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Is there an easier way to dock two large vessels like this? I align the ports, and get within 5 cm of the target docking port with mine, but alas, no connection. Docking Alignment Display is a great help, but I can't get the ports to actually accept one another, and yes, they are facing eachother. The fuel tanks and tug is about 500 tonnes, the station is about 500 tonnes, so it's as graceful and as lethargic as it gets. And please, Intercept Games, give us bigger, badder RCS thrusters. Using 256 Vernier thrusters here, I will go insane from low FPS.

I started building a Mun station, where I had a core module and a lander I had a two-stage ship ready to dock to the "MSS" Fuel (to my lander after landing on the Mun) Probe launcher (lander and orbiter) The original idea was to send my orbital probe in an escape trajectory of Kerbin, using the Mun to slingshot the probe and then slow down to match the orbit of the MSS, launch the lander probe (to land on the Mun) and then dock with the station to provide fuel in the future. I however had two issues: I chose XS docking port instead of a S port for my vessel My probe lander docking port decided to disappear, when I launched my orbiter probe I launched the orbital probe successfully, but at the cost of a docking port disappearing for my lander (which could now not be undocked) Then I realised my mistake of attaching the incorrect docking port, as I approached the Mun station Then after some issues with time warp, I decided to scrap this ship. So I separated the 2 probes to do some scouting instead The probe launcher part (with the stuck lander) was sent to Duna as I had plenty of fuel to land there The fuel part was sent to Minmus, where I landed at the north pole: Eventually I did a separate mission where I added more docking ports (both XS and S) to the Mun station and I think the final product looks very cool! The orbiter probe and Minmus landing are featured in two of my bug reports that include videos if you're interested to see them

Inspired by many Community Space Station challenges (such as this one by @Jeb-head-mug kerman from two years ago), I decided to give it a try myself. Only THIS TIME, the challenge is to assemble a station... OVER LAYTHE. The objective is simple: build one large space station over Laythe using one save file (link below). Feel free to add as many different modules as you want. Game save HERE The rules are as follows: PURE STOCK No DLCs No Mods If you have to use MJ, use MechJeb2 Embedded as well so that the program is automatically embedded in the control modules and you won't have to use the modded part. You must use KSP version 1.12.4 No cheats One module per mission Leave a docking port open for others to use Post pictures and/or video When you're all done, post a link to the new game save in your post so that the person after you can use it (just like in previous community challenges). To prevent confusion due to two (or more) kerbalnauts posting different, non-sequential game save files, please "claim" the save file so that everyone knows you're flying with it before posting the new one. HOWEVER, once you claim it, you have a maximum of 24 hours to respond with the new station save file (and pictures of what to expect, of course). I highly suggest you test your delivery rocket in a separate Sandbox mode save before deploying it in this one e.g. Johnny sends his battery to Laythe in "Johnny's Test Sandbox" and, once confirming its success, claims the "Kerbalnational Laythe Station" save file and sends the battery module to the already-assembled station. He then posts the new save file and pictures within 24 hours of claiming. If you have any questions about the rules or if the link's not working, let me know at once. All you have to do is download the game file and put in your game's saves folder. When you start "Kerbalnational Laythe Station," design your module and send it to Laythe. After that, upload the new save file to whatever file sharing service you're using (mega, Google Drive, etc) so that the next person can use it with the expanded station. I have already built the first module, and boy was it a doozy to make. All worth the time and effort in the end, though, and I have several docking ports ready - including a big one. Here are the orbital characteristics of the final product, which I know you all will need when you rendezvous with the station. But before I show you my pictures, here are the action groups I set up. Keep all this in mind for when you make your modules. Gigantor panels DO NOT DEPLOY until you ditch the delivery rocket. Ladders Start research Stop research Collect all science for lab 1x6 panels Handy for the trip there. Science Kerbnet (from the probe core) - EMPTY - Communotron 88-88 (100G direct antenna) ABSOLUTELY DEPLOY before leaving Kerbin. And now, our feature presentation. Have fun, everybody. The finished product in orbit of Laythe. I decided to do a different ring station design from my tried-and-true Jool ring station for the challenge. The assembled product in the VAB 9,228 m/s delta-V 71 crew capacity Four or five of the cargo slots already come filled (EVA kits, repair kits, jetpack fuel), but you'll be amazed at the cargo capacity. I have plans to post this craft file separately when the challenge dies out or from popular demand (whichever comes first), so you can transport several collections of Breaking Ground DLC science gear for future Laythe missions. At the very least, it can serve as an orbital storage facility. The station blasting off. To save dV while maintaining structural integrity (preventing wobbling-related damage), I set the angle-of-attack limit in the ascent guidance to 60 degrees. Throughout the course of the ascent, whenever the craft seemed to fly in a stable manner, I decreased the limit in 10-degree increments until finally reaching 20 degrees. I don't know what setting it at 20 degrees from the start will do, but I'm guessing that you need to reach certain speeds before getting a low AoA so that the station doesn't wobble so easily. The nuclear rockets making their burn to Jool. As a dV-saving measure, two of the rockets had their tanks drain first. Once that was over, they were basically dead weight and could be ditched. Once I reached Jool's SOI, I set a "fine tune approach to target" maneuver so I can go directly to Laythe (as opposed to setting up a parking orbit around Jool before making a Hohmann transfer to Laythe). This is the craft approaching the planet. Setting up my orbit with plenty of dV to spare. Poor Sherbart, cast away to spend his life alone in that large station. But a pilot was necessary in the event that the CommNet signal was lost. You can send him friends in subsequent missions. While the space station is enjoying its time in stable orbit, the remote-controlled delivery rocket is making a suborbital trajectory for self-destruction on Laythe. It had fulfilled its purpose, and it was nothing but space junk at this point. "SEE YOU ALL ON LAYTHE!" (Sherbart Kerman)

