The Stars Call Us: Stockalike Modded Kerbol System Exploration [Part 3]

[IntellectualTortoise]

 

 

Seven unexplored planets. Fifty-three moons, dwarf planets, and other bodies. One fearless species.

From the ashes of its predecessors, the United Alliance of Kerbin's new space program seeks a future in the skies.

 

Prologue

(you can skip it if you want, but it provides the premise and goals for this mission report):

Spoiler

Kerbalkind's first ventures into space were borne from the heat of rivalry. Two superpower nations, the West Kerbin Union (WKU) and the Kerbin People's Federated Republic (KPFR), were locked in an intense space race to prove their technological superiority. Due to the focus on achieving firsts and accumulating prestige rather than scientific investigations of other celestial bodies, these missions were almost all within Kerbin's SOI. Both powers established sizable space stations in low Kerbin orbit, had multi-satellite communications networks, and had sent a number of basic probes to the Mun and Minmus.

That was all over ten years ago. A trade war between the WKU and KPFR caused a devastating Kerbin-wide economic recession that ultimately forced both nations to terminate their space programs. Both nations suffered greatly, and eventually their leaders agreed that a new world order was needed to resolve the conflict and avoid future ones. Thus, the United Kerbin Alliance (UAK) -- a world state dedicated to peacekeeping and the welfare of the entire Kerbal species -- was founded. After successfully resolving more pressing needs on Kerbin and stabilizing the economy, the UAK announced that space exploration efforts were to resume in the form of a unified space program, simply called the Kerbal Space Program or KSP for short.

 

The official flags/insignias of the UAK and the KSP:

Spoiler

 

 

Unlike the space race era, the KSP holds scientific exploration as a key objective for its efforts. Emphasis will also be placed on advanced technology and vehicles, rather than the rushed, quick-and-dirty approach of times past. The goals of the KSP as stated in its governing documents are as follows:

1. Safe, peaceful and ethical space exploration that benefits the Kerbal species as a whole, not a particular region or demographic
2. Scientific discovery and thorough exploration of new worlds 
3. Fostering an expanding Kerbal presence in space, including off-world colonization
4. Development of advanced technologies to make the above goals possible
5. Cooperation with the private sector to grow the aerospace industry

At first, the KSP plans to use launch vehicles and other technology originally developed by its predecessors, the space programs of the WKU and KPFR. As the new program gains experience and know-how, new crafts will be designed to meet its needs.

Little remains of the spacecraft launched during the space race. The KPFR destroyed its space stations when it shuttered its space program, and all unmanned crafts (including communication satellites) belonging to both sides gradually ceased to function and can no longer be contacted. Official reports state that the WKU's newest and largest station, Splendor Station, was deorbited during the economic recession despite being completed only months prior. However, there are a few individuals -- humble amateur astronomers to some, but conspiracy theorists to others -- who claim they've seen that huge station still silently orbiting above Kerbin like a specter of a bygone age, kept secret all this time and waiting to be reactivated once again...

Given the ostensible lack of in-space infrastructure around Kerbin, the KSP's immediate priorities are to amend this issue. This will make up the first two of five steps that constitute the program's roadmap to achieving its overarching goals listed above. This roadmap is as follows:

1. Establish interplanetary communications infrastructure and planetary coverage for Kerbin via a long-range keostationary relay network.
2. Build a new multipurpose station in LKO to serve as the in-space hub for the KSP. Its specific purposes will be to facilitate research into long-term space habitation and onboard food cultivation, provide support services for other missions, and be an eventual destination for space tourism.
3. Land the first Kerbals on the Mun and Minmus and set up permanent bases with ISRU operations on these moons.
4. Launch a fleet of probes to destinations including but not limited to Moho, Eve, Duna, Dres, Jool, Sarnus, Urlum, and Neidon to perform scientific reconnaissance of each body and act as communications links for future missions.
5. Develop and launch large, long-range crewed vessels that will perform further scientific surveys and landings on various celestial bodies, as well as serve as transports to facilitate interplanetary colonization.
6. Using these aforementioned long-range vessels, visit as many celestial bodies as possible and set up basic infrastructure for ISRU colonies at bodies around the Kerbol system (as well as science colonies on particular bodies of interest) to make Kerbalkind a multiplanetary species and begin a new era for Kerbal civilization.

