How do you use the service bay?

[adinfinitum]

edit 4: transmitting and stuff only works with doors open, although i one time had the feeling the solar panels charged the battery while the doors where closed, but

i didn't try to replicate so far.

So far in my experience the doors don't actually need to be open for the solar panels to charge the battery, I've launched about 10 satellites built similar to yours and never had to open the doors to keep the batteries full.

[Wiseman]

Love, love, love the service bays. I really like the look of them for my probes - I can stuff the probe core, batteries, and a bunch of experiments in there, put a nosecone or parachute on top and some solar panels around the sides, and I've got a sleek, aerodynamic, returnable science probe. I put one on almost every rocket I launch now.

[Blake81]

Does that mean, in theory, you could pack a bunch of kerbals in the Service Bay, stick a parachute on it, and a heatshield, you get a high-capacity emergency return vehicle? I'm pretty sure things inside cargo bays don't qualify for aerodynamic heat or drag..

Someone has to try this.

I launched Bob in a service bay. He exploded... Sorry, Bob.

[Wanderfound]

You can fit a satellite in there, BTW:

[robopilot99]

Absolutely love them. I've been using the service bays from 6S for a long time but I'm really liking that these have an attachment node on the inside as well as the larger doors.

[moogoob]

Very useful. They've worked their way onto any of my vehicles that have to re-enter at any time, or just to keep the little fidgety bits hidden. You can even mount solar panels in the larger Size-2 ones that extend out the sides - though mine bugged out and refused to undeploy... maybe they need an action group assigned.

[Annushka]

Many people have reported that they put the goo containment unit inside a service bay. How do you do it? I can get the goo pod to clip to the side of the bay, but I can't get it inside.

[Terwin]

Many people have reported that they put the goo containment unit inside a service bay. How do you do it? I can get the goo pod to clip to the side of the bay, but I can't get it inside.

I open up the bay and just put several along the top and bottom(usually in pairs)

I generally go for 3* the number of areas I expect to visit that have not had their goo-testing done yet.

(I think 12 is the most I have done so far, 6 on the top and 6 on the bottom in a neat little over-lapping row, a few thermometers/barometers along the edges and I usually add an antenna so that it will extend out through the open doors when activated)

Just be sure to check for anything sticking out of the bay when you close the doors, as I suspect those things would get drag/heating.

(I also put 'backup parachutes' in the bay when I am not sure if a new design will lose it's parachutes during reentry)

[T.A.P.O.R.]

Many people have reported that they put the goo containment unit inside a service bay. How do you do it? I can get the goo pod to clip to the side of the bay, but I can't get it inside.

You need to use your QWEASD keys to change the orientation.

Its not just the GOO, but pretty much every part that I've tried.

[magnemoe]

Does that mean, in theory, you could pack a bunch of kerbals in the Service Bay, stick a parachute on it, and a heatshield, you get a high-capacity emergency return vehicle? I'm pretty sure things inside cargo bays don't qualify for aerodynamic heat or drag..

Someone has to try this.

I tried it, I used the small bay, kerbal survived reentry however this was 1.0 so I used parachute at 25 km.

But then I opened the bay the kerbal died. Log stated seat came loose and he collided with it.

Has to try again in 1.02 and the large bay, however kerbals might behave like Schrödinger's cat in an closed bay, they get grilled but it does not show up until you open it.

the small should anyway be useful as an Eve accent cabin and similar uses.

[WOODY01]

With the 2.5 meter service compartment the Mat bay fits very nicely in the center leaving room along the sides for goo canisters, batteries, etc.

[sj176]

I like it. It's quite useful for rescuing kerbals from orbit.

[Annushka]

I open up the bay ...

Thanks. I didn't realize you need to open the doors before putting things in.

[Wallygator]

They are OK for stuffing static things inside,but frankly until we get some kind of stock robotics/motion control these cargo bays function nearly the same as fairings. Imagine opening a cargo bay and extending various equipment to allow function.

I like them, don't get me wrong, it's just that they are more cute than functional at the moment - would be nice to have taller versions available for each diameter.

Also, let me open one side only if I want.

[cptdavep]

You can fit a little unkerbaled rover in a 2.5m one, put the bay at the bottom of the lander and when you raise the landing legs it's flat to the ground and you can just drive out.

[Kuu Lightwing]

By the way, has anybody had with clipping stuff inside a bay? My Duna lander probe was shaking and I think that was an issue with the service bay... Looks like something inside the bay was colliding with the bay or something like that...

[Wallygator]

Yes,, I've seen the same behaviour - for example, its really important to not have something attached to the bottom and sticking above the top of the service bay. You cannot reliably use the offset tool vertically with the service bay.

[cptdavep]

By the way, has anybody had with clipping stuff inside a bay? My Duna lander probe was shaking and I think that was an issue with the service bay... Looks like something inside the bay was colliding with the bay or something like that...

Yep, that's happened to me. I had the bright idea of putting a MK1 lander can inside a 2.5m which I flew all the way to Pol. The whole journey the lines in the map were wobbling and the markers on the navball were jumping, thought it was a bug until I opened the bay to do an EVA and saw it bouncing around inside. It was a total nightmare trying to dock the lander back onto the main ship for journey home as I couldn't work out if I was travelling towards my target, and in the end had to eyeball it.

[X-SR71]

Had the same problem with bouncing service bays. Used a small mono tank with the thinnest probe on top inside a small service bay. By the looks of it, it shouldnt clip - attached the mono at the bottom and probe at the top and visually it fits perfectly. Except it doesn't, I think, as the mono tank wants desperately to get out of the bay. It will stop bouncing if I open up the bay though.

[Mister Spock]

So there's an attachment node on both the bottom and top of the small bay, yes? I've put extra Mk16 parachutes on each, and they work -- but only if you open the doors before deploying them.

In addition, we can attach stuff to the bottom or top surface of the bay if we choose symmetry? And just fuss with qwe etc to get things oriented the right way? This whole "surface attachment" thing is relatively new to me, as I've been on hiatus for a while.

[Kuu Lightwing]

Aha, so, I'm not alone in this one. I like service bays, though. - I often put undersized parts inside, like a 0.65 probe core in a 1.25m craft or a small monoprop tank for a 2.5m thing. Well, and stuff like goo, batteries and SAS wheels. It's really a great addition to the game.

Edited May 5, 2015 by Kuu Lightwing

[KerbMav]

I will mod mine to be able to carry experiments like crew pods can.

[Fraggle]

Ah. So "Volume" isn't a thing (yet). Good to know.

[boostme]

Stick an aerospike in the 1.25 bay to make it stackable.

[Kashew]

Someone earlier mentioned fitting a small rover in the 2.5 bay. Everything seemed well and good testing on Kerbin. Opening the doors caused weight to shift and the rover rolled right out.

When I got to Minmus, I realized the solar panels had deployed (mechjeb) and I forgot to turn off the reaction wheel. It's now sitting on Minmus waiting for an engineer to repair it's wheels