O.A.S.I.S. Stardock and station systems [Update: New Terminus Core]

[Colonel_Panic]

Update 2013-06-21: NEW Terminus Station Core added

OASIS stands for Orbital Assembly Station for Interplanetary Ships. It is a multiple-launch full service and assembly space dock system available in multiple configurations. In it's standard complete configuration it totals over 1000 parts in 37 modules, assembleable via 25 launches, with a dry mass of over 375 tons, and stores 448 tons of fuel and 19 tons of mono-propellant for a total mass of over 840 tons, and a maximum capacity of 134 kerbals, with a permanent crew of 56, which can be returned to Kerbin or other atmospheric bodies safely via escape vehicle. It also houses 22 standard docking ports, 16 mini docking ports, and 2 large docking ports, not counting the expandable station nodes. It is heavily inspired by the star trek docks, and a utilitarian space-industrial motif. I tried to maximize aesthetics and a sort of epic feel to it, with a lot of details and vantage points from the various capsules.

While the full configuration part count may be too much to handle fluidly in this version of KSP, it is available in whatever configurations you choose to assemble, including a half configuration, a fuel depot configuration, and various others. The following will showcase the various modules, launch systems and assemblers, and the .craft files will be linked at the bottom. This station is 100% stock. Most of the part count comes from the stardocks themselves, so if you just want a huge station with a lot of fuel, crew and power while keeping the lag low, you can leave those parts off.

Here's the gallery:

These first screenshots of the completed station configuration come from an early prototype that was put into orbit via persistence file editing to test performance. This is not the final version, and several details are changed, most notably the power masts.

The station core module on the launchpad with the provided OASIS service lifter.

The protective cowling and nose cone are ejected on ascent.

All OASIS service lifters come equipped with a probe core to facilitate deorbit after the modules are deployed.

The Fuel Core module.

The Fuel Core, Fuel Tank, and Core Stack lifters all come with the same model assembly tug and 3 kerbal crew. It is RCS balanced to allow flawless handling of all of these heavy loads with minimal fuel and without modification.

Fuel Tank module ascent uses the OASIS Heavy Service lifter, also used by the Fuel Core and Crew Modules.

All fuel tanks are easily installed and removed using the supplied assemblers, and feature large docking ports that can be used to attach them to other ships as well.

OASIS assemblers have an array of flood and spotlights for night assembly.

Stages of assembly.

The OASIS Heavy service lifter has sufficient redundancy to survive catastrophic engine damage on up to 2 engines and still complete the insertion.

The OASIS assemblers can also be deorbited remotely.

The Core Stack module uses the standard OASIS service lifter.

The Power Mast module uses a Light OASIS service lifter and includes a specialized assembly vehicle.

The OASIS Heavy service lifter can deliver 4 crew modules and 2 micro assembly drones in a single launch.

The Power Expansion module is optional for stations requiring additional power capacity. It launches with the OASIS Light service lifter.

The Power Expansion booms are 100% self-contained for remote assembly and easy deployment, and triple power storage and output.

The star dock is large enough to fully enclose the special OASIS Maximum Service Lifter required to deliver it to orbit.

The star dock features 2 cupola above and below the main docking port, allowing viewing of ships entering, leaving, or docked with the station.

It also comes with a port adapter to fit ships with both medium and large forward docking ports.

a minmus deployable version with docking mast attached.

The new Terminus Station Core is a fully self-contained station in a single launch, featuring a low part count (150 parts), while having all of the capability and scalability of the fully assembled station. It's ideal for space programs that require a minimal hassle framework for refueling and supply. It has an integrated fuel tank and engine assembly capable of propelling the bare station to minmus orbit from LKO without any additional fuel modules, and sports 2 open clamp Sr ports for core O.A.S.I.S. system expansions, 2 clamp Jr ports for small craft docking around the command module, 4 standard clamp-o-tron docking ports , 2 hitchhiker storage modules for crew living space and supply, and a fully pressurized interior end-to-end, as well as exterior mobility enhancers for inspection and maintenance.

shown with OASIS fuel cores (180 parts total with both cores attached. Additional fuel tanks can be added up to 14, at 3 parts each)

The entire length of the station is accessible via mobility enhancers.

NOTES:

Ascent profile: recommend shallow ascent, starting your gravity turn early and very gradually and ending it at around 55-60km. All lifters are designed to achieve a minimum orbit of 120km with their payloads.