MIR Space Station (MIR) The Soviet Space Station MIR for Kerbal Space Program. By @Sampa and zer0Kerbal, originally by BobCat, DECQ and Dragon01 adopted with express permission and brought to you by KerbSimpleCo Features by BobCat Modular space station. MIR Core module with living quarters, six docking ports and a detailed IVA. Kvant-1 Astrophysics module with an X-ray experiment and a docking port. FSM space tug for delivering Kvant 1 to the station. Kvant-2 physics module with an airlock. Kristall docking module with two additional docking ports. Spektr power module with 4 solar panels. Priroda Kerbin observation module with a big Travers antenna. Docking Compartment for improving docking clearance. By Blista100, used with permission. Zarya FGB with high fuel load and RCS configured for flying with Unity module attached. Zvezda service module (MIR Core variant) with 4 docking ports. New solar panels and an ISS-style docking port. Preamble by Wikipedia See more

I've built a station that's meant to be for a long-term mission to Duna. I want to add an extra docking port to it, so I docked a rocket to it with an SEQ-24 Cargo Storage Unit containing a Clamp-O-Tron Docking Port. I have an engineer on the station, but for some reason I can't take it out of the storage unit to place on the side of the station. How could I go about doing this?

Hi there, i'm trying to construct a modular surface station concept. This has been my last try: The vessel in the middle have had a ground anchor, it exploded as i docked the third vessel. After i docked the fifth vessel and joined using the KSC tracking station it was kicked few hundred meters up in the air, parically exploded and broke apart Managed to set up four vessels again, next time when i used the tracking station to control it, it was trown up and broke in two parts and exploded again The effect seems worse when i use the KSC tracing station to jump on it, compared to when i approach slowly with another vessel My question now is how may we build a vessel that reduces this effect or how to make it more robust against it or reduce the effects causing it? Already searched the forum and other places on the internet about it - there are few outdated opinions about it, some say more struts, other say less autostruts... As you can see i've got 20 landing struts and 24 wheels, all "locked autostruts heaviest part" - if there's any problem with it, i surely triggered it. May more "real" struts or more ground anchors be a solution? Or may it be better the other way - most flexible joints and no struts? Or is or it solveable with RCS / reaction wheels and SAS? I'm also playing on a DarkMultiPlayer server, that makes it worse i guess. But i think this effect takes place in vanilla as well? Looking forward for ideas, kind regards, Michel_0 KSP Version: v1.12.3.3173 Windows player x64, 1.12.1 Making history, 1.7.1 Breaking ground, Win11 x64 EDIT: The vessels got big reaction wheels, plenty of RCS and liquid fuel thrusters. I made sure to shutdown all thrusters, turned RCS and SAS off before i left the station (and it still was as i rejoined).

