Von Braun Station. Part-friendly, gorgeous docking hub.

[Rune]

So, we all do stations. And we usually even intend to use them as refueling depots. But you know what also usually happens? We think that they don't look cool enough just being a bunch of tanks with a crew hab on top... and in the end we end up using dumb tankers just like that because our glorious stations are lag monsters, where time seems to stand still. But still, they look awesome right? And the second main problem would be, no matter how big or small you make your station, you are bound to make a ship the next week that is just big enough, so that the depot you just set up has not almost but not quite enough fuel capacity to fill it in one go. So, how to actually have a useful space station that looks good and is fun to play around? Well this is my answer to that!

It was clearly influenced by the classic "wheel" space station designs of... well, pretty much everybody. You can't deny it looks pretty, and you also can't deny those are probably more crew spots than you will ever need. 101 kerbal seats! But still, the whole core (basically, everything above the top Big Red) is a puny 75 parts. That's right, 75, not 175. And it carries no fuel tanks itself, I know, but just because that way you can choose exactly how many Big Reds is enough for you. The guys that kind of follow my designs will recognize the fuel tanks as my standard Big Red assembly, which stack laterally as well as vertically, and that can be found in my Modular Propulsion System. Also there you can find the Klaw Pods and Drive Pods that complete the picture, and it is heavily recommended to use these two craft files together: this kind of configuration has everything you might need, can self-deploy to anywhere with not-so-awful TWR, has two construction Klaw drones that together can move pretty much anything, and, best of all, is a mere 122 parts: probably less that the ships you want to dock to it.

So what exactly comes in the file? Well, the nice core of course. Plus a dedicated launcher. Something like this when it takes off:

And by the time you are reaching orbit, this is all that's left. Should be enough to circularize anywhere up to 100km and still deorbit the upper stage.

The tiny upper stage has a probe core and a forbidden battery so you can deorbit it afterwards, even if you forget about it initially (no trash!), and the station sports a ton of ports for every need: four standard for visiting ships (you never really have more than four missions on the same spot, right?), a couple of Jr. to store MMUs and/or Klaw drones, and a single Sr. port where you can start the fuel tank assembly with whatever your fuel tugs bring up. Might be a lonely NASA tank to have a fully functional fuel station under 80 parts, might be your favorite tanker design you already use, might be anywhere from one to dozens of my Big Red assemblies. Hint: if you dock my fuel tank assemblies in a 3x3 grid, they stiffen themselves thanks to the side connections.

And best of all... you get a very nice view! Your kerbals will sure be happy you spent the extra funds to give them such awesome, spacious, transfer stations, where they can acclimate themselves to whatever gravity they require for the next mission, with plenty of room for long duration flights.

IMGUR ALBUM:

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DOWNLOAD:

http://www./download/hpmmbwyppr3f2jg/Station+-+Wheel.craft

Rune. On the topic of lag due to parts... anybody know if the docking ports contribute more than other parts to it?

Edited February 3, 2015 by Rune

[Scoundrel]

Dammit! We have the same ring setup!

Now I have to change the ring on my station!

Edit: Yes docking ports add to lag, but only if you have lots of them. The magnetic thing is always "on" so there's extra processes per port... or at least that's my theory. But yeah, I notice lag too.

[Rune]

Dammit! We have the same ring setup!

Now I have to change the ring on my station!

Edit: Yes docking ports add to lag, but only if you have lots of them. The magnetic thing is always "on" so there's extra processes per port... or at least that's my theory. But yeah, I notice lag too.

Haha, no worries, no copyright claims here. It's what the parts are screaming at you to do!

And the lag part is nice to hear confirmed. I've been thinking that perhaps 8 side docks per fuel tank is too much and I can do the same thing with 4 (by docking lengthwise with 90º offsets, 3x3 grids should still be doable), saving a good percentage of the tank assembly parts in the process and even more lag (from 11 to 7, that's 36% less parts in tankage). It's also nice to know the shielded docking ports do something else other than looking good, they help with lag. I will close all of them right away in all my stations, and use them even more!

Rune. Those rings are actually easy to do now! And only 24 parts!

[Scoundrel]

I should have said it: nice station!

Haha, no worries, no copyright claims here. It's what the parts are screaming at you to do!

They also tell me other things, but I'm not allowed to say what...

And the lag part is nice to hear confirmed... It's also nice to know the shielded docking ports do something else other than looking good, they help with lag.

I only ever end up docking a couple of ships at any one time - my Aries 1b shuttles 48ish kerbals per trip so I don't actually have to do many of them, and my Orion III is only there long enough to transfer kerbals to and from my station - so I just rely on 2 to 4 ports for my needs. I'm not actually that ambitious. But yeah, shielded docking ports mounted on radial attachments are probably less laggy than open ports... at least until you hit that critical mass of part numbers.

