Orbital bases?

[Kingfisher (OP)]

What is an orbital base? they are mentioned a bit but what are they.  Also, is it possible to stick a PDC on an asteroid or moon?

[Nathan_]

Orbitals are just ships with no engines.

PDCs can be built anywhere you can create a "colony" by engineering brigades.

[Kingfisher (OP)]

So what, a dingy freighter with troop capacity and I've got beam defense systems through Sol.  Nice.  Also do bases act like colonies if they have living space?

[TheDeadlyShoe]

Orbital habitats add to the living capacity of the colony they orbit. Population in orbital habitats ignore harsh-environment agricultural penalties. Note that designs classed as orbital habitats can be constructed with planetary industry.

[Garfunkel]

OH's also ignore gravity restrictions. This is the only way to have manual mining of asteroids, for example. Usually automines or Asteroid Miners are a better solution but RP-wise or in some special circumstances you might want to go that way.

[Thiosk]

What I still haven't figured out--

when you put an OH on a planet incapable of sustaining any population... say, gravity too low-- what happens when the population reaches the maximum supported by the OH?

I am about to embark on an orbital habitat construction spree to beef up colonization of the sol, sirrius, and centauri systems. 

[Kingfisher (OP)]

How do you assign it to a planet?

[Nathan_]

What I still haven't figured out--

when you put an OH on a planet incapable of sustaining any population... say, gravity too low-- what happens when the population reaches the maximum supported by the OH?

I am about to embark on an orbital habitat construction spree to beef up colonization of the sol, sirrius, and centauri systems. 

Growth on orbitals stops at 100% capacity.

How do you assign it to a planet?

For orbital habitats Individual unit screen (F6), assigned population dropdown top right.

[ollobrains]

Only thing is they do cost a bit.  Mini bases might be a future addition instead of 50000 citizens perhaps tech it out a 10k, 25k and a 50k orbital habitat design

[Nathan_]

You're trying to build them from a shipyard I take it? If so look at Industry -> build options -> build PDC/Orbital habitat.

[ollobrains]

OH fall under the PDC OH building section of industry screen

Civilian built OH may have a place ingame around civlian mining colonies at some point