Hey guys, I know the october challenge is over, But in keeping with the TAS theme here is a size comp of my K-12 Construction station and my K-7 Station
That design makes a lot more sense to me than the dry-docks we saw in TMP 1&2. There's a space station that can accommodate a large crew with plenty of habitat, plenty of internal volume for workshops and logistics areas, and indeed plenty of room for people to actually live there for extended periods of time. And since each station has three built-in cradle facilities, the crews can handle at least three Class I starships at one time. Having a consolidated, multi-dock station means that if one ship is given priority by the station/starbase commandant, the crews are right there to accelerate the work, a la the quick repair of the U.S.S. Yorktown at Pearl Harbor after the Battle of Coral Sea. It would be neat to see this concept extended with an extra layer of docking arms, offset so the plan view made it look like the two sets of arms alternated their angles. (Like the Cylon basestars in Ronald D. Moore's GALACTICA reboot.)
The drydock in TMP can be easily explained; they don't need the dedicated station connected to the drydock because Earth is literally right there. This station could well be the equivalent of that lonely gas station out in the middle of nowhere. Kind of like that odd self-reliant station that the NX-01 encountered, but this one has an actual staff.
I had the idea that these would have been the First Stations built at the Utopia Planetia yards orbiting Mars. Also Shipyard that were in hidden parts of the Federation.
This looks really cool! I have always loved the original K7 station, this seems like a logical construction/repair variant.