derelict Mobile Processing Lab

[DarkGravity]

So I just rescued someone from orbit. Now there is a derelict MPL left in space. I happen to need to launch a MPL, so I am hoping I can salvage this one. Unfortunately, I don't see any docking ports on it. Not sure how the astronaut even got out of the thing when I rescued here. I had to click on her image and then EVA to get her out. Does the lack of doors (ports) on it mean it is simply floating trash?

Oh, and question 2:

I see a contract to put an outpost on the Mun. Is it wise to use a MPL for that? Or do they need to stay in orbit for best efficiency?

[Acet]

If you grapple it with the Claw it becomes part of your ship - as long as it is in the grasp of the Claw it will get energy from the rest of the ship and you can use the menus on it just like for any other bit of the ship.

In fact, once you unlock the Claw you start getting missions where you are supposed to recover both the kerbonaut and his/her derelict, and it's perfectly viable to leave the kerbonaut in the derelict and control from there.

[Murph]

It's just junk in the stock game, if it's just the lab part on its own (which it will be). You could ram it with a klaw, but that's really not worth the effort, in my opinion. If you're talking about trying to use junk, I'd guess you probably don't have the klaw unlocked anyway. Terminate it from the tracking station and launch a proper station built with all the correct stuff from the start. You would be saving very little by salvaging floating junk, for a whole load of hassle to try to use it.

Docking ports and crew hatches are two completely separate things. There are 2 crew hatches on the sides.

[DarkGravity]

Interesting!

[gmiddlemass]

Terminate it from the tracking station and launch a proper station built with all the correct stuff from the start. You would be saving very little by salvaging floating junk, for a whole load of hassle to try to use it.

Not necessarily... if the lab is already in a stable orbit over a body where you have not launched one yourself then why not try and use it? You could launch a small section with batteries, solar panels, docking ports and whatever else you want and dock it to the derelict lab by using the claw.

OK you probably wouldn't want to attach any engines and attempt to fly the thing but there's no reason why it couldn't be made operational by powering it up and sticking a couple of scientists in there to generate some science over time.

The resulting station may not be completely to your design but why go to the effort (and cost) of launching a lab from Kerbin when you could use the one that's already there, even if you abandon it yourself in the long term at least it will have gained you some science.

Just my point of view though obviously...

OP: On your second question, yes a MPL will generate more/quicker science for you if it is landed on the body rather than orbiting it (apart from Kerbin) so go for it if you can.

[Murph]

Not necessarily... if the lab is already in a stable orbit over a body where you have not launched one yourself then why not try and use it? You could launch a small section with batteries, solar panels, docking ports and whatever else you want and dock it to the derelict lab by using the claw.

OK you probably wouldn't want to attach any engines and attempt to fly the thing but there's no reason why it couldn't be made operational by powering it up and sticking a couple of scientists in there to generate some science over time.

The resulting station may not be completely to your design but why go to the effort (and cost) of launching a lab from Kerbin when you could use the one that's already there, even if you abandon it yourself in the long term at least it will have gained you some science.

Just my point of view though obviously...

Just remove the klaw from that launch and replace it with a lab. ;-) The lab isn't expensive in terms of part cost, and it's only 3.5t. You save yourself the hassle of needing to do an orbital rendezvous. The launch effort is just the same as launching a klaw with a support section for a lab, and the cost is inconsequentially higher.

OP: On your second question, yes a MPL will generate more/quicker science for you if it is landed on the body rather than orbiting it (apart from Kerbin) so go for it if you can.

I could be wrong, but I don't believe you get a higher science rate. You get a higher conversion factor processing experiments from the same surface into research data, but that's all, I think. The research rate is entirely determined by the number of scientists and their skill levels, I believe. The generated science will still be 5x data. So, over infinite time, it does give more science, but over a fixed shorter period there's minimal advantage to landing it. Am I wrong in that belief?

[sal_vager]

Also consider this, the derelicts soon add up and clutter the tracking station, and while you can delete them in the tracking station screen you may want to use them later.

If you click the name of the derelict in the knowledge base you can rename it and set its vessel type, by setting them as debris they will be hidden when debris is hidden, but they will still be around.

Eventually debris is removed automatically, but it's nice to find later in your game that some useful stuff is still floating around, could make for some unusual station designs

[KerbMav]

There are 2 crew hatches on the sides.

I always had the feeling that only one works, at least when using the EVA button on the portraits.

Actually it could be a funny alternative to normal gameplay, "We are the Bork, all your debris will adept to service us!"

Throw in a mod like KAS and screw junior docking ports to the debris to glew it in weird patterns to a central core or a class A asteroid to build your base "from scrap".

You get a higher conversion factor processing experiments from the same surface into research data, but that's all, I think. The research rate is entirely determined by the number of scientists and their skill levels, I believe. The generated science will still be 5x data. So, over infinite time, it does give more science, but over a fixed shorter period there's minimal advantage to landing it. Am I wrong in that belief?

