The Grand Orbital Space Station Challenge [closed to new entries]

[Norcalplanner]

Update: Time pressures and other issues in RL means that I won't be able to give the challenge sufficient attention moving forward, so I've decided to close it to new entries. If you've already started a station and are partway through (particularly if you've posted something to that effect), please wrap it up and submit your entry as soon as you reasonably can, definitely before 1.1 changes everything. If you haven't yet started a station, please do it for reasons other than this challenge - because hey, stations are cool! My sincere thanks go out to all challenge participants, and a special thank you to Glaran K'erman for running things the last month and a half. If someone else who has completed the challenge wants to run a "continued" version of the challenge (which Glaran has indicated he's not) in a new thread, please PM me. - Norcalplanner, 11/9/15

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Due to RL time pressures which are drastically curtailing my KSP time, I'm having to step away from running the challenge for a while. Glaran K'erman has graciously volunteered to score entries and run things in my absence. Please direct all routine inquiries to him. Thanks Glaran! - Norcalplanner, 9/27/15

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"Once you get to earth orbit, you're halfway to anywhere in the solar system." Robert A. Heinlein

I’ve been playing with Fine Print lately, and one of the pleasant changes from stock contracts is when you’re tasked to create a new orbital space station. After researching the forum, it looks like there hasn’t been a good space station challenge for some time. With that in mind, I hereby present...

The Grand Orbital Space Station Challenge

Your challenge, should you decide to accept it, is to put an orbital space station around the celestial body of your choice. Any space station that meets the minimum requirements will successfully complete the challenge. However, there’s also a point system that rewards larger and more capable stations. A 100 ton station in orbit around Duna that has the capability to refine its own fuel will score higher than a 20 ton station in LKO.

Rules for the Challenge

Entry Requirements:

Provide a brief description of your station, noting any mods used, along with screenshots documenting all significant steps in the launch, assembly, transit, and operation of your station. Try to take screenshots when the station is on the daytime side of the celestial body, unless you’re showing off the cool lighting or emissives on your station. Include screenshots of at least one shuttle/mining/harvesting run for any dedicated craft. Please provide data in the screen shots on a regular basis using MJ, KER, or by keeping the resource panel open. Be kind to everyone’s bandwidth and use an imgur album or other similar method for posting photos. Please tally up your points as part of your entry.

Minimum Station Requirements:

To qualify for the challenge, the station must have space for at least two Kerbals, have at least one docking port, at least a Rockomax-32 or equivalent fuel capacity, batteries, a power source, at least one scientific instrument, and an antenna. Maximum station size will be determined by your computing hardware and personal tolerance for slide shows. Here are a few examples-

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Launch and Assembly:

Stations may be launched as a single unit, assembled in orbit around Kerbin, or assembled in orbit around the chosen celestial body. If multiple launches are used, weight on the launch pad must be added up for all launches combined. Spaceplanes and other SSTOs which land back at KSC may deduct the weight of the landed craft from their launch weight for each launch.

Orbits:

Stations must orbit no lower than 10 km nor more than 1,000 km in altitude above either the surface or the celestial body, or the edge of its atmosphere. (Exception - stations orbiting Jool may do so anywhere within Jool’s SOI.)

Scoring:

+100 per ton in orbit around the chosen celestial body, including any dedicated craft docked to the station (tugs, landers, miners, shuttles, etc.) (Exception - Altered Universe Division entries score +200 per ton in orbit)

-2 per ton on the launch pad or runway for all launches combined (Exception - Altered Universe Division entries score -0.75 per ton of launch mass)

+100 per Kerbal on the station

+200 per comfortable seat of station capacity (Hitchhikers, Cupolas, OKS Habitation, Mk2 or Mk3 passenger cabins, or similar are considered comfortable; pods, cans, cockpits, and external command seats are not considered comfortable)

+500 if a manned science lab is included

+500 if Snacks, USI-LS, or other simple life support mod is used

+1,000 if TAC-LS or other more complex life support mod is used

+1,000 if the station has dedicated lander(s) or shuttle(s) that can take at least two Kerbals down to the surface simultaneously, and then return to the station

