SPACE STATIONS! Post your pictures here

[iDan122]

Introducing, the FailStation (because it was a fail).

It was supposed to be a hexagon-shaped station but i built it in the VAB incorrectly and it got split into 2 parts. So I just took them and docked them together and this is what came out. I might de-orbit it later if I build a successor which will require about 48 launches :0

[cmsj]

It's not currently finished, but here is the construction to-date of the MFS Station 3:

---

First module enters orbit at the designated station altitude of 70km. This is a habitation module comprised of four stowaway containers and two cupolas, with lots of docking ports, RCS, ladders and comms.

---

Launching some girders to connect modules into a box shape. Above the girders is a very simple RCS tug that will be used to dock the girders with the modules.

---

Docking a girder with the first module. It turns out this is super hard to do off-axis and most of the girders fall away into space when you try to separate one. Overall this girder lifter/tug design is terrible, but you can usually get two of the four connected up per-launch, and I can't figure out a better way to launch them.

---

First girder attached and its solar panels deployed! (the station is way overpowered, each module is self-sufficient from generators, so these panels are mostly for show).

---

Enough girders attached to dock a second habitation module (identical to the first, putting the total crew capacity in the mid 30s, although only about 20 kerbals are on board at this point).

---

Moody

---

More girders attached, now bringing in a fuel module - half monoprop, half liquid fuel. The intention is that ships will be able to dock in a low orbit and pick up new fuel. Instead of cupolas this module has the large docking ports at each end, to give me more options.

Bonus points if you spotted that I forgot to put struts down the long axis of this module. Made it super super unstable when docking. Also there are now so many damn parts that the simulation runs *extremely* slowly within 2.5km of the station.

---

Three modules docked together with a simple unmanned refuelling rocket attached. This will dump its fuel into the station, then detach and de-orbit. You can also just about see two of the girder tugs docked behind the middle module. I figured they might come in handy for something, but if not they can be de-orbited with only a small sacrifice of the crazy amount of monoprop the station holds

---

So there it is, as it currently flies. I need to lift up 6 more girders (so probably 3-4 more missions for that) and one more module, probably another fuel module. I'm not sure if I will finish it just because the game gets so damn slow, it took well over an hour to dock the first fuel module and then it turns out that they are a few centimetres different in length from the habitation module, so only two of the three docking ports are able to lock. Bah!

[TMA]

I must say that's a very sleek and practical design. Can come in handy for my next space station, but I wouldn't go with modules that are connected to each other with 2 or more docking ports at once.

[TMA]

Have you tried giving the area that won't dock a little nudge with another ship?

Just imagine what would happen if you tried that in real life.

Actually, did occurred in real life. Except not really, because it didn't involve malfunctioning dockingports. But it do shows what happens if you hit a space station with another spacecraft.

http://youtu.be/tM7fTLLmgbk

[electricsheep]

Some amazing and inspiring stations in this thread. I'm going to have to attempt something more elaborate.

A simple space hotel, made mostly to practice docking. I'll charge millions for the kerbals to stay there and become absurdly rich.

[TMA]

Too bad money isn't implemented in the game yet.

[Omgalof]

my mun station

[Vanamonde]

Good, now fly through it as fast as you can

My original intention was to dock large ships in the middle, where the station modules would have views of it from their windows. However, the part count is alerady up in the frames-per-week range, and it was a struggle just to finish building it.

Have you tried giving the area that won't dock a little nudge with another ship?

Each edge connects at a tidy right angle to its parent part, but if I was slightly off on the rotation of the plane of the parent part to its own parent, then the far end of the L shape the two pieces make won't be in the right position to link up with others. A nudge only causes it to wiggle a bit and settle back down to the same wrong alignment. That's why I was saying I'd have to half-disassemble the whole station to get that one last corner to line up. I may do it at some point, but right now I want a break from station-building.

[Nephf]

This is the International Space Station, 100% STOCK. The JEM (the Japanese Module) is still missing, coming soon

[alexustas]

Hi,

this is my KSS-1

[alexustas]

KSS-2 (first half of my next station)

ESCAPE Module with 5 VA's

[ArcticX9]

The beginnings of Hyperion station, my first real space station in LKO. It is *mostly* stock, and consists of a habitat module with observation center, cargo bay and docked crew shuttle. Several modules are planed for future construction.

[iDan122]

My KSS with my old Raven SSTO docked(built it in 0.19)

My MSS:

[spectrhz]

These are my two main stations that I use often; Omicron kmro which orbits kerbin and omicron dmro which orbits duna.

Omicron-KMRO

Omicron-DMRO

The mro stands for microgravity research orbiter.

Edited August 29, 2013 by spectrhz

[ArcticX9]

Expansions to the Hyperion station along with the first crew transfer, swapping out Jeb, Bill and Bob for a fresh crew.

[SuperWeegee4000]

The newly completed StarLab, crewed by Commander Kelbles Kerman, Mission Specialist Dunmy Kerman, Science Officer Harfrid Kerman, and Mission Specialist Chaddous Kerman.

[RoCkEtZoMbIe]

here goes my S.S.A. (space station Alpha) . it orbits Kerbin at 200x200km. it seats 23 kerbals, it has a KAS module, a fuel module and a tug. it does everything I need for a rescue hub and a refuel destination and its my one stop shop before I go on any missions. though sadly I want to make it bigger but it gets a bit laggy when I get close.