Those rings are actually easy to do now! And only 24 parts!

Aye. Those gizmos have let me do some insane things, like build my 1/5th scale Space Station V replica using only 480ish parts (including struts!). I did manage a 1/2 scale but at 1700+ parts it wasn't that practical, and since it had a 150m radius it glitched every time I tried to launch it. If it wasn't for the fact it rendered my computer non-responsive, I'd have some trippy screenshots to show.

[problemecium]

This does indeed look cool, but you know that part where you said I'd build a ship too big for it to refuel?

Yeeeeahhhhhh, ummm..... I already did. It'd have to drop by there about eight times to fill up all the way.

Still looks cool though!

[Rune]

This does indeed look cool, but you know that part where you said I'd build a ship too big for it to refuel?

Yeeeeahhhhhh, ummm..... I already did. It'd have to drop by there about eight times to fill up all the way.

Still looks cool though!

Then put more tanks into it! The idea is that the core itself has none, and the tank arrangement I suggest (based on my Modular Propulsion System) is as big as you want to make it:

As I say in the OP, 3x3 arrangements are totally doable, and though I don't know what you would need 18 Big Reds for, you could always put two "floors" of fuel tanks. Or, you know, dock you own insane fuel tank assembly with 5m tanks. This is just the aesthetics + docking hub that goes on top of it all.

Rune. One size does not fit all!

[Azimech]

Beautiful!

[problemecium]

I'd have to add about, um... 13 of those Jumbo-64 tanks to do the job xP

[Rune]

Beautiful!

Thanks! That's it's main purpose: have something pretty to look at in the screen while you load tanks and transfer kerbals, and provide tons of cool screenshots. Do share if you put them somewhere interesting!

I'd have to add about, um... 13 of those Jumbo-64 tanks to do the job xP

What are you trying to move, a Class D to Moho? Still, two options: seven launches of MPSs to give your station "a floor and a half" of fuel tanks... which could look very cool in some arrangements, if you don't go for stacking efficiency and leave some gaps, but would be 140 parts in tankage. I am disassembling an old Medusa transport with lots of tanks soon, might try to build some good looking contraption with them myself.

Or build your own monstrous launcher with lots of 5m tanks. Zekes' Cira IV can throw 800mT into LKO, IIRC.

Rune. Nowadays, I walk towards simplifying and lightening stuff. Well, simplifying everything except the mission plans

[DarkProphet]

that is beautiful, and much awesome! I think, perhaps, it's about time for me to try my hand yet again at putting together a space station. The last one that I did was only about 1/3 of the way through when the .90 update came through and I lost that save.

[B.O.B.]

Nice station and a welcome change to the lagging nightmare that is docking to my usual LKO stations...

So this officially raises my "design ideas stolen from one of your threads for my career-save" - count to 2...

[Rune]

that is beautiful, and much awesome! I think, perhaps, it's about time for me to try my hand yet again at putting together a space station. The last one that I did was only about 1/3 of the way through when the .90 update came through and I lost that save.

Thanks! And sure, go ahead and create more awesomeness, there will never be enough of it in the world!

Nice station and a welcome change to the lagging nightmare that is docking to my usual LKO stations...

So this officially raises my "design ideas stolen from one of your threads for my career-save" - count to 2...

http://i.imgur.com/sF6CeYU.jpg

You are very welcome! Also, I see that you made it your own, good! That's the idea behind sharing. Nifty main tank assembly, might do something like it myself. Just one thing... you did move the docking arms 45º, right? I didn't upload and old version again? I know I first built it like yours, but later I decided 45º of offset balanced the aesthetics of the ring section better... Just my opinion, of course, if it's your own modification to it, of course your are totally entitled (and encouraged!) to use it.

Rune. I love it when people show screenies, and I see my stuff in them.

[B.O.B.]

Don't know about the download as i build this station based on the pictures in your first post.

The cargo spaceplane on the other hand... started as heavily modified Dao (removed the heavy cockpit, changed wings/wing postition to rebalance CoM/CoL, repositioned wheels to fit the changed CoM etc.) that combined with my meager piloting skills was almost always about 30 deltaV short of reaching my station (200k orbit) and returning. So i rebuild it from scratch using the general proportions and layout (and experience from tinkering with your plane^^) while trying to keep the mass centered on the cargo bay for a stable CoM after dropping the tank. I'm generally bad at keeping the part count low so it's about 80+ parts more than yours, but it gets the job done and can do a completely unpowered landing if i'm low on fuel again.

Edited February 6, 2015 by B.O.B.

[Rune]

Don't know about the download as i build this station based on the pictures in your first post.