So this is not a new question; I've seen many other posts on the same general topic. The previous one with this exact title was a bit outdated, though, so I thought I'd open a new one. The question is: what can you do to improve performance of your game (outside of bying new computing kit). More specifically: what can you do to improve performance around space stations. The reason I ask is I've been having inconsistent results with my station designs. I've had massively big stations, 500+ parts, with reasonable (given the total part count of station, docking and approaching vessels) though not stunning performance: And then I've had this tiny station ... : (Modlist for above spacestation: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1vajct196DKoGFBZJ_YWFe_QXjAEuXLRe/view?usp=sharing) ... which sports an entirely reasonable 200 parts (including a few docked tugs) but drops my framerate down to single digits per second - and I didn't even try to make the rings rotate (the rings were just a convenient shape for getting stuff to orbit). So obviously, it's not just the part count, but the type of parts that matter. Some guesses as to what type of parts have the potential to affect framerate: Solar panels: they have to keep track of the orientation of the station relative to the Sun and, if they're the tracking type, adjust their angle. Docking ports: they may be scanning for nearby targets and adjust their behaviour accordingly. (Though the first pic shows a station with massive numbers of docking ports that nevertheless performed way better than the one in the second pic...) The USI Kolonization mod I'm using probably recalculates the current life support status of habitation modules every other. In the above stations I cheated by using the UbioZur Welding mod to reduce part count, by welding most continuous 'inactive' parts together (like adjacent crew cabins, girders or fuel tanks). Now theoretically this should reduce the load and therefore improve framerate. But I'm not a coder; I have no idea how the code for this mod works or how the code of the game proper has evolved since this mod was first developed. It may be that it's not just about the actual parts, but about the modules inside those parts, which aren't welded - I presume. So, mods installed, type and number of parts ... what else affects framerate? Can I - can we - come to some kind of consistent set of guidelines for constructing stations big enough to be worth having that don't cause you to grind your teeth at every docking manoeuvre? What parts to avoid, how to avoid them; what mods to install, and which mods not to ... I'd love to hear your advice and your experiences. Thanks! EDIT: Another thing, I forgot, that may have impact: settings. Like the max DT per frame spent on physics calculations. The Max DT was lower with the top station than with the one below, but I've been told that bigger is better in this case. Soit, I'll have to experiment with this a little. SUMMARY TO DATE: Limit the number of docking ports. Docking ports, especially unshielded ones, scan the environment for partners to mate with, which puts extra load on the CPU. Also, if you limit the number of docking ports, you'll be limiting the number of craft that are docked at any given time, which limits total part count. Limit the number of solar panels. All solar panels, not just the ones that actively track the sun, need to be able to calculate their position and attitude relative to the sun, and whether or not any obstacles are present between them and the sun. Limit the potential for fuel crossfeed. Modularize your station: all fuel (or presumably consumables of any given kind) in one section. See Starman4308's mention of Stratenblitz's video here. Following AlpacaMall's suggestion: limit the number of lights. I haven't had this problem myself, but I can see how lights might require CPU intensive calculations. And of course, try to limit the overall number of parts. Mods like UbioZur's Welding mod my help here, or things like the various Station Parts modules I occasionally see mentioned. Sure, you can build grandiose stations just for the kick of it; try and match Stratenblitz's Kerbol 0 if you dare. But if you're looking for something to use as a staging area and (re)fuelling post for forays into the system, then Simpler Is Better (which is what gave me the initial idea for the station in the first pic in this post: basically just a bunch of girders, docking ports and fuel tanks).

Yes your mission is to launch an orbital station and get it to either eve,duna, or jool. It won’t be accepted if it not powered by a kraken drive. You must show me the kraken drive and explain how it works as well. I hope you enjoy this challenge which is my first.

