KerbalX

Built in the VAB in KSP version 1.11.0
- Breaking Ground DLC
- Making History DLC
- Squad (stock).
Root part is fairingSize3. (DLC REQUIRED)

Replica of:

Skylab + Saturn V (modified)

Most recent update

• Increased Battery capacity

In orbit deployment:

• Deploy the Solar Telescope Mount: Locate the rotors on the side of the docking tunnel. Unlock them, and rotate them manually.
• Deploy the main solar panels: Locate the hinge on the side of the main module. Unlock them, and rotate them manually; then extend the solar panels.

Description

The “TestStation” is one of the many early designs for space station. Due to the nature of being a working prototype, many of its components are tested surplus from earlier projects, repurposed for in-orbit research.

A Fogin SiCC third stage is converted as its main body, with each of the two compartments converted for labs and Hab/Storage respectively— lots of room for crew and cargo. “TestStation” also has robust power and communication, and a large compliment of scientific equipment. It also carries an Infrared Telescope that can be controlled from a modified MEM.

Real-Life Notes

The more I research Skylab, the more I realize the contractors reused many parts. The IRL Orbital Workshop came about due to reuse of the S-IVB, while the Apollo Telescope Mount is a refurbished LEM. Even its airlock module, situated between the multple docking mechanism and the OWS, is from surplus stock – its EVA door is lifted directly from a Gemini, even retaining the trapezoid shaped cutout and forward looking porthole.

This refactor is to include the cargo space change introduced in 1.11 – the Hitchhiker Can, though smaller in size and crew capacity, actually has much more cargo space available than Mk3 cabin. Otherwise, I intended to keep the scale-relationships as much as possible, and retain the 3.75m diameter for the main module; that way I can differentiate it from the Salyut/TianGong clones. Additional justification for the wider fuselage comes from Eyes turned skyward, where they described the OWS’s wider and shorter fuselage as stacked levels, in contrast of the single corridor design for the longer smaller diameter fuselage as used ITTL and OTL’s lab modules. (Ironically in KSP, putting the Lab and Hab node-to-node would have yielded such stacked level) In the end, it becomes a total rebuild.

I decide not to leave it with the broken solar panel on the side – You can do it yourself by deploying the one on the left while flying so the atmosphere forces it off.

Details

• Type: VAB
• Class: station
• Part Count: 86
• Pure Stock
• KSP: 1.11.0