MerlinsMaster

That is an interesting idea, which would be fine for a small ship, but the ship in question is huge, so like you said, it would be a violent docking to be sure. Yeah, Winchell Chung from the Atomic Rockets website had expressed the same concern with me on Twitter, which I agreed with. Of course, this is set in the 24th century, and it's not unreasonable to assume that they have much more advance reaction control technology. Yeah, I've read a few of her other books, so I'm more or less expecting that to be the case.

Well, before you say that, check this out. According to my research, Pell Station is about 3600 feet in diameter. I'm not sure exactly what size the Norway is. I'm guessing about the size of a container vessel. It probably doesn't matter that much, as I'm sure in the 24th century, they have sufficiently advanced reaction control technology that a large ship docked with the station wouldn't be a serious issue.

I had thought of that, but my concern was that they wouldn't be at the point of closest approach long enough (a couple of seconds) for the docking clamps to take hold (keep in mind, they would probably be pretty huge). But that's probably the best option, barring tractor beams or the earlier mentioned elevator option.

But in that situation, the docking port, while spinning, was only moving in one direction. Coop only had to match that direction, and then match the spin. In my scenario, the direction is continually changing. It is changing in a predictable manner, however, so it's conceivable that with a good enough RCS system and sufficient manueverability, that it could be done.

I like her too. I read the Chanur series first, and now I'm just starting the Union-Alliance books. As for the ships being able to perform that maneuver, the problem is that the lateral movement of the ring is pretty fast, and the direction is constantly changing. A smaller ship, like the Rocinante in the Expanse, for example, might be able to do it because it is so maneuverable. But the Norway, as best as I can tell, is roughly the size of a medium container vessel, and I have considerable doubts it would be possible. Also, I was just discussing this with Winchell Chung from Atomic Rockets, and he expressed a concern that the Norway docking with the station would put the station wildly off balance. He said it would be like putting a cinder block in a dryer and running it.

That's crazy, I was thinking that exact thing.

That's true, which is why I decided to make this post. It seemed silly to even ask, as I know already that there is no good way to dock on the ring, but I guess I wanted to make sure that I wasn't missing anything.

Hey Guys, I'm currently reading Downbelow Station by C J Cherryh, and I thought it would be fun to recreate the titular space station in KSP. There is, however, a problem I'm running into. In the book, all of the docking ports on this space station are on the ring, not the hub. Given the diameter of the station and how fast it would have to spin to generate 1g, the surface of the ring is moving by at about 73 meters per second, way too fast to even hope to perform a successful docking. So to anyone here who has read the book or is even just familiar with the story, what am I missing here? Cherryh's work in science fiction is for the most part pretty well grounded in scientific accuracy, so how is it she did not think of this? If anyone has any insight into this subject, I would really love to hear your thoughts. Thanks.

Many thanks for that wonderful compliment! If you're serious when you say that this tutorial kept you from quitting KSP, then the hard work I put into this has been totally worth it! Happy space travelling! And don't forget to check out part two, in which you'll be able to unlock the remainder of the tech tree in only two missions!

Sorry about that. When I was designing it, I originally had it clipped in the Materials Bay, but then changed my mind and forgot about it. I'll update the craft file ASAP. The Mimnus tanker is intended to dock with the Transfer Module in LKO, refuel it and then undock. I designed it so it can be deorbited afterwards, but I like your idea of keeping it in LKO for use as part of a space station or fuel depot. You can jettison those before you leave LKO, if you like. The original intent for those was just to get the fuel tanker into orbit and rendezvoused with the ship, but there is plenty of fuel left in those and it seems silly to let it go to waste. And the extra thrust, while unnecessary, is always nice. The only downside is that once you decouple them, they will be forever in a large, highly elliptical orbit between Kerbin and the Mun.

djr5899 & Kesa: Thanks for the feedback. You made some good points. Some of those things were editing oversights, but others were things I didn't think of. I will address these tomorrow (it's pretty late, atm) and make the necessary changes.

Oh, boy. My sincerest apologies. I was using Kerbal Engineer Redux when designing the craft for this tutorial, and I forgot to take the KER parts out before posting them. I will remove those parts and repost the craft files ASAP.

Did you download the craft file, or build it from the picture? I checked the craft file I posted, and the parachute is on there. I know the parachute is not visible in the picture, so if you built your own using that as reference, it's understandable if you didn't put one on. It's on the other side of the probe core. I probably should have posted a picture from a different angle.