Hello everybody, My problem is, that I want to make a space station around the Kerbin. I have separated the station to 9 parts, what i need to launch. I have 2 more parts and i don't know why, the eights (8) part I launched and when i'm approaching the station at 200 meters the station destorys itself completly. The station is with persistent rotaion oriented with radial in, to Kerbin. I'm controlling the station with a standard coupola, i control from here. So when i approach it, the station I don't know, possibly to normal or antinormal orienting instant itself and after that it's collapsing to little parts. I tried to switch the controlling module, but it doesn't worked. I tried to disable autostruts, it doesn't worked, i tried to disable the SAS, it doesn't worked, i tried to disable the Persistent Rotation mod, it doesn't worked (Before this I never had problems with the persistent rotation mod, and I think, that now not this is the problem too). I tried to enable in the cheat menu (alt+F12) these unbreakable joints, unlimited heat resistence and i dont know what yet (the first 3 things not including the gravity), but it doesn't worked too. Oh yeah, and when I switch to the station it happens this thing too with it. Only in warp I can make the switch without destroying itself, and when I turn off the warp, it destroys itself too. I don't know how to fix this, but please help me guys, because I worked on this station many hours and days. Thanks! :) And guys so sorry for my bad english, i tried the best to be understandable! :)

Version 2.4 - Released 2020-06-25 Compatible with KSP 1.0 - 1.12.x [ ] NOTICE TO KLPH USERS This is a re-release of @CaptainKipard's Low Profile Hubs. Original forum thread. ABOUT Low Profile Hubs is a collection of station hubs in various sizes and shapes useful for the construction of stations and outposts. PICTURES AND VIDEOS TODO DOWNLOADS via CKAN - automatic updates and dependencies (recommended) GitHub - always the latest release. Also access to the source code, pre-releases, the bug-tracker, and the Wiki. Spacedock CurseForge Installation Instructions Simply download the archive and extract the contents of the "GameData" folder into your KSP's "GameData" directory. Mod Compatibility / Recommendations ModuleManager - to enable the support for the various mods below. Connected Living Spaces - the docking ports contain CLS configurations. ECLSS - appears to no longer be active/supported? IFILS - Interstellar Flight Inc. Life Support, a comprehensive life support mod. Snacks! - a simple and fun life support mod. TACLS - Thunder Aerospace Corporation Life Support, a comprehensive life support mod. SUPPORT No logs, no support. Unless it's a feature-request, of course.. If you find a problem, try to reproduce it first with NO OTHER MODS installed. If the problem goes away, please try to identify which mod is causing the problem. If possible, please raise the issue on GitHub. CHANGELOG The full changelog is here. v2.4 Changed mod file layout; added some agency details; fixed CLS configs (again) CONTRIBUTORS @CaptainKipard - the original author LICENSE This mod is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.

P.S. Sorry for pixelated images. I can't turn on anti-aliasing, otherwise I get low fps

В карьере схватил контракт: станция на 12кербалов + лаборатория+4000т топлива на устойчивой орбите муны. Премия 208тыс Если строить из mk2 (самолет пассажирский фюзеляж) с 2 тройными адаптерами 6.300 тонны 3 кабины автостопщиков 7.500 Лаборатория 3.500 Горизонт ОКТО, РСУ+коcмоболы, шлюз, научный обвес. 11.810 (с кабинами mk2) 3 бака x200-32 и общая масса 65.810 тонн. И как эту бандуру дешевле всего запулить к муне? Без alt+f12 Пробовал 4хKR-1x2 + 4 бака x200-32, с двух курьеров топливо перекачивается в 2 оставшихся. Ракета вышла длинная, при разгоне опрокидывает, поэтому в голове 3 ЖРД Стукач с тягой 40% Где то около 20000 высоты пустые курьеры сбрасываются.на орбиту выходит впритык. РСУ и гиро на такой массе не помогают, маневрировать получается только стукачами. По науке: прокачано почти все за 90+ тяжёлое ракетостроение+ продвинутая электрика. Из мыслей разделить на части, возвратная ssto, сборка на орбите, и запуск к муне. Upd: пока почти удалось вывести 3 бака (нужно траекторию подровнять а то забрасыва на 110км, на выравнивание и возврат не хватает) twr 2.45 дельта 4300. А ведь стыковка 3 модулей на орбите потребует дополнительного топлива. Да и не уверен я что малых стыковочных модулей хватит по усилию на такую конструкцию.