+1,000 if all Kerbals on board can make it back safely to the surface of Kerbin without a dedicated rescue craft being dispatched from Kerbin (dedicated lander(s) or shuttle(s), escape pods, or the capability for the entire station to make it back to the surface of Kerbin and have all Kerbals survive the landing)

+2,000 if the station and dedicated craft have the ability to mine/harvest/generate new fuel

+3,000 if the station and dedicated craft are fully self-sufficient for both fuel and life support, and don’t need resupply from Kerbin for 50+ years

All points listed above are additive. For example, a station with a dedicated shuttle that can ferry crew to the surface and back, and can also evacuate all station personnel back to Kerbin, would get (1,000 + 1,000) 2,000 points.

Scoring Multiplier:

After points are tallied, a multiplier is applied based on the difficulty of getting the station to its chosen orbit. Factors taken into account include delta V requirements, transit time, inclination, and ability to aerobrake upon arrival.

Kerbin - x0.25

Minmus - x0.5

Mun - x0.75

Duna or Ike - x1 (no modifier)

Eve - x1.5

Gilly - x2

Jool and its moons - x3

Dres - x4

Eeloo - x5

Moho - x6

Entry Divisions:

Different divisions are provided based upon the type of mods (if any) being used. No division is better than any other - the intent is to accommodate different play styles and not shoehorn a participant into a particular way of playing KSP. The divisions are:

Stock(-ish) Division (Stock KSP, optionally with informational and non-part mods only - MJ, KER, FAR, NEAR, DRE, Editor Extensions, Claw’s Stock Bug Fixes, Kerbal Alarm Clock, EVE, Chatterer, TAC Fuel Balancer, Kerbal Construction Time, and similar)

Modded Division (KJR, Part Welder, KW Rocketry, B9, Novapunch, KAS, MKS/OKS, ART, Karbonite, Kethane, Procedural Parts, MRS, SpaceY, and other similar mods which add parts and/or capabilities that are a modest improvement to stock KSP)

Advanced Technology Division (As per the Modded Division, but also includes KSP Interstellar, Near Future Technologies, Atomic Age, ExtraPlanetary Launchpads, and any other mod generally considered to be overpowered compared to stock, containing modded engines with a vacuum Isp greater than 800.)

Altered Universe Division (Those running RSS, RO, 6.4x, and other similar mods, in addition to anything allowed in the Modded Division) Note: score -0.75 per ton on the launch pad or runway (instead of the normal -2) and +200 per ton in orbit (instead of the normal +100) for entries in this division. Celestial body multipliers for RSS are listed below; other universe modifiers (e.g., 64K) will be roughly proportional.

Earth x1

Moon x1.5

Venus x2

Mars/moons x2

Mercury x3

Titan x3

Moons of Jupiter x3.5

Uranus x3.5

Neptune x3.5

Saturn x4

Jupiter x4(high orbit) x5(low orbit)

Life Support:

Life support mods (TAC-LS, Snacks, or similar) may be added to an entry in any division for bonus points as indicated in the scoring section above. If these are used, you must provide enough life support to keep all Kerbals on the station alive for the duration of the outbound trip, one Kerbol year on station in the target orbit, and the return trip to Kerbin.

Mutual Admiration Society Award:

All entrants who complete the challenge get to vote for the entry they think is subjectively the best, using whatever criteria they deem important (size, beauty, utility, resemblance to a favorite sci-fi station, general bad-assedness). Entrants may not vote for their own station.

Cheating Prohibited:

No cheating of any type is allowed. Use of hyperedit, alt-F12 menu, infinite fuel, infinigliders, edited craft files, or any other such tomfoolery will disqualify your entry.

Honorable Mentions:

Several people have posted links to stations that either didn't quite meet the requirements of the challenge, or which they can no longer provide info for due to corrupted save files and other similar situations. Those stations are deserving of honorable mentions, and will be listed after the leaderboards.

