Space Station Ideas?

[RocketScientistsSon]

I am getting kinda anguish to build a space station. What should my first step be? I know I need to practice docking.

Where should I put it? What orbit? What distance? Should I do a circular orbit or more spherical?

Is it possible to do some setup where I can refuel from the station? Like if I do separate launches just to get fuel there. Then I get a manned rocket there can i hook up the fuel from the previous launches and take it all with me say to Duna?

Any other suggestions or obstacles I have not thought of for building a space station would be appreciated.

[fatfluffycat]

80k-100k is a good spot for a station. Yes, you can refuel it, just send up a fuel tank, and when that is empty, send up another one.

[Mr Shifty]

I'd recommend putting some space between your station and the atmosphere. That way you can do phasing rendezvous orbits that are lower than your station's orbit. I use 120 km. You want the orbit to be circular, because that's easier to rendezvous with.

[Umlüx]

i usually park mine at 120km

the first module is something like a heavy core. a fuel/rcs tank with batterys and a 6port docking node. and all other modules (solar arrays, kehtane converter, habs, labs...) are docked onto this.

[Peder]

tip..:

Try to put 3-4 battery around your docking port. place the batterys so that you can see the green light.. This make it look kind of cool and can be a little help. I also like to suggest that when you get near the station then try to use your navball, this can make it a little more easy to line up from a distance since when you do it visual it is hard to judge if you are to high/left/right ect. Docking take practice... I also like to recommend that you try some of the missions/challenges that you can find in the main menu.. one of them let you undock another ship and then you can practice to fly a little away and do some manuvers and then return.. This is good practice.

[Anton P. Nym]

I have two stations; one at 150km to handle low-orbit missions and spaceplanes, and one at 300km to handle interplanetary and lunar missions.

I picked the 150km altitude because it's low enough to reach with a spaceplane but far enough above the "100x" timewarp threshold to allow craft to use the higher warp even if in a lower orbit to "catch up" with the station.

I picked the 300km for similar reasons; low enough to be easily reachable by refuelling missions but well above the "1000x" timewarp to take some of the boredom out of waiting for launch windows.

I'd say circular orbits are best as they don't limit you as much on transfer windows (you can launch whenever the target's at the right angle without worrying about varying orbital speeds) and are easy to aim at. So long as you provide at least one available docking port, refuelling a station is possible; it helps if you put a a big tank on, or make it so the fuel reserves can dock to the station while leaving another docking adaptor free for the craft you want to refuel.

-- Steve

[Sirine]

remember to put up some light. sometime the shadow are dark. very dark.

[Kasuha]

Crucial parts of space station:

- Power source (nuclear or solar, batteries for backup)

- Control center, manned or unmanned

- Torque source, RCS and some stock of monopropellant to allow orienting the station.

- Docking hub, i.e. a piece providing some docking options for incoming ships

- Light - set up so the station lights itself to be visible when docking in Kerbin's shadow

Optional:

- fuel/monopropellant stock for refuelling ships

- engines to move the station if needed (can be usually done by visiting ships)

- living quarters

- etc...

My station is at 150 km and is built of separate modules docked together (one docking port Sr on each end except Hub which has more). Meaning I did not need huge ship to bring it up as I built it piece by piece and can now also rearrange it if needed. One of pieces is RCS-powered tug which can move individual pieces around.

[lajoswinkler]

Start with a small station at 120-150 km equipped with basic stuff Kasuha mentioned. Let it have one large docking port for future expansion. Use small or medium ports for docking supply ships.

[Dkmdlb]

I always start with a "utility module" with RCS, some fuel, batteries, solar panels, lights antennas, etc. Then add a docking module with docking ports of various sizes. Then a fuel module (just a large tank), then a hab module, then a refueling boom (some docking ports at the end of a long structural arm. It's a safety feature so that if there is a docking accident, the fuel tanks don't get damaged and kill everybody. It's fun to pretend.)

Also, place your modules with docking tugs, that way you don’t have to put probe bodies, RCS ports, batteries, etc on every single module. You can really cut down on part count this way. As an example, if you were going to place a fuel tank without using a tug, you would have, at minimum, the following parts:

1 probe body

1 docking port

1 fuel tank

1 battery

1 power source (RTG, solar panel, etc)

1 RCS tank

4 RCS ports

That’s 10 parts *minimum*. It could easily become 20 parts or more if you use radial symmetry on some of the parts, reaction wheels, additional RCS ports, lights, etc. If you use a tug, you can cut that down by 80% - just a fuel tank and a docking port – 2 parts. Multiply that across several modules and you suddenly have a 100 part station instead of a 500 part station.

Finally, I like to build the station in lower orbits (>100km) and then boost it into a higher orbit after construction. Then you can send a small refueling ship to replenish the station. This makes launching station modules a little bit easier.

[DMagic]

I second the idea of using docking tugs instead of putting excess parts on each module, it really cuts down on your final part count. However, doing this can be bait for docking port bugs. The best way to avoid this is to make sure that each station component has its own control point, either a probe core or a command pod. There are ways to fix the docking port bugs, but they don't always work and can be complicated.

I would also suggest that you consider putting the station just above 160km instead of 150km. This is the altitude where the terrain detail cuts off. If you have any slow down or choppiness when looking down at Kerbin you can get around this by staying above 160km.

[Lone K.]