Always lock your final stage. If you trigger it on accident, your crew modules will separate from the station into multiple pieces and parachutes will deploy. This stage is only for AFTER re-entering the atmosphere in an emergency evacuation. Use the modules' RCS to de-orbit.

Special Note on Terminus Core: It's very tall and thin with a cupola module at the top. Be sure to handle it gently and don't let it thrash around. Recommend selecting the probe core at the top of the lifter stage and 'control from here' to reduce navball wobble during ascent. If you have trouble keeping it oriented after the second lifter stage drops off, you can re-engage the outer engine gimballing temporarily, but be sure to turn it off again before the third stage drops. Jettison the structural supports with 0 just before leaving a suborbital trajectory, to avoid bringing them into orbit with you.

CONTROL GROUPS:

1 -- disables gimballing on radial tanks. press twice before every launch or the rocket will be unstable.

3 -- toggles solar panels

4 -- deploys communication arrays

5 (Terminus Core) -- deploys mobility enhancers

0 (Terminus Core) -- Jettisons structural support (press before finishing circularizing, or you'll leave a bunch of debris in space)

7-0 (Assemblers) -- enables/disables RCS thruster blocks for RCS balancing. press each twice to disable all blocks except the one you need for your current payload. Once to turn them back on again.

7: no payload

8: Core Stack

9: Fuel Tank

0: Fuel Core

5-9 (station) -- toggles station lights. Note: 5 is core lights, 6-7 are intended to toggle the floodlights in one dock, and 8-9 in the other. However, as only one dock is provided, you will need to re-map the second dock you launch to use the other set of numbers, if you want it to operate as intended, giving the 'cascade' effect on toggling lighting on or off.

Station Core: http://herpnderp.info/KSP/OASIS%20Core%20Lifter-S.craft

Core Stack: http://herpnderp.info/KSP/OASIS%20Core%20Stack%20Lifter-S.craft

Crew Modules: http://herpnderp.info/KSP/OASIS%20Crew%20Module%20Lifter-S.craft

Star dock: http://herpnderp.info/KSP/OASIS%20Dock%20Lifter%20A-S.craft

Docking Mast: http://herpnderp.info/KSP/OASIS%20Docking%20Mast%20Lifter-S.craft

Fuel Core: http://herpnderp.info/KSP/OASIS%20Fuel%20Core%20Lifter-S.craft

Fuel Tank: http://herpnderp.info/KSP/OASIS%20Fuel%20Tank%20Lifter-S.craft

Power Expansion: http://herpnderp.info/KSP/OASIS%20Power%20Expansion%20Lifter%202-S.craft (requires power mast)

Power Mast: http://herpnderp.info/KSP/OASIS%20Power%20Mast%20Lifter-S.craft

Terminus Core: http://herpnderp.info/KSP/Terminus%20Station-S.craft (alternative core with self contained minimal power, crew, and utility)

Enjoy, and feel free to integrate with your own stations, and post pictures of your creations using this system in the thread.

Edited June 22, 2013 by Colonel_Panic
added NEW Terminus Station Core

[lyndonguitar]

Damn that your station is so badass looking!!!

May I ask, Does it lag on your PC? and whats your pc specs?

[The Error]

PC-melting KSP-lagging mind-blowing awesome.

[Rune]

Yup, it's big, it's complicated, it probably creates too much lag to be actually useful. All in all, it looks glorious.

Rune. A very kerbal job!

[Chozo Nomad]

And I thought my tanker took a long time to build in orbit O.O

[Colonel_Panic]

Damn that your station is so badass looking!!!

May I ask, Does it lag on your PC? and whats your pc specs?

With the dock, yes, and good enough to still be irrelevant.

[hotrock3]

Wicked cool station. I wish I could make lifters as easy to use as yours. All of mine are frankensteins that fly like boats and barely get the job done.

[rabcor]

That station is so badass! i wish i was able to do that!

[Windchild]

How do I download these crafts?

I would love to use the Star Dock...

[Colonel_Panic]

Wicked cool station. I wish I could make lifters as easy to use as yours. All of mine are frankensteins that fly like boats and barely get the job done.

Just takes some experience and a few tricks. I recommend looking at Kerbal Engineer Redux mod to give you useful staging data during the design phase. More info in my tutorial:

How do I download these crafts?

I would love to use the Star Dock...

right-click the link and 'save as' to your VAB folder, or just open/download it and save it as a .craft file.

[Colonel_Panic]

new picture of the docking mast module in use on an OASIS station around minmus.