Leaderboards:

Separate leaderboards will be maintained for each division. Based on the nature of orbital space stations, I anticipate that the leaderboards may change over time as people modify their stations by adding new modules, assigning new craft to the station, or relocating to an orbit around a different celestial body.

Badge:

All who successfully complete the challenge may proudly display this badge, which was made by my younger daughter. Available in three sizes for your convenience.

Have a specific question? Feel free to ask. If it’s about a particular mod, please provide a link to that mod’s thread.

Have a suggestion for how to improve the challenge? Go ahead and make it. If it makes sense and seems fair, it may be incorporated into the challenge.

Good luck to all participants, and I look forward to seeing your stations!

LEADERBOARDS

Stock(-ish) Division

iLikeRovers - 539,003 points - 274 tons, 328(!!) Kerbals on board, in Laythe Orbit, a single massive asparagus launch

Maolagin - 115,440 points - 141 tons, room for 32 Kerbals, in Moho orbit, 100(!) ion engines, two small landers

parzr - 87,102 points - 337 tons, 10 kerbals in comfortable seats, In Joolian orbit, almost more of a Jool-5 entry

purpleivan - 77,243 points - 274 tons, 260(!) Kerbals on board, assembled in Munar orbit from six launches, each module can land back to Kerbin

rudi1291 - 42,500 points - 894(!) tons, 8 kerbals, comfy seats for 26, a massive Minmus refueling station with multiple miners

Columbia - 39,375 points - 242 tons, 40 kerbals on board, comfy seats for 144, six landers, in Munar orbit, one big launch

Dfthu - 23,530 points - 217 tons, 53 kerbals on board, in Munar orbit, multiple launches, totally stock

ibeinsane - 22,957 points - 168 tons, 57(!) Kerbals on board, in Munar orbit, three escape pods

StormKat - 22,467 points - 61 tons, 20 Kerbal capacity, in orbit around Jool, onsite configuration with a mini-tug

Haruspex - 15,963 points - 154 tons, 36 comfortable seats, in high Munar orbit, dedicated escape pod, totally stock, great documentation

LtWhiskers - 5,725 points - 107 tons, 6 kerbals on board, science lab and escape pods, assembled in Munar orbit via multiple launches

FlipNascar - 4,827 points - 85 tons, 25 Kerbal capacity, dedicated shuttle, in LKO, constructed of modules carried up in a space plane cargo bay(!!)

Modded Division

Glaran K'erman - 84,662 points - 1231 tons in Munar orbit, based around a giant tweakscaled fuel tank, includes dedicated miner ship with a refinery on the station, 19 Kerbal capacity

Warzouz - 66,440 points - 102 tons in Eeloo orbit, launched with a recoverable SSTO lifter (!), six kerbals on board, has a refinery, includes a dedicated miner/lander and a return stage for the crew to get back to Kerbin

Frostea - 29,374 points - 620 tons combined for several craft spread near and around Minmus, including an orbital shipyard, supply hub, and mining facilities on the surface, 20 kerbal capacity

Commander Zoom - 23,445 points - 128 tons around Eve, 21 Kerbal capacity, included a "bug" lander craft, included many small satellites and probes, five launches and much orbital assembly/configuration, done at the same time as his Eve Rocks mission

Atlatl - 5,870 points - 153 tons, 35 Kerbal capacity, in LKO, twin OKS rings and twin shuttles with Karbonite refueling capability

Norcalplanner - 5,204 points - 202.5 tons, 10 Kerbal capacity, in LKO

Advanced Technology Division

Admac - 3,286,200 points - 5004 tons (!) in Moho orbit, fully self-sufficient, using Civilian Population and Extraplanetary Launchpads

Altered Universe Division

Bev7787 - 8,217 points - RSS entry(!!!), 34.9 tons in LEO, 16 Kerbals, all in comfortable seats

AlexTheNotSoGreat - 118,288 points - OPM entry, 98.7 tons in Sarnus orbit, 35 Kerbals, also used Near Future Propulsion, includes science lab and lander (A lander? For Sarnus??? - NCP)

Honorable Mentions

1of6Billion - ASP Station

thegab - several stations, including a multi-asteroid one

tempus - unnamed station

ihtoit - crew waystation and Gossamer

LordFjord - unnamed station

Bomaye - unnamed station

ShadowZone - giant hexagonal station

Norcalplanner - Mega(useless) station

Norcalplanner - LPC (Low Part Count) station

Voyager275 - Unity station

Edited November 10, 2015 by Norcalplanner
Update leaderboard, closing to new entries

[TJPrime]

Me like this challenge. I'll enter this challenge! Probably a few times, actually.

