Large Docking Adapter DOES Help Prevent Wobble!

[CozmikR5]

I do agree that adding a 2.5m 6-way adapter should have been a no-brainer. 0.20.1 maybe?

[oggylt]

2.5 docking port is rock solid, i just got to the lander docked on the tug to the mun and shake was unexisting! God, i can just remember the terrors with the old standard docking port on the tug

[CozmikR5]

Actually, here's my solution to reduce wobble even more:

Sorry about being on the dark side

[Procyon]

so if the stats are the same, would the quad still have more force in play with 4 of em coupled vs the one large?

[Colonel_Panic]

If you sent that thing up all at once id love to see a pic of the lifter.

Haha, no you don't... you don't.

I basically just attached stack seperators and adapters to the bottom of the LV-Ns and stuck mainsails down there with fuel lines running up to the station's tanks, and then built a pendulum stack of XL tanks with stack seperators to the bottom command pod with gimbal-locked radial engines to negate some of the stack's weight. Set MJ to do a very shallow ascent so I'd have a long time to circularize with the LV-Ns at the end. It took a dozen tries to get it in orbit without the pendulum stack breaking apart or inverting the rocket. I unfortunately did not take any pictures, and I overwrote the original file when i removed the lifter for the .craft file in this thread: http://forum.kerbalspaceprogram.com/showthread.php/30792-Expedition-48-Kerbal-Deep-Space-Station-%28expandable%29?p=380281 intending to re-do it properly after subassembly loader got fixed for 0.20 and let me import one of my more traditional heavy lifters.

EDIT: if you want to see a video of one of my more traditional lifters for a similar payload (and what I intend to do for this one eventually) check out my prototype X video here: http://forum.kerbalspaceprogram.com/showthread.php/29775-SSTO-Dart-Arrow-Javelin-X-Wing-and-Carrier-Frigate?p=385621#post385621 . Basically you build a really big asparagus lifter (14-20 XL tanks and 7-13 mainsails) and run fuel lines from the payload to the last or second to last stage of the asparagus lifter so it can burn the payload fuel for the ascent and reduce the final payload weight accordingly. This is non-ideal, but it's a brute-force method that works well for very large payloads with a very high wet weight. Once in orbit you just send up some refueling tankers to top it off. Also instead of running your lines direct from the tanks like I did with prototype X, I recommend running it from somewhere below the docking ports so you can disable the crossfeed on initial launch to keep it dumping the asparagus stages like it should until you get to the later stages, and firing the payload engines in addition to the mainsails once out of the thick part of the atmosphere to increase your dV.

If your wet weight is lower than about 2.5 XL tanks it might be better to run the fuel lines up the other way to keep your payload tanks full while burning your payload LV-Ns along with the final few stages of the lifter for that extra dV.

Edited May 24, 2013 by Colonel_Panic

[Caelib]

Actually, here's my solution to reduce wobble even more

Yes, that is exactly what I did with mine! Sure, it adds more drag because it's more parts, but it gets the job done!

[Conarr]

So, I built an entirely new space station (100% stock) using the new docking ports exclusively ... zero wobble (but I do use strategically-placed struts)! Here's a pic:

And also, you can close one eye, drink a lot of beer and steer with your toes and still make a docking connection with the 2m ports

[Wait- Was That Important?]

If you rescale the stock node by a factor of two and add some breaking force/torque it works as a 2.5m node.

[karolus10]

Sometimes bigger is just better...

Only thing to made this set complete is large docking port compatible with medium one (2nd smaller latch ring around hatch, so you could dock with both types), only problem is how to force docking port to support 2 types at once.

Edited May 24, 2013 by karolus10