandman said:

Your solutions looks good to me , I'll try them , thanks!Yeah the main problem was mostly structural reasons (it will have a pretty heavy payload , powerful engines and it has to spin up to make a simulated gravity)

 

I'm trying to do the Ares concept (put in orbit different parts of a huge spacecraft , assemble them and then depart) , so I need big docking ports to attach all those big tanks together and then dump some after they are depleted.Thank for the links , anyway!

Using KAS struts is fun because you get to use you kerbalnauts to do some on orbit assembly. Attach the strut attachment points in the VAB, then have a kerbal eva and attach them together. Works great and feels more like something that would actually be done 

[Mr. Sandman]

1 hour ago, Tyko said:

Using KAS struts is fun because you get to use you kerbalnauts to do some on orbit assembly. Attach the strut attachment points in the VAB, then have a kerbal eva and attach them together. Works great and feels more like something that would actually be done 

Yeah that adds more "atmosphere" to the situation and I will probably use it.Now I have big docking ports (SpaceY Expanded).I needed them because..you know...I'm docking 40000 tons tanks and I really don't want them to wobble during the TransMars injection!