For my first station, I have got two modules in orbit around kerbin already. I'll give a list of mods before I go into detail:

- Karbonite

- KW rocketry

- KAS

- Final frontier

- Kerbal Alarm Clock

- Planet shine

- Trajectories

- Launch Countdown

- Distant Object Enhancement

- TAC LS

- Fustek station parts

- Near future Solar and Spacecraft

- Kerbinside

It's on a rather inclined orbit, so that I can launch from the old KSC (using kerbinside) and make the station 'international'. I've named the station 'GOS' - short for 'Grand Orbital Station'. It's in a 300km orbit and will resemble MIR when completed. I'll give a few screenshots now:

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It's now applicable for entry, but I'll hold my final score back for a while...

Edited November 16, 2014 by TJPrime

[TopHatDragon]

NM: I'll just make a new station

Edited November 14, 2014 by TopHatDragon

[Laie]

Hmmm. I'd have a worthwhile entrant, with two labs, two hitchhikers, six kerbals, and a rescue craft attached. However, that was my Jool-5 mission at the moment of last refueling, the "dedicated rescue craft" was merely bringing up the crew. Just taking a snapshot and passing it off as a station seems a bit cheaty (though it was designated a station at the time). What do you think?

[Norcalplanner]

Laie, I would agree that it sounds cheaty, and would encourage a new entry. Practically speaking, if the station doesn't remain in orbit around the same celestial body on a long-term basis, then it's not really a station. I'll have to figure out a way to make that clear in the challenge rules.

[Norcalplanner]

TJPrime and TopHatDragon, I look forward to your entries. Please let me know if you have any questions.

[Slam_Jones]

Me likey this challenge. Me make epic base and post soon.

[Tankbuster32]

I'll give this challenge a try, but I'll inform you that the stock ion engine has an isp far above 800... .

[Norcalplanner]

I'll give this challenge a try, but I'll inform you that the stock ion engine has an isp far above 800... .

Understood. The intent is that use of any mod with ultra-high Isp engines would put that entry in the Advanced Technology division.

[1of6Billion]

Dagnabbit. At the exact moment you where writing this post, I decommissioned my ASP station. It would have made a significant score.

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Edited November 15, 2014 by 1of6Billion
pics

[Norcalplanner]

Dagnabbit. At the exact moment you where writing this post, I decommissioned my ASP station. It would have made a significant score.

http://imgur.com/a/rKgBt

Looks like it was a nice station. I'm sorry it glitched out on you. If you feel like trying again, the challenge will be here.

[obi_juan]

I am just starting playing with TAC-Life support and USI Kolonization Systems (MKS/OKS) to colonize all Kerbol system... So I made some interplanetary ships to use as space stations in the different planets to help the surface colonization... I think that these ships, latter space stations, can be presented on this challenge.

Until now, I only design the firsts missions to Eve/Gilly and Duna/Ike when these arrive to their destinations, I will put the captures in this post.

Edited November 15, 2014 by obi_juan

[Norcalplanner]

Just to kick things off and show how the scoring works, here's my initial entry - Kerbin Station Alpha. The station is 202.5 tons, and is in LKO at an altitude of approximately 100 km. It's primarily a refueling station, but also has the ability to gather and process science. Four kerbals are on board the station, and there are seats for eight more. TAC-LS is being used, and there's enough life support on board for over three years of habitation. No escape pods or landers are fitted at this time, but there are seven free docking ports for docked craft and for future expansion. Because it includes a Karbonite scanner and will likely be using KAS in the future, it's a Modded Division entry.

