Docking Ports With Small "Retractable Engines"

[Garoad]

Docking ports with small retractable engines. (If not retracted ideally the dock wouldn't work.)

Would be nice for launching stacks of small craft which can re-stack, or dock for resource transfers yet still have parachutes or other "end parts" at the top.

[BradicusPrime]

Radially attached engines do the trick for me.

[Garoad]

A few first world problems with that:

-What if you need more power than radials can reasonably provide?

-Radials can get in the way (if they're not retractable)

-They sometimes ugly

Yes there is no absolute need. There is no need for any type of retractable engines. But as the RoveMax Model XL3 engineer once said... "Why not?"

A use case I have in mind would be for a short range craft that can be fitted with a long range module to increase range. Currently I suppose you could use a nose docking port and carefully "pull" the craft using a long range docked vessel that has radial engines... but docking with the rear and pushing from behind seems like a safer and more elegant solution.

[EdusacconBR]

use bahamuto dynamics mod, it has a lot of radial retractable engines

[Alshain]

Having an engine in a docking port isn't feasible if you consider that astronauts are meant to pass through docking ports. It's something that is a little lost on KSP at the moment, but real docking ports are usually intended to transfer crew.

There are solutions though, inline docking ports allow you to dock for fuel transfer and do not obstruct an engine or a nose chute. There are of course ways to build creatively too.

[Kerbart]

What if you need more power than radials can reasonably provide?

Radial engines are like struts and boosters: you can always add more. But what, on the other hand, if you need more power than your docking port engine can provide?

[Garoad]

Generally I do work around it, like I said, it's not so much a problem as it would be a "cool to have" if someone is interested enough to build it (if it's possible).