SPACE STATIONS! Post your pictures here

[buguniao]

The BIGGEST space station Kerbals ever built

Steam Workshop: https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=1566107081&searchtext=

KerbalX: https://kerbalx.com/bugubird/PURE-STOCK-11-DEATH-STAR

Edited November 22, 2018 by buguniao

[Aquaticfantastic]

The New Munar transportation gateway, part of my fully reusable tourism architecture along with the Kerbin Kroozer MK1(left) and the munsperience lander 1 (right)

Gateway can house 18 kerbals, including a research lab

Approx 5000units lf/ox, can only be resupplied from kerbin at the moment as I haven't unlocked drills or isru in this career yet.

under 100 parts once the tugs are dropped.

Kerbin Kroozer is still being tested, Gets from 150x150 kerbin orbit to 150x150 mun orbit with roughly 1/8 tank to spare, will be trying the return trip tonight, will most likely create a mk2 variant with more tankage for ease of use, don't really want to be aerobraking too much. Transports six kerbals in style!

Munsperience Lander One is based off my faithful multipurpose lander just replaces chutes for rcs and docking the extra fuel tank is felt over from the booseter that got it there, still plenty of fuel in there, don't want is to go to waste just yet! but it easily does the landing and return off the one tank, hell it'll get back to kerbin if needs be, or multiple hops on the mun.

I'll post the rest of the architecture once its all fully up and running.

Reusable tourism from the surface of Kerbin out to the surface of mun/minmus and back is the end goal, and hopefully all whilst looking good and a low part count!

All stock (ps4)

[Mars-Bound Hokie]

I made a single-launch interplanetary space station that can safely get a crew to Eve or Duna. Though it took some extra launches to gas it up before each launch window opened, it managed to get to their destinations and achieve orbit.

 

It can hold up to 7 Kerbals at a time - 1 viewing cupola, 1 lab, 1 hitchhiker - 20,000 units of both liquid fuel and oxygen, 300 units of monopropellant, and 8750 electric charge. It can not only gain a lot of science data from the on-board instruments, but it's relay antennae are powerful enough to reach across the entire Kerbol system. The lander you see attached to the station was launched separately from the station in the fleet to Duna. The extra tanks of liquid fuel are also used to gas up any nuclear-powered craft that come by, like the craft I sent to take the crew back home.

 

[Mars-Bound Hokie]

I soon realized there was a coding issue with my previous single-launch interplanetary space station, that I named the U.S.S. Enterprise (after the famous ship from Star Trek), that resulted in a complete career crash. Though I still had the craft file for it, I decided not to use it again.

 

I then redesigned the ship from scratch and launched the new class , the U.S.S. Defiant, into low Kerbin orbit. After seeing it achieve stable orbit and the amount of Delta-V it has left, I gotta say that I'm amazed.

 

 

Sure, it may be more expensive than the Enterprise-class stations (Enterprise~750K while Defiant~1M), but consider the advantages it also carries.

• Over 30k of both Ox and Fuel ALREADY LOADED into the ship by the time orbit is achieved - as well as ~700 monopropellant (I used some during ascent)
  • Which means that I can save lots of money on refueling trips.
  • My parents told me "Don't get something because it's cheap, get it because it works." Though this ship is more expensive than the Enterprise, I won't have to spend even more money on fuel-tanking vessels - if you do the math, (1 Enterprise + 2 to 3 Fuel-loaded Mun landers ) > 1 Defiant
• Many docking ports available, including ones for the Mk. 1 ships that swing by.
  • Whenever I need to dock with the Defiant for refueling/crew transfer, or if I decide to expand it later.
• Looks WAY more stable than the Enterprise - not so spread out (check my last space station post)
• Still carries 7 Kerbals, a lab, and a lot of science.

 

What do you think? Judging by the image, do I have enough Delta-V to go interplanetary (I think I do at 4216 m/s in reserve, but just want to be sure). If so, what planets do you think I CAN and CANNOT go to?

• And I do NOT plan on returning the Defiant back home - that's for another ship.

[FleshJeb]

On 12/8/2018 at 11:59 PM, Mars-Bound Hokie said:

What do you think? Judging by the image, do I have enough Delta-V to go interplanetary (I think I do at 4216 m/s in reserve, but just want to be sure). If so, what planets do you think I CAN and CANNOT go to?