If anyone is interested in the long-range deployable launch system versions of this station, let me know. I won't be making a stock version of them (they all use mechjeb), but they have the range to deploy around minmus or in some cases potentially as far as Eve or Duna (using proper aerobraking). Note: deploying OASIS to Eve or Duna is not recommended unless you're prepared to send all station modules via concurrent flights through the transfer window, since assembling it there will take a LONG time otherwise.

[pantbash]

Hi,

Just to say I am v impressed with the station and the youtube vid you linked to was very informative.

One question I have is how you got the smaller fuel tanks around the Rockomax core to "nest" into the main tank a bit.

(Or was I seeing things?)

[Colonel_Panic]

Hi,

Just to say I am v impressed with the station and the youtube vid you linked to was very informative.

One question I have is how you got the smaller fuel tanks around the Rockomax core to "nest" into the main tank a bit.

(Or was I seeing things?)

while radially attaching the tanks around the center, hit the q or e keys to rotate them around the attached edge, clipping them into the tank. You may need to enable clipping in the editor in order to attach additional tanks or engines to the clipped tanks after that (alt+F12)

[Typhor]

This is undoubtably amazing. Must have taken forever to build

[Colonel_Panic]

This is undoubtably amazing. Must have taken forever to build

a couple hours to build, a couple hours to assemble... using mechjeb to time the launches to rendezvous saves a ton of time, so you can basically just launch, then dock, with minimal orbital tinkering.

Building the one around minmus took a lot longer, since I had to launch into minmus' plane, burn to minmus intercept, adjust my inclination on capture, then burn to station intercept while doing my circularizing burn, before finally matching velocities and docking. It took a few hours to get as far as I did with that one, and I have 8 fuel tanks still not attached.

[ScottyDoesKnow]

The utility vehicle with the long RCS'd arms is genius, I am so stealing that idea.

[Colonel_Panic]

The utility vehicle with the long RCS'd arms is genius, I am so stealing that idea.

Glad you like it! I used subassembly loader to load up the different payloads I planned to use with it, and then attached them for balancing before moving on to the next. Check out my RCS tutorial (in signature) if you need help with the balancing side of things, though if you download the .craft for it and look at how I have it set up with the center of mass, it should be pretty easy to figure out.

[ScottyDoesKnow]

Ha that's great, I'll do both. I just completed my first ever docking, failed miserably with 3 big modules connected to a 6 way hub, so I dropped all but the one module and docked it. Was just coming here to ask how the balance worked cause when I tried to translate it was turning pretty badly as well.

[Colonel_Panic]

Ha that's great, I'll do both. I just completed my first ever docking, failed miserably with 3 big modules connected to a 6 way hub, so I dropped all but the one module and docked it. Was just coming here to ask how the balance worked cause when I tried to translate it was turning pretty badly as well.

Excellent, let me know if the tutorial helps!

[Lunarzius]

Goddamn, you people are geniuses.

My designs usually suck, or when they work I completely misjudge something and end up smashing into the thing I'm aiming for (usually the Mun)

I'm going to download this and see if I actually get anywhere, this is amazing!

[EDIT] It tells me the files are incompatible ;_;

Edited June 16, 2013 by Lunarzius

[Colonel_Panic]

Goddamn, you people are geniuses.

My designs usually suck, or when they work I completely misjudge something and end up smashing into the thing I'm aiming for (usually the Mun)

I'm going to download this and see if I actually get anywhere, this is amazing!

[EDIT] It tells me the files are incompatible ;_;

where are you opening/saving the files, and are you running the latest version of KSP? These craft files are made in .20 or .20.2

[rtho782]

Trying to use mechjeb to get this into orbit and docked, but could only get the core up there.

Every other component I've tried just wheels about in the sky as soon as I take off.

I want to like this game but it's such an exercise in frustration.

[Colonel_Panic]

Trying to use mechjeb to get this into orbit and docked, but could only get the core up there.

Every other component I've tried just wheels about in the sky as soon as I take off.

I want to like this game but it's such an exercise in frustration.

Your command module is upside-down so you need to select the probe core or remote control module and 'control from here' before takeoff, or mechjeb will try and flip your rocket over thinking it's pointing the wrong way.

[rtho782]

Your command module is upside-down so you need to select the probe core or remote control module and 'control from here' before takeoff, or mechjeb will try and flip your rocket over thinking it's pointing the wrong way.

Ha! Serves me right for not playing for a year, I had no clue that was even a possibility!!!

[Lunarzius]

I'm using .20 somthing or other, and I used the "right click link and select "Save As" method you recommended. Does having the game open at the time have anything to do with it not working?