What should every space station and space base have?

[jamgoth]

I'm going to launch a new game called "Kerbal Colonization Project," which essentially means I'm going to fill the world with a bunch of space stations and bases, but since I haven't done anything like this before I was wondering exactly what constitutes a space station/base?

Also, while I know how to dock, I'm not sure how to get a permanent structure or a rover onto a planet or moon. What are some ways I can accomplish that?

Edited November 28, 2013 by jamgoth

[Taki117]

Someplace for the Kerbals to live, Solar panels (Or RTGs) for power, maybe some lights, and that's about it.

My Mun base: (The one on the left is a science module(Not for actual science))

For more on how they got there here's the album

[Vanamonde]

A station is simply a ship without engines.

[mhoram]

but since I haven't done anything like this before I was wondering exactly what constitutes a space station/base?

Concerning space stations I have just a single hint: Docking ports

I keep my stations as modular as possible, because I don't know at the beginning what I will put into them.

Here is my central station.

Alone in the central axis there are 14 senior docking ports. Meaning that if I ever want to change anything, I can.

And keep a few tugs there for maneuvering.

Javascript is disabled. View full album

[tal2410]

@mhoram what are the white and light-green parts between the kethane converters and the lab module?

[700NitroXpress]

Here's how I landed my Duna Command Center. Stations should have docking ports and spare fuel, also a lander to carry Kerbals from orbit to the surface. A base is really just a place to hangout while on the surface, usually store Kerbals.

[wasmic]

Escape pods. You must have room for every kerbal that your station has room for, plus some more for redundancy. You must always have at least two escape pods per base/station. For base escape pods, they must be to return to Kerbin, WITHOUT docking in orbit, as that will make the process more complicated, and thus more likely to fail. You can use almost anything for escaping from a station around Kerbin, but you might need to add some more stuff to be able to escape from munar orbit station - unless you choose to just escape to a base on the mun.

[mhoram]

@mhoram what are the white and light-green parts between the kethane converters and the lab module?

They are the "3D Printer" parts of the Orbital Construction Redux Mod, that works with Kethane.

[Geschosskopf]

I was wondering exactly what constitutes a space station/base?

Anything you want. It all depends on the purpose you build it for. If it's a fuel depot, then you need fuel tanks and docking prots or other means of getting the fuel into other vehicles. If it's a Kethane refinery, then you need the parts for that. If it's a science platform, then you need science parts. If it's a place you want Kerbals to live, or to store them until another ship arrives, then you need housing units. So first is decide the purpose, then you know what parts.

Also, while I know how to dock, I'm not sure how to get a permanent structure or a rover onto a planet or moon. What are some ways I can accomplish that?

Permanent ground units and rovers are just landers only without the need to come home. No real trick there, especially with the permanent structures. Just build a big lander with enough fuel to land and that's that. Rovers can be a bit trickier, depending on how big they are. But in general, it's a good idea to have them land on legs to protect the tires and keep them from rolling down hills, then set down onto the tires after landing.

[Franklin]

Frankly a station should have a specific focus and function. A gas station, a Kethane storage station, a research station, a low-orbit rescue hub. If you try to make a single station a catch-all unit, it's going to end up huge and unwieldy and not great at any one particular use.

Word from the wise, though: use senior-sized docking ports wherever possible. They're far less flimsy than regular or junior-sized ones, and while their 'flex' isn't apparent with just two modules docked, once you get your base up to 6-12 modules all docked together at odd angles, you'll be begging for more stability.

edit: But I guess the definitive answer is: a tug. A little [typically] RCS-powered probe unit that you can couple/decouple from the station whenever you need it to go fetch and move around the modules and in-bound ships. It's really vital on stations that see a lot of attention or are too big to move on their own.

Edited November 28, 2013 by Franklin