Question about docking craft

[BradM73]

I made a fairly basic space station with a docking port on it to practice docking, however how do I set up the capsule to have both a docking port AND a parachute for the return journey? I can't see to figure that part out. If anyone can let me know how to do this, that would be great.

[42undead2]

Radial parachutes?

[tomswartz07]

Under the Utility tab, there are rectangular 'Radial Mount' Parachutes.

You could stick those on the sides of your capsule and use them that way.

These parachutes open at ~500m

[RoboRay]

Several options, really. A radial parachute or two on the side of your command pod should work. You can also use stackable parachutes in mods like NovaPunch, which allow another part such as the docking port to be stacked on top of the 'chute.

You can even make your own stackable parachutes (and other equipment) with part-clipping enabled, using this little trick I came up with:

While this does work, the mod parts for stackable parachutes work better, as they give a stronger, more rigid connection than the little octagonal truss.

Edited April 24, 2013 by RoboRay

[capi3101]

Radial parachutes would work. Alternatively, you could use a BZ-52 Radial Attachment point and stick your Clamp-o-Tron on it; problem there is that will make your ship off-balance. You could go for two but unless you've got a matching set on your station it'll look a little funny when you're docked.