I have a station, the K.S.S. as I have named it, orbiting at the 155 km mark. It is equipped with a fuel module and a habitation module. It will serve as an interplanetary mission pit-stop for the time being until I get a fueling station up at the 200 km altitude.

I also have a second station sitting near the 100 km mark, the I.C.O.S. I call it. The station is mainly for SSTO missions across Kerbin, or as a fueling station for probe missions.

Depending on where you place your station, they can serve different purposes. Circular orbits are easy to intercept, as it does not require you to have specific rendezvous windows and it's just generally easier to perform. Don't make elliptical orbits. You'll regret ever doing that, as I have.

The parts used can also change their uses. For example: a station with no habitation module but is equipped with many solar panels and fuel canisters are usually refueling stations. Stations with a few habitation modules, 2 or 3, are mostly science centers. And blah blah and so on. Don't take much of my advice, I'm not very experienced here, but do consider it.

Edited October 1, 2013 by Lone K.

[Geckgo]

GIANT solar panels are the quickest way to sexy it up

[RocketScientistsSon]

Thank guys. Can you elaborate on docking tugs and give me an example of what one would look like? I am a little confused on it but I like the idea. I think I am going to practice docking first and then start on a basic station to put some kerbals in. Then move to a refueling station. I still have yet to leave Kerbins SOI though I am in the process of shooting a probe in to ther greater system just for fun

[inigma]

A tug is a fuel tank with an engine or just an rcs fuel tank with rcs thrusters, a computer command module, and a docking port (2 ports for versatility). Add a single solar panel and battery and youve got a tug u can use to connect to other ships or parts with a corresponding port, and then push those ships or parts into position or dock with other craft.

Edited October 1, 2013 by inigma

[Vonar]

My standard station starts out in a 80ish-km orbit & is generally a refueling station for future flights further out. Of coruse as mentioned getting to the station and docking at 80 km is slightly more difficult then 120 km or 150 km as you don't have much room to play with when it comes to lowering your orbit to catch up with your station, and you will start skimming Kerban's atmosphere & that is never a good thing when docking.

After that I generally put one up at 150 km or 300 km, and 500 km - when burning for the Mun 500 km is one of the better choices because the majority of the fuel used to escape Kerban is used up in the first 1,000 km. If you want to practice docking I would recomend building a station similar to China's Tiangong 1 which is a simple orbital station similar to Skylab which the Chinese are using to prefect orbital docking and test other core space technologies.

[Wait- Was That Important?]

If you're like me, and have no idea of rendezvous or matching orbits, prepare yourself for an ordeal. It took me 21 missions to successfully make the rendezvous and another 5 to work out design kinks. Granted, it was the third type of mission (I went: launch a rocket that goes to space, make orbit, build space station).

Essentially, all you have to have is a hitchhiker for kerbal storage, some solar panels and batteries, RCS, and an open docking port.

If you're like me, you can split that up into lightweight modules, which give you more dV and thus more wiggle room. I suggest one main centerpiece module (that can act as an independent station until you send up the rest of the modules), a habitation module (with room for 10 or so Kerbals), a power module (this is mostly decoratory as nothing in KSP really eats that much juice at this point), and a docking module (with plenty of open room for multiple ships and probes to dock).

You can get fancy with dedicated probe modules, science modules, fuel modules, etc. etc. but what I said above will suffice for a simple in-space hub to send your ships, extra kerbals, and probes.

I built a mini-station once with room for 8 probes and sent it to Duna. That was actually really fun to do, but the station itself was actually monolithic (being fully functional in one part). I've yet to successfully build a station beyond the Mun but that's just another challenge to tackle.

[inigma]

Check this out for views of my station and tugs:

http://forum.kerbalspaceprogram.com/threads/22251-Showcase-SPACE-STATIONS!-Post-your-pictures-here?p=659303&viewfull=1#post659303

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The yellow tugs are docked on the rear of the station in the last pic. The large tug flying into the station in the last pic is my orbital tug for bringing craft such as fuel tanks to the station.

[Wallace]

My 3 tips are:

keep the part count low

lower the part count

and don't add too many parts.

[Mirai The Kerbonaut]

Why you guys dont put your space station in 75 Km in space i mean less height less fuel consumption right???

[Umlüx]

it makes rendezvous easier to have some space below for faster catching up if you are behind in orbit

[greg12]

Everyone said really good tips but I think some illustration would be better now. So, this is my station currently. Its less than 250 parts.

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[Proxima]

Its good to have a small station, sort of a Skylab style that only needs to be launched on rocket. It is best to park it at the 100km range. Circular orbits are the best, because your altitude does not become as big of a problem then. Its good to use a small design to start off with to practice docking and such. It does not matter as much what you put on it, as it is your tester station. Eventually you will get bigger and more complex designs. Also try to develop your own tug which you use for the majority of parts of the station. I myself am still a novice station builder, but you get better with time.

[Anton P. Nym]

Why you guys dont put your space station in 75 Km in space i mean less height less fuel consumption right???

You need some space below to allow for rendezvous... and I use higher orbits to allow for higher rates of time warp when rendezvousing or awaiting launch windows.

-- Steve

[Duck McFuddle]

My Station is at about 110km above Kerbin, originally I wanted it to be 100km but doing some of the maneuvers usually makes it a bit bigger. I started with a Cupola Module, and then put on empty fuel tanks in a cross under it. Then I just put docking ports on all of them. I messed up a couple rendezvous missions and then kinda gave up so I could go to Duna. I did that and now I'm going to try again.