So I've built a station, and I want it to be in a 120km orbit. Yet i'm not sure what a solar orbit is. I have a infrared scanner on it and when i put it on a normal orbit, it says it needs to be on a solar orbit. Whats a solar orbit?

based on freedom space stationand the lunar getaway stationi will use a space craft called orionis

Hello I decided to build a space station and send it to duna in order to finish my science tree in career mode. I already had a shuttle built, so I wanted to build the station in multiple parts and transfer the whole thing to duna rather sending one giant station. First part was the science module which consisted of only two mobile processing labs. The next part was electrical (batteries and solar panels) as well as the main engine and mono propellant (so no command module). After decoupling from the shuttle, it is being shown as debries and I can no longer track it to dock with it or to at least destroy it! https://i.imgur.com/UCNZXDY.jpg Is there anything I can do to save that or is it a lost cause?

Where do you build your stations for non-Kerbin SOI locations? If it is a multiple launch platform do you build it in LKO and then send it all the way to its destination? Or do you send each part on its own to the destination, rendezvous and complete the build at destination? I'm working on a standardized station platform that I can send to each of the planets and am debating how I'll go about it, pros and cons either way.

Hi all, wonder if anyone can help. I've made a MASSIVE LKO refuelling base (it's almost the size of the SPH), and I've found that once it's in orbit, some of the components seem to break, but stay connected. Is there any way to stop this happening? A few points that may provide clues.. I have everything strutted to 'grandparent part'. Everything has 'rigid attachment' set to on. I had to cheat it into orbit, using the F12 menu. I installed the Kerbal Joint Reinforcement mod to stop everything wobbling and collapsing when on the runway. I got some advice to switch off Rigid attachment, which I did, and relaunched, but the problem persists. I Cheated the new version to orbit with the 'visualise autostruts' setting on and all was well. However, I switched to another vessel in LKO, then switched back, and again the breakages appeared as soon as I switched back.What's also weird is that when I switched back, half of the autostruts seem to have disappeared. Can anyone advise how to get over this issue? Thanks to anyone who can help... It's taken HOURS to construct this station and I don't want it to go to waste!

Here’s the challange: build a base on the Mun, and put a space station into orbit around the Mun. Scoring: Score levels Basic Build a Mun base in only one launch, and have nothing fancy max of 3 Kerbals orbiting station is basic, and one piece. Rather Basic Multiple launches, but base components aren’t docked max of 5 Kerbals Station is max of 3 launches. Good Base is multiple pieces, and they’re docked Max of 7 Kerbals Station is capable of ISRU refueling passing ships Amazing! Base has a rover, and also a science area, complete with surface samplers and experiments. max of 10 Kerbals sation has a ring and can seat 10 Kerbals *dies of shock* Base is at the polar areas with steep mounatins Max of 15 Kerbals Station’s ring spins and also has a full Comm array. I will allow mods, but not any that add pieces specifically for bases. No motor mods for the station’s ring, either. Visual mods are acceptable and so are ones that make the game harder. No cheating/HyperEditing please. Screenshots are a must, and videos are better. You don’t have to send a video, but please try.

I just made a ring station with the Kerbalism mod parts. I assembled it in orbit using the Cormorant Aeronology Space shuttle. I attatched the final part with the Canadarm 2 and undocked. The shuttle moved like 5 metres away from the station but it wouldn't move,, except roll. Same with the station. So even though it was seperated from the station, it was stuck in that place next to the station. I tried everything to move away from it but it won't move an inch. Then i loaded a quicksave from 10 mins before but then almost everything, including kerbin "disappeared and you could see everything like a ghost, because they were transparent. I got really annoyed and went back to the space center. Then i found out the center was like a ghost as well, everything was transparent. I clicked on the VAB and the game crashed. Any ideas of what is going on? I did a lot of stuff in that world and i don't really want to do a re-install or anything... thanks

So I wanted to start a discussion. On realistic designs and have a good collection of pics.centerd around station builds. And to add some challenge I want it to be completely in Stock KSP parts.

