Essential components of a Space Station

[Mathiaz]

First of all, I am sorry if a thread similar to this have been posted elsewhere on the forum, I couldn't find any.

I've played the game for some time now and i know the basics now. I have sent a rocket to the Mun and to Minmus and i have landed on both moons. I've done a simple orbital rendezvous and docking. Next project coming up is a space station.

However I am not sure what components a space station should be comprised of. What should I start with sending up, and are there any general terms for some components which are essential for a Space station??

Feel free to ask if I'm being unclear

Thanks

[Jaedinator]

Ok, for all the modules you dock together you should always try to keep them as low part as possible. You will only need RCS on the Main Part, so you maybe want to put RCS Fuel+Thrusters onto your Module with radial decouplers so you can throw them away after you docked. (for part count and less wobble at rcs use)

And it looks cool if you have lights on your station and maybe a network of ladders so you can climb to every Module for Repairs and such things. (Cosmetic only)

Components:

Main Part with most of the docking ports for the other Components so you already know how the station will look like when you attach the modules.

Solar Module

Fuel Module (Several Orange Tanks + Several Big RCS Tanks) (Probably needs more than one launch)

Crew Habitation Module (Hitchhiker Containers etc.)

Heavy lighted arrangement of Docking ports (Senior, Normal and Junior) so you can dock onto your station with every craft you build. (The lights are for the sake of seeing the docking port when flying towards it).

I hope this helps you, good luck

[mellojoe]

Docking ports. Docking ports everywhere.

Seriously, since you will most likely have to run multiple trips up to it, you will want ways to add things after the fact. You'll also inevitably think of a new idea to add after the core is in orbit, so you'll want a way to add new technology as it is developed. And finally, you'll probably want to refuel either the station itself or an interplanetary mission later on, so you'll want a docking port that you can hit with a ship.

GOOD LUCK!

PS: Go look at the thread (Showcase) SPACE-STATIONS!-Post-your-pictures-here. It is nearly 40 pages of space station images. Now, some are done with heavy mods, but others are stock. However, all of them will get your creative juices flowing on what features you want to include or exclude on your station.

[acealeam]

This is what mine has

A place to store kerbals

Lots of solar Panels (A girder or two with a few Gigantor XL's)

A place to dock space planes and ships

A fuel tank hangar with fuel tanks

A winch to bring things closer to dock.

[TheRabbit]

These are my basic ones:

Crew Control

Docking Ports

Power

Then other things depending on what type the station is.

[zzz]

Almost any spacestation in ksp is mostly cosmetic they don't have real purpose so it's more about "looks like". (As opposite to rocket for which you need fuel and engine to make it fly. Or landing legs for lander to make it land better, or wheels for rover to make it to "rove")

Most recognizable and familiar from pictures of reallife stations part is lot of solar panels so this is most essential component, if you need one. And second is strange, asymmetrical "I can't move and this is bunch of modules lifted separately and folded together" form - so you need doking ports. Beyond this there no essential parts, it's just about "what I want be there" imagining that this is something functioning and more about form rather than content.

This question is more like "what is most essential LEGO piece to build a house" (-"I think you need some red ones, and maybe some of transparent")

Edited June 25, 2013 by zzz

[softweir]

The game requires very little for a space-station to work - a command capsule or Probe module, some battery capacity and solar cells, and that's it. If you want to use it as a fuel store for an interplanetary cruise (a popular use for space-stations) then some fuel and RCS tanks will be needed, and you may want to add some hitchhiker cans so Kerbals can wait for their interplanetary cruise to set off. A cupola module is a nice add-on, but not essential.

Anything else is role-play: communications antennae, orbit-keeping thrusters (real stations experience drag, KSP stations don't), science components such as the gravioli detector, cooling arrays, modules you pretend are living quarters etc etc.

What the team may add to the game we can only speculate!

[FITorion]

There isn't really any inside spaces that can be moved around in... or anything to do yet in there.

So people tend to use space stations as either refueling stations or as just something that looks interesting.

I made this core to a station to then attach fuel tanks to and use as a refueling depot.

The 3 ports clusters didn't work very well. I recommend not doing that.

[elkar]

If you talking about really basic its 3 modules.

power

habitation - crew

docking ports

You can make station like this with 50 parts or so. Having still pretty high FPS. Ive done that. There are cons to that, its boring small station not very apealing.

[CCKinnison]

There isn't really any inside spaces that can be moved around in... or anything to do yet in there.

So people tend to use space stations as either refueling stations or as just something that looks interesting.

I made this core to a station to then attach fuel tanks to and use as a refueling depot.

The 3 ports clusters didn't work very well. I recommend not doing that.

Uh, yeah. My station destroyed itself when I didn't undock all three cleanly at the same time. MAJOR Kraken attack.

[elkar]

there is no point doing that anyway since we have big docking port now.

[Mathiaz]

Thanks for the replies everybody, I'll try to send up a spacestation core and add som solar panels, habitation and fuel. As some of you said my imagination will probably find on more stuff to add I will also check out the Space station showcase thread to see if there's something I like (I'm sure there'll be ). Thanks for the help and i think I'll post my results here when I'm done