What to do with old vessels?

[razark]

1 hour ago, Corona688 said:

Is it still a fallacy when it costs nothing to keep them?

It costs nothing to keep them, but the statement was "I don't really want them around any longer".

So the question becomes "Is it better to scrap them and start over, or spend more to recover some value?"  It's easy to get caught up in the "it's already there, so I must use it" line of thinking.

[paul_c]

I stuck a thermometer on a Kerbin satellite yonks ago. The average pay for "science data from space around Kerbin" contracts is approx K$16,000. The thermometer cost me K$900 and the cost to keep that satellite in orbit....nothing. I've done 27 of those contracts, so its paid quite well and illustrates its worth just keeping them, if they have any use whatsoever.

I don't think there is any performance degradation for the number of satellites (there is for complexity, ie number of parts) so.........

[18Watt]

Here’s a good way to get some use out of old vessels, and get rid of them too!

One of the new deployable ground experiments is a seismometer.   You deploy it, and it waits for seismic activity, and generates science.  Unfortunately, all planets and moons are seismically inactive, you have to generate your own seismic events.  By crashing vessels into the moon or planet.   So, set up a seismic experiment, and start dropping old ships nearby.   The harder they hit, the more science you get!

[Corona688]

You get something like 0.004 science for that.

[Kosmix1]

I would make a museum station, where i dock all the old vessels and debris from important missions by using grabbing units.

[maddog59]

On 12/13/2020 at 10:55 AM, 18Watt said:

  The harder they hit, the more science you get!

Now THIS I LIKE!!! lol
I have a massive tanker that I use to refuel my stations ... yesterday I added a load of 'chutes and tried to land it near the KSP. Ended up coming in way too fast for the 'chutes to deploy (should've used drogues, I guess),  came down right next to the R&D complex. When the smoke (and menu) had cleared, the R&D center was COMPLETELY gone. I'd never seen that happen before ... should've grabbed a screen shot of it, but I was too stunned. 
I can only imagine what that would've done with the seismometer! 

[Corona688]

A whole lot of menu spam and not a lot else.  I spent a while sending ICBM's at my polar observatory - not worth it.

Perhaps it is higher on other planets?  Maybe much higher.

Also...  I wonder what an asteroid would do.

[vv3k70r]

It is how I upgrade old vessels (very antiq - just those small monoprop tanks were first I get):

Now it get new electronic, and some rcs to to balance it (and to to conect this probe on its owne in case there be crowdy in orbit... as it is).

Edited December 16, 2020 by vv3k70r