Nice catch. I forgot about that one. I'll go ahead and put that in. Thanks.

In my previous tutorial, I showed how you can unlock the first five tiers of the stock tech tree in just six missions. Well, buckle up, because in this tutorial, I'm going to show you how to close out the remainder of the tech tree in two missions. However, there is a caveat: they are not short missions. You will go to Mimnus, and then the Mun. You will land at all of their biomes, get the Science and bring it back to Kerbin. Each of these two missions will take several hours. One thing I should mention is that in the previous tutorial, the craft designs I provided were very specific, and even though there were other ways you could go, it was a good idea to use those specific craft to get through the tutorial. In this tutorial however, the ships I provide are just one example. Feel free to design a ship you think might do the job more effectively. You really just need a lander that has the required science instruments and enough dV to land, hop to a couple other biomes, and get back into orbit to dock with the refueling/transfer module, and you need a transfer module that has enough fuel to get to the Mun or Mimnus, refuel the lander about five times, and get back to Kerbin. The Goal So how much Science do you need to unlock the remainder of the Tech Tree? Cost of unlocking Tier 6 = 13 x 160 = 2080 Science Cost of unlocking Tier 7 = 12 x 300 = 3600 Science Cost of unlocking Tier 8 = 11 x 550 = 6050 Science Cost of unlocking Tier 9 = 4 x 1000 = 4000 Science The Goal: Get 15730 Science Preparation Before you can start either one of these missions, you'll need to do a few other things first. Work contracts until you have $600k. Once you do, go ahead and upgrade R & D Complex to Level 2. Use satellite contracts to get some satellites in orbit of the Mun and Mimnus. Without satellites orbiting these two bodies, you are going to have long and frequent periods of time in which you'll be without a signal to KSC. Since a scientist will be piloting the lander, that means you will not be able to set or remove maneuver nodes, and you will also not have the ability to transmit Science back to Kerbin during these periods. Research Advanced Electrics for 160 Science. This will give you access to extendable solar panels, which may not seem that important, but it makes a big difference. During testing, there were hundreds of times that I was cursing myself as I had to keep the ship pointed a certain way to keep my fixed solar panels receiving sunlight, or when they were totally obstructed by something else when landed. Mission One: Mimnus step 1 Build and launch Mimnus Lander step 2 Build and launch Mimnus Transfer Module Rendezvous with Lander Dock with Lander step 3 Build and launch Fuel Tanker Rendezvous with Mimnus craft Dock with Mimnus craft Top up all fuel tanks on Mimnus craft After the Mimnus craft is completely fueled and ready to go, undock the Fuel Tanker. You can either deorbit the tanker, or you can leave it in LKO for use as the beginnings of a space station or fuel depot. step 4 Get in high orbit of Mimnus Take the following Science readings Get EVA Report, keep data Do Crew Report, keep data Log temperature, keep data Log pressure, keep data Observe Materials Bay, keep data Observe Mystery Goo, keep data You should get about 169 Science step 5 Get in low orbit of Mimnus Take the following Science readings Do Crew Report, keep data Log temperature, keep data Log pressure, keep data Observe Materials Bay, keep data Observe Mystery Goo, keep data You should get about 240 Science step 6 There are nine biomes to explore on Mimnus. Greater Flats Great Flats Flats Lesser Flats Poles Highlands Midlands Lowlands Slopes Take the Lander down to the surface, and hop from biome to biome, getting Science readings at each one. When you're low on fuel, get back into orbit, rendezvous with the Transfer Module to refuel. Repeat. Do Crew Report, keep data Log temperature, keep data Log pressure, keep data Observe Materials Bay, keep data Observe Mystery Goo, keep data Go EVA Get EVA Report, keep data Right click command pod, store experiments Boost upward with RCS, get EVA Report, keep data Take Surface Sample, keep data Right click command pod, take data Right click thermometer, take data Right click pressure scanner, take data Right click Materials Bay, collect data, restore Right click Mystery Goo, collect data, restore Right click command pod, store experiments Board command pod Observe Materials Bay, transmit data Observe Mystery Goo, transmit data Right click Materials Bay, restore Right click Mystery Goo, restore Board command pod For every biome, you get 522 Science for the experiments that you keep, and another 82 for the ones you transmit, for a total of 604 per biome. 