What planet has the smoothest surface

[Nebula]

So I want to build a small space station extremely close to a planet or moon (with no atmosphere of course) and I was curious as to which body had the smoothest surface features in KSP?

The only reason I want to do this is because I tried it with the Mun and it was amazing to have a space station in orbit about 2 km above the surface and watching the ground fly by, but any lower then you're prone to crashing into a mountain.

I was just wondering if any of you knew off hand, I couldn't find anything in the quick search I did, if not that's fine =]

Edited February 15, 2014 by Nebula

[SSSPutnik]

Minmus maybe?

[Rhomphaia]

Any craft that is below a certain altitude that you are not in control of (or within 2.5km of the vessel you are in control of) will automatically be deleted, for Mun it is about 4.7km IIRC. other planets will vary, but it is not safe to leave any station too close.

[RocketPilot573]

How about Eeloo?

[MockKnizzle]

Your best bet for smoothness is probably Eeloo I think, but Tylo is the largest airless body, so your altitude/planetary radius ratio is the gonna be the biggest. You're also gonna be orbiting the fastest since Tylo is so massive, so a station there is probably gonna be the most exciting.

[Nebula]

Any craft that is below a certain altitude that you are not in control of (or within 2.5km of the vessel you are in control of) will automatically be deleted, for Mun it is about 4.7km IIRC. other planets will vary, but it is not safe to leave any station too close.

I did not know this, thank you for the information! Do you know if there's a page with the exact numbers?

[Nebula]

Your best bet for smoothness is probably Eeloo I think, but Tylo is the largest airless body, so your altitude/planetary radius ratio is the gonna be the biggest. You're also gonna be orbiting the fastest since Tylo is so massive, so a station there is probably gonna be the most exciting.

That sounds like the best choice, I think I'll do that =]

[Rodyle]

Tylo has an equatorial radius of 600M and a maximum height of 11K, while Eeloo has a maximum height of 3.9K and an equatorial radius of 210M. That means that the planet size/height ratio will be pretty much the same. To see which one would "feel" the fastest, I'd just take your wanted height for the stations on both planets and calculate the time it'd take for you to do a single lap around the planet.

[SSSPutnik]

Low orbit around Tylo is pretty scary...

[Captain Sierra]

Another thing to note is while certain mountains on Tylo are really high, IIRC, you can safely orbit the equator as low as 7km and be okay, but it's a hair raising rendezvous, that's for sure.

[bondsbw]

I'm late to this conversation, but if you do this keep in mind that even if you hit a "sweet spot" orbit where there aren't many mountains, if it's not equatorial then the planet may move mountains into your orbital path. I did this with the Mun, with a 5.2km orbit. I passed right between two big mountains the first orbit, but on the lap back around I hit one of them.

[Pds314]

Kerbin is probably the flattest actually, relative to its size, at least if you don't count oceanic trenches.

Well, or Jool, since it's "surface" is a perfectly uniform ball.

[Red Iron Crown]

You can check out Kerbal Maps to get the highest elevation point for each body.

[Laie]

I found low orbit around Vall to be rather exciting. It is by no means flat, on the contrary. There's a few very pointy mountains near the equator where you feel as if you might reach out and touch them.

[cantab]

For a one-time deal, the Mun and Dres both have canyons you can orbit through, passing below the altitude of the surrounding plateau.

[Jean Deaux]

For a one-time deal, the Mun and Dres both have canyons you can orbit through, passing below the altitude of the surrounding plateau.

Canyon diving from space? That takes some balls...

[Red Iron Crown]

For a one-time deal, the Mun and Dres both have canyons you can orbit through, passing below the altitude of the surrounding plateau.

I have to try this. I wonder if you can set up an elliptical synchronous orbit that stably canyon dives every orbit on Dres.

[Endersmens]

I have to try this. I wonder if you can set up an elliptical synchronous orbit that stably canyon dives every orbit on Dres.

Woah.......I feel this should be a challenge, or a community project. Because it sounds really difficult and fun to try.

[LongbowEOD]

I have to try this. I wonder if you can set up an elliptical synchronous orbit that stably canyon dives every orbit on Dres.

With the caveat that I've never been to Dres, the info on the wiki indicates this should be possible. I saw a thread recently from somebody who did something similar on Minmus.

[Red Iron Crown]

With the caveat that I've never been to Dres, the info on the wiki indicates this should be possible. I saw a thread recently from somebody who did something similar on Minmus.

That was my reading of it too. The SoI is big enough to contain an orbit with the right SMA and eccentricity. Tricky to set up, as the canyon is moving as you go through it and there's high ground at either end according to kerbalmaps. Plus it's not enough to have the right SMA, eccentricity and inclination; you also need the right mean anomaly. I think I might try to get it to work in Hyperedit first as a proof of concept.