My First Space Station, and Misadventures Related Thereto PART 1 In which mistakes are made I was waiting for various maneuver nodes to come up on my first manned trip to Minmus, initiated almost at the same time as the consummation of my first unmanned trip to Minmus (my first mining-refining vessel, on the Mun, decided to have some mission creep). In the meantime, I decided to accept a bunch of contracts regarding putting a space station into orbit, which I had never done before intentionally. (There was an early-game derelict spacecraft—a crossfeed error made it run out of fuel unexpectedly and I had to rescue the pilot via EVA—but other than that I had never put any kerbal carriers into permanent orbit.) There was one for Kerbin (10 kerbal capacity, research station) and one for the Mun (5 kerbal capacity). Additionally, I already had a contract for docking two vessels on or around the Mun, but it turns out that a lander returning to an orbiting mothership doesn't qualify. (Perhaps it was that the vessels had to be launched separately.) I thought I could kill three birds with one stone if I launched a space station with a shiny newly unlocked Clampy Senior, and then launched a lander-miner-refiner Mk.II capable of pushing it to the Mun. I decided to give the station a dedicated lander (capable of potentially ferrying tourists to and from the Mun) and a couple of escape pods (partly for fun, and partly because of an "orbit Kerbin" contract that I didn't feel like carrying to the Mun). Soon I was launching Alpha Space Station into orbit. It clocks in at almost exactly 50 tons, counting 27 tons of fuel and monopropellant reserves, and seems to have more than enough battery to last through a night-side orbit while still researching. [edit: TinyPic is dead; long live Flickr. Original link for insanity posterity: http://i63.tinypic.com/2a8jlnk.jpg ] Moving and re-docking the lander proved conclusively that I am genuinely bad at complex RCS maneuvering. I can sort of handle translating in the cardinal directions, and pitch/roll/yaw aren't too different from doing it with reaction wheels, but any attempts to control any two impulses at once degenerate quickly into hopeless, hilarious failure. Nevertheless, I managed it. I noticed that I forgot to put any solar panels on the lander, so my tourists had better not dawdle on the surface before coming back up. 150 electricity should be enough for the command pod reaction wheel on a trip like that, right? Just gotta remember to turn off the SAS when I'm not using it, like after landing. [ http://i68.tinypic.com/90y5fp.jpg ] Recovering the second stage brought the total launch cost down to 59k. Not great by some standards, I'm sure, but not too bad for something I hope will see lots of future use. Next up, launching the propulsion vehicle. It's a spiffed-up version of my previous mining vessel. Since the last one is still in the field with all its onboard science, I didn't have enough to unlock everything on my wish list (large ore tank), but this is still a big improvement, largely because of the 2.5m-1.25m quad adapter and better thermal dissipation. It also has its own research facility and houses a crew of 4 (using the 2-man can to fit a Clampy Senior on top). Four-way symmetry should help my RCS control a little compared to the Mk.I's three-way. I think I'll call it Prospecting Unit/Lifter/Lander. Kind of a mouthful, but it does a lot of stuff, I hope! The team slapped on a PPD-10 to add a few last-minute Mun tourists to the itinerary, and a small manned probe hopefully capable of making polar orbit, and then blasted off! No second stage lifter needed here—the package to be delivered can do its own work after the initial boost. If I need extra fuel to get to the Mun I can borrow from the station. Cost of lifter: 46k (69k less 23k recovered) for putting 70 tons of craft in orbit (less perhaps 5 tons of fuel I used from the nukes to get to the rendezvous). Without further ado, mission A.S.S.-P.U.L.L. was a go! About 115 tons put in orbit between station and miner/tugboat for a slightly smaller number of kilocredits. PART 2 In which Bob thinks he can pilot a ship, but is wrong. It didn't take too long for Mission Control to realize they had put a scientist in a ship with no probe. Well, I guess old Bob could use the practice. Also, I put the tourist who only signed up for Kerbin orbit into an escape pod with Valentina (so I could have at least one kerbonaut holding down the fort at home; I cleaned out the place for these launches) and pulled the trigger. Up until now there had been thirteen (13) kerbals aboard the A.S.S.-P.U.L.L. mission, which is by far the most I've had at once. To be fair, I've never combined two launches into a single mission before. Meanwhile, it turns out that the lander attached to my A.S.S. is throwing off the balance—the reaction wheels aren't able to compensate enough to keep the ship straight at full thrust. Perhaps if I emptied out the fuel? But I only have spare tankage for the liquid, not the oxidizer. My A.S.S. is still just too fat. I could nurse the thing along at half throttle, but it's already a long burn. In doing so, I might even briefly drop out of space mid-burn, not that it's dangerous to be at 69km or whatever, but to heck with that! I have tons of monopropellant and even if this isn't what RCS is meant for, it's sure good enough to do the job! [ http://i68.tinypic.com/209j0ic.jpg ] And after repeating the same ridiculous scheme at the Mun capture