Idea for a Challenge: 41 Space Stations from Films (Wikipedia List)

[Diche Bach]

I'm still quite remedial in my KSP mastery so this particularly idea I had would be way beyond my current abilities. However, I wanted to pass along the idea and see if it seemed to have any promise.

The discussion about the metallic hydrogen prompted me to revisit the 1981 "Sci Fi Western" filmOutland. I had remembered them mining from Jupiter, but this was incorrect. It depicts a Federal Marshall operating on a "ConAm" mining facility on Io. And BTW, the whole film is available on Youtube too. I had remembered it being cheesy, low-budget and crappy. However, having watched the first 20 minutes, I think my memory was too harsh. Really not such a bad film.

Anyway, I noticed on the wiki page for it, that there is this list at the bottom, List of films featuring space stations .

I have seen some but not all of these films. So I don't know if all of them would be doable or not. Certainly a lot of them might require parts mods, etc.

But there ya go! Recreate any or all of the space stations shown in that list!

The list includes 41 stations (though some seem to be repeated?). I'm guessing that some of them might just not be feasible, so lets say "maximum" points is 60. Submissions should be posted in a thread with enough screen caps of the KSP created station and the film space station to allow judging of how well the KSP creation recreates the film version.

Submissions will be scored on a 3 point scale: 3 Superlative; 2 Excellent; 1 Good.

First participant to attain 60 points will be considered "leader" to win. If no other participant has achieved at least 61 points within say 76 hours of the lead candidates submission, then the lead candidate by default becomes the winner of the challenge. If someone does pass the leader before 76 hours elapses then they in turn become the "leader" and the counter resets to 76 hours. This repeats until either someone has won.

Repeated submissions of the same space station are permissible if score is below 3 on any given submission and it will be rejudged, however, points are not cumulative. If you resubmit, your points from the previous submission are reset to zero.

I probably won't active on this site long enough to act as judge and maybe it would be better to have a more 'democratic' system of judging. I don't know how these things really work.

Anyway, there is an idea for ya! If somebody else wants to take this on as their project, go for it! Just an idea I had and I'm happy for anyone to do as they please with it

[Xeldrak]

Sadly I lost the station a while ago, but the picture remains

My Mir-Remake:

[Diche Bach]

Sadly I lost the station a while ago, but the picture remains

My Mir-Remake:

Very nice!

I guess you are our first contestant! (note I'm still not saying I'm 'running' this thing and would prefer is someone else would step up to 'lead / judge' it simply because I am likely to become rather inactive on the KSP site in a week or less).

Could you resubmit your photo pivoted to match the wiki photo else resubmit with an actual photo of Mir that you think is good for comparing your KSP version to the real thing?

Edited August 9, 2013 by Diche Bach

[capi3101]

I take it you're the author of the Salyut Programme tutorial on the wiki then, Xeldrak? Always wanted to finish building a Mir replica...and I see today that it's been updated since last I bothered to take a look. Going to have to do that, then...

[Xeldrak]

No, I'm sorry, I haven't authored anything on the Wiki. I just thought replicating Mir would be a funny idea...

[Boffinbox]

eh, i'll enter this in as the ISS. it was 0.20, and i stopped building when i heard about save-breaking.

and a screenshot during construction

edit: drew the idea for this screenshot from here: http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/b5/Unity-Zarya-Zvezda_STS-106.jpg

Edited August 9, 2013 by Boffinbox

[Diche Bach]

Looks good! I'd give that a 2 myself (probably same on Xeldraks). If you guys can post screen shots that are better oriented to compare with a real-life image, then maybe they deserve "3s"

[capi3101]

I gotta get started on this challenge before somebody else tries to do the Satellite of Love...come on, 5 PM!!!

[Galane]

Nice stations, but they're replicas of real ones. The challenge is for replication of fictional ones from films.

[Whatshtisthis]

Not sure if this would count as a space station(It's a space colony to be exact.)

It's an O'Neill Cylinder(It did appear in the anime Mobile Suit Gundam..), I should get to using it some day, still have it orbiting Kerbin.

[Diche Bach]

Nice stations, but they're replicas of real ones. The challenge is for replication of fictional ones from films.

Tis true it doesn't reflect the specifics of the original challenge. But it does reflect the 'spirit' of it: create a KSP replica of a space station that has already been 'created.'

Why don't we say this: creating KSP replicas of real life space stations is worth just as much as creating replica's of film-based ones, but we'll limit each participant to submission of only one space station that is not actually on wiki list.

[capi3101]

ISS and Mir are both on that list, hence they count towards the challenge, IMHO.

Still need to do the Satellite of Love...

[bgraves]

I count fifteen unique space stations on that list.

[DisarmingBaton5]

Sadly I lost the station a while ago, but the picture remains

My Mir-Remake:

Now dock a shuttle to it! Full scale, for fun.

[TheAndrewTaco]

What I'd like to see is a recreation of the station from Event Horizon. Terrifying movie. Very gory. Not for the faint of heart. Anyways-

Had some trouble finding good quality images, this was the best. Basically a cubic arrangement of trusses with modules here and there.

