Build an orbital satellite-refit space station

[gabyalufix]

Satellites are expensive. Most of the cost isn\'t in the construction, it\'s mostly the launch that costs out the yin-yang. So you\'d get the most bang for the buck if you keep each satellite working as long as possible. The shuttle did this a bit, but why not try a different tactic. Why not build a big orbital station instead? Something that stays up there, and slowly shifts from orbit to orbit, fixing, refueling, and upgrading as they go?

So here\'s the challenge:

Build a large space station, designed to intercept, dock, and refit/repair satellites and other space stations.

I\'ve already made myself one, so it\'s very much possible.

Such a station will need:

-High-efficiency engine(s) (or high-efficiency translational RCS thrusters), for changing orbits and intercepting satellites. It doesn\'t need to be fast, as they\'ll probably spend a lot of time with each satellite--long, very slow burns is ok. I recommend that ion drive (can\'t find the link).

-Full or partly-full fuel tanks (or RCS tanks), for topping off the satellites\' attitude control fuel tanks, and for fueling your own engine.

-Living and working space for your repairmen. They\'re gonna be up there for a while, so make sure they\'re comfy. You could probably make do with a small crew, but with all the different tasks they\'d have, it\'d be better to have more specialists (Electricians, welders, machinists, computer techs, etc). Plus, keeping the station running probably requires a fair complement too. The more the merrier.

-Power: solar panels or nuclear reactors, or both.

Bonus points for:

-More of the above. Bigger is better, right?

-Science modules, for learnin\' us some Science(!) while the engineers fiddle with their toys. Optical / radio telescopes, antennae, satellite modules, whatever.

-Docking ports, of some kind. This can be anything that looks even vaguely like a dock, from an unused node connection to something clever. Be creative.

-Escape craft, for when it all goes horribly wrong. (not if)

-Anything else that might be handy or cool-looking

Allowed parts:

-All the 'balanced' or even 'semi-balanced' part packs and parts. Novapunch, silisko, probodobodyne, kw challenger, down under, etc. etc.

-I\'m of course pushing my mini-pack.http://kerbalspaceprogram.com/forum/index.php?topic=5710.0 Get\'chore 2-meter habitation mods and nuclear reactor mods (perfect for powering ion drives) over heah!

[chickenplucker]

Well here is mine, kind of on the small side but my laptop doesn\'t like larger ships.

Satellite maintenance station'Pogo' burning into orbit.

Setting Kubble free. Funny thing, the next stage shoots the decoupler straight into the telescope destroying it. Hmmm...

Flying over the satellite bay and docking arm.

Heading home.

Parts;

Silisko Vanguard Shuttle, and Probodobodyne

Really dig the Vanguard. That thing is a fun little ship.

Industrial Flames & Explosions

Lander fuel tanks and engines power the station, plenty of fuel for shuffling about in orbit. No RCS since it can sluggishly move around on its own.

Down Under Aerospace & Party Supplies

Stage adapters and SAS units. I can\'t wait for that chunky little Down Under shuttle to come out.

Captian Slugs Solar Collector

People are funny about these, I personally like them. When it hits orbit the station still has 3 1/4 tanks full so it doesn\'t need them, but I put em\' on in case I felt like trying to shuffle the station to the moon or deep space.

[gabyalufix]

Awesome. I like the docking thingy with the wire thingy attached to it. In general all around excellent thingy use. Also the boom-mounted engines are pretty cool. Never tried that before.

Power, living quarters, docking area, propulsion, fuel. Check, check, and double check. Gets the job done.

Edit: how the heck did you get those engines to hook onto those struts? Cannot figure out a way to get it to snap on facing the right way.

[chickenplucker]

They would not attach for some reason without sticking one of the landers little fuel tanks on first. Also when using those struts symmetry will not work correctly. Those little light high density tanks are almost cheating

[gabyalufix]

All right. Here\'s mine. The Sky repair center.

Powered by a huge solar array AND a 2m nuclear reactor.

