Standard Docking Computer
A standard docking computer is a ship module that automates docking with a space station. The process can be slow so it is not recommended for pilots who need to dock quickly.
-Warning- Docking Computers have been reportedly buggy resulting in the destruction of player ships. Use at your own risk.
Uses
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.
Specifications
| Class | 1 |
|---|---|
| Rating | E |
| Weight (T) | 0.0 |
| Power Draw | 0.390 |
| Value (CR) | 4,500 |
Purchase Locations
| System | Station | Date Seen |
|---|---|---|
| Eravate | Russel Ring | Oct 12th, 2015 |
| 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 |
| 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 | Oct 5th, 2015 |
| Wolf 1148 | Avicenna Port | Oct 22nd, 2015 |
| Kremainn | Wohler Terminal | Nov 2nd, 2015 |
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