So, Science and Satallites

[Procyon]

The question is. Can you get science from satellite probes, space stations, Bases, and anything else that is not necessarily going to come back to Kerbin? If they don't come back you cant recover them, so no science from these kinds of installations?

Edited October 18, 2013 by Procyon

[xxfallacyxx]

You need to install a data transmission method on the probe/station/base in order to transmit the data to Kerbin. I've got a Stayputnik probe orbiting the sun inside Kerbin's orbit and I can use it to perform scientific tasks then transmit the data back home.

Said probe is never returning to land.

[dpraptor]

I know that you can add science parts to them, but after a few uses, the # of science points drops down. Getting science depends on doing newer and newer things to gain more points, so most of those will only be temporary was to increase science. I am not sure about satellite probes, if you attach a goop or a science station it might work, but I really dont know. If you have an antenna on them, you can transmit the data too.

[Procyon]

yep will transmit all day long. you cant collect the points till you "recover" the craft, hard to do on a space station so the question is can you recover the points from the station somehow?

[Procyon]

ok figured it out, points that are transmitted are just added to your total,

[lammatt]

yes they do,

i did an unmanned jool orbit, with a tylo flyby to assist my capture earlier today

and that yielded more than 600 science

(i hvnt even unlocked the nuclear engine and orange tank and the bigger lander legs, flying by unmanned is probably the furthest i managed, i'd love to land on tylo if i had a couple km/s dv to spare, it now ran out of fuel orbiting jool)

Edited October 18, 2013 by lammatt

[Person012345]

yep will transmit all day long. you cant collect the points till you "recover" the craft, hard to do on a space station so the question is can you recover the points from the station somehow?

If it's a long term space station it doesn't matter. Someone showed, iirc, that recovery vs transmission only matters on an experiment by experiment basis. You won't -lose- any science by transmitting all the data, it'll just take more experiments to get it all.

[Creat]

May I recommend this thread, it basically deals with the same question. You should have a much clearer idea of what the consequences of transmitting a result (or many) are.