On the launchpad. Not as big as some of my ships, but more small parts, so it\'s just at the upper end of what my computer can handle.

one 2m habitation pod, 16 1m habitation pods, plus a skylab module, a 2m science module, and a few other odds and ends.

I wanted to add a lunar lander from the kerpollo. Why? Because dammit I wanted to!

Also, two small shuttle craft are attached in docking cages.

LOTS OF SOLAR PANELS.

I\'ve got a docking bay with an airlocked dry dock.

The science wing has an optical telescope on one side:

And a radio telescope array on the other:

The comms station:

[Cthulufaic]

Sir I do believe that you have won. Forever. In fact you won it so hard that even before the challenge was created, you won.

[chickenplucker]

Uh.. that.. how... umm.. wow, just wow.

[Epsilon]

It\'s... beautiful!

do you people even lag when you use my node

[gabyalufix]

Oh, this station lags like ALL HELL. Launch is insanely laggy. If it weren\'t for ASAS, it\'d never make it up. The hardest part is where I turn horizontal to get into orbit. I have to time my controls with the lag, so that I make the turn in 3 frames (over the course of 10 seconds), and hit the ASAS and pray the keystroke registers. Even then, I only just barely make it. Once i\'m in orbit, i kept it in at least 5x time, except when I wanted to spin it around to light another side to take pics.

Once it\'s up, it\'s laggy, but easy to control. You just set it spinning with the RCS, and wait until it\'s facing the direction you want, then either hit the ASAS or turn up the time accel. I actually spent quite a while up there, fiddling with different orbits.

[N3X15]

I build big things

No, if you were building big things, your rocket would merely be the size of a football field. You\'re launching entire cities into orbit with boosters the width of an average soccer field. When one of your rockets crashes, you have to convince the Hague that you\'re not, in fact, an evil dictator trying to murder every engineer and scientist on the face of the planet, or trying to destroy the world with the kilometer-sized burning debris. Your ships make the aliens in Independence Day weep in envy, and the Death Star keeps photos of them under her mattress.

[gabyalufix]

you have to convince the Hague that you\'re not, in fact, an evil dictator trying to murder every engineer and scientist on the face of the planet, or trying to destroy the world with the kilometer-sized burning debris.

Dammit, he\'s on to me.

[Panichio]

Damn... It feels awesome just seeing pictures of that thing. You must feel like a bad ass getting that thing into orbit.

[Caesar15]

Can any of you guys tell me how to get solar panels like real space stations? Like all of them coming out from the side ten like a line decouple then ore coming out from that decoupled?

[gabyalufix]

It\'s a bit tricky.

The trick is, you can put things on something, then move that thing.

So what I do is, I take one of those probodobodyne struts, stick it on top of my rocket, pointing up. Then I put a solar panel on, with 2-way symmetry on. Now I alt-click the strut, copying it, and stick it on top of that strut. And again. Now I have a 6-panel array. I pick this up and stick it where I want it. Repeat.

[RichieD76]

This picture made me cry through my noodly appendage! WIN

[mod]EDIT: Please try to keep it G-Rated.[/mod]

[Ronox]

This makes me anxious for persistence, so we can crash dock into that mammoth!

[RedDwarfIV]

This picture made me cry through my penis! WIN

That\'s not right.

[Cepheus]

If you\'re crying through your penis, you should probably see a doctor.

[NovaSilisko]

This picture made me cry through my penis! WIN

...This is what the KSP community is becoming?

[Cepheus]

Our good buddy Newt can help you with that.

[Monkthespy]

That space station...HOLY....I wonder how many boosters you used to get that thing into orbit.

[gabyalufix]

Four KW solid boosters (not even the biggest kind), and four KW Hercules 3m LFE\'s. In terms of total mass, it\'s small fry. I\'ve launched several times as much mass into orbit.

I think my biggest launch ever had 18x 90-kerbal-ton SRBs, plus 10x 3-meter LFE\'s, and another 6 stages on top of that. It was an interplanetary base launch. The orbital payload weighed more than 600 kerbal tons.