Kethane Refuelling Station

[locustgate]

I'm using Kethane and I'm wonder what would be a good location for a refueling station, would it be better to have the station be a processing plant also, it will be fueled by a mun base?

Edited April 25, 2014 by locustgate

[BudgetHedgehog]

Have it in low Minmus orbit and when you go interplanetary, burn down to LKO then eject.

[Sirrobert]

Minmus is a better. Easier to take off from there because of the low gravity, so you can haul more fuel per trip.

I think it's best to process the kethane on the surface, and only haul fuel

[Pecan]

The best place to ask about a specific mod is in that mod's thread

[locustgate]

Have it in low Minmus orbit and when you go interplanetary, burn down to LKO then eject.

Low Kerbal Orbit or Low Minmus Orbit for eject? It seems like a wast of fuel to have to go from low minimus to low kerbal to eject.

[BudgetHedgehog]

Low Kerbal Orbit or Low Minmus Orbit for eject? It seems like a wast of fuel to have to go from low minimus to low kerbal to eject.

Low Kerbin Orbit. The dV needed for return from Minmus is minuscule and, when timed right, it can get you up to speeds of 3km/s at Kerbin periapsis and thanks to the Oberth Effect, that means your remaining fuel (which is still pretty much all of it if you're using nuclear engines or similarly efficient engines) can affect your dV much more than when you're orbiting at Minmus height, which is pretty slow.

[undercoveryankee]

Low Kerbal Orbit or Low Minmus Orbit for eject? It seems like a wast of fuel to have to go from low minimus to low kerbal to eject.

For some of the lower-speed Duna and Eve transfers, a direct exit from Minmus works. For anything else, you want to eject from a low Kerbin periapsis to take advantage of the Oberth effect.

The trick to a Minmus->LKO->escape trajectory is that you never circularize around Kerbin. You time your departure from Minmus so your initial Kerbin periapsis coincides with your ejection burn. It's about 160 m/s from low Minmus to that long ellipse, and when you get to the bottom you're just a sneeze from escape velocity.

[BudgetHedgehog]

It's about 160 m/s from low Minmus to that long ellipse, and when you get to the bottom you're just a sneeze from escape velocity.

Exactly. You've essentially almost reach escape velocity (3,500 km/s) despite only expending about 160 m/s. That is a HUGE saving.

But yes, sometimes, going to Eve or Duna is more efficient directly from Minmus height (though from memory, the saving is only a couple of hundred m/s) but for anything further away, a LKO burn is more efficient. Good old Oberth Effect..

[locustgate]

Ok related question how do I transfer fuel from a supply rocket to station fuel tank?

[somnambulist]

Ok related question how do I transfer fuel from a supply rocket to station fuel tank?

Dock the tanker to the station. Right click tank one, alt-right click tank two. Click "Out" on the tank you want to empty.

[Sirrobert]

Ok related question how do I transfer fuel from a supply rocket to station fuel tank?

Alternatively to docking, there are mods that let you place fuel lines between 2 ships. KAS is a good example