[capi3101]

Hey Xeldrak, how did you get that Kvant-1 module up with that Rovemate stuck on that boom? Seems like that would be horribly imbalanced...did you just fly it that way or did you add a disposable counterweight?

Left it off my replica.

[jBeta]

...

But there ya go! Recreate any or all of the space stations shown in that list!

...

I know this thread is six months old, but it inspired me... kind of wish it didn't now, and you may see why.

I looked at the Wikipedia link, and first tried working on the 2001 SS, but then saw the Death Star. My CPU may never forgive me.

My first sphere attempt didn't go so well... I started spiraling out a square with 5degree angles on each new row, but if you look at the ship file, you can see it started alighning improperly, and I am not a geometry expert... anyway, with the help of hacked gravity and infinite fueal, i did manage to get it in orbit. that was very difficult nonetheless.

images:

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The last Image is my new design (which i mocked-up as a PoC this time before going big.) It's going to be eight pieces, which makes it possible I might be able to actually launch it. Also, I can modify one piece with a superlaser, and whatever else...

[ihtoit]

Borg cube:

(yes, gravhacked into orbit. No welding though, I ion'd it all the way up. EXTREMELY carefully).

I've got a slightly modified IBS somewhere (no pics tho, sorry!), it uses supernuke engines (which brings the weight down but it does mean moar struttz!), it even has *internal* docking facilities for two of these:

Sienar Fleet Systems TIE/LN starfighter. Needs a Quantum Fuel Transfer System to pick up monopropellant from an orbital facility, as the two ion engines aren't enough to get it in orbit and the tank on the back is almost entirely expended just clearing the atmosphere (and there is nowhere to put a docking port)! Sucks hard in a gravity well, comes into its own in open space.

(no I didn't have to gravhack this one into orbit, it just about made it on its own).

[jBeta]

Cool! I hadn't even thought of a Borg cube! BTW I am surprised to say that I think a Death Star of the size I'm building will actually be launchable! I added maybe 200 structural struts, and a half-sphere is well within a reasonable launch once I get the staging right. So 2 of those and I have a big ball in space. I put a cupola at the north pole, which might stick out but seems apropriate. I am at 1363 parts for just the hemisphere right now, but it actually renders tolerably, and better than some smaller stuff I made... not sure why...

I've added some updated pics, but this is still a work in progress...

a 5 mainsail test flight:

WIP superlaser:

ion drive (because every death star has one, but it will certainly not go anywhere fast):

[Jodo42]

You're taking this to Whackjovian levels jBeta. Very impressive, keep it up. I look forward to the fruits of your labor.

[cantab]

Can't wait to see the complete Death Star!

I think the original challenge rules want tweaking. A minimum of 20 stations to "win" is a bit much IMHO. (And anyway a complete Death Star will be a near-cert for winning. Especially if it's modded or video-edited to blow up Kerbin.)

Myself, what sprung to mind is the space hotel from Charlie and the Great Glass Elevator (book, there never was a film adaptation). I think I'll take a go at that one, it's pretty simple and should work well with the stock parts. Scaled down mind since full size is over 1000 feet long and in the book was launched in one piece.

[cantab]

Well, Space Hotel USA is complete and in orbit.

Prototype:

My rendition:

Launch slideshow:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/52548818@N05/sets/72157641928789405/

Some of the angles could be a bit better, but I don't think I did too badly.

The station weighs just under 26 tons* and has a capacity of 14. It's in an inclined orbit 230 miles up. Why inclined? Because Wonka has to be able to take off from his factory at USA-equivalent latitudes and reach it!

*I wrote 50 before by mistake. That was the mass of the station plus third stage I think.

Everything is stock. Part clipping was used. At the front a modular girder and the bottom end of the tail connector are clipped in forward of the middle hitchhiker container, a flat medium-to-small adapter is clipped backwards in the big-to-medium adapter for aesthetics, and two little battery packs were clipped to look like three batteries.

The launcher's a bit of a hack. The booster stacks were clobbering the central mainsail when they were jettisoned. Rather than fix that, I just took it off, and made the central, dorsal, and ventral tanks all feed into the lateral tanks for a sort of two-level asparagus. It wasn't efficient because of too low TWR (<1 at points in the flight), but it worked.

Now to make the transfer capsule and the Great Glass Elevator itself! I'd like the capsule to be an SSTO, but doubt that will be possible. (I'll give it a go with a jet or rapier though). The Elevator doesn't need to be SSTO - Wonka says it uses skyhooks, so I'll build a "skyhook" booster! I do, however, want it to be capable of deorbiting the transfer capsule, and I'll cram a Kerbal in there if I can. And of course both vessels need a small docking port somewhere.

Edited March 6, 2014 by cantab
corrected mass

[Captain Sierra]

I accidentally deleted the save, but I am planning on building a star trek style shipyard (though with major differences in the interest of usability) with a nice welded gantry I have.