SPACE STATIONS! Post your pictures here

[Tw1]

I guess I can post this here too. Ascension Station Mk II!

-snip-

It's looking good! Sending this one to Laythe as well?

[Sapphire]

It's looking good! Sending this one to Laythe as well?

I think I scrapped the idea of building this thing in Laythe orbit a long time ago. Since then the modules have become much larger and asymmetrical. I think it's more cost-efficient to just use Nova's Wet Workshopsâ„¢ mod to build a fuel/living station over Laythe. More efficient and less laggy, and that's most important since Laythe is the busiest place in my solar system.

[SFJackBauer]

can i have the download for the shuttle? ive been looking for something like that to use to help build my station

Sure, just give me some time as it's not ready yet to release due to some issues. For example, I had to increase the engines gimbal limits to deal with the asymmetry, and I still haven't checked if this makes the engines controllable in a regular rocket. This shuttle I can only fly using MechJeb since it is very sensitive. Also the landing is tricky due to some incredible roll authority, and the CG-CL alignment is still not perfect. I think I'll open a separate thread for that soon.

[SFJackBauer]

I guess I can post this here too. Ascension Station Mk II!

It had some pretty heavy revisions since 0.20. The escape pod bank is gone and replaced by a science lab, and it has a bunch of "nipples" on the underside so various tugs and interplanetary stages can dock up and be sent out to any payloads recently put into orbit and bound for interplanetary space. The RCS bikes are gone and have been replaced with Lack's RCS tugboats. And lots more sensors and stuff.

That's some incredible ship but the Kerbin textures got my attention. How is your memory usage with all those mods AND the Universe Replacer? I had to trim severely my mods to keep the memory in the 3GB region.

[Sapphire]

How is your memory usage with all those mods AND the Universe Replacer?

...

...You don't wanna know.

[dc4bs]

NOTE: originally posted July 29th in the "Show off your awesome KSP pictures!" thread.

I was quite proud of these early stations...

Something is different with physics in .21 and I have been entirely unable to get the last one relaunched though. That one ALWAYS breaks up during launch. So I've gone back to assembling multiple smaller parts in orbit.

So anyway, I thought this series of pics & story fit in this thread better than the general pics thread.

Enjoy.

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I found KSP through Steam so I have only experienced V0.20.* so far.

Once I figured most of the basic stuff out I started a program to build "A" space station as a stepping stone / refueling depot to get ships even further out. And then got a bit carried away...

My initial design using ioncross O2 scrubber and "pass-through docking/escape pods" using regular engines. But I didn't really like the idea of kerbals somehow "magically" being able to crawl through the engines to get in/out of the stations but I hadn't come up with anything better yet...

Station "A" 1st half in orbit with launch tug:

2nd 1/2 of the station is a mirror of the 1st with a simple ioncross O2 tank instead of the scrubber in the 2nd half.

Station "A" with 2nd half mated:

Then I downloaded KOSMOS and fell in love with the station struts and the monofuel engines

I eventually deleted all of the KOSMOS mod except for the 3 versions of the struts (only used the crawl tubes) and the mono-fuel engine parts for the escape pods. KOSMOS has a LOT of parts that I was not using, made the game take a lot longer to load on startup and cluttered up the parts lists in the VAB.

Station "B" 1st half on the pad:

This design pushed the docking ports further out and got rid of the need for regular fuel tanks for the escape pods as well. The escape pods became a crew module and an RCS tank with radially mounted mono-engines. This gives the station MUCH more RCS if needed during docking maneuvers, etc.

Still pushing it but much more believable as a "pass-through" docking port then design "A". Also added 4 quantum struts around the nose of each docking pod.

Station "B" 1st half on the way up:

Station "B" 1st half circularizing:

Station "B" 1st half parked near station "A":

With station "B" now well in progress, decided to move station "A" from 100 Km orbit to 150 Km:

And then sent up a tanker to refuel all station "A" tanks to 100% and also leave an additional RCS fuel pack as "A" had VERY little RCS in it's design.

Station "B" completed with lights off and on:

Around this time I was tired of the stations being wobbly in the middle so I finally said, "Heck, it can't be THAT hard..." and just lofted an entire station with room for 25 Kerbals plus 4 pre-docked space probes around the middle and 8x 3-Kerbal pass-through "lifeboat"/docking pods. I dunno the total tonnage but it was a LOT to get into orbit in one lift!!!

Total kerbals that can fit in station "C" = 49 + 8 (1 in each crawl tube) but the station is only safety rated for 24 kerbals as that's the number of lifeboat seats...

Early launch attempts had MANY structural failures and other mishaps and, of course, a number of rather large explosions when things didn't quite go according to plan. More space tape was needed among other things...

Station "C" on the launchpad:

Going up:

Circularizing:

And not QUITE having enough fuel...

After a bit more reworking of the lifter and the launch program sequence the final launch worked as follows:

Using MechJeb 2.0 and FAR:

Final stack on the launch pad was well over 750 parts... The 24 main SRBs, plus stage separators, plus support struts, etc. was easily 80-90 parts alone that dropped off at about 10 Km up.

Throttle set to no more than 20M/s acceleration in the MechJeb ascent module (more thrust caused parts to break off)

Used FAR to watch Mach numbers.

Launched with 24 SRBs wrapped around an asparagus core of 7 mainsails.

Once speed reached about Mach 0.95, MechJeb was throttled back further to 10-11 M/s until the SRBs expired at about 11 Km up.

Once the SRBs were staged off (all in one group) MechJeb was throttled back up to 20 M/s

The 1st asparagus stage finished and is dropped off about 10-15 seconds later.

at 15 Km, the gravity turn commenced and after a bit the 2nd asparagus stage was dropped.

