What do I need for successful Orbital Tug ?

[radonek]

Does the Kerbonaut change the CoM when on the seat ?

In theory, yes. In practice… your vehicle sports 2.5t, dressed up kerbal is 90kg…

Also : to achieve EVA-like movement in space I need to disable the reaction wheels first, right ?

Also switch to docking mode ?

What do you mean by EVA-like? Disabling reaction wheel will do no good. Docking mode merely switch to different (and in my book, useless) keyboard layout.

[Mapoko]

Switching to docking mode fixed it for me (controls).

As for the kerbal ... Well, putting 0.02 equipment in 1 of the KIS containers offsets the torque. Kerbal is 0.09 according to you

[Technical Ben]

Too much SAS will cause wobble. You can just disable excess SAS when not towing.

I also add Nukes at times as my tugs will transfer between stations/orbits etc. But for tenders/docking assistance I usually use designs similar to in this thread, but for DV reasons only smaller tanks and the the size of docking port needed.

[Mapoko]

Everything works fine now. Just docked with one of my ancient derelicts. While practicing maneuvers I even managed to tear 1 of the solar panels, but it is derelict, so I do not mind. It has enough ports and left over fuel to try stuff and practice.

And about nukes - I am trying to figure out how to make a nuke or 2 nukes cluster into an add-on, like the dock+Klaw one. So when I need something moved far I just dock with the 1 (med port) or 2(port Sr) nukes, then dock with the cargo and away I go !

If I manage to do it without having to have control over the engine cluster (just to undock and then turn around, so it can be attached) I may go with 2 side Sr Tug for the 2nd one.

9y 250d up there. Derelict for 9 years, but I may salvage 1 section later, who knows.

Edited April 15, 2015 by Mapoko

[Stone Blue]

So basically, no RCS, Winches, Ports, Lightings?, Engines, Klaw, KIS Containers.

Reducing part count from 45 to 38 or something.

Guess that will not work. At least for this ship.

OK, I dont think I DID remember correctly...You CAN weld most of those parts, but usually not more than one at a time...

Right in the OP of that thread:

"Known limitations / supported and unsupported mods

If you weld together multiple RCS, you will not be able to use the weldment for rotation - the game doesn't allow it.

Don't include in your weldment more than one Leg/Light/Solar panel/Science experiment - it is game limitation. The main restriction is not to weld together two identical parts from this list. So for instance, you should not weld two legs together. One leg and one illuminator on the same weldment does not present a problem.

Also it is better not to combine together several Docking ports in one weldment.

If you weld Engine with integrated Alternator, your weldment always will have Electricity amount equal to 0 even if you have welded a battery to it (Bug/Feature of the game).

Multiple Engine with Fairing are not supported by the game.

Generally, I suggest not include the engine(s) in your weldment.

Crew Hatch: Game allow them only near the CoM of the weldment or hatch will be unusable. Game won't allow several hatches.

Winglet/wings/control surfaces/parachutes: they can/must work incorrectly after welding. (It needs more testing)."

Seems most of this is due to game limitations, not the mod design itself.

You should take a look at the images in the OP. There are even examples of a small RCS tug.

Even with the above limitations, you can still cut down part count quite a bit...Just may have to weld small "subassemblies" rather than everything onto the main body in one weldment.

[radonek]

And about nukes - I am trying to figure out how to make a nuke or 2 nukes cluster into an add-on, like the dock+Klaw one. So when I need something moved far I just dock with the 1 (med port) or 2(port Sr) nukes, then dock with the cargo and away I go !

I think you'll find easier to turn that engine block of your into full-blown tug then juggle around with orphaned engines.

[Mapoko]

Not sure if It is the right place or topic to ask, but what is the exact name of the mod that gives you view from the docking port camera like this :

?

[TheXRuler]

The mod you are looking for is Laz0r Docking Cam. I used to use this mod, however ATM broke it for me.

[Mapoko]

The mod you are looking for is Laz0r Docking Cam. I used to use this mod, however ATM broke it for me.

What if I add the folder to exceptions ? Or it messes up another textures, so it will not matter?

[TheXRuler]

Not sure :/ I tried, but I have so much pratice docking stuff that I just let it go, if you do find a fix let me know, it was a really nice feature, especially the precision readouts.

- - - Updated - - -

Might be worth asking in either the the lazor system thread or the ATM thread.

[Mapoko]

Added to exceptions, works like a charm !

[TheXRuler]

Cool could you tell me what exactly you did? I seem to be a little too dense to understand the process of adding exceptions for ATM.

[Mapoko]

\GameData\ActiveTextureManagement\ActiveTextureManagerConfigs

Make a cfg file (or simply double some of the existing ones)

Name it the same as the folder. In this case - Romfarer

Then

ACTIVE_TEXTURE_MANAGER_CONFIG{
    folder = Romfarer
    enabled  = true
}
OVERRIDES
{
    .*/Romfarer/.*
    {
        compress = false
        mipmaps = false
    }

It is not the optimal code, but works.

[Vahal]

It's tricky and perhaps impossible to make one that is balanced for all possible loads. I try to do all translation in the fore/aft directions when using a tug.

Another option is to put RCS thrusters on your payloads and have them draw fuel from the tug.

Use girders to make some arm extension to your tug.

[Red Iron Crown]

Use girders to make some arm extension to your tug.

That can balance it for a particular load, which is really useful if you, say, use standardized fuel modules a lot. If the load is a different length or mass distribution than the design load it will still be unbalanced.

[Mapoko]

While tugging parts of my LKO station, doing a slingshot around the Mun, enjoying the view and heading to Minmus I noticed I forgot to put computer core on it.

I guess this will link to one of the tugs in the garage and serve as power for a space train xD

Ofcourse I forgot to make one of the tugs with 2 Sr ports, so one more adapter (as short as possible port to port Sr) to add in my "adapter delivery space plane" launch>

But that after I make few more freights