With Kerbalkind poised to pursue the grand endeavor of space exploration once again, a new global calendar system has been established to commemorate this momentous occasion. Henceforth, the day of the UAK KSP's first official launch shall be Year 1, Day 0 under the new calendar.

Across Kerbin, all eyes are watching either in-person or remotely as the first missions of the KSP are prepared for launch...

 

Introduction from me

 

Hi everyone, IntellectualTortoise here! I'd like to present a mission report of a new sandbox save file I've started. This report will feature a selection of parts, gameplay and visual mods, though I have tried to keep things stockalike for the most part. Notably, I have Outer Planets, Minor Planets Expansion, and OPX Inner Worlds installed, for a total of sixty-two bodies in the Kerbol system including Kerbin and Kerbol itself. Big thanks to the modders who make these amazing creations for us to enjoy!

The main focus of this mission report will be visiting as many celestial bodies as possible, with a secondary focus on base-building and colonization. (Mostly just small bases, nothing too crazy. And not on every single celestial body since there are so many of them.) I'm hoping to conduct crewed landings on all the stock planets and moons (besides Jool) as well as the moons of the OPM gas giants, and probably some of the asteroids and dwarf planets in the trans-Duna and trans-Neidon belts. But that's not to say that probes won't play a role -- they will.

I was originally considering making this report into a story, inspired by @Just Jim's Saga of Emiko Station and @Ultimate Steve's Project Intrepid and Voyage: The Final Warning and other similar ones on the forums, all of which I have greatly enjoyed. But I realized that this would be very time-consuming (I am in college after all) and it would take the focus away from the gameplay itself. I had already more or less come up with a backstory that I didn't want to part with, hence its inclusion above. Depending on how this goes, I may still present some of the more dramatic parts of this mission report in short-story form, even though most of it will be in the form of screenshots/captions. You can definitely expect some lore/worldbuilding sprinkled in here and there as well.

I will be following a few self-imposed rules and guidelines for this save to add a bit of realism. These are listed below:

• With a few exceptions for unusual payloads, missions will not get custom-built launch vehicles. Rather, several families of standardized rockets have been built and saved as subassemblies to be readily attached to payloads.
• Each launch site at the KSC (there are a total of five, thanks to Tundra Space Center and KSC Extended) is to be used for only one family of launch vehicle. Sites can be "converted" to a different rocket family at a maximum of once every Kerbin year. The runway is an exception to this, but can only be used to launch aircraft and spaceplanes, not rockets.
• Each launch site can only be used once every seven Kerbin days, not counting reverted launches. This is mainly to keep the timeline moving along. This applies to the KSC runway and other airfields, but only for SSTOs and other craft that go into orbit. Normal planes can be launched from the runways at any frequency.
• During launch from Kerbin, all crewed rockets must be equipped with a launch escape system, which can be jettisoned midway through the ascent once the rocket passes 35 km in altitude. This does not apply to spaceplanes.
• All crewed space stations and all crewed craft/motherships going outside of Kerbin SOI must have an escape pod(s), i.e. a module(s) capable of housing all crew members, separating from the main ship, and landing on Kerbin (though it does not need the delta-V to return to Kerbin from wherever they are in the Kerbol system). This does not apply to landers, rovers, or spaceplanes/SSTOs (since spaceplanes can land on their own).
  • Similarly, any crewed surface base must have a vessel landed nearby that is capable of bringing the base's entire crew into orbit of the celestial body.
• Interplanetary vehicles must have a minimum crew of three, and sufficient living space for the crew (i.e. more than just a command pod, and definitely more than a service bay or external chair). Wherever possible, cultivation modules and centrifuges from SSPXr will be incorporated into ships to provide a renewable food source (in lieu of using a life-support mod) and artificial gravity respectively.
• Space debris will be kept to a minimum wherever possible.

Despite the realistic rules I'll be following, I still have some pretty big things planned for this save, so I hope you'll join me for the ride!
 

