IPSS (Inter-Planetary Space Station!)

[Rizz]

This is my first serious creation that I've ever done, and I figured it was too good to keep to myself.

Ladies and Kerbs, I present to you, the ITSS.

This thing is massive. I run a pretty decent computer (3.6ghz quad, 16gb ram, radeon 7970) and was still getting roughly 4-5 fps during the final stages of construction. What originally started out as a design for a simple refueling station in orbit became something entirely different. My first design failed miserably due to flimsy structure integrity during launch, and even though Jebediah thought nothing wrong of that, I was determined to have a solution.

Because Erkle isn't the most reliable mod for clamping while warping/resuming games, sending the modules piece by piece was unreliable. Once I discovered persistence editing, that opened up all sorts of creative ideas. Finally I was able to send massive, single stations to orbit without the need to design them to be launchable.

A side-shot of the station:

There are a few small modules at the intersection where the beams meet, mainly used in extravehicular repairs and EVA's alike.

The "Base of Operations" section:

You'll notice the only thing non-symmetrical about the station is the different modules I used between the left and right. The right section houses all of the living quarters and necessities that Kerbins would need to live. The left section contains all of the scientific equipment used in gathering information - including a greenhouse and a powerful telescope! Both sections also have long-range radio equipment.

Lying perpendicular in both directions are the refueling stations. The station in its entirety holds 8,800L in RCS monopropellant and 18,000L in rocket biopropellant - plenty of fuel to get any ship short of a freighter back en-route.

And finally, flipping the whole thing over to show you the engines - 12 ion engines, 6 on each end of the solar panel beams.

A few things to note:

1: Most obviously, this was never meant to be "launched" from the ground. Use persistance editing. If you don't know what that is, no problem. Here's how.

2: I have yet to test the capabilities of the add-ons that were used in this build. I know mechjeb works, but I have yet to test the refueling capabilities, or the use of the solar panels in recharging the batteries that the ion engines use. Technically, everything should work. Please share any feedback on any problems you have!

3: The whole station has it's own supply of RCS fuel - Separate from the tanks used to refill other ships. It is incredibly massive in both size and weight, but this also gives it the advantage of being incredibly stable in ATT. Because the RCS fuel it has for itself is limited, I would only recommend using it to aim the ion engines for transitions and orbit corrections. (Less you don't mind dipping into the larger tanks).

Here is the list of add-ons that I've used (The list might be incomplete, but I'll fix it up tomorrow [with hyperlinks]) :

MechJeb (autopilot)

ORDA beta (docking/refueling)

zKreuzung (electrical)

ExPI Stations Pack

Kosmos Spacecraft Design Bureau - Space Station Parts 4.1

Mechanical Mouse Industries Satellite Pack

NovaPunch Remix Pack (? Not sure if I used this, but there's so many parts in it that it might be used)

Here's the ship:

http://www.kerbal.net/mod.php?id=78

It's 5:20am, I need to go to bed, lol.

EDIT: Upon turning on the ion engines, I noticed every limb of the structure was flopping around like a fish out of water. My guess is that even though the ion engines are fairly weak, it doesn't help that the whole structure needs to be stabilized in order for it to be effective. I might try changing the strengths of certain modules/pieces and adding struts to the structure in order to prevent it from going absolutely hay-wire.

Edited October 17, 2012 by Rizz

[Kanharn]

Very Nice. I like the Modern look it has. Would make a fantastic orbital refueling station for long flights.

[TopGun904]

Are the Kosmos stations pack even out for 0.17 yet?

[pwnedbyscope]

no but they are still compatible

[combat squirrel]

Holy C**P Monkeys, that is awesome!! I am soooooooo gonna have a look at this later on, amazing.

[FM]

Fignya. In my station ~700 parts + ship (300 parts).

[Russian Flame]

excuse my tongue but HOLY **** THAT A BIG SPACE STAION!!!!!!! O_O

[nhnifong]

It's such a huge station that I cannot come within loading range of it with another ship without dropping to 1 FPS

[halocon720]

Well, this would probably kill my computer with its sheer size.