What do you do with obsolete SAT'S?

[Tw1]

My thought when terminating, especially when it comes to sats I put up for contracts, is that I'm handing off control and tracking to someone else. Alright, Kerbodyne; there's your third munar COMSat, now you're responsible for it.

This is my thoughts too, (I'd like to see the terminate button changed to the stop tracking one for asteroids. )

Perhaps it could be made clear this is an option in the contract brief.

Moving a satellite from its required orbit really should make the contract void, and incur a penalty, even though you've previously completed it.

Edited February 10, 2015 by Tw1

[Sampa]

For me, I just leave them, I usually lose interest in a save long before the obsolete satellites start becoming a problem anyway!

[IllicitMedic]

Squad should add custom filters to the map view.

If you mean like the tracking station, its been in game for as long as I can remember.

When in map view move your pointer up to the top middle portion and a drop down menu will appear and you select and deselect stuff like in the tracking station.

Edited February 10, 2015 by IllicitMedic

[Wabbit]

I send a junk collector with the Klaw to pick them up and put them in the orbital junkyard.

[Stargate525]

If you mean like the tracking station, its been in game for as long as I can remember.

When in map view move your pointer up to the top middle portion and a drop down menu will appear and you select and deselect stuff like in the tracking station.

No no, CUSTOM filters. Like if we want to see our probes, but not the cloud of orbital satellites that are also classified as probes. Big problem for remotetech users.

[tsotha]

Satellite contracts that require controls to be idle for 30/60/90/180 days, not just 10 seconds.

The problem with that is in the early game you need the money to do other contracts. So really that would just insert a step at the end, where you put the sat in the proper orbit and then warp until the contract is done.

Also, if they did that they'd have to make sure it's actually possible. I've had contracts which have kerbin orbits can't be stable because they enter the Mun's SOI.

[panzer1b]

Mostly leave them up there for future weapons testing. Means less work sending up dedicated target drones, and lets me see how lethal a weapon ive made is (ofc after removing the crew from said satellites).

But other then this, i usually rename them to something obviously not a ship, and just leave em until i have some use for em. Its not liek having 1000s of vessels (provided they arent actively loaded) is going to slow the game down by any significant amount.

[Sampa]

Actually, the only "satellite" that I would ever consider not leaving up when I am through with it, would be my space stations...

For those, I always leave enough fuel or send up a deorbiting tug to destroy it in the atmosphere (crashing into the surface of Kerbin, normally in the ocean to avoid bringing it down on the heads of any poor Kerbals finding him/herselves in the wrong place at the wrong time)

[IllicitMedic]

No no, CUSTOM filters. Like if we want to see our probes, but not the cloud of orbital satellites that are also classified as probes. Big problem for remotetech users.

Ah yea I agree, I use remote tech and once my comms are up I do not want to see them anymore, its annoying. I even turn off the RemoteTech color coded lines, I built the dang network I know how it works I don't need lines cluttering my map.

[WuphonsReach]

The problem with that is in the early game you need the money to do other contracts. So really that would just insert a step at the end, where you put the sat in the proper orbit and then warp until the contract is done.

That could be handled by:

- Making sure that satellite contracts give about ~ 2k/day reward in funds (start to finish duration). So for a Minmus satellite contract, the payout should be (2000 * 8 days) for transit time, plus (2000 * 180 days) for the contract duration, plus about 25k (or whatever the baseline reward is for a Minmus sat contract). That's mostly a overall balance issue to make sure that all contracts pay out well enough that they are worth dedicating a contract slot to.

- Paying out portions of the reward based on achieving mission sub-objectives. For a satellite contract, you might get 33% of the reward as soon as you get it in the proper orbit. You get the other 67% at the completion of the contract (30/60/90/180 days).

DMagic (Orbital Science mod) has a contract in his mod for long-term monitoring of the Mag/RPWS around a planet. It requires a specific orbit (inclination / eccentricity requirements) and requires that you leave the satellite within those orbital parameters for anywhere from 90-400+ days.