Modlist

(will be updated if/when I install more mods)

Spoiler

Dependencies:

B9 Part Switch

Benjee10_sharedAssets

ClickThrough Blocker

Community Category Kit

Community Resource Pack

Community Tech Tree

Community Terrain Texture Pack

Custom PreLaunch Checks

Deployable Engines

HabTech Props

Harmony

KSPCommunityFixes

Kerbal Konstructs

Kopernicus

ModularFlightIntegrator

Module Manager

ModuleDepthMask

Near Future Props

Omega’s Stockalike Structures

RealPlume

ScienceParamModifier

Spacetux Library

System Heat

System Monitor/Dynamic Battery Storage

Texture Replacer

Toolbar Continued

Toolbar Control

 

Space Center:

KSC Extended

Tundra Space Center

 

Utilities/Quality of Life:

Better Time Warp Continued

Kerbal Alarm Clock

Kronal Vessel Viewer

Janitor's Closet

Service Bay Limiter

Tracking Station Evolved

 

Flight Assistance/Modification:

Kerbal Engineer Redux

Maneuver Node Evolved

Orbital Survey Plus

Stage Recovery

Transfer Window Planner

Navball Docking Alignment Indicator Community Edition

 

Career Mode: (this is a sandbox game so these will have no effect)

Probes Before Crew

Contract Configurator

 

Visual:

Astronomer's Visual Pack

Benjee10's Historical Kerbal Heads

BetterKerbol

Distant Object Enhancement

Environmental Visual Enhancements

PlanetShine

RealPlumeStock

Restock

Scatterer

Stock Waterfall Effects

Waterfall

WaterfallRestock

 

Parts:

Apoapsis Motors

Hullcam VDS

Modular Launch Pads

More Docking Ports

Near Future Construction

Near Future Electrical

Near Future Exploration

Near Future Launch Vehicles

Near Future Propulsion

Near Future Solar

Near Future Spacecraft

Periapsis Motors

Planetside Exploration Technologies

Restock+

Stockalike Station Parts Expansion Redux

 

Celestial Bodies:

Minor Planets Expansion

OPX InnerWorlds

Outer Planets Mod

 

+ Making History and Breaking Ground DLCs

 

Difficulty Settings

Spoiler

 

Alright, now that that's all out of the way, let's get on to the actual missions!

 

Part 1 - Kerbin relay satellites and beginning construction of Grandeur Station

Spoiler

Wayfinder KB-1, KB-2, KB-3: Kerbin Keostationary Communication Satellites  - Year 1, Day 0

 

Year 1, day 0. It's a bright and sunny day at the Kerbal Space Center -- a sprawling, cutting-edge facility that serves as the new KSP's headquarters and primary launch site. Standing proudly at Launch Complex TSC-39B is a Kerbodyne Condor II rocket, one of the largest rockets originally used by the West Kerbin Union in the pre-recession era but now repurposed to serve the UAK's new unified space program. Its payload is three powerful keostationary relay satellites, designated Wayfinder KB-1 through KB-3. "Wayfinder" will be an umbrella name covering all KSP communication satellites, and the "KB" prefix indicates that these ones will orbit Kerbin, with other prefixes indicating other bodies.

 

The countdown reaches zero, the engines roar, and the KSP's first mission lifts off!

 

The Condor II soars away from the KSC and begins executing its pitch and roll program as the dual S1 SRB-KD25k "Kickback" solid rocket boosters and quad-chamber KS-25x4 "Mammoth" liquid-fuel engine boost it higher into Kerbin's atmosphere.

 

The ascent continues to go flawlessly as the SRBs burn out and are jettisoned.

 

Plasma engulfs the vehicle as stage separation occurs and the upper stage's Rockomax RE-I5 "Skipper" engine lights up. While the Condor II is an expendable launch vehicle, the KSP currently has teams developing reusable launchers for future use.

 

The upper stage burn goes smoothly, lofting the spacecraft's apoapsis towards keostationary altitude.

 

Upon reaching 70 kilometers in altitude -- the first Kerbal vessel in over a decade to do so -- the fairings separate, revealing the three commsats stacked inside.

 

The upper stage with its payload coasts away from Kerbin once the desired apoapsis is achieved.

 

At apoapsis, a burn places the vehicle into an elliptical orbit with a period of approximately four hours, in a 2:3 resonance with the target six-hour keostationary orbit of the satellites.

 

Every four hours when the carrier vehicle is at apoapsis, a new satellite is deployed. Wayfinder KB-1 is first, followed by KB-2 (pictured) and KB-3.