Scoring is as follows:

+20,250 +100 per ton in orbit around the chosen celestial body, including any dedicated craft docked to the station (tugs, landers, miners, shuttles, etc.)

-3,334 -2 per ton on the launch pad or runway (all launches combined)

+400 +100 per Kerbal on the station

+2,000 +200 per comfortable seat of station capacity (Hitchhikers, Cupolas, OKS Habitation, or similar - pods, cans, and cockpits do not count as comfortable seats)

+500 +500 if a manned science lab is included

0 +500 if Snacks are provided

+1,000 +1,000 if TAC-LS or other more complex life support mod is used

0 +1,000 if the station has dedicated lander(s) or shuttle(s) that can take at least two Kerbals down to the surface simultaneously, and then return to the station

0 +1,000 if all Kerbals on board can make it back safely to the surface of Kerbin without a dedicated rescue craft being dispatched from Kerbin (dedicated lander(s) or shuttle(s), escape pods, or the capability for the entire station to make it back to the surface of Kerbin and have all Kerbals survive the landing)

0 +2,000 if the station and dedicated craft have the ability to mine/harvest/generate new fuel

0 +3,000 if the station and dedicated craft are fully self-sufficient for both fuel and life support, and don’t need resupply from Kerbin for 50+ years

20,816 Subtotal

Kerbin orbit - x0.25

5,204 FINAL SCORE

Here's the photo album showing the station.

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Edited November 16, 2014 by Norcalplanner

[StormKat]

This is my first time attempting a challenge... here goes nothing.

This is Challenger Station.

180 parts, 61 tons, 5 Kerbals, 20 Kerbal maximum capacity

Mission time: 2y, 391d, 4h, 22m

It took two launches. One for the core and another for the tanker - Core cost: 618593 Tanker cost: 190343

The only mod used was the Docking Port Alignment.

It's in an orbit around Jool at 15million km by 2million km.

Scoring:

6100 +100 per ton in orbit around the chosen celestial body, including any dedicated craft docked to the station (tugs, landers, miners, shuttles, etc.)

-2308 -2 per ton on the launch pad or runway (all launches combined)

500 +100 per Kerbal on the station

3200 +200 per comfortable seat of station capacity (Hitchhikers, Cupolas, OKS Habitation, or similar - pods, cans, and cockpits do not count as comfortable seats)

500 +500 if a manned science lab is included

0 +500 if Snacks are provided

0 +1,000 if TAC-LS or other more complex life support mod is used

0 +1,000 if the station has dedicated lander(s) or shuttle(s) that can take at least two Kerbals down to the surface simultaneously, and then return to the station

0 +1,000 if all Kerbals on board can make it back safely to the surface of Kerbin without a dedicated rescue craft being dispatched from Kerbin (dedicated lander(s) or shuttle(s), escape pods, or the capability for the entire station to make it back to the surface of Kerbin and have all Kerbals survive the landing)

0 +2,000 if the station and dedicated craft have the ability to mine/harvest/generate new fuel

0 +3,000 if the station and dedicated craft are fully self-sufficient for both fuel and life support, and don’t need resupply from Kerbin for 50+ years

Subtotal: 7492

Scoring Multiplier: Jool and its moons - x3

Total: 22467

Maybe I got it all correctly listed.

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Edited November 16, 2014 by StormKat

[thegab]

Some of my stations

They don't all follow the rules, but they are from some time ago

Around Minmus

Big version http://i.imgur.com/XZhxDkN.jpg

923 tons

Big version http://i.imgur.com/DdWXFpN.jpg

668 tons

Big version http://i.imgur.com/mzopGqn.jpg

[Norcalplanner]

StormKat, your entry looks great. I like your use of cargo bays and a construction tug. Before I add you to the leaderboard, could you please provide screen shots showing the weight of both ships on the pad, and one showing the final weight of the station? I need to be able to confirm launch and final weights. Loading a copy of the ship on the pad is fine if you didn't take such a screen shot at the time of the original launch.