604 x 9 biomes = 5436 Science plus 169 Science for readings in high orbit plus 240 Science for readings in low orbit Total Science: 5845 Once you complete exploring every biome, return to Kerbin orbit. Since this Transfer Module is meant to be reusable and left in orbit, you'll need to launch a capsule into orbit to bring your Scientist home, and return all that juicy Science. If you have the funds, upgrade the R & D Complex to Level 3. If not, you will need to work contracts to raise the funds. The upgrade is necessary in order to unlock the GRAVMAX Negative Gravioli Detector, which is needed to get enough Science to unlock the rest of the Tech Tree. Heavier Rocketry Advanced Electrics (if you don't already have it) Precision Engineering Advanced Exploration Advanced Landing Electronics Scanning Tech Field Science Advanced Science Tech With the Science you have left, unlock whichever nodes you want. Mission Two: Mun step 1 Build and launch Mun Lander step 2 Build and launch Mun Transfer Module Rendezvous with Lander Dock with Lander step 3 Build and launch Fuel Tank Module Rendezvous with Mun craft Dock with Mun craft step 4 Build and launch a second Fuel Tank Module Rendezvous with Mun craft Dock with Mun craft Try to dock the Fuel Tank Modules as straight as possible. But if they're just a few degrees off, don't worry. The ship will fly straight, but it will slowly roll during burns. It has a calming effect. Once the Fuel Tank Modules are docked, you can decouple the launch stages (the section behind the decouplers) and deorbit them. However, if there's still a substantial amount of fuel in them, you have the option of using them for part of the transfer burn. It's always better to have more fuel and not need it than to need more fuel and not have it, after all. The only downside is that they will be a contribution the your growing collection of floating space debris. There are seventeen biomes to explore on the Mun. Poles Polar Lowlands Polar Crater Highlands Highland Craters Midlands Midland Craters Lowlands Northeast Basin Farside Basin Northwest Crater East Farside Crater Canyons Farside Crater East Crater Twin Craters Southwest Crater step 5 Get in high polar orbit of the Mun From Polar orbit, log gravity scan from high space for each biome You should get about 748 Science step 6 Get in low polar orbit of the Mun From Polar orbit, log gravity scan from space near each biome You should get about 1122 Science step 7 Again, take the Lander down to the surface, and hop from biome to biome, getting Science readings at each one. When you're low on fuel, get back into orbit, rendezvous with the Transfer Module to refuel. Repeat. Do Crew Report, keep data Log temperature, keep data Log pressure, keep data Log seismic, keep data Log gravity scan, keep data Observe Materials Bay, keep data Observe Mystery Goo, keep data Go EVA Get EVA Report, keep data Right click command pod, store experiments Take Surface Sample, keep data Right click command pod, take data Right click thermometer, take data Right click pressure scanner, take data Right click Materials Bay, collect data, restore Right click Mystery Goo, collect data, restore Right click command pod, store experiments Board command pod Observe Materials Bay, transmit data Observe Mystery Goo, transmit data Right click Materials Bay, restore Right click Mystery Goo, restore Board command pod For every biome, you get 560 Science for the experiments that you keep, and another 65 for the ones you transmit, for a total of 625 per biome. 625 x 17 biomes = 10625 Science plus 748 Science for readings in high orbit plus 1122 Science for readings in low orbit Total Science: 12495 12495! Dayumm, son! If you're playing stock, you're not even going to need all that. But many of you play with lots of mods that add advanced technology to the game. Some of my personal favorites are DSEV, the Near Future mods, the Alcubierre Drive mod, and of course a mod that I have some small amount of direct involvement in, Deep Freeze. Mods like these will need large amounts of Science to unlock those parts. The tech node that contains the Alcubierre Drive alone costs a whopping 10000 Science. It's a good thing that there are many other planets and moons in KSP to explore and get Science from. And with everything from the stock tech tree unlocked, you can build really nice ships to take you there. You'll return the Science to kerbin the same way as before. Next, well, you know what's next. Unlock the rest of the tech tree. Feel free to let me know in the comments how this approach works out for you, or if I got anything wrong, or if you have an idea for how this approach can be improved. Example ships for all of the missions in this tutorial can be found here. 01 - Mimnus Explorer - Lander 02 - Mimnus Explorer - Transfer Module 03 - Mimnus Fuel Tanker 04 - Munraker Two - Lander 05 - Munraker Two - Transfer Module 06 - Mun Fuel Tanker