Best orbit for a Jool Space Station

[Brainlord Mesomorph]

OK all you steely-eyed missile men,

What would be the best placement for a Space Station (lab) for easy access (min delta V) to/from all the Joolian rocky moons, not Laythe.

1. Low Jool Orbit? (makes no sense to me)

2. Jool Orbit bewteen the moons? Difficult to attain? or maintain?

3. Distant Jool Orbit, outside all to moons? -- too far away?

4. Orbiting Bop? Has its own small gravity well, centrally located, we have to explore it anyway...

5. Orbting Tylo?? Huge gravity well, possible Oberth benifit? or just wasting fuel?

Someplace else?

I'm thinking Bop.

Edited December 2, 2014 by Brainlord Mesomorph

[cicatrix]

If you can do two aerobrakes (Jool + Laythe) the most logical thing would be to stay in Laythe's orbit.

You can also slow down using Tylo for gravity assist and park your station near Tylo or in orbit close to Tylo's (though I was never able to actually use Tylo's gravity for orbit injection).

[SRV Ron]

An orbit between Jool and Laythe. Why? you can use Jool to aerobrake to the station altitude, then plan slingshots using Laythe to travel elsewhere.

[Brainlord Mesomorph]

I don't think you guys understand.

I'll have one in orbit of Laythe. I'm talking about a 2nd Lab just for the outer moons.

I want to back and forth from Bop, and Pol, and Val.

[kerbiloid]

Jool is just a piece of gas. Why it needs its own station? What to look at? For me, Laythe station is enough.

[Bluelogic32]

I'd say somewhere along Bop's orbital plane or Bop it's self, that way you can save fuel because of it's location, what do you think of that? Other then that I'd say low Jool orbit or distant Jool orbit, simple because you won't have to wait so long for efficient transfer windows.

[magnemoe]

I'd say somewhere along Bop's orbital plane or Bop it's self, that way you can save fuel because of it's location, what do you think of that? Other then that I'd say low Jool orbit or distant Jool orbit, simple because you won't have to wait so long for efficient transfer windows.

I would put it in orbit around Bop or Pol if I used mining. Else the planet you would be visiting most, probably Vall however Tylo missions would have more benefit if you did many landings on it, with mining you can make an Tylo SSTO, it would have to refuel on ground and in orbit.

[Brainlord Mesomorph]

I would put it in orbit around Bop or Pol if I used mining. Else the planet you would be visiting most, probably Vall however Tylo missions would have more benefit if you did many landings on it, with mining you can make an Tylo SSTO, it would have to refuel on ground and in orbit.

Yeah, I was thinking Bop.

But I was half-expecting one of you guys to whip out a bunch of maths and show me that Tylo or LJO or something else counter-intuitive was the right answer.

[Francois424]

I plan on putting mine around Pol, simply because it will be far easier to intercept, and cost less dV overall to decelerate from high-up should I need to, than to accelerate from Laythe/Vall obits down close to Jool. A good aero braking at Jool can accomplish that as well as I found it easier to get Vall/Laythe encounters than Pol's.

Then comes Kethane and the likes for refueling, Pol becomes even more of a good target because of it's low gravity.

No Maths for you tho.

[cantab]

These are the most comprehensive delta-V charts I've found

http://www.reddit.com/r/KerbalAcademy/comments/1qu5jv/deltav_charts/

Even these, though, limit me to considering low orbits around the moons and Jool itself. They also neglect inclination - for Bop and Pol that's a big deal.

With those caveats, "where's best" depends on exactly what you want to do. To explore every possibility is going to require a lot of totting up, especially as each transfer has two possible routes - a direct Hohmann between the moons or a transfer via low Jool periapsis.

From the options I ran through before I got bored it looks like Laythe isn't a good place. The inbound aerobraking isn't enough to make up for the poor position and it not being a landing site.

[Brainlord Mesomorph]

These are the most comprehensive delta-V charts I've found

http://www.reddit.com/r/KerbalAcademy/comments/1qu5jv/deltav_charts/

High Tylo Orbit! According to that chart.

Just bearly Tylo capture, and that's the min delta V to the rest of the Jool system. (unless I'm reading that wrong)

I've been looking in the game, and yes the orbital inclination of Bop and Pol would waste a lot of fuel.

[cantab]

The problem is that the burn figures are based on low orbit, taking full advantage of the Oberth effect. If you start from said very high orbit it will not take 40 m/s to enter a Tylo-Laythe transfer for example, but rather more.

[Wjolcz]

I'd say Laythe and the next thing that is after it(Vall?). That way you will have the additional speed of the moon if you want to go to the outer ones. I think someone on the forums once said the outer Planets in the solar system are easier to get to because you just add the speeds, or something. I'm no astrophysicist, but it seems logical.

Edited November 28, 2014 by Veeltch

[CalMacDa]

Laythe is the best location. Refuel spaceplanes, aerobrake, it is perfect for a Jool wide station

[MalfunctionM1Ke]

Laythe is the best location. Refuel spaceplanes, aerobrake, it is perfect for a Jool wide station

Either this or I would put it somewhere between Tylo and Vall so you can Gravity-brake/assist around Tylo into the right Orbit to reach it.