XR Flight Operations Manual Version 3.0
Copyright 2006-2018 Douglas Beachy. All Rights Reserved.
54
As you approach the docking port you have tuned in your docking MFD, you will hear
distance callouts from the computer as you approach. After docking port contact you
may open your inner and outer airlock doors
to use the station’s oxygen supply
in
order to conserve onboard oxygen if you wish. If you want to EVA the crew, you can
use the crew elevator and take a spacewalk around the station. Refer to the chapter
titled
Performing an EVA
for details.
Payload Management (XR2/XR5 Only)
The XR2 Ravenstar and XR5 Vanguard feature cutting-edge payload support that
makes it easy (and fun!) to transport cargo from one place to another in the solar
system. The XR5 Vanguard is designed to carry up to 432,000 kg (432 metric tons)
of payload, and while the XR2 Ravenstar is primarily desi
gned as a “luxury Learjet”
craft, it can carry up to 10.8 metric tons of cargo. It is possible to carry a heavier
payload, but that would exceed
the vessel’s
maximum rated load and so it is not
recommended.
To display the payload camera/instrument panel view, press CTRL-LEFT from the
upper panel view or use the
Switch to Payload Camera View
button on the upper
panel. Once you are in the payload camera view you may switch back to the upper
panel via the
Return to Upper Panel View
button on the left side, or you may press
one of the following hotkeys:
•
CTRL-UP = Switch to Docking Camera view (XR5 only)
•
CTRL-RIGHT = Switch to Upper Panel view
•
CTRL-DOWN = Switch to Main Panel view
Any Orbiter vessel/payload module that can fit in the
XR vessel’s
payload bay can be
latched into the bay, transported, and deployed either in orbit or while landed at a
surface base (or anywhere else you land).
XR5 Vanguard Only:
For the Vanguard, payload is managed by attaching cargo modules into one or more
of the Vanguard’s
36 bay slots, each of which is the size of a standard shipping
container: 2.43 meters wide (X), 2.59 meters high (Y), and 6.09 meters long (Z).
When a cargo module is attached in the bay it occupies one or more bay slots
depending on its size. For example, if a cargo module is 3.0 meters wide it will
occupy two bay slots
across
in the bay (X dimension) because it is wider than a
single slot (2.4 meters). The only exceptions to this are the center slots in the
Vanguard’s bay: they are slightly wider than standard bay slots, and measure 3.65
meters wide instead of 2.43 meters wide. With our example here, a payload module
that is 3.0 meters wide would only occupy
one
center slot, but
two
normal slots
(assuming the payload module is less than or equal to one slot in length [Z
dimension], of course).
The Vanguard has a total of 36 bay slots across a total of three levels in the bay:
level one contains 20 slots, level two contains 12 slots, and level three contains 4
slots.