[Astraph]

My KGB (Kerbalska Gwiezdna Baza, which means Kerbal Space Base in Polish) has reached operational capability. Its purpose is to provide refueling for interplanetary vehicles and serve as a staging point for their assembly.

From left to right we god Core Module (providing housing for 4 crewmembers and an emergency supply of RCS monopropellant), Command Module (featuring twin Coupula observation decks and docking points for Tur space tugs) and Utility Node LF, designed to host up to 8 fuel containers and provide docking for up to three Tur-LF expendable supply craft. For assembly purpsoe I'm keeping it at low orbit, but plan to move it to around 50,000 km once it's completed.

[Astraph]

Sorry for double post

Edited August 31, 2013 by Astraph
Double posted somehow... 0.o

[naxhi24]

Hey um quick question. I don't have a pic of my station but it's kinda in a low orbit, and when I mean low, I mean it's currently at a 75000 meter orbit. Is that too low for a space station because I see stations with an altitude of more then 100000. What is the optimal orbit for a station?

[samstarman5]

Hey um quick question. I don't have a pic of my station but it's kinda in a low orbit, and when I mean low, I mean it's currently at a 75000 meter orbit. Is that too low for a space station because I see stations with an altitude of more then 100000. What is the optimal orbit for a station?

Anything over 70k and therefore out of atmo works. Just remember that the lower the circular orbit, the faster the orbital speed, and the higher the orbit, the more delta-v required to acquire it. My current assembled station I put into a 500k orbit, which allows a bit more ease in practicing rendezvous, but you do have to spend more time to organize windows for ascent, since the SS's orbital speed is much slower.

In the end, it really depends what you are willing to put on your launch craft. If you wish a low-orbit station, say between 70k and 100k, then you won't need as much liquid fuel, though you may need more RCS to match velocities more precisely. For higher orbits over 100k, you will need more liquid fuel and patience establishing launch windows. This will become a factor in campaign mode when you will be playing on a budget. Your first station then will probably be a low-orbit one, as RCS is cheaper than liquid fuel.

Something to keep in mind is that the ISS is a low-orbit station, which in rl terms would be within the KSP 100k altitude. This allows so much more to be done with today's budget-conscious space agencies than if it were in a higher orbit. Learning all this through KSP definitely brings to light why it isn't such a good idea to retrieve the Hubble Telescope for preservation as it does sit at a much higher orbit. I look forward to the day when it does become cheaper to get out of our gravity well.

[DerekL1963]

Something to keep in mind is that the ISS is a low-orbit station, which in rl terms would be within the KSP 100k altitude. This allows so much more to be done with today's budget-conscious space agencies than if it were in a higher orbit. Learning all this through KSP definitely brings to light why it isn't such a good idea to retrieve the Hubble Telescope for preservation as it does sit at a much higher orbit. I look forward to the day when it does become cheaper to get out of our gravity well.

> . < Fuel is cheap, in terms of (current) launch costs it's barely out of the noise and rounding errors. The ISS is where it is so that a) it's high enough doesn't need all that frequent reboosts, and low enough that the Shuttle could reach it without impacting payload capacity too badly. (Said capacity already having been halved by the decision to place ISS at a higher orbital angle so the Soyuz could reach without dropping spent stages on China rather than modest angle planned when it was still Freedom.)

[naxhi24]

here is said station, its basically 2 pre-made station parts from different stations put together. Theres the Core and the Power Station. I used pre-made parts to see how stations work in the first place. I'm relatively new to this so it helps a lot. I also used mechjeb. The two ships are worker transfer ships. I managed to get it to a 125km orbit. Turning it though even with rcs is extremely difficult, and its all stock parts.

[Kerbart]

I'm running KSP on a humble laptop so my initial space station of a couple of hundred tons with large living spaces, science laboratories, etc, was scrapped in favor of a smaller one.

The new station will mainly serve as a docking hub and refueling station. The first replacement crew has arrived (replacing Jebediah, Bob and Bill who were the initial pilots in getting all the stuff up).

Worth noting:

• No mess left behind! All launch vehicles are setup in such a way that the main stages get ditched before reaching an stable orbit; the transit stage to get to the station is returned to Kerbin afterwards.
  
• Since I'm lazy that means that I launch for an initial "orbit" with a 80km apoapsis (at about 30° into orbit) and a -5km periapsis. I know that a 60km periapsis would decay but then I'd have to "baby" each part of debris through atmospheric reentry.
  
• The "power unit" of the space station (where the solar panels are) has a remote guidance unit and a poodle engine. It can (and has) been used to return the drive units for the various parts back into a return orbit, after which it docks again (bonus: it gives some extra docking practice)
  
• Supply ships are used to fill up the fuel tanks. The final run to top everything off took less 30 minutes of real time -- launch, rendez-vous, docking, fuel transfer, and returning to Kerbin. Practice makes perfect!

Next stop: a "space tug" as the powered vehicle for manned missions and replacing the power unit as the "station tractor"

Edited September 2, 2013 by Kerbart
Added an omission on bullet #1

[ericwdhs]

This was my first attempt at a space station back a few months ago. Despite the appearance, it is a single module and was launched in one piece. I had intended to add large fuel modules to the triple docking ports and capped off by another ring module, but after only a few missions to it, it was devoured by the physics Kraken upon loading with a few docked craft (last image). I do have backup saves of the station in orbit, but I'd rather just redo the design, one that is actually modular and has a much bigger ring.