Does weight play a factor in Space Station stability?

[Benie]

See the title. I need to know if I have to factor in the Center of Mass when it comes to constructing a Space Station.

You'd think the fact space is weightless, then it shouldn't matter. But I had one of my Rover/Landers dock with it, and when I tried to dock with my second one, I noticed the solar panels were violently wobbling, like there was a major weight inbalance, and the game's engine said "WHAT THE HELL?!" and spazzed out.

The first Rover/Lander is a tiny thing.

Also, I have ASAS and RCS with the Space Station. Would having ASAS on, could had contributed to this? Do you really need ASAS for a station?

[K^2]

It's not the CoM issue. It's the way ASAS works with the modules capable of producing torques. (E.g. command modules.) All of the modules will try to generate torque to adjust for movement of whichever module is being used as reference by the ASAS. That will cause some flex in the station, which will result in more torque applied than needed, reference module overshooting target, and cycle repeating. The station will try to shake itself apart.

What seems to work is toggling ASAS off for a bit, letting station calm down, toggling it back on, and repeating that a few times. I've found that the station usually stops shaking after a few repetitions. You can also try limiting number of command modules and probe cores docked to the station.

Ability to toggle torque generated by command modules on and off is planned for one of the future updates. Once we have that ability, switching the torque off from all but one modules will resolve the issue.

[Mekan1k]

SAS will slowly eliminate shaking, and then ONLY if there is no.... ASAS to limit it.

[Benie]

So I should go SAS for the station? Also, the two Rover/Landers have ASAS. Just wanted to add that in.

I can't put this into words, but I'm wondering if their ASAS' are also contributing to this. The fact when a ship joins a station via a Docking Port, it becomes part of the station. Hmm.

Edited July 6, 2013 by Benie

[sgt_flyer]

the ASAS problem should be resolved in the next update the new ASAS is way more gentle than the current one (it should not be overcompensating anymore )

[Benie]

Cool, but that doesn't really help me right now. I need to know what to do to prevent this from happening again.

Right now, it's come to waiting for the station to stabilize itself. Or to use SAS instead of ASAS.

Edited July 6, 2013 by Benie

[Galacticruler]

the ASAS problem should be resolved in the next update the new ASAS is way more gentle than the current one (it should not be overcompensating anymore )

I fear it might be too gentle.

[Boex]

Ain't no weight in space, space noob. Hence weightlessness (Mass).

If you're not intending on rotating or moving your station, CoM shouldn't really matter. The game engine and SAS just bug out when lots of parts start doing lots of things. Try turning off SAS and just time-warping to stop the wobble. SAS is being fixed in v0.21, fortunately!

Edited July 6, 2013 by Boex

[sgt_flyer]

Don't mix up weight and mass objects weight nothing in zero G, but they still have a mass - which is why an assymetrical object in space will want to rotate around it's center of mass, and why a s given engine will accelerate an object with more mass slower than a lighter object.

[AviatOrme]

Actually, if we're being pedantic, objects in space do also have weight. It's just not apparent, as everything in orbit is under freefall conditions.

There's a big, important difference between being in space, and being in orbit.