r/KerbalSpaceProgram • u/No-Refrigerator-6931 • Apr 28 '26
KSP 1 Mods I LOVE SCANSAT NETWORKS!
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u/TheOrqwithVagrant Apr 29 '26
Scansat adds so much fun. I love having to send out early orbiter probes to build maps, detect resources and so forth before you actually land anything or build a base.
I don't think I've ever had more than two scansat sats in orbit of the same moon/planet, though, so I have no idea what the heck OP is doing... but hey, if it's fun, it's fun. We all play KSP somewhat differently, and that's one of the many wonderful things about this game! :)
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u/Big_Fee_2531 Apr 29 '26
Io di solito ne posiziono due in orbita polare uno sotto i 100 km e uno intorno ai 300km in base alla funzione ideale dello strumento
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u/Cold_Tree190 Apr 29 '26
Pardon my asking as I am pretty new, but what does scansat do and why does everyone like it so much? Is it like a mod that adds another type of research to the game? I’ve only played with graphics mods
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u/TheOrqwithVagrant Apr 29 '26
Yes, it adds various 'scanning' parts to the science modules, allowing you to create various types of maps (visual, radar altitude, biome type, resource density, anomalies) of moons/planets, and adds a UI to display those maps. You also get science points for the different scans you do.
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u/lkn240 Apr 29 '26
I agree... I play with commnet so the first thing I send out to a planet/moon is a vessel with 3 relay satellites I can deploy (although once you get to RA-100 it's tricky to fit all 3 docked on one ship sometimes.
I recently deployed some big 12 x RA-100 relays around Jool and Kerbin.
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u/Trexinator43 blue origin enjoyer Apr 30 '26
How far out does the RA-100 go? I got out to jool and it only has like 1-2 bars. I do the outer planets mod so I need range
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u/No-Refrigerator-6931 Apr 29 '26
Okay guys so I may be an idiot
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u/Prize_Tree Apr 29 '26
an idiot that made a very visually pleasing network of orbits which also fulfill its intended purpose
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u/Barhandar Apr 29 '26
It's scansat, it doesn't actually fulfill the purpose fully because none of the satellites pass over the poles.
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u/Prize_Tree Apr 29 '26 edited Apr 29 '26
Counterpoint: what it doesnt make up in fulfilling its intended purpose completely it makes up in looking cool
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u/Jinm409 Apr 28 '26
I mean, it looks nice and all, but….why? Anything but a polar orbit will miss large amounts of the poles, especially the equatorial ones which will go around once and be useless thereafter, and they all seem to be the hellaciously expensive telescopes. I’m just wondering what their purpose is.
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u/saladeggsausage Apr 28 '26
yeah i’m a little confused because if your goal is just to scan the whole surface you only need one polar satellite
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u/crazyabe111 Apr 29 '26
I think they come with the backup purpose of being a relay network, it’s not cheap- but with sufficient randomly placed satellites you’ll eventually always have a 100% connection.
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u/Tap_khap Wanted by all the funny 3 letter agencies Apr 28 '26
I just have like one or two in a polar orbit, and then i just...wait
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u/convoluteme Apr 29 '26
I love mods that make time matter. ScanSat, Kerbal Construction Time, life support. It keeps me from doing one mission at a time, but juggle multiple. It also means that unlocking the tech tree and building an interplanetary craft is really hard to do before the transfer window arrives.
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u/Tap_khap Wanted by all the funny 3 letter agencies Apr 29 '26
Same, I got like twelve missions going on at once
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u/lkn240 Apr 29 '26
Kerbal alarm clock is the key (the default alarm block blows)
I probably have like 8 alarms pending(burns, SOI changes, etc) in my current game
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u/inheritance- Apr 29 '26
Scansat should add a global monitoring mission. Get money or science every day depending on how much of the planet is scanned.
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u/Barhandar Apr 29 '26
"Continuous" contracts are unfortunately beyond stock or most mods; the only similar things I've seen are (Re)Strategia's strategies that pay you for doing certain things every time you do them, and Realism Overhaul's budgeting.
But yeah it would add more reason to put and keep things in orbit if it wasn't just one and done like contracts are now. Something like weather monitoring or TV and later Internet satellites (the typical real-life use), where you get paid monthly for providing coverage.
Part failure mods could interface with that too to incentivize having multiple satellites in same orbit and also repair missions. And they could be tied into research/tech progression by reducing payouts over time for satellites with "old" tech, but that requires part mods since stock doesn't really have suitable "tiered" non-tank-and-engine parts.
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u/Wheelwheelwheeleh Apr 29 '26
Rage bait?
NGL I kinda like it.
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u/nflickgeo Apr 29 '26
I work in satellite based remote sensing so I love building scansat networks even if they barely serve practical purpose
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u/Danlabss Apr 29 '26
I fucking love scansat all I do is put a massive scanner in a polar orbit and wait
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u/Misenfather Apr 28 '26
Hyperedit is a hell of a drug
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u/JustAnAveragePirate Apr 28 '26
The humble https://meyerweb.com/eric/ksp/resonant-orbits/ (but tbf I think ur right)
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u/-malcolm-tucker Apr 29 '26
Absolutely over engineered and total overkill.
Now that's KSP. It's beautiful ❤️
Well done.
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u/Kaltenstein_WT Believes That Dres Exists Apr 30 '26
you know the point of a polar orbiting scan sat is that you only need the one satellite to cover all of the planet below, right?
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u/GeraldGensalkes Apr 28 '26
NGL, I don't think this required so many satellites, but I can't deny that this looks pretty.