Everywhere except Moho and Eeloo are yours for the taking.

https://alexmoon.github.io/ksp/

[Mars-Bound Hokie]

8 hours ago, FleshJeb said:

Everywhere except Moho and Eeloo are yours for the taking.

https://alexmoon.github.io/ksp/

While I agree with you on my inability to reach Moho (no crewed missions there until I can get enough delta-V), I think I can get to Eeloo. I double-checked your site and used this one (https://13375.de/KSPDeltaVMap/), and both agree I can make it to Eeloo if I time the launch right. Additionally, even though I can reach Jool easily, I may have some trouble establishing orbits around the moons.

[FleshJeb]

3 hours ago, Mars-Bound Hokie said:

While I agree with you on my inability to reach Moho (no crewed missions there until I can get enough delta-V), I think I can get to Eeloo. I double-checked your site and used this one (https://13375.de/KSPDeltaVMap/), and both agree I can make it to Eeloo if I time the launch right. Additionally, even though I can reach Jool easily, I may have some trouble establishing orbits around the moons.

I figured you could reach Eeloo, but I wanted to be conservative with my estimate.

If you gravity-brake using Tylo on the Jool encounter, I think you can capture into an orbit around any Joolian moon. The dV map doesn’t count the copious opportunities for gravity assists at Jool.

[Mars-Bound Hokie]

On 12/13/2018 at 1:57 PM, FleshJeb said:

I figured you could reach Eeloo, but I wanted to be conservative with my estimate.

If you gravity-brake using Tylo on the Jool encounter, I think you can capture into an orbit around any Joolian moon. The dV map doesn’t count the copious opportunities for gravity assists at Jool.

That's weird. I put some more fuel and monopropellant into the Defiant and my MechJeb's Delta-V gauge REDUCED - down to the point where I COULD NOT reach Eeloo .

• Before: 4216 m/s
• After: 3570 m/s

 

Any ideas why, @FleshJeb (or anyone else for that matter)? Additionally, is it true that I lost Delta-V in the refueling or is it just a mistake?

[FleshJeb]

1 hour ago, Mars-Bound Hokie said:

That's weird. I put some more fuel and monopropellant into the Defiant and my MechJeb's Delta-V gauge REDUCED - down to the point where I COULD NOT reach Eeloo .

• Before: 4216 m/s
• After: 3570 m/s

 

Any ideas why, @FleshJeb (or anyone else for that matter)? Additionally, is it true that I lost Delta-V in the refueling or is it just a mistake?

Monoprop isn't counted in the dV calcs, unless you edit a window to show RCS dV. It's just extra mass. I strongly advise carrying the bare minimum needed. I usually only carry what's in the cockpits, and use it only for docking. A lot of people use it for turning their craft, but if you have reaction wheels, it's just a waste. If I need to turn around fast, I just use my engine gimbal and blip the throttle.

[Mars-Bound Hokie]

1 hour ago, FleshJeb said:

Monoprop isn't counted in the dV calcs, unless you edit a window to show RCS dV. It's just extra mass. I strongly advise carrying the bare minimum needed. I usually only carry what's in the cockpits, and use it only for docking. A lot of people use it for turning their craft, but if you have reaction wheels, it's just a waste. If I need to turn around fast, I just use my engine gimbal and blip the throttle.

I thought it was a mass-related issue, but I was not sure what.  This specific station does NOT have any reaction wheels, but I put one on the craft file AFTER I launched the Defiant into LKO.

 

As for the ship WITH the reaction wheel, do I just lose the monopropellant tank (750 units) or keep some on board? If so, how much should I fill up the tank (the Defiant currently has 750 units in the tank + 10 from the viewing cupola)? I use the monopropellant to turn the craft since it's HUGE, and I won't be docking it with anything - smaller ships dock to it (and so will extra modules upon expansion phases).

[FleshJeb]

1 hour ago, Mars-Bound Hokie said:

I thought it was a mass-related issue, but I was not sure what.  This specific station does NOT have any reaction wheels, but I put one on the craft file AFTER I launched the Defiant into LKO.