Correct, landed labs receive 10% more data points from experiments, an extra 25% if the experiment is from the same SOI the lab is currently in (the only receive 10% of this value while landed on Kerbin though!) - the conversion of data into science is only dependent from number and level of scientists and a weird factor of available data compared to maximum data capacity.

Edited May 22, 2015 by KerbMav

[Perry Apsis]

I've been using KIS/KAS to rehabilitate derelicts and fly them home. A couple of OSCAR-B's and a--what are we calling it these days, the little 30kN engine--along with some solar cells and parachutes. Good, clean fun, and environmentally responsible, too!

[gmiddlemass]

landed labs receive 10% more data points from experiments, an extra 25% if the experiment is from the same SOI the lab is currently in (the only receive 10% of this value while landed on Kerbin though!) - the conversion of data into science is only dependent from number and level of scientists and a weird factor of available data compared to maximum data capacity.

I stand corrected... still learning about the labs, I only have one in Kerbin orbit so far.

[John FX]

You could launch a load of (claw->RCS->solar panel->Probe core->docking port) and they could just sit in orbit waiting for something to be found then you could make them usable remotely by fixing a docking port to them that way.

[KerbMav]

I stand corrected... still learning about the labs, I only have one in Kerbin orbit so far.

The 500 points fill up so quickly, that this should be more than enough. You can of course make use of the months and years you travel back from Duna, Jool etc. to let a lab as part of the ship science away on your experiments - than move them over to a small orbital vessel and dock them to your orbital station for the lab there to do science with them again.

[gmiddlemass]

The 500 points fill up so quickly, that this should be more than enough. You can of course make use of the months and years you travel back from Duna, Jool etc. to let a lab as part of the ship science away on your experiments - than move them over to a small orbital vessel and dock them to your orbital station for the lab there to do science with them again.

I had planned on putting my next one in orbit round/landed on the Mun or Minmus then transferring copies all of the experiments from the Kerbin one to a small ship and flying them to the new location to use again in the new lab. I think that's how it works anyway but if not then I'll still have fun doing it.

EDIT: I've still not got that much science data from the Mun yet so I'll probably land it there for the surface bonus.

[Murph]

You could launch a load of (claw->RCS->solar panel->Probe core->docking port) and they could just sit in orbit waiting for something to be found then you could make them usable remotely by fixing a docking port to them that way.

That still offers no real improvement over just launching a new purpose built lab station. It doesn't save you anything of real consequence. You would need to launch a crew ship and stock the lab with science after ramming it with a klaw. Remember, that to be useful, those support modules will need to have about 5–10k of battery and a couple of the Gigantor XL solar arrays, as a minimum.

Sorry, but I just think it's a really crappy idea to try to re-use scrap lab modules, and nothing that has been said so far comes close to convincing me otherwise. If anything, what's been said has convinced me even more that it's a crappy idea. Just blow them up and be done with it. It saves you nothing of any importance, neither time nor effort nor a significant amount of funds.

[DarkGravity]

Well, I'm just beginning to learn about MPLs and Klaws, but the Klaw does only weigh 0.075. And I don't mind doing rendezvous. Kinda like that part of the game, actually. Seems a waste to terminate all that energy that comes with an already-orbiting 3.5 mass MPL. Then again, maybe I'm just being naïve.

Edited May 22, 2015 by DarkGravity

[KerbMav]

It saves you nothing of any importance, neither time nor effort nor a significant amount of funds.

But maybe gains someone a bit of fun?

putting my next one in orbit round/landed on the Mun or Minmus

Let us know if you would have missed the 10% bonus to data or if the lab filled up quickly anyway.

[DarkGravity]

Well, I have to admit, trying to get the derelict MPL is turning into quite a bit of .....

..... learning.

Can anyone tell me why this isn't working? There seems to be no fuel, not even empty fuel bars on the lower left. Yet the tanks are full when I right click over them. The engines worked on the ground. This picture was taken right after undocking from the final stage of my lifting vehicle. My intention was to tug this lab back to my station which has all the solar panels. But the engines on the tug won't fire up.

Edited May 25, 2015 by DarkGravity

[Murph]

Can anyone tell me why this isn't working?

Well, opinions may vary, but I personally find I get best results when the engines are switched on…

"Activate Engine"

[CreatureX]

Have you tried the [ ] keys to switch ships?

I've had this issue quite a few times. When all else fails, go back to KSC to the tracking station then switch to the ship.

Edit: D'oh! didn't see that in the pic.. lol

[DarkGravity]

Well, I did hit the space bar. A couple of times. I never tried clicking the blue button.

[KerbMav]

Engines only activate on the first time of staging.

[DarkGravity]

Oh, so I had already staged them and didn't realize. I get it. Hrmm.

<edit>More I think about that, I'm not sure that's right. Those engines were upside down on my craft, as they were part of a breakaway piece. If they had gotten staged earlier, I would have known it. When I say I clicked the space bar a couple of times. I mean almost like a double tap. Just to make sure they got activated. Oh well. I'll play with that later. Man, there are so many ways to make mistakes in this game! But that's why I love it!

Edited May 25, 2015 by DarkGravity