Satellite Contracts

[Xavven]

Ah! How about space station supply delivery? *runs off to design a SpaceX Dragon replica*

[tygoo7]

This a really good idea! I would love to have this. I hope that it will at least be a mod.

[Thiagobs]

I too love this idea of premade satellites, especially if there's 'rescue the satellite' missions!

If one don't like private satellites cluttering up Kerbin's orbit, you can ignore the contract OR.... put the satellite up there, gather the monies/rep/science and de-orbit the darn thing! After all, they told you to launch a satellite, they did NOT tell you to keep it there!

[Frank_G]

I would like satellite contracts. That would make spaceplanes really useful and cost efficient.

[Nimaci]

This is what I was actually hoping for, but I think the game needs an aerodynamic overhaul and stock fairings first.

The "rescue a randomly placed, helpless kerbal from x" offends the Kerbal Space Program Administrator in me.

[Bloodlance]

Perhaps a mission where you need to dock into a "satellite" and re enable its generator or solar panels (and stop it rotating wildly).

Crafts that are not in motion are easy to dock with, would be more interesting to dock into a rotating object. Would also make the reward of the mission go UP UP UP

[Polstar]

The contract could be launch a satellite into an orbit & inclination range and after a period of time you can deorbit or keep it.

Example:

Ground mapping corp wants to map kerbin over a 3 year period.

Launch a satellite to an alt 70-90km on an inclination of 80-100 degrees for 3 years.

Once the 3 years are up if you want to keep it you can if not destroy it. All values are just examples.

[Roastduck]

There is a simple solution. After contract is completed launched satellite simply vanishes from the game.

Reason for this would be once the target orbit is achieved, KSC's role is done, and control of the satellite transfers to the company. KSC doesn't need to track it anymore, so it doesn't allocate bandwidth to it.

Edit: someone already said exactly this on page 2. That's what I get for not reading!

Edited July 16, 2014 by Roastduck

[randomness5555]

Sounds great to me. Maybe instead of pre built, you just have to have a certain probe core, antenna and maybe some scientific equipment

[Linear]

Think the idea of using the 'stop tracking' method is fantastic!

[Oafman]

Hate to be a party pooper, but this sounds desperately dull to me. I've put a thousand things in LKO; putting one more up there does not fill me with excitement. I hope there will be more demanding assignments.

[peadar1987]

Hate to be a party pooper, but this sounds desperately dull to me. I've put a thousand things in LKO; putting one more up there does not fill me with excitement. I hope there will be more demanding assignments.

That's the beauty of it, you don't have to take those missions. I struggle getting stuff to Moho, so I don't have to take those missions. If Squad have done as good a job as I hope they have, this will be amazing!!

[Roastduck]

Hate to be a party pooper, but this sounds desperately dull to me. I've put a thousand things in LKO; putting one more up there does not fill me with excitement. I hope there will be more demanding assignments.

I'm sure there will be more to the game than launching satellites, but KSP bounces on both sides of being a space agency simulator, and one core facet of a space agency is putting things into space for its patrons

[Oafman]

That's the beauty of it, you don't have to take those missions.

Do we know this for sure? I mean, if I start a new career save, won't I have to work my way through a bunch of tedious assignments in order to gather enough rep to go on to bigger things?

[Duke23]

Do we know this for sure? I mean, if I start a new career save, won't I have to work my way through a bunch of tedious assignments in order to gather enough rep to go on to bigger things?

From what I understand there will be enough variety in the types of missions (6 basic types I think Rowsdower said?) that you can certainly avoid specific missions or even types of missions altogether and still be able to move forward. They are randomly generated so you shouldn't ever "run out" of missions, although if you were to ignore all but one type for example I imagine it'd get repetitive pretty quickly.

[EvilotionCR2]

This a really good idea! I would love to have this. I hope that it will at least be a mod.

I'm gonna do it when 0.24 gets out.

[CaptRobau]

Oh my god, this is a great idea! Not only should we launch satellites, but this could open up new mission types to rescue satellites. Examples:

• This company's satellite failed to open its solar panels (due to a servo malfunction-- definitely not because mission control forgot to extend them) and now the battery is dead. Rendezvous, EVA, and manually extend the panels.
  
