Tracking Station
The tracking station is a round building and three rotating parabolic antennae, located at the Kerbal Space Center on Kerbin. Its purpose is to allow access, observation and cancellation of all missions currently active, including splashed-down or landed ships. Note that this does not include crashed or otherwise ended missions. Prior to the update in 0.21 the antenna was located on top of the tracking station. With 0.21 it is a dedicated building with the antennae around the building.
The collision model for the rotating antenna is a sphere.
Usage
The tracking station's main display is similar to the map view, with the main addition being a list on the left of the screen displaying every vehicle and flag in the game. At the top of the screen are a set of buttons which can be used to filter out different types of vehicle; by default, all vehicles containing a command module and all flags are visible while debris is not. Information and physical statistics about the currently selected object are available through the buttons on the right; vehicles have a crew manifest (if crewed) while bodies have a short description. This is the only way to determine the mass and part count of a vehicle after launch in the base game.
Once a vehicle is selected, several actions are available to the player.
- Fly will assume direct control of the vehicle. Flags may be "flown" to move the camera to their location in the world; the camera may be moved to survey their surroundings but no other functions will be available.
- Terminate will destroy the vehicle. If the vehicle has a crew, they will be killed and listed as "lost" in the Astronaut Complex.
- Recover will gracefully remove the vehicle from the world and keep the crew on the duty roster, returning them to "Available" status. This action can only be performed if the vehicle has landed anywhere on Kerbin and come to a halt, including splashdown in the ocean. In future versions of the game, recovering a vehicle may credit the player with resources based on the value and contents of the parts recovered.
Gallery
Old tracking station interface without the possibility to filter ships
The tracking station until 0.21, next to the launch pad, before that was redesigned in 0.19
Changes
- Redesigned exterior
- Added information about selected planets, moons, or ships.
- Added clock in upper left corner.
- Added ability to hide various types of vessels.
- Now available in new demo. Removed reference to the contrary.
- Ability to terminate flights
- Initial Release
- Able to resume flights from the Tracking Station
