Low Orbit Outposts

Old Duck

Old Duck
Most stations and outposts I've been to have been in very high orbit, but I'd like to visit an outpost that's in low (and fast in relation to the ground) orbit like our own ISS.

[video=youtube;qnTsIVYxYkc]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qnTsIVYxYkc[/video]

I prefer an outpost so I can sit on the landing pad and watch the planet "pass by" from my external camera. Are there any low-orbit outposts like this in the game? If so, please share!
 

Edelgard von Rhein

E
Azeban Orbital in Eranin is probably the closest to an Earth-like World. Robert Aitken Orbital in Firdaus is the closest to a gas giant and is only just outside the exclusion zone (EDIT: but this is a Coriolis). Look for orbital periods of 0.1 days around other worlds, as there are some close to lava worlds but I don't remember their names; maybe try a search with EDSM or EGO?
 

Sapyx

Sapyx
I'm told that there used to be more, but people complained about the length of time it took to fly into and away from such places (due to severe Supercruise slowdown). So FD moved most of them further out, way back in Gamma apparently.

Check other systems inside the old Pill (the original pill-shaped volume of space around Azeban where the game's gamma-testing took place) and see if FD forgot to move any of the others. You can tell Pill systems because they've usually got a hand-written blurb about the system's government that has nothing to do with any PMFs based there.
 

Old Duck

Old Duck
Sapyx said:
I'm told that there used to be more, but people complained about the length of time it took to fly into and away from such places (due to severe Supercruise slowdown). So FD moved most of them further out, way back in Gamma apparently.
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I do understand why most stations would be further away, because of the gravity well and the "chasing a moving target" aspect. However, I'm hoping Frontier would have left at least one station in low orbit, similar to Mitterand Hollow (but closer and not as fast).

Azeban keeps coming up in the thread, so I'll have to go check it out.

BTW, why don't our own ships enter a realistic orbit when exiting supercruise near the exclusion zone?
 

Alec Turner

Alec Turner
Slightly off-topic but Rho Platform in HIP 100539 is also worth a visit.

Outpost actually inside an asteroid belt.

8mKUH6k.png
 

Old Duck

Old Duck
Edelgard von Rhein said:
Azeban Orbital in Eranin is probably the closest to an Earth-like World.
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Here's a shot from Azeban Orbital:

DolWgRxWwAAV3iW.jpg


This is a great distance, my only disappointment is the orbital period is longer than I was hoping for. I can see the planet "pass" beneath me if I use full zoom, but it's very nuanced.

EDIT

Here's another shot 20 minutes later. The camera angle has changed (I was looking around), but it's clear to see that we are truly orbiting the planet. This will make a nice "screen saver" :D

DolcBwGX4AAye-0.jpg
 
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Ian Doncaster

Ian Doncaster
Quite a few of the orbital stations around Colonia are in low orbits - less than 1Mm above the orbital cruise zone in some cases.

Not a station, but the civilian installation "The New Queen VI" in Kinesi orbits an ELW at exclusion-zone height. Unfortunately this means that locking on to its frame of reference is broken, so rather than taking you with it, it runs away at about 3km/s.
 

Gun Star

Gun Star
Well I'm sure most station in ED are in a Lagrange Point so it doesnt require mass amounts of fuel and energy to maintain their orbit. Where the ISS is constantly supplied with fuel to do boost maneuvers to stay in its orbit.
 

Orvidius

Orvidius
Gun Star said:
Well I'm sure most station in ED are in a Lagrange Point so it doesnt require mass amounts of fuel and energy to maintain their orbit. Where the ISS is constantly supplied with fuel to do boost maneuvers to stay in its orbit.
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Most of the bases aren't at the Lagrange points, but yeah, that is one issue with particularly low orbits. In low orbits around planets with atmospheres, there will always be small amounts of drag, that will have to be counteracted periodically. It's also possible for the orbit to be less stable due to variations in the planet's density around its surface.

The stable Lagrange points are the L4 and L5 points, which are 60 degrees ahead and behind the body's position in its orbit, and we never see stations at those (that I'm aware of). And L3 is on the opposite side of its orbit, so it wouldn't appear to be associated with the planet at all.

The L1 and L2 points are fairly close, but aren't inherently stable. They'll still take some fuel to maintain, but the amount needed is pretty tiny. One visible sign that a station might be parked there, is if it always remains specifically on the day or night side of the planet, directly in line with the planet and the star.
 
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