• Dock with and refuel this satellite with 150 units of monopropellant for station keeping
  
• Add a new reaction wheel to this satellite by attaching the part via docking port (I admit, the Kepler space telescope inspired me here)
  
• Dock with and boost this space station to a higher orbit to prevent its inevitable deorbiting (Skylab, anyone?)
  

This would be brilliant.

[DBT85]

This linked into the SCANsat mod would be cool. Maybe the makers of various mods can include contracts in the mod for the things that their mod adds in.

[FITorion]

You could sim a pretty good alien invasion with this system...

Sorry if this seems really off topic... but it just hit me while reading these posts that with the ability to spawn things in orbit... You could have a series of missions about fighting the invading aliens popping up all over the system.

[malkuth]

I will be converting the MCE Missions to KSP contracts when I get a chance. And also the Repair Contract Missions for said satellites in space.

That way if you say have 6 or so satellites in space (Does require a RepairPart), you will have a chance to get a repair Mission on one of those satellites. Thinking of expanding repair missions to look for Vessels classified as Stations (as long as repair part) for repair missions also.

If Contract missions are as easy to make as a science Biome missions then I don't think there will be a lack on new contracts from Multiple Mods.. kinda like you have a large amount of Mod Science parts now. Should be interesting.

[lajoswinkler]

I like the idea. The satellite might have an unusual shape, forcing you to think how to get it into orbit.

[SebFierce]

Launch a satellite = good money, no science

Launch a probe to Jool = little money (cover costs maybe) but a lot of science

It might be hard to make sure this isn't grindy but would be kinda realistic. Makes more sense to have Communication companies task you with launching their satellites and not the rocket part providers asking you to send Kerbals to Duna.

[rdfox]

I really shouldn't suggest this (because I sure as hell can't do it!), but how about a mission to put a communications satellite into kerbinstationary orbit... at a specific longitude? (After all, commsats are useless if you put them into an orbit where they're below the horizon for the relay stations they're supposed to connect!) Maybe with a tolerance band ("100 degrees west longitude +/- 5 degrees") to allow for the inherent imprecision of our flying and our simulation, but this would probably be an accurate simulation of the single most profitable, and largest, sector of the contract spaceflight industry...

[Sky_walker]

I really shouldn't suggest this (because I sure as hell can't do it!), but how about a mission to put a communications satellite into kerbinstationary orbit... at a specific longitude? (After all, commsats are useless if you put them into an orbit where they're below the horizon for the relay stations they're supposed to connect!) Maybe with a tolerance band ("100 degrees west longitude +/- 5 degrees") to allow for the inherent imprecision of our flying and our simulation, but this would probably be an accurate simulation of the single most profitable, and largest, sector of the contract spaceflight industry...

Good idea, but we'd need to have some helpers in GUI for that. Otherwise "100 degrees west" is meaningless.

[Xavven]

I really shouldn't suggest this (because I sure as hell can't do it!), but how about a mission to put a communications satellite into kerbinstationary orbit... at a specific longitude? (After all, commsats are useless if you put them into an orbit where they're below the horizon for the relay stations they're supposed to connect!) Maybe with a tolerance band ("100 degrees west longitude +/- 5 degrees") to allow for the inherent imprecision of our flying and our simulation, but this would probably be an accurate simulation of the single most profitable, and largest, sector of the contract spaceflight industry...

Yes! Great idea. We have so many GPS and television satellites in geostationary orbit. It's only logical that some of the early, easier contracts could include missions here.

I also love the idea of contracts for putting scientific satellites into orbit around other celestial bodies as well, not simply running the experiment there. Think of how much science the Cassini spacecraft has done around Saturn and its moons, for example -- it didn't grab all that data in just a flyby. It hangs around that neighborhood for years and years.

We need camera/telescope parts. Just imagine a hard mission where you have to get a space camera in position around Jool within 500 days (much more delta-v required to get there in time-- about 6200 m/s according to the Alexmoon launch window planner!) because a comet is predicted to impact its surface! So many awesome possibilities!