Remove Struts in Space?

[jkool702]

Is there a way to remove struts in space? It seems their only real use after launch and achieving orbit is increasing ship part count (and lag)...

[FancyMouse]

Attach struts from bottom up, so that its mass stays on the bottom part where it gets staged. If it's a strut within payload, try to change the design so it connects the part you will throw away.

[Superfluous J]

In a pinch, I attach a decoupler to my ship and then strut from there out. Then, once the struts all break, you just toss that decoupler.

But it's better - if you can - to strut from the throwaway stuff to your ship like FancyMouse suggests.

[MaverickSawyer]

Another (highly useful) option is to get Kerbal Inventory System and Kerbal Attachment System. Not only can you manually remove struts from a ship once no longer needed AND put them on a sip headed back to Kerbin for reuse, but KAS comes with some struts you can add in flight to lash a composite spacecraft together.

[Venusgate]

I have mobs of mods, but I THINK it's stock that an EVAing engineer can "scrap" any part that doesnt have a child part. I dont know if that restriction applies to struts.

[SmashingKirby148]

Infernal Robotics ( the rework and expansion) Has robostruts which can disconnected and connect when you tell them to.

[tutike2000]

I have mobs of mods, but I THINK it's stock that an EVAing engineer can "scrap" any part that doesnt have a child part. I dont know if that restriction applies to struts.

Nope, that doesn't sound like stock.

[jkool702]

Thanks for the tips on using decouplers and attaching from removable parts...I'll be sure to incorporate that into future designs (tho unfortunately I just launched a ship into orbit that wasnt built like that). I had an engineer on board and I quickly tried to use her to remove struts and couldnt get it to work....I dont know if I'm doing it wrong or if its not an option.

So far I've been playing on stock KSP (I'm new to the game and figure I'll get what I can out of the vanilla version), but I'm about ready to start with some mods (already had a couple Eve and Duna Missions, about to send a craft to Bop so feel I've gone far enough with stock), so I'll keep KIS/KAS and Infernal robotics in mind.