 

As for the ship WITH the reaction wheel, do I just lose the monopropellant tank (750 units) or keep some on board? If so, how much should I fill up the tank (the Defiant currently has 750 units in the tank + 10 from the viewing cupola)? I use the monopropellant to turn the craft since it's HUGE, and I won't be docking it with anything - smaller ships dock to it (and so will extra modules upon expansion phases).

All the cockpits, including the cupola, have some pretty good reaction wheels included in them.

What I would do (and you don't have to do it my way) is get rid of the monoprop tank, and put a few big reaction wheels in its place. You can then attach a couple of the white sausage-shaped tanks to the reaction wheels as a reserve. It's always good to be able to tank up a smaller craft's monoprop from a larger one.

How many times are you planning to dock to it before you can refuel? How much mono does it take you per docking?

[Mars-Bound Hokie]

31 minutes ago, FleshJeb said:

All the cockpits, including the cupola, have some pretty good reaction wheels included in them.

What I would do (and you don't have to do it my way) is get rid of the monoprop tank, and put a few big reaction wheels in its place. You can then attach a couple of the white sausage-shaped tanks to the reaction wheels as a reserve. It's always good to be able to tank up a smaller craft's monoprop from a larger one.

How many times are you planning to dock to it before you can refuel? How much mono does it take you per docking?

I only docked with the Defiant once, and that was to transfer a crew - since I plenty of fuel left in the pod, I decided to take advantage of the opportunity. Unfortunately, refueling the Defiant turned out to be a bad idea (probably for the monopropellant).

 - Are you also suggesting I remove the monoprop control engines from the Defiant as well for the next craft? If so, then I cannot use monoprop to turn the craft.

 

For future missions, I'll probably do what you said and remove the monoprop tank and replace it with 2 large reaction wheels in its place (since it's close to the ship's center of mass upon that stage). As for refueling craft with monoprop, I'll put a few cylindrical tanks (how many specifically? Remember: 50 units per tank). Monoprop usage quantity for docking with the Defiant varies greatly depending on many factors. Since trying to refuel the Defiant is what got me into this mess in the first place, I won't do that again the next time I launch a ship of the same class.

Ideally, the plan is to dock a lander with the station and send a crew of three to a planet/moon before launching it back to the station. When the return window is almost open, I shall dock a nuclear-powered "return pod" to the Defiant and gas it up with the pure liquid fuel I have in reserve. Then, I shall leave the station in orbit (in this case, it will be Dres*) and send the return pod back home.

 * Next time, Eeloo.

[sturmhauke]

For really big craft (100t+), I prefer Vernors or mod thrusters. You need a ton of reaction wheels or stock monoprop thrusters to turn a larger craft in a reasonable amount of time.

[FleshJeb]

9 hours ago, Mars-Bound Hokie said:

 - Are you also suggesting I remove the monoprop control engines from the Defiant as well for the next craft? If so, then I cannot use monoprop to turn the craft.

Reaction wheels are lighter. @sturmhauke is right about the Vernors for large craft. However, I almost don't use RCS to turn at all. Since I use MechJeb, all I have to do is click a button and wait. I use that time to plan my next move, or fine tune a maneuver node.

9 hours ago, Mars-Bound Hokie said:

I'll put a few cylindrical tanks  (how many specifically?...

However much you think you're going to offload to other ships. A one-man ship of 2-4 tons shouldn't take more than 1-5 units of mono to dock, if you have practice, and you're patient. When I first started, that might have taken 20-30.

If you want to dump some of the mono you have on board already, instead of manually burning it, TAC Fuel Balancer is a really nice and simple fuel management mod.

It sounds like you have some really fun adventures ahead.

[Torn4dO]

Made this for my Dres Awareness challenge entry

[Mars-Bound Hokie]

@FleshJeb and @sturmhauke, I'll think I'll leave the Defiant's design alone and not bother transferring any fuel to it next time. After all, since I burned up some monopropellant on my way to LKO and I had a good Delta-V going for Eeloo BEFORE I tried refueling, I think it's best to say that I LEAVE IT ALONE.

