General Question What ship should I use for space station construction around other planets ?

[Blacklight]

I know how to build a space station in LEO, but I'm curious. If I want to start building a station in orbit around the Moon or Jupiter, what spacecraft would be best to fly the modules out to the construction site ?

 

[Chub777]

I would use something large with a lot of fuel like an XR5.

 

[PeterRoss]

Or if you want to add some realism (meaning headache) try to use Smerch from [ame="http://orbithangar.com/searchid.php?ID=1292"]Space Tugs, release 4[/ame] . Not sure about Jupiter, but you can have some fun delivering modules from LEO into lunar orbit with it.

You could also try [ame="http://orbithangar.com/searchid.php?ID=3427"]Local Space Transport[/ame] which is exactly station module lunar transport, or even [ame="http://orbithangar.com/searchid.php?ID=2786"]DESCARTES Deep Space Vessels[/ame]

LSTS and Descartes are spacecraft3 vessels, but you can convert them into .dll with [ame="http://orbithangar.com/searchid.php?ID=5177"]Spacecraft3 to DLL&C++ converter 110509[/ame] and use [ame="http://orbithangar.com/searchid.php?ID=3262"]Universal Cargo Deck, release 4[/ame] to attach cargos. Works fine for me.

 

[Richy]

Remember, for the Descartes exists also a [ame="http://www.orbithangar.com/searchid.php?ID=3834"]Total Immersion[/ame].

 

[Blacklight]

My mission plan is to launch all components from Earth, have the travel vessel snag them when they reach orbit, fly them to their construction site, and assemble them. This will include flying anything "workhorse" that will asist in the assembly out there as well. My first station will be in orbit around the moon and if I can do that, then I'm planning on flying multiple spacecraft (maybe two or three) out to other planets simultaniously. My goal is going to be an orbital station around every planet.

 

[communist]

well there is Universal autopiliots to help you get there
sorry no link provided

 

[PeterRoss]

The best and the easiest way to deliver large-sized heavy payload into LEO is [ame="http://orbithangar.com/searchid.php?ID=1036"]ENERGY project, release 4[/ame] with maximum payload mass of around 100 t with external cargo container BuranT, which is the part of [ame="http://orbithangar.com/searchid.php?ID=1292"]Space Tugs, release 4[/ame] addon together with DM-2 orbital tug, Smerch interplanetary tug and Tranzit station-building tug. So you just load everything you want into Buran-T, hang it on Energia and launch it into LEO. The common payload configuration for lunar transfer is station module attached to Smerch for transfer, Smerch itself is attached to DM-2 which is used for LEO circularization and orbital corrections. It is wise to launch Tranzit into lunar orbit with the first flight.

 

[N_Molson]

You might want to try Wishbone's nuclear/thermal propulsion tug, if you plan to send heavy payloads to Mars or Jupiter.

 

[PeterRoss]

You might want to try Wishbone's nuclear/thermal propulsion tug, if you plan to send heavy payloads to Mars or Jupiter.

It's in my flight schedule. Problem is that it's too wide to fit into Buran T, so I have to use Quasar 471 to get it into LEO, which is multistage2 launcher, though very nice looking one. Now I'm trying to figure out AP program to get it into desired orbit.

 

[Blacklight]

Do any good spacecraft exist that have a robotic arm like the Shuttle that could ferry the modules out and assemble them onto the station or should I use a pod with the little grapple arms, leaving it at the construction site ?

 

[Izack]

There's URMS (Universal Remote Manipulator System) up on Orbithangar that can add a highly functional RMS of any size to any vessel.

 

[PeterRoss]

As Izack said, there is [ame="http://www.orbithangar.com/searchid.php?ID=3373"]Universal Remote Manipulator System, release 3[/ame] that can be attached to any vessel you want (I'm using it with Tranzit tug when needed), or you can use spacecraft3 tug with RMS: [ame="http://www.orbithangar.com/searchid.php?ID=2866"]Pod 3.0[/ame]
Descartes class ships have RMS by default, by the way.