[Norcalplanner]

Double post

Edited November 16, 2014 by Norcalplanner
whoops - double post

[Norcalplanner]

Some of my stations

They don't all follow the rules, but they are from some time ago

Around Minmus

http://i.imgur.com/XZhxDkNl.jpg

Big version http://i.imgur.com/XZhxDkN.jpg

923 tons

http://i.imgur.com/DdWXFpNl.jpg

Big version http://i.imgur.com/DdWXFpN.jpg

668 tons

http://i.imgur.com/mzopGqnl.jpg

Big version http://i.imgur.com/mzopGqn.jpg

Thegab, very impressive stations, clearly showing a pattern of major additions and modifications over time. Feel free to enter these if you have sufficient documentation; if not, I have no doubt that you can create an impressive new station for the challenge.

[tempus]

so, I have built this station before the challenge, such a shame. I may build another one when I havethe time.

Was quite heavy too with 4 kerbodyne fuel tanks

[Norcalplanner]

so, I have built this station before the challenge, such a shame. I may build another one when I havethe time.

http://i.imgur.com/I0sIjn1.jpg

Was quite heavy too with 4 kerbodyne fuel tanks

http://i.imgur.com/v1LpATq.jpg

Looks like you have some station building skills. Part count seems a bit on the high side but maybe your computer has more horsepower than mine. I hope you have enough time for an entry!

[StormKat]

StormKat, your entry looks great. I like your use of cargo bays and a construction tug. Before I add you to the leaderboard, could you please provide screen shots showing the weight of both ships on the pad, and one showing the final weight of the station? I need to be able to confirm launch and final weights. Loading a copy of the ship on the pad is fine if you didn't take such a screen shot at the time of the original launch.

I'll get this posted later tonight.

[Atlatl]

Here's my entry. This was my first time really messing around with TAC LS so I mostly just wanted to get something into orbit around kerbin so I can find out if I'm forgetting something important. Everything seemed to work out fortunately.

I have NEAR installed which has the side effect of needing less dV to get into orbit, so I'm not sure how you want to count that. I mostly have it in for the space planes. Other mods: RPM, Alcor Pod, MJ, VesselView, MKS/OKS, Karbonite, EVE, TextureReplacer, RCS Build Aid, Engineer, ScanSAT. Also Tweakscale and Infernal Robotics, but I didn't use any of those parts on these out of fear of having the station explode randomly. Active Texture Management helps the game work despite my crippling mod addiction.

+15300 153 tons in orbit

-1722 861 tons on launchpad/runway over 3 launches

+900 9 Crew

+3500 3 cupolas (x1), 3 hitchhikers (x4), 2 OKS Habs (x10? correct me if I'm wrong)

+500 Science Lab

+1000 TAC LS

+1000 Dedicated Shuttles

+1000 Shuttles + Escape Pod for returning to the surface (~850 dV on the escape pod)

+1000 Shuttles can mine/distill karbonite

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+22478

x 0.25 Orbit around Kerbin

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5619 Points

It has the OKS modules for recycling and a good number of spare parts, but I have no idea how to tell if it will last 50 years so I'm not counting those points yet. TAC LS just goes off of what's available right away. I guess I could just save, fastforward 50 years, and see if they're still alive.

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I'll probably put up another entry once I figure out a better station layout.

[Norcalplanner]

I'll get this posted later tonight.

Thanks. I won't be able to update the leader board until this evening, so that will work fine.

[StormKat]

Thanks. I won't be able to update the leader board until this evening, so that will work fine.

I have updated my image album. I took screenshots of both launches on the pad and pasted in the info screen from the map.

[Norcalplanner]

I have updated my image album. I took screenshots of both launches on the pad and pasted in the info screen from the map.

Congratulations, StormKat! You have completed the Grand Orbital Space Station Challenge with a Stock-(ish) Division entry scoring 22,467 points!

I liked how you made good use of the newly stock spaceplane+ parts, particularly the cargo bays. Your radial design with multiple potential configurations speaks to a healthy level of flexibility in the configuration and use of the station. Congrats again on being the first scoring entry!

Edited November 18, 2014 by Norcalplanner