What do you do with satellites etc after contract completion?

[sewerbird]

If it's keo-synchronous or Kolniya, I name the satellite after a Kerbal TV channel (KTV, KH-1, KBC). If it's polar I name it after some kind of spy or cartographical agency. Other satellites I deorbit (like around the mun or whatever).

[Frank_G]

Nice idea, sewerbird!

I usually let them in their orbit and use them from time to time, to get science from space around xyz.

[Janos1986]

I'm playing with remotetech and SCANSat so I usually stuff more fuel than needed in the last stage, so I can change their orbits for various purposes, as scanning a planet or use them a comm relay.

[psyper]

I played 0.25 with fineprint and at first I just left them in orbit - I had about 15 in orbit around kerbin before I thought something had to be done - it was hard to drop maneuver nodes on ships when the trajectories of countless sats kept getting in the way. So I started decommissioning them - they had enough dv to deorbit so I started doing that on the older ones - then came up with the idea of leaving them there for 30 kerbin days using Kerbal Alarm Clock before deorbiting them - the idea is that the contract is for a spy sat that needed to be in that orbit for a month then to get rid of it. I've just restarted with 0.90 so started putting parachutes on them with the mind to recover them once they've been up for a month. - not sure what I'd do with Mun and Minmus sats - perhaps return them to a transporter which will bring several back home once completed maybe. Beyond Kerbin's SOI I'll probably just deorbit them in to the nearest body - not worth recovering.

[[email protected]]

I typically reclassify old satellites as Debris once their mission is completed if they cannot be used to perform some new mission. I don't terminate anything, If I want something deorbited I need to find a way to do it. I also play with RT so sometimes an old Sat can be used as a relay. Assuming I haven't already built a network around that particular planet or moon, or I may drop them into a polar orbit and let scansat do its job.

I have the time delay on RT turned off because I pilot everything by hand.

[DBT85]

I've been playing with the Contract Configurator mod today.

One feature is being able to disable any of the generic contracts you like (like satellites, rescue steve etc) and another is the SCANSat addition that tattagries wrote to go with it.

I've been tinkering with that to try and improve it some as it was only a test to demonstrate it working. Once the mod is fully fleshed out and there are contracts made for all of SCANSat and Remote Tech I'll be a happy bunny.

[Vanamonde]

I build mine to be able to de-orbit and recover them to recoup as much of their cost as possible. But I leave one in orbit around each world to perform "science from around X" contracts.

[Odielthen]

Once the ten seconds of stability completes, I consider my contractual obligations to be completed. Anything further would just be mission creep. If the organization wanted the satellite in the orbit longer, they should have put it in the contract.

I have started moving from inexpensive, small satellites to robotic landers and command modules. I am then able to complete the generic science from orbit contracts as well as the much more lucrative ground science contracts. Gilly is amazing for this, an ion engine is more than adequate for any maneuvers. Just remember to go back to the tracking station if you want to do time acceleration.

Edited January 7, 2015 by Odielthen
Phone

[Jason Patterson]

I honestly hope that the game eventually will give us an option when it believes we have completed a mission. Something like a right click menu option "Use this vessel to complete Contract XYZ." If you click it the vessel is taken from your control. If you don't, the contract isn't completed even if it's a satellite in the perfect place/condition.

[WuphonsReach]

I'm playing with remotetech and SCANSat so I usually stuff more fuel than needed in the last stage, so I can change their orbits for various purposes, as scanning a planet or use them a comm relay.

Same. RT and SCANSat both give purpose to the satellite contracts.

Personally - I think that the sat contracts should be changed from "stable orbit for 10 seconds" to "stable orbit for N days", where N goes up based on the number of stars in the contract. A one-star contract might want it up there for 20-40 days, a two-star might require a 60-80 day commit, and a three-star might require 150-250 days.

I'd still re-purpose them afterwards

[aeroeng14]

I first name my satellites after the corporations that sent out the contracts at launch, or otherwise I forgot and have 5 'Untitled Satellite Launcher' probes floating around. I also leave them in orbit after the contract to be run by their respective owners and for role-play, eg weather or comm sats. Currently I have the mk1 and mk2 series with different solar panel and antenna configurations. When I unlock cargo bays, I'm planning on capturing the mk1 series with the Stayputnik cores and returning them for retirement (debris removal) ala the Shuttle. New versions will be launched when different solar or probe technologies are unlocked.

[prophet_01]

I honestly hope that the game eventually will give us an option when it believes we have completed a mission. Something like a right click menu option "Use this vessel to complete Contract XYZ." If you click it the vessel is taken from your control. If you don't, the contract isn't completed even if it's a satellite in the perfect place/condition.