The cargo spaceplane on the other hand... started as heavily modified Dao (removed the heavy cockpit, changed wings/wing postition to rebalance CoM/CoL, repositioned wheels to fit the changed CoM etc.) that combined with my meager piloting skills was almost always about 30 deltaV short of reaching my station (200k orbit) and returning. So i rebuild it from scratch using the general proportions and layout (and experience from tinkering with your plane^^) while trying to keep the mass centered on the cargo bay for a stable CoM after dropping the tank. I'm generally bad at keeping the part count low so it's about 80+ parts more than yours, but it gets the job done and can do a completely unpowered landing if i'm low on fuel again.

Well that is even better! Hope you learned stuff, and you know, you could always pick apart my file to see how I did it. Oh, and about your "meager pilot skills". Probably that comment comes from not looking at your vertical velocity indicator. That little thing is crucial! So crucial, it's the main reason I use KER, having a more accurate one than in stock. The key to SSTOs is to manage vertical speed so you can: a) get near your maximum height in airbreathers, stay there until you have built up enough speed, and c) get to the flameout afterwards with plenty of vertical speed to minimize drag under rocket power.

Basically, for the Dao (or any other SSTO with the same intake/jet ratio) the numbers work something like this: Haul ass at 45º AoA until I get to 20kms, then lower vertical velocity so I go under 50m/s as I get to 25kms, then wait until I get about 1,400m/s (surface), and pitch up again to 30º or so to gain vertical speed (ideally, over 150m/s before flameout). Then comes the flameout, and the Dao's special trick: switch the RAPIERS to rocket mode keeping the jets on, and I can milk some airbreathing thrust all the way to 1,800m/s (surface) or so, with a more than healthy vertical component, so the second flameout is already in an almost-orbital trajectory where I have the time to close intakes and such. A burp or two with the RAPIERS will take the apoapsis to over 70kms, and the rest is a maneuver node job. But the Dao would be hard pressed to make a 200km orbit with the full payload anyway, so no surprises there.

Rune. Anyhow, thanks for the screenies!

[Tangle]

I made a "modification" to it, and because I am entitled to use it...

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[Alias72]

a new coat of paint and it will be fine. Trust me i'm an engineer...

[Tangle]

a new coat of paint and it will be fine. Trust me i'm an engineer...

Welding paint?

[Rune]

I made a "modification" to it, and because I am entitled to use it...

http://imgur.com/a/xYUuA

LOL! Very creative use of a Klaw Pod, that's for sure. If you align things a bit better, no one will notice from a distance. xD

a new coat of paint and it will be fine. Trust me i'm an engineer...

The quote that jumped into my mind was "There, I fixed it!"

Rune. Seriously, it's awesome to see this kind of stuff. Enjoy yourselves!

[EladDv]

i would suggest flipping the cabs outwards so the lights and windows are outwards- could give it a prettier look

[Rune]

i would suggest flipping the cabs outwards so the lights and windows are outwards- could give it a prettier look

But then the windows would be on the floor when it spun up, wouldn't they? It's a bit that always bothers me about sci-fi shows, get the physics of rotating stations right! They are not that hard. Plus, when we get IVAs with windows, you are choosing between a view of space, or a view of your station, plus space as a background. Pics are supposed to be taken from the inside.

Rune. That new 40m diameter ones I'm making, BTW, should get about 0.6G's at 3 RPMs.

Edited February 22, 2015 by Rune

[ryan234abc]

Hey! This is what I did with your station! First time uploading Imgur album, so I may need to edit this post a bit

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What do you think? The Refueller, the Miner and the Lander variants. Note the lander (one round Laythe) is 0.90 AND no longer has a craft file. However the asteroid collector is a handy long term fuel station, while the refueller is a fuel station that requires less effort, but last no where near as long. All launched quickly with hyperedit for demonstration. What do you think?

Edited May 31, 2015 by ryan234abc

[Rune]

I think that is pretty cool! I'm glad you like it, let's see if I get out of my ass and post those things, the revised crazy launcher for the 1.0 version is sitting in my computer.

Rune. I myself never got one of them that far... though a few were on route last save.

[Ferdoni]

One word... :Amazing!!!

[Rune]

Actually, I'm a bit tired of waiting until I have something 100% tested and polished. You know what? Have a go at this, it is certainly the most interesting booster I have built for 1.02! Plus, it not only launches the core now, it also carries a huge 30m ring with more fuel capacity (I like to roleplay the tanks are around a central passable corridor). Make sure to quicksave before staging! If only for the fun of letting it fail.

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http://www./download/35xa335dqwttab9/Von+Braun+Station+1_0.craft

Rune. I'd write up a launch guide for it, but it's mostly "stage with a lot of care".

[Gaalidas]

That looks like a very bad idea... -hits the launch button and walks away-