 

The satellites use their four LV-1 "Ant" maneuvering thrusters to circularize their orbits. Due to the satellite's centers of thrust and mass being misaligned, the engines are run at partial throttle to allow the reaction wheel and RCS thrusters to maintain the proper orientation.

 

Once the orbits are finalized, the solar panels and reflector are deployed. Global satellite communications for Kerbin have now been established!

 

An overview of the new relay network. In addition to providing communciations for Kerbin, these new satellites will also be useful in maintaining contact with future deep-space missions.

 

Its payload deployed and its mission fulfilled, the upper stage has no further purpose. It performs a deorbit burn, despite significant fuel remaining. With all objectives completed and the three relay satellites functioning perfectly, the KSP's first mission has been deemed a success!

 

Grandeur Station: Large multipurpose LKO station

Launch 1: Core Module - Year 1, Day 7

 

On a calm night seven days after the Wayfinder launch, another rocket ascends from TLC-39B. This is a Kerbodyne Condor I, the Condor II's smaller sibling. It features the same Mammoth-powered core stage, but has no boosters and a smaller upper stage. The payload is the core module for Grandeur Station, a large multipurpose station which will serve as an in-space hub for KSP operations. It is part of the KSP's push to establish robust space infrastructure and a permanent presence in low Kerbin orbit.

 

The launch proceeds smoothly, with the large fairing shielding the payload from aerodynamic and thermal effects during launch. Plans call for Grandeur Station to use mostly 5m-diameter parts, but as launch vehicles of the same diameter are still in development, the KSP will have to make do with launching these large payloads on the 3.75m Condor family of rockets.

 

The first stage burns out and the Skipper engine ignites, continuing the ascent to orbit.

 

Upon attaining an almost perfectly circular 90-km equatorial orbit, the upper stage separates and performs a retrograde burn, with the module having been successfully placed in its desired orbit.

 

The core module features the station's command center and some habitation space, as well as an RCS system, communications, a probe core, an airlock, and numerous docking ports of multiple sizes to accommodate additional modules and visiting craft. The next three assembly launches will deliver components of the station's truss and solar arrays, all before the first crewed mission visits the station.

 

With two successful launches under its belt and a solid start in laying the groundwork for space activities in and beyond the Kerbin system, the KSP could not have asked for a better start!

 

That's all for now, hope you enjoyed! Part 2 will be out sometime in the next couple days. I welcome all feedback so please don't hesitate to let me know what you think!

Edited Monday at 06:01 PM by IntellectualTortoise

[IntellectualTortoise]

Part 2 - Mun relay satellites and Grandeur Station central truss

Spoiler

Wayfinder MN-1, MN-2, MN-3: Mun Relay Satellites  - Year 1, Day 7

 

Besides the main Kerbal Space Center, the KSP has access to a number of other launch facilities scattered around Kerbin. One such site is Woomerang, located at the foot of a mighty mountain range in the northern hemisphere of the planet. In the days of the old space race, Woomerang was formerly used by the Kerbin People's Federated Republic (KPFR) as the launch site for the Bear series of rockets developed by Reaction Systems Ltd., and it will continue to serve this purpose for the new space program for the time being. On this morning, a Bear 3, the largest member of the Bear family, is being prepared to carry three communication satellites to Munar orbit. Though they also bear the Wayfinder name as they are communication satellites, they are smaller than their long-range counterparts already in keostationary Kerbin orbit.

 

The engines ignite and the Bear 3 shoots off the pad.

 

The rocket begins gradually tilting over as the buildings of the Woomerang launch site shrink beneath it. (Yes, I did add buildings to Woomerang via Kerbal Konstructs to make it look more realistic and a bit less sparse. The runway might look far from the launch pad, but it's on the closest flat spot I could find.)

 

The four boosters burn out and peel away in a cross pattern distinctive to this rocket.

 

Soon after achieving an apoapsis above the atmosphere, the core stage also runs out of fuel and separates.

 

The upper stages's RV-1 "Cub" engines are used to circularize the orbit as the fairing separates.

 

On the night side of Kerbin, trans-Munar ejection occurs. Due to Woomerang's latitude of approximately 45 degrees, an off-plane transfer must be performed.

 

After an uneventful coast, a number of correction burns are performed upon Mun SOI entry. These burns serve to bring the spacecraft's periapsis to the desired altitude as well as reduce the inclination to zero.