I would like that. It would make sense to me for satelite contracts.

Edit: That may belong to suggestions and development

[DBT85]

I honestly hope that the game eventually will give us an option when it believes we have completed a mission. Something like a right click menu option "Use this vessel to complete Contract XYZ." If you click it the vessel is taken from your control. If you don't, the contract isn't completed even if it's a satellite in the perfect place/condition.

As I said further up, the Contract Configurator mod is looking promising to allow anyone to make mission packs fairly easily. There''s already a demo pack for SCANSat and its very good. Using those and the mods ability to block types of generic contracts like Satellite is going to be perfect for what you want. You'll not get another satellite mission again that isn't with purpose.

In time the same can be true for stations with the various station mods there are.

It also give you the opportunity to create contracts that focus on the same ship. So I can create a mission saying "put SpaceLab 1 into xyz orbit with this particular part on board". In a later mission I can then say "add abc part to SpaceLab 1 and shift to this orbit" etc.

In addition, you can create a sequence of contracts that won't appear unless a certain part has been researched, or a previous mission has completed. So I can make a set of contracts to so a whole relay network around Kerbin, Mun and Minmus, and they'll all unlock at the appropriate time and in a sensible order.

No more pointless satellite contracts!

Edited January 8, 2015 by DBT85

[Hannu]

I roleplay and leave them on orbits. They are some other company's or agency's stuff after they have accepted the orbit. I mark them as debris so they do not fill map view with old scrap. I keep all debris. It is fun to see after tens of years what and where they are

[nightingale]

As I said further up, the Contract Configurator mod is looking promising to allow anyone to make mission packs fairly easily. There''s already a demo pack for SCANSat and its very good. Using those and the mods ability to block types of generic contracts like Satellite is going to be perfect for what you want. You'll not get another satellite mission again that isn't with purpose.

In time the same can be true for stations with the various station mods there are.

It also give you the opportunity to create contracts that focus on the same ship. So I can create a mission saying "put SpaceLab 1 into xyz orbit with this particular part on board". In a later mission I can then say "add abc part to SpaceLab 1 and shift to this orbit" etc.

In addition, you can create a sequence of contracts that won't appear unless a certain part has been researched, or a previous mission has completed. So I can make a set of contracts to so a whole relay network around Kerbin, Mun and Minmus, and they'll all unlock at the appropriate time and in a sensible order.

No more pointless satellite contracts!

Thanks for the plug.

Just wait until you see the upcoming RemoteTech contract pack....

[Luis]

I cheat a little by flying the satellite back down on wings and returning them to the KSC.

If you're prepared to pay the extra launch cost and effort, I hardly think this counts as a cheat. It's sort of the opposite of cheating.

Edit: I have left all mine up there so far. I like to build them with more parts than necessary, for aesthetic reasons, so it's possible they may be useful later. But if not, I'll deorbit them at the end of their mission (ie when my orbits get too cluttered).

Edited January 9, 2015 by Luis
forgot to answer the OP

[Janos1986]

Personally - I think that the sat contracts should be changed from "stable orbit for 10 seconds" to "stable orbit for N days", where N goes up based on the number of stars in the contract. A one-star contract might want it up there for 20-40 days, a two-star might require a 60-80 day commit, and a three-star might require 150-250 days.

I'd still re-purpose them afterwards

Mission Controller does that, sort of.

[Hannu]

A one-star contract might want it up there for 20-40 days, a two-star might require a 60-80 day commit, and a three-star might require 150-250 days.

I hope that time will be as a resource in KSP on some day. But it is not enough just demand long duration science projects or satellite contracts because you can always accelerate time without costs. It would have sense only if there was monthly costs for running KSC and every mission, parts aged and weared during years, building and researching took months or years, astronauts got old and retired, astronaut needed massive amounts of resources etc. Most of things are on do not suggest list.

[MarvinKitFox]

What do you with satellites etc after you've satisfied the contract? Name it and leave it there? Send it off to collect science data you need? Self-destruct?

Fly off and fulfill the *other* 3-4 satellite contracts currently in my queue.

THEN I fly it to pick up/rescue a kerbal in orbit (i build it as empty MK-I pod, with core on top), then proceed to whatever manned jobs I have lying around

RECYCLE, RE-USE, RE-PURPOSE!!

[ftunk70]

I rename them "debris" so they don't clutter the map. I think they should stay in orbit at least for a while.

Many have a few hundred delta-v left, so theoretically, maybe I could expell/deorbit some of them, but I don't want to bother.