burn, I'll be ready to land and rejuvenate all this stuff I've been burning. But first, what about Bob? He has the opposite problem: too much control. His unsteady hands are capable of doing a full rotation when only a modest adjustment is needed. After locking the engine gimbals and setting wheel authority to 50%, though, he's starting to feel like a real pilot. Now let's get some polar orbital contracts/science! Literally eleven minutes (game time) before entering the Mun's SOI, I get a contract offer to "return or transmit scientific data from space around the Mun". Well, I'm not going to say no to that! Speaking of our Mun burn, the fuel is running lower than I expected, but fortunately I lifted off with full ore tanks to refine more fuel with en route, which I've been converting to liquid fuel. And a little extra monopropellant, which I was shocked to find in danger of actually running out. But, after all, it was just for convenience, not a mission requirement, although I'm resolving to hang on to some for "real" usage. After a routine circularization burn, other than continued RCS abuse, I detached the miner-lander and proceeded to a landing that was completely ordinary, including my continued ability to pick a landing zone that is too steep for comfort but not quite steep enough to prevent landing. [ http://i65.tinypic.com/2589y8k.jpg ] The miner comes back up to dock. I'm a bit worried that I STILL won't get credit for the docking because even though this includes hardware from two different launches it came to the Mun in one piece. Additionally, I left one piece that was originally part of the lander with the station when it detached. Will this count? Or is the contract's secret requirement that two vessels dock FOR THE FIRST TIME in the Mun's orbit? Nope, this doesn't count either. But I haven't given up all hope yet; I can still detach the PPD-10, land with the Mun tourists, and come back up to dock two vessels that don't have any pieces of each other in them yet. The miner/refiner refuels the station but the modest ore hold isn't enough to completely refill both the liquid in the station's LFO tanks and the prodigious amount of monopropellant that we burned. Oh, gee whiz, what a tragedy to have to land back on the Mun for some more. As it happens, when I finish refining my ore I'm very close to an equatorial Canyons biome passing underneath. Sounds good to me! I quickly detach and kill most of my orbital velocity, lining up my remaining path with the canyon. ... it turns out that canyon floors look really nice and smooth, and they are smooth, but not flat. Had to burn a lot of fuel changing landing zones twice to achieve a mere 15 degree tilt, which I think is my steepest yet with these disconcertingly tall landers. [ http://i64.tinypic.com/2ijl0xy.jpg ] When I undocked, the name changes gave me hope that this time the contract will work. The station got its old launcher name back, and hilariously the lander got bequeathed the station icon and name. So yes, KSP says I have a space station landed on the Mun. OH COME ON The docking was an exercise in frustration; after the second bounce I went in with a perfect plan, only to have the docking ports stabilize without completing the docking. Why do you hate me? A short expenditure of RCS later (by the station, since it's lopsided and probably lighter anyway) and I'm finally docked, and yes, the contract finally completed. What replaced it? Well, turns out I need to get "scientific data from the surface of the Mun." Does it count scientific data I've already collected even if I'm no longer on the surface? Yes. And now, time to go home. It turns out I did not sufficiently think that part through. It was easy enough to carry over a dozen kerbals to the Mun with this space station, but bringing them back without bringing the space station back is trickier. In the end, the two scientists volunteered to man the station's lab, and the ship left while the engineer was admiring the view from the station's cupola. My Mk.II miner was a modest success, and maybe it's the sunk-cost fallacy but I don't quite feel like deorbiting the thing, so I slapped together a 10-kerbal SSTO ferry (8 returning from the Mun, 1 pilot, and 1 LKO rescue) and took off, after sending it back from the launch pad for a last second addition of a stored-science-retrieval kit. I had to research the Klaw for this vessel as tourists cannot EVA. That solution seemed easier than designing the ferry to include a Clampy Senior. This thing really jumped off the pad, so Valentina decided to try a much shallower ascent path than usual to minimize gravity losses; we hit 70km apoapsis just as the speed was threatening to fry the solar panels so she coasted up and circularized. [ http://i64.tinypic.com/p0emc.jpg ] As the Mun tourists returned to Kerbin, Mission Control didn't want the ship to go too deep into the atmosphere for fear of breaking the satellite dishes, and gentle airbraking was way too boring, so the NERV engines were put to good use again doing most of the work. The miner sidled up to the waiting Klaw ship and the tourists and data transferred over. KSC was drawing near, and there was a fair amount of fuel remaining, so a hasty deorbit put us reasonably close (by my lax standards). No sooner had we landed than new contracts came in asking us to use our brand new Klaw, to rescue kerbals and objects around the Mun, no less! Looks like the engines on my P.U.L.L.er will barely have time to cool off. END OF MISSION

