KMS VISUAL FIELD GUIDE

Hardware with a job to do.

The complete original KMS hardware concept set: antennas establish the link, routers and processors move traffic, buffers protect data, and specialized payloads turn infrastructure into missions.

MEDIA SET
01
HARDWARE PLATES
13
SYSTEM FAMILIES
04
BUILD STATE
PRE-RELEASE

MISSION HARDWARE PLATES

A network is more than an antenna.

KMS models the supporting architecture—routing, compute, buffering, power, pointing, and payload demand—that turns a nominal connection into a useful service.

broadband phased array mission hardware concept render
01 / COMMS / RF

BROADBAND PHASED ARRAY

A low-profile electronically steered terminal for high-capacity access to relay constellations.

optical link terminal mission hardware concept render
02 / COMMS / OPTICAL

OPTICAL LINK TERMINAL

A precision terminal for high-rate crosslinks where pointing, power, and line of sight all matter.

optical ground gateway mission hardware concept render
03 / COMMS / OPTICAL

OPTICAL GROUND GATEWAY

A Kerbin-surface laser gateway that terminates optical mesh traffic without borrowing the space terminal.

backbone router mission hardware concept render
04 / NETWORK / ROUTING

BACKBONE ROUTER

The high-capacity onboard traffic core for complex relay craft and deep-space gateways.

high-gain antenna mission hardware concept render
05 / COMMS / RF

HIGH-GAIN ANTENNA

A directional dish that trades field of view and pointing requirements for long-range link margin.

navigation payload mission hardware concept render
06 / NAVIGATION / GNSS

NAVIGATION PAYLOAD

A dedicated payload for constellation ranging, solution quality, and navigation service missions.

survey imager mission hardware concept render
07 / SCIENCE / SURVEY

SURVEY IMAGER

A mission sensor designed to connect orbital observation, coverage, data storage, and science return.

control antenna mission hardware concept render
08 / COMMS / CONTROL

CONTROL ANTENNA

A compact command and telemetry antenna for local control links, probes, and low-capacity service.

compact router mission hardware concept render
09 / NETWORK / ROUTING

COMPACT ROUTER

A lighter onboard routing core for probes and small relay spacecraft with modest traffic demand.

data buffer mission hardware concept render
10 / NETWORK / STORAGE

DATA BUFFER

Persistent onboard packet storage that protects admitted science and service traffic through outages.

processor cartridge mission hardware concept render
11 / NETWORK / COMPUTE

PROCESSOR CARTRIDGE

Additional packet-processing capacity for vessels handling competing command, GNSS, telemetry, and science queues.

link laboratory mission hardware concept render
12 / SCIENCE / LABORATORY

LINK LABORATORY

An experimental payload for characterizing network performance and completing sustained link-research missions.

sample return canister mission hardware concept render
13 / SCIENCE / RETURN

SAMPLE RETURN CANISTER

A protected mission container for recovery objectives and physical science return to Kerbin.

SYSTEM ARCHITECTURE

Availability becomes capacity.

Links are established by RemoteTech. KMS evaluates their usable throughput, routes competing traffic classes, powers the hardware, buffers interrupted transfers, and exposes the result to navigation, science, and Mission Control.

  1. 01ESTABLISHRange · geometry · pointing
  2. 02CHARACTERIZEStrength · quality · capacity
  3. 03SCHEDULECommand · GNSS · science
  4. 04OPERATEStore · forward · recover

EXPLORE THE PROGRAM

See how the hardware flies.

The operations library covers installation, communications, navigation, science, performance, visuals, and recovery.

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