Rigid orbital construction

[NorthernDevo]

Hallo folks - I rarely build in orbit, this is my first time really trying it.

My ship - Project Deepstar - is built from science labs, Hitchhikers and sufficient fuel/electrical/utility parts to allow it to operate independently.

The problem is, they're all connected via docking ports, which to my knowledge is not the most rigid form of construction.

Is there a way to build in orbit that allows for really rigid, strong connections?

Thanks

[Aegolius13]

The easiest,  but arguably cheaty way is to use autostruts.  Other mods, like LAS and EVA struts, may work too.

In stock,  though, not a lot of slam dunk options.   The bigger docking ports tend to be a little more rigid.  You can also put your engines toward the front of your ship,  so they pull rather than push.

[NorthernDevo]

22 minutes ago, Aegolius13 said:

The easiest,  but arguably cheaty way is to use autostruts.  Other mods, like LAS and EVA struts, may work too.

In stock,  though, not a lot of slam dunk options.   The bigger docking ports tend to be a little more rigid.  You can also put your engines toward the front of your ship,  so they pull rather than push.

Thank you - I kind of thought that would be the case, as you said there isn't much to go with for stock options. Since I make very little use of Engineers I was hoping they might be able to do something.

Using the propulsion module as a tractor rather than a pusher sounds like a really good idea; I'm building it now - it's the last stage before Deepstar sets out. I'll rig engines so that it can pull - thank you!

FWIW here is the completed vessel; without the propulsion module.

 

[Cpt Kerbalkrunch]

Great advice to pull rather than push. I use the same technique for asteroids. It works pretty well. Also, for large, unstable ships, I would recommend accelerating slowly; hitting shift a few times (or just holding it down) rather than pushing "z". The sudden acceleration can often get things shaking. And if it does begin to shake, hit "x" and tap timewarp for just a second, then kill it. This should stabilize the ship so you can begin again.

[Vanamonde]

Why do you need it to be rigid? If you're going to move it, docking rings are plenty strong as long as you don't over-do the accelerations. 

[Zhetaan]

@NorthernDevo:

If you absolutely must have rigid-but-removable connection, you may wish to try multiple docking ports.  Just be certain that, if you launch that way, you ensure that the extras do acquire and dock before you lift off.  Otherwise, you will have some ... fun.

That station is compact enough that, especially with the Clamp-o-Tron Sr. ports, you won't have to worry about rigidity unless you clip the parts from different sections when you dock things together--and if you do that, then nothing will save you.  You won't have to start seriously worrying about rigidity until you get into either megastructure or spindle-station territory.

On the bright side, if that does happen and your station violently flies apart, then you can rename it the Derpstar.

More seriously, I don't know whether you're attached to stock-only, but there are a lot of mod options.

If you don't mind mod station parts, @Nertea's Stockalike Station Parts Extended (or SSPX) provides larger station parts.  Larger parts mean fewer of them are needed to get the size of station that you want, which cuts down on rigidity (and performance) issues.  Also, these are some of the most astonishingly well-done parts I've ever seen:  Nertea makes it a point of pride to be an artist first and modder second.

Alternatively, you can try to hook your stations together with struts added after the fact using Kerbal Attachment System (or KAS), which requires EVA work to run the struts, or something more obviously fantastic such as Quantum Struts Continued, which can be activated after launch without EVA and provides rigid connection, but looks rather painfully magical (there is some cool factor in having a station held together by blue beams of light but you may not be interested in the Star Wars angle).

Next, there's Recoupler, but it's intended more for things such as ring stations and the like, but perhaps it could be of assistance to you.

Lastly, you can try Konstruction! which allows you to build your station with special construction ports and has code to remove those ports (by 'welding') and leaving the parent parts just as rigidly connected as though they had been snapped together in the VAB.  This leaves your station looking pure stock, and I believe the part welding is effectively the same as having constructed the station that way from the start, so even if you were to remove the mod after you launched, it would not affect the station.  If you want the 100% stock look without the 100% stock hassle, this mod will help.

Edited November 2, 2017 by Zhetaan

[Superfluous J]

5 minutes ago, Zhetaan said:

Lastly, you can try Konstruction! which allows you to build your station with special construction ports

Came here to suggest this, thumbed it up instead.

[bewing]

If you do use autostruts, then make sure you use the "grandparent" setting for most or all of them. Some of the other autostrut settings can cause much more harm than good, unless you know in advance exactly how they will behave.

 

[NorthernDevo]

Hey folks; thanks a lot - you've given great help and encouragement. I plan to use Nervs for primary propulsion so it'll be fairly gentle acceleration - all ports on the vessel are, as mentioned above, Clamp-o-Tron Sr.'s so while it does have flex they will hold fine; I was just hoping to build more rigidity because it does tend to wiggle around a bit. I will definitely be checking out the mods you suggested; SSPX and Autostruts sound wonderful; as does Konstruction - I will definitely be checking them out.

Tangential to the question, I've realized I made a mistake in Deepstar's design - I have the spare fuel tank and processing modules on the lander. That's what I'm used to - direct flights from and to KSC. I'm going to send up another module with the ore storage/processing on the ship itself - makes for a smaller lander and a more efficient design. I forgot radiators on the mining lander as well lol

 

Thanks much, folks

 

Edited November 3, 2017 by NorthernDevo