Space station tips

[ArmoredLipid]

Space stations in KSP serve many functions. They generally fall into the following categories: science stations, refueling stops, parts testing locations, and vehicle assembly locations. This guide is intended for beginners looking to assemble their first space stations.

 

Science stations are one of the most common types of space station in KSP. They typically consist of a Mobile Processing Lab MPL-LG-2 with solar panels, habitation modules, and command modules attached. Their purpose is to convert science points to data points, level up Kerbals without needing to land on Kerbin, and store duplicate experiments.

Tips:

- Make it small. The bare minimum for a science lab is a docking port, Mobile Processing Lab MPL-LG-2, command module (often a probe core), substantial battery buffer (for science experiments), powerful antenna (for transmitting data to Kerbin) and quarters for any Kerbals who may be leveling up at the station.

- Include large battery banks. Science in the Mobile Processing Lab MPL-LG-2 consumes a good of electricity per second (5); Z-4K Rechargable Battery Banks can last you a good while. Alternatively, find a power source that can match the requirements of the lab continually; Gigantor XL Solar Arrays are best for this.

- Attach parts such as batteries radially; try not to use their stack-size counterparts. Ideally, your station could be launched with a single heavy rocket.

- Attach a relay antenna. The Mobile Processing Lab is big; it can easily take the RA-100 Relay Antenna on top.

 

Refueling stops are the other common type of space station in KSP. 1 type is typically found in low-Kerbin or keostationary orbit, they act as a jumping-off point for large vessels that spent most of their fuel leaving Kerbin's atmosphere. They are often found near a vehicle assembly station, due to the need for the newly-assembled vehicle to take on fuel before moving off. The other type is usually only found in Career mode, often in a stationary orbit or semi-stationary orbit above an atmosphere-less moon (i.e. one that is not Laythe). They act as a warehouse for fuel being shipped up from a surface refinery.

Tips:

- Make it BIG. The Kerbodyne S3-14400 fuel tank can carry 6,480 units of liquid fuel and 7,920 units of oxidizer. If you somehow manage to put this thing into orbit (best to do it empty), it can act as a medium-sized fuel dump on its own. Otherwise, Rockomax Jumbo-64/Orange tanks can suffice if you use two to three of them.

- Add tanks for everything. Include liquid fuel and oxidizer, and also include specialized liquid-fuel dumps for LV-N "Nerv" Atomic Rocket Motors and jet engines, as well as xenon gas and big battery banks for the IX-6315 "Dawn" Electric Propulsion System. Include monopropellant for RCS thrusters and the O-10 "Puff" Monopropellant Engine (if you actually use that thing).

- Stick with big reaction wheels. The Advanced Reaction Wheel Module, Large is your best bet, with 30 kn of thrust. Don't forget to set them to "pilot only", lest they tear your station apart when a ship docks; also, balance them out so that 1 side of the station receives roughly as much force as the other.Add big battery banks for those big reaction wheels as well; you don't really want to run out of power as you're swinging towards a fragile fuel tanker.

- Use Clamp-O-Tron Sr. docking ports. They provide much more rigid structural connections then the other types.

- Attach yourself to an asteroid with Da Klaw, strap on a Convert-O-Tron 250, some Drill-O-Matic Mining Excavators of any kind, some radiators, holding tanks, and Gigantor XL Solar Arrays, and get yourself a temporary free fuel source.

- Make it modular. Use the HubMax connector to branch out in 6 directions, and stick more HubMax pieces on the end of those. As more fuel tanks go up, attach them to your orbital tank farm. 

- Add a relay to turn it into a free comms satellite.

 

Vehicle assembly locations are essentially orbital shipyards and launchpads, minus the titular mod. They allow for the assembly of ships that would not fit in the KSC and drastically reduce delta-v requirements for interplanetary missions. The primary restriction is that they cannot build reentry-capable spaceplanes in the Mark 2 or 3 sizes, due to the lack of couplers in those sizes; a mod could solve this. They can build huge (Kerbodyne-sized) rockets using Kerbodyne ADPT-4 adapters, Senior-sized docking ports, and autostruts. Their primary function is to assemble massive Rockomax-sized spaceships for interplanetary travel. They are often found combined with or near orbital fuel stations, due to the above-mentioned reasons.

Tips:

- Make most of it structural parts. A Cupola module and habitation quarters are needed for control and rocket crews; the rest can be empty fuel tanks or simple structural parts coupled to assorted sizes of Clamp-O-Tron docking port to hold ship segments.

- Build tugboats out of lightweight probe cores or Mark 1 Lander Cans, ion engines, RCS thrusters, reaction wheels, and xenon/monoprop tanks. These can easily move enormous segments of shipping given enough time.

- Add a relay to turn it into a free comms satellite.

- Build part "cages". These are structures made of construction girders and I-beams strutted together and used to hold massive parts when said parts are not clamped to anything.

- If need be, hold parts in place with Klaws; they're surprisingly good at it.

- Put this station in as low an orbit as safely possible. This way, it rotates its host body quickly, and ships being launched from it are provided easier access to other planets.

 

Parts testing locations are relatively rare, and only found in career mode. These stations serve as a semi-mobile (able to change orbital altitude) testbeds designed to fulfill part-testing contracts.

Tips:

- Add a "mass relay". Find the thrust of an engine you've been assigned to test, and arrange an equal amount of thrust against it.

- Add a detachable satellite for testing RCS thrusters and low-powered radial engines.

- Add docking ports for attaching ships containing your parts.

- Use a probe core, rather than a Kerbal pilot, in case *something* happens.

- Add a relay to turn it into a free comms satellite, of course.

- Add altitude correction thrusters. These are pairs of engines facing one another; one is always shut off while the other is always on. Alternate this as needed, and use these thrusters to change your altitude to test at different altitudes. Use low-power, high-efficiency engines such as "Spark" liquid-fuel engines, Nerv atomic rocket motors, or xenon propulsion.

Edited June 21, 2018 by ArmoredLipid

[MisterKerman]

Thanks for the tips. I'll be coming back to this thread when I'm ready to build a station!

[The Aziz]

Or just connect them all and make Big Refueling Assembly Science Station (B.R.A.S.S) looking like its name.

[Vanamonde]

This kindly advice for fellow players has been moved to Tutorials.