 

Anyway, I think I got another single-launch space station ready - the U.S.S. Tarawa. It's still under construction, but so far the total Delta-V seems good - good enough to reach Moho. If I can make it there, I can make it anywhere (did the math and saw that the delta-V required to get to Moho is greater than those necessary to get to Jool's moons)

• Picture of the U.S.S. Tarawa in the VAB (still under construction), along with the MechJeb's Delta-V gauge. I'm pointing at the four nuclear engines that will be powering the station itself to Moho (after Stage 2), and it seems like I have sufficient Delta-V to go straight to Moho at the next transfer window.

 

What do you think? Am I good for Moho (which means anywhere, for that matter), or do I still have delta-V problems? Sure, it doesn't look structurally sound, but I will fix that later.

 

Oh, and @Torn4dO, I have an entire fleet ready for Dres - check my Eeloo Fleet post for the crafts I originally planned to send to Eeloo but ended up planning for Dres instead. 

 

[sturmhauke]

I've actually never been to Moho. That and actually landing on Eve are still on my KSP bucket list. I have landed on Gilly though.

[FleshJeb]

@Mars-Bound Hokie It depends on when you go. Moho is the one planet that it's cheapest to go to when you arrive at the AN/DN, rather than the optimal Hohmann transfer. Otherwise, the plane change is super expensive. The capture burn can also be very expensive if you do it at a low TWR--I did it on Ions once, and I was burning from the time I hit the SOI. I think it doubled the delta-V required. You'll probably have a pretty good TWR after you do your transfer burn, so you should be OK.

Side-note, KSP can only display as many lights as you have set in Pixel Light Count, so all those extra spotlights aren't doing anything for you.

If you're willing to use drop tanks, I've used Bamboo and Breadcrumb Staging to get to Moho:

 

 

[Mars-Bound Hokie]

 

Here's the U.S.S. Tarawa at LKO, along with the Delta-V gauge (ascent boosters still have some fuel left over). It is currently set up in a parking orbit ready for a transfer burn to Moho in about 63 days. The best part is that it costs less than the U.S.S. Defiant (and the Enterprise + pre-burn refueling trips)

 

Can I make it to low Moho orbit (honestly, I'm not getting too low) with 6380 m/s of Delta-V from 85 km above Kerbin's surface? If so, well... TO MOHO!!

• If you can make it there, you can make it anywhere.

[Ratwerke_Actual]

Edited January 11, 2019 by Ratwerke_Actual
link

[HvP]

4 hours ago, Ratwerke_Actual said:

That's certainly one of the most unique stations I've ever seen. I'm reminded of an episode of ST: The Next Generation where the crew designed an impossible geometric design that couldn't be analyzed by the Borg computers without destroying their system. At least that's what was starting to happen to my brain. Escher station perhaps?

How did you get it up there?

[Ratwerke_Actual]

9 hours ago, HvP said:

That's certainly one of the most unique stations I've ever seen. I'm reminded of an episode of ST: The Next Generation where the crew designed an impossible geometric design that couldn't be analyzed by the Borg computers without destroying their system. At least that's what was starting to happen to my brain. Escher station perhaps?

How did you get it up there?

The second stage of the launcher is still attached at the far end. 1st stage was a cluster of 5, 5m boosters. About 4.5ktons at launch.

There are 9 claws at the ends of the arms and other points to hold asteroids. 

[Ratwerke_Actual]

Hub, with Rotating Science Station. Stock Parts.

[Mars-Bound Hokie]

Well, my first idea of a Moho Space Station failed miserably. But I didn't give up.

 

I realized that, to build a space station above Moho, I needed to do it in pieces - which means I needed multiple launches. The screenshot below slows what I have so far (yes, it's incomplete and unoccupied at the moment, but that will be fixed in time)

 

Only three launches left before Moho Station's complete. With batteries, solar panels, and RTGs everywhere, I seriously doubt it will run out of power anytime soon - even if the ore converter's running. Moho Station also has empty fuel and oxidizer tanks for when I finally get ore - and, eventually, refuel craft that come here. It may take a while to make the rest of the Moho fleet (lander, return pod, ore transport vehicle, et cetera), but at least I got the station piece delivery crafts down.

 

What do you think?

 

[Torn4dO]

Artemis, 486 part ring(153m) station.

Craft file