Standard Docking Computer
A standard docking computer is a ship module that automates docking with a space station or surface station (in ED Horizons). The process can be slow so it is not recommended for pilots who need to dock quickly.
-Warning- Docking Computers are not perfect and may not work correctly at times, which can result in the destruction of player ships. Although improper functioning has become very rare since v1.4, it does occur so remember that you can override the auto-dock sequence with throttle input or by turning off power to the standard docking computer in the modules tab.
Uses
A docking computer can be used with any ship and might be especially handy for players who find the docking process to be hard or don't want to keep doing it every time they dock. It is very useful to dock larger ships too, as those require more precise maneuvering.
The docking computer is automatically activated when docking permission is granted. If the ship is moving a message will appear to slow down before the docking computer will take control of the ship. When the throttle is set to zero or if the ship was initially stopped, the docking computer will begin maneuvering the ship. To cancel the auto-docking computer sequence and hand control back to the pilot, disable the docking computer module or put power to forward/backward thrusters.
Note: Docking computers tend to have trouble if anything bumps you, especially as you pass through the docking port. Generally they are reliable, but will sometimes cut out once inside the station leaving you to manually traverse to your pad.
Note: Docking computers will self deploy landing gear if the landing gear are not deployed before auto-dock is initiated. Docking Computers will dock you faster if you let them self deploy landing gear compared to pre-deploying the landing gear before auto-dock.
Note: Docking Computers may help prevent getting reckless flying fines from collisions as even when traveling above 100 m/s the speeding warning indicator does not appear while auto-docking.
Note: One can manually fly into the station or to the landing pad and then let the docking computer engage by pressing the 'X' key, which sets all throttle to zero and thus results in almost instant transfer of control to the docking computer.
Specifications
| Class | 1 |
|---|---|
| Rating | E |
| Weight (T) | 0.0 |
| Power Draw | 0.390 |
| Value (CR) | 4,500 |
Purchase Locations
| System | Station | Date Seen |
|---|---|---|
| HIP 27417 | Blair Port | Jan 29th, 2015 |
| Wolf 906 | Herbert | April 12th, 2015 |
| Lave | Lave Station | May 02nd, 2015 |
| ETA Serpentis | Haipeng Point | June 24th, 2015 |
| Fujin | Futen Spaceport | Nov 7th, 2015 |
| Rabh | Friedman Terminal | June 11th, 2015 |
| GD 219 | McKee Ring | June 19th, 2015 |
| Wolf 865 | Nusslein-Volhard Hub | June 21st, 2015 |
| LTT 9810 | Lopez Terminal | June 28th, 2015 |
| Kamadhenu | Couper Hub |
Aug 8th, 2015 |
| Teaka | Piercy Terminal | Aug 13th, 2015 |
| Teaka | MacCurdy Station | Aug 13th, 2015 |
| Teaka | Dedekind City | Aug 13th, 2015 |
| LTT 7548 | Alexandria Ring | Sept 27th, 2015 |
| Cantjarisni | Cocharane Enterprise | Sept 27th, 2015 |
| Othet | Salgari City | Sept 28th, 2015 |
| Sahualasta | Kwolek Orbital | Sept 28th, 2015 |
| LHS 3447 | Worlidge Terminal | Dec 6th, 2015 |
| Wolf 1148 | Avicenna Port | Oct 22nd, 2015 |
| Kremainn | Wohler Terminal | Dec 6th, 2015 |
| Sebrove Station | Dec 2nd, 2015 | |
| Kaiakul | Barlowe Station | Dec 3rd, 2015 |
| Ross 695 | Bresnik Orbital | Jan 8th, 2016 |
| LP 734-32 | Franklin Ring | March 3rd, 2016 |
| Alioth | Irkutsk | March 7th, 2016 |
History
Docking Computers first appeared in the original Elite game. They were costly, but worth the investment as docking was - for the time - a complex process, during which even experienced players occasionally crashed their ship. Automated docking also was faster.
During automated docking, the computer would play "The Blue Danube" by Johann Strauss II, a reference to the (very slow) docking scene in movie 2001: A Space Odyssey by Stanley Kubrick which was set to the same piece.
Trivia
- First appeared in Standard Beta 1