 

At periapsis, another burn is used to capture into Munar orbit. The satellites' target is a circular orbit at 1,001 km altitude and with a nine-hour period, so the initial orbit after circularization has a 1,001 km apoapsis and a 432 km periapsis for a period of six hours. Each time the carrier vehicle reaches apoapsis, a satellite will be detached and circularize its orbit. This is a similar process to that used for the previously-launched Kerbin keostationary satellites and will ensure that the satellites are equally spaced in their final orbits.

 

The identical Wayfinder MN-1, MN-2, and MM-3 separate from the carrier vehicle one at a time...

 

...circularize their orbits under their own power...

 

...and can begin their mission of providing communication coverage for the Mun. The KSP's plans call for at least one Mun base to be built in future, and this communication infrastructure will play a key role in facilitating that.

 

Here's a visualization of how the combined Kerbin-Mun communications network allows spacecraft on the far side of the Mun communicate back to the KSC.

 

Meanwhile, the Bear 3 upper stage, having expended nearly all its fuel, is deorbited to crash on the Mun, its mission complete.

 

Grandeur Station Launch 2: Central Truss - Year 1, Day 13

 

Back at KSC, TLC-39B has completed its 7-day refurbishing period after the most recent Condor rocket launch and can be used once again. For this uncrewed launch, a Condor I is carrying the central truss segment for Grandeur Station.

 

Compared to previous launches, a more vertical ascent profile is used to minimize the risk of the rocket flipping due to drag from the large fairing.

 

Once the apoapsis is above the atmosphere, the rocket is high enough where it can basically just be pointed horizontally and burn out the rest of the first stage's fuel.

 

After exhausting the first stage, it separates along with the fairing.

 

The "Skipper"-poweder upper stage is dwarfed by its payload in size but not in mass, and completes orbital insertion with no problems.

 

One orbit later, a rendezvous with the Grandeur Station core module is made, with the target visible as a small speck ahead and to the left of the spacecraft in this image.

 

Once the truss segment is within 300 m of the core module, it separates from the "Skipper" stage. An expendable RCS tug attached to one of the central docking ports will be used to perform the final docking.

 

The tug lines up the truss segment and moves in towards the core module.

 

A successful first docking maneuver for the KSP!

 

The small RCS lacks its own docking ports and will not be required by future additions to the station, so it is deorbited so as to not become space junk, as is the upper stage from the launch vehicle.

 

Now comprising two modules, all that remains to be assembled before the first crewed mission to Grandeur station are its two solar arrays, one of which will each be attached to each side of the central truss.

[Mikenike]

Like it so far, keep it up. Really like the way you are limiting yourself to certain launch sites and refurbishment periods. 

[IntellectualTortoise]

Part 3 - Mun resource scanning probe, Minmus relay satellite launch, and Grandeur Station Solar Array 1

Spoiler

Wolf A-1: Mun resource scanning and science probe - Year 1, Day 15

A Hawk I rocket manufactured by Rockomax stands proudly on on the launch pad at the TLC-39A launch site, the dedicated launch site for Hawk-series rockets. Its payload is Wolf A-1, a Mun resource scanning and science probe. "Wolf" will be the name given to all KSP probes going forward, with the following capital letter indicating the specific model used. Thus, the "A" in Wolf A-1 means that it is an A-model probe.

 

The incredible, powerful and fast RE-M3 "Mainsail" engine ignites and propels the Hawk I off the pad.

 

To avoid delta-V losses due to aerodynamic drag, the engine is progressively throttled down throughout the ascent.

 

The first stage separates once its fuel runs out, but the upper stage is not immediately ignited due to the vehicle's apoapsis already being outside the atmosphere.

 

The fairings separate as the upper stage's RE-L10 "Poodle" engine completes the circularization burn.

 

On the night side of Kerbin, the Mun transfer burn takes place. This burn has a significant anti-normal component to allow Wolf A-1 to have a polar encounter trajectory upon arriving at the Mun, and totals roughly 1500 m/s of delta-V -- far more than a normal LKO-to-Mun transfer -- but there is plenty of fuel in the upper stage to permit this maneuver.

 

The initial transfer burn places the upper stage on a collision course with the Mun so that it does not become space junk. After separation, the Wolf A-1 probe itself deploys its antennas and solar panels and corrects its course so that it will have a 200 km periapsis at the Mun.

