https://forums.frontier.co.uk/showt...rters-PLEASE-enter-hangar-as-soon-as-you-dock
I just simplified because I couldn't be bothered to drag that up from a search.
Pretty darn sure that’s a CMDR Nobody like the rest of us. Now I have not yet tested this in 3.3, but Enter Hanger has not “Freed up” a landing pad between 2.2 and 3.2. I wasn’t here prior to 2.2, so if it did back then, it stopped in 2.2.
I have joined forces with other commanders to fully occupy an Outpost, and can confirm that being in the hanger still occupies the pad, preventing landing.
So what DOES it do? Keeps ship debris from hitting you when ships are destroyed by station defenses. It also keeps your ship from roasting when the station is on fire (thargoid attack). Other than that, it’s just a detail. Well, it does rotate your ship 180 degrees for proper orientation for takeoff.