I have a mun station all setup on the moon, but whenever i try to aproach it with a rover that i made, it keeps randomly shaking and ripping it self apart. It also happens when i just land with a lander next to it, It isn't happening directly when i land, I happens like 30 seconds / 1 minute later. I dont know if this is a bug, i use a modded install but before, i didn't have this poblem and i didn't install any mods after it. I use Windows 10 64 bit and use a modded installation of KSP

In my ongoing career, I've had a number of brushes with the Kraken when dealing with space stations. There are three scenarios in play: Docking. The Kraken strikes immediately after docking. The giant invisible tentacles wrap around it and shake shake shake until it falls apart. Undocking. As above, but on undock, and only one craft is directly affected (although the other might get damaged by flying pieces of rocket). Fuel transfers. This starts with a tiny insidious little vibration as fuel is transferred from one craft to another. Sometimes it stops if I quickly stop the transfer, at other times not. If I'm connected with the Klaw, setting Free Pivot may or may not help. Some hypotheses I've come up with: Scenario 1 happened with a long skinny station when I docked another long, skinny, but heavy craft to a port near its centre. Even though the docking event was at a low speed (0.6 m/s or so), the bump appears to have induced an oscillation along the length of the station, which then amplified into a full-scale Kraken attack. Possible solutions: don't make long skinny stations? If you do, don't dock heavy craft near their centrepoint? Scenario 2 happened repeatedly when undocking a heavy spaceplane from a station, or when undocking a cargo module from a heavy spaceplane. I believe I traced this down to excessive use of Autostrut to Heaviest Part. When I undocked, the heaviest part was removed, the autostrut reconfigured itself, and the rapid changes summoned the Kraken. Possible solution: don't use Autostrut to heaviest part, or only use it sparingly? Scenario 3 happened repeatedly in scenarios where I had a heavy craft docked to the station orthogonally and was transferring fuel between the two, which shifted the CoM laterally. I'm not quite sure what the contributing factors to this are, except that Autostrut to Heaviest Part certainly makes it more likely. What techniques are you aware of that would make stations less prone to summoning the Kraken, apart from being very careful when using Autostrut to Heaviest Part? Which geometries are more Kraken-resistant? How do you configure a station that has lots of docking ports to accept different kinds of incoming craft, but doesn't summon the Cosmic Dread Lord when large craft dock with it?