 

Soon after arriving in the Mun's SOI, Wolf A-1's dual LV-1 "Ant" engines brake it into a roughly circular polar orbit.

 

The KSP wastes no time in deploying the probe's survey scanner and beginning the resource scanning process. Results of the scan will be periodically transmitted back to Kerbin as the probe scans the entire surface over several orbits.

 

An optical telescope is one of the scientific instruments carried aboard Wolf A-1 for the purposes of identifying suitable landing sites for future Mun landing missions. (I'm not actually going to use it for this, I just thought it would be realistic/cool to have a functional camera onboard). However, despite being quite a small part that is largely hollow, it weighs a whopping 0.5 tons, thus requiring some creative thinking when it came to the placement of the probe's other instruments.

 

After a few orbits, the ore survey results are in. Of particular note is a patch of ore with a very high concentration (around 90%) located on the equator, a promising location for a future ISRU base. The only downside is that it's on the far side of the Mun, but the recent establishment of the Munar relay network should still allow communication with Kerbin at all times. 

With its prime mission objective of resource surveying complete, Wolf A-1 will remain in orbit to scan for anomalies and transmit further scientific data about Kerbin's nearest neighbor. Back at the KSP, attention now shifts to Kerbin's second-nearest neighbor...

 

Wayfinder MM-1, MM-2, MM-3: Minmus Relay Satellites  - Year 1, Day 21

At the Woomerang launch site, a Bear 3 rocket leaves the pad. The craft's design and mission profile are both very similar to those of the Wayfinder MN satellites launched seven days previously, only this launch will be targeting Minmus rather than the Mun.

 

The Bear 3's boosters separate in their usual spectacular fashion.

 

The fairings and lower stage are jettisoned as the vehicle enters LKO.

 

The transfer burn goes as planned. An off-plane transfer was made possible by launching at a time such that the equatorial ascending node of the initial LKO parking orbit coincided with a 90-degree phase angle between the spacecraft and Minmus. However, correction burns will be needed in future to ensure that the final orbit around Minmus is equatorial and at the desired altitude.

 

The satellites are left to coast until their Minmus encounter in about 13 days.

 

Grandeur Station Launch 3: Solar Array 1 - Year 1, Day 22

At the KSC, a now-familiar sight of a Condor I launching a new module of Grandeur Station from TLC-39B. This module is the longest yet, requiring an almost comically long fairing to accommodate it.

 

The launch to LKO goes smoothly. A gradual gravity turn is performed, although great care is taken to avoid piloting errors that would result in the rocket spinning out of control due to drag from the fairing.

 

Outside the atmosphere, the "Skipper" engine on the upper stage is used to circularize the orbit and facilitate the rendezvous process with Grandeur Station.

 

The docking is delayed by one orbit due to low electric charge on the module, with the only sources of electricity being the small static solar panels on the upper stage and the alternator of the main engine. But eventually the module detaches from the upper stage (which deorbits soon thereafter) and uses its two side-mounted RCS pods to maneuver towards the station.

 

Right as the sun sets, a docking is achieved with the portside docking port on the central truss! (This was one of the more difficult dockings I've ever had to do. Not only was I in a race against time due to the daylight fading, but there was extremely little electric charge in the module and I had to disable one of its reaction wheels and switch the probe core to hibernation mode whenever I wasn't actively providing control input to conserve charge. I even did some of the maneuvering with SAS turned off to further reduce charge usage. I started with around 100 electric charge and was down to around 20 by the time I finally docked. I guess I could have deployed one of the humungous solar panels, but that would've compromised the realism -- and the challenge.)

 

Once the station is in daylight again, a quick undocking and redocking is performed to achieve the proper alignment of the new module and the central truss. Afterwards, the two RCS pods launched with the new module are decoupled one after the other and deorbit themselves with their thrusters.

 

Despite the delayed docking, the module's delivery was ultimately a success. The six large roll-out solar arrays are deployed in sequence, as are the radiator panels. Besides providing electrical power to the station, this module also storage for liquid fuel, oxidizer and xenon to refuel future visiting spacecraft, although to keep the launch weight down only the xenon tanks were filled at launch.

The next module to be launched to Grandeur Station will be an identical solar array that will go on the other side of the truss. Once its electrical generation capabilities are fully online, it won't be long before the first crew visits the station!