Space Station Help

[A Pig that flys]

So I managed to get my Space Station (or should I say the pre-made one) into orbit. However, I'm unsure what part I need in order to connect other ships to it in order to re-fuel/dock/whatever needs doing to it. Also, is there a button (like gears) I need to press in order to connect the two?

It's on sandbox, since I'm fairly new and still testing things out, so all parts available. Thanks

[Tortoise]

You need a docking port of any size.

There are 4 docking ports in the stock version of KSP, and when you dock you must have docking ports on both crafts if you want to dock to your space station.

They must be the same type as-well.

If you're fairly new to this, I must say that rendezvous and docking isn't as easy as you think.

I recommend scott manley's tutorials, he seems pretty popular, although I didn't learn from him.

But I'll also leave a link to my rendezvous/docking tutorial here:

Incase you didn't know, rendezvous is meeting up with your vessel and docking is connecting it.

Also, I'll leave some of my space station examples (these are mine):

(my very first )

Goodluck with building! Don't give up!

EDIT: And also they pull together automatically by magnetic force, once you're close enough and are aligned.

Edited May 12, 2014 by Tortoise

[Taki117]

Tortise basically covered it. It really depends on what your station is for as to what you put on it. (Most stations are built over multiple constructions) Once you get close the docking ports will pull you in with magnets and dock (The camera will shift) and then it will function just like any other ship.

[daniu]

Here is mine (used mods: Kethane and KAS, but Kethane is only used for the center part and KAS for how the miner is docked)

It's not that fancy and doesn't use the 6-point hub connectors because I didn't have them at the time (which made it kind of a hassle to add the Kethane part in the middle )

The advantage of keeping it mostly straight is that I can change its orbit more easily (I did change inclination some times - for science!), otherwise it starts pulling to the sides too much when accelerating.

I also added KAS struts to strenghten the connections in the center by now (not in the picture) to reduce wobbling... I also had to go with the normal docking ports because I didn't have the Sr. connectors either yet.

Edited May 12, 2014 by daniu