Then shutdown and coast up to the circularizing burn.

At that point 2 more small SRBs were fired to help circularize the launch.

With all of that, I STILL managed to run out of fuel but at least had made an 85x240 Km wonky orbit so it would not crash again.

Sent up a nuke powered tug to fix the orbit issues:

And commenced several 10-20 minute burns to get the station nicely orbiting at 100x100Km.

So that was it for version 20...

I'm having all kinds of issues with the VAB in 21.1 - Once I get that ironed out I'll get back to building and launching improbable things into orbit.

-dc4bs

[Visari]

Warning: do not try this at home.

I wanted to build a space dock, a realistic orbital construction site.

More than anything, I wanted the location to be somewhere exotic, a place hard to reach, a workplace only complete maniacs would dare inhabit.

So I decided the perfect location for this space dock would be far away from kerbin, around Tylo, moon of Jool, in an extremely low orbit for the best possible view and adrenaline pumping EVAs.

Using full realism (FAR, DR, TAC LS, RT, no MJ), I managed to get the first parts assembled in only 2 launches, with another 2 launches to set up commsat networks around kerbin Geo, Jool, Tylo and Pol (source of kethane/ore)

Even at this immense distance from the sun, the large solar arrays are capable of powering life support for plenty of kerbals, multiple converters and any engineering tools used in the construction of a ship

silently speeding across the surface at radar altitudes as low as 200 meters, at more than 2 km/s!

Unfortunately, the game decided the station was too low and despawned it multiple times while loading other craft, or using timewarp in those craft, which prevented further construction

Docking at this altitude was crazy and totally worth the effort.

[Captain Sierra]

wait, you established a stable orbit . . . . . what was the periapsis altitude!

[Visari]

I believe that station had around 6.7km circular.

Was a while ago, can't remember with certainty

[Sanpo]

These are not using mods.

[Svenie45]

Make à mod for realy huge solar panels, just so huge like kerbin!

[Dimetime35c]

what mod are those struts you have connecting the solar wings together from? ive been looking for struts that look like that.

[Captain Sierra]

The station before last? That's KOSMOS. New release came this weekend.

[dc4bs]

The station before last? That's KOSMOS. New release came this weekend.

Yep. I LOVE those struts.

I found I wasn't using the rest of the parts so my KOSMOS install is just the 3 struts (open lattice, internal crawl tube & internal RCS tanks) along with the small RCS mono-fueled engine (great for escape/utility pods!) and one other part I cant remember right now... Reducing the install to these five parts cut down on initial game load time and part menu overload significantly.

[Captain Sierra]

their solar panels, much as I love them, are teh biggest FPS killer.

[fatfluffycat]

It wobbles a lot, to much.

[Jivaii]

Warning: do not try this at home.

I wanted to build a space dock, a realistic orbital construction site.

More than anything, I wanted the location to be somewhere exotic, a place hard to reach, a workplace only complete maniacs would dare inhabit.

So I decided the perfect location for this space dock would be far away from kerbin, around Tylo, moon of Jool, in an extremely low orbit for the best possible view and adrenaline pumping EVAs.

Using full realism (FAR, DR, TAC LS, RT, no MJ), I managed to get the first parts assembled in only 2 launches, with another 2 launches to set up commsat networks around kerbin Geo, Jool, Tylo and Pol (source of kethane/ore)

Even at this immense distance from the sun, the large solar arrays are capable of powering life support for plenty of kerbals, multiple converters and any engineering tools used in the construction of a ship

silently speeding across the surface at radar altitudes as low as 200 meters, at more than 2 km/s!

Unfortunately, the game decided the station was too low and despawned it multiple times while loading other craft, or using timewarp in those craft, which prevented further construction

Docking at this altitude was crazy and totally worth the effort.

I believe that station had around 6.7km circular.

Was a while ago, can't remember with certainty

You'll want a 10 km orbit around Mun, there's a few mountains about 7 km tall. Was probably smashing into one of those.

[Captain Sierra]

I do believe the highest point equatorially is 4.5km. Also, IIRC, he said this was done on Tylo.

[Xzabath]

Not My first space station but the first one I am quite happy with, not a frame killer. Used the big 5m sas for some extra style hehe. First pic posted on forum also set up a imjur account hehe. Probably wont work

just noticed the god awful strut that doesn't have its matching partner wth.

Edited October 1, 2013 by Xzabath

[Visari]

You'll want a 10 km orbit around Mun, there's a few mountains about 7 km tall. Was probably smashing into one of those.

The station orbited Tylo, carefully lowered to 200m radar altitude above the highest mountain, in near perfect equatorial circular orbit.

it's purely the time warp and ship loading that despawns the station, no crashing or smashing involved.

[Robwobwobwobwob]

The first space station i´ve ever built in KSP. i plan on building a new one soon, will share it when its done and in orbit

[illusori]

My first space station, although technically nothing of the original survives via a process of replacement:

Some of the superstructure I'd build differently with hindsight, there's definitely room for some economy on part numbers too, but as a working prototype it's done the job of proving most of the ideas I wanted to try out and to teach me ways to improve, so I count it a success.

It's around 490 parts and 260t mass and so far has probably been 20-30 flights to assemble from very first hub (long since deorbited) to its current evolution.

Edited October 3, 2013 by illusori
Add links to original images.

[Captain Sierra]

Good news is .22 will bring baseline 30% performance increases. Even moreso on lower end PCs and on high part count megaships. Great news for the space station building community.

[MK3424]

Good news is .22 will bring baseline 30% performance increases. Even moreso on lower end PCs and on high part count megaships. Great news for the space station building community.

Small leap with big consequences.

[Commander Zoom]

Great news! Got a source?