What are the mechanics of building an orbital defense/monitoring station?

[Panpiper (OP)]

I want to build a series of no engine stations that can be tugged into place above colony worlds. Their function is twofold, one is to provide for some orbital weapons fire and PD, but primary is to contain a large active radar to give sufficient warning of an attack to respond. However, such a station necessarily will wind up military, requiring maintenance, shore leave, etc.. Is there anything that can be done to make these stations self-maintaining? Is mission duration relevant if they are parked in orbit above a colony where their crew could rotate through shore leave? Does anyone have any advice as to how these should be built and used?

Note that I would intend to supplement these with at the very least, a flotilla of FACs. Conceivably as well, perhaps I might be better off with the military station being a sensor platform only, so as to keep build times/costs short, and maybe supplement it with a civilian orbital base holding said FAC squadron?

[Steve Walmsley]

You could place some maintenance facilities at the colony and they would maintain the base. You would need to ship in some supplies, or the minerals to make them.

[kilo]

That or you could put the guns on the ground. Unless you need them to be in orbit for RP reasons or you want missile launchers, there is not much of a reason for putting defensive installation into orbit.

[Droll]

That or you could put the guns on the ground. Unless you need them to be in orbit for RP reasons or you want missile launchers, there is not much of a reason for putting defensive installation into orbit.

Well FACs can travel further out than the FC range of STOs so there's good reason to want to maintain them if you want to defend large sections of the system as a whole. However, if all you care about is defending a specific body then STOs are definitely the better call here.

[Jorgen_CAB]

I want to build a series of no engine stations that can be tugged into place above colony worlds. Their function is twofold, one is to provide for some orbital weapons fire and PD, but primary is to contain a large active radar to give sufficient warning of an attack to respond. However, such a station necessarily will wind up military, requiring maintenance, shore leave, etc.. Is there anything that can be done to make these stations self-maintaining? Is mission duration relevant if they are parked in orbit above a colony where their crew could rotate through shore leave? Does anyone have any advice as to how these should be built and used?

Note that I would intend to supplement these with at the very least, a flotilla of FACs. Conceivably as well, perhaps I might be better off with the military station being a sensor platform only, so as to keep build times/costs short, and maybe supplement it with a civilian orbital base holding said FAC squadron?

If you are suppose to put the station at a colony where you have population you don't need the bother about deployment times... the station can basically have close to zero deployment time. I usually give my orbital stations at colonies at least 15 days deployment so the stations have some room for the people working there for role-play purposes, they just don't really live on the station.

You then have to either bring some maintenance facilities there or place a commercial maintenance station in orbit that maintain the stations and the FAC you intend to station there. A commercial hangar will not maintain military ships so you still need maintenance ships for that. Sometimes it is actually cheaper to build a military hangar station and put the FAC in there as the station is cheaper to maintain than the FAC are. The FAC is maintained for free in the military hangar but you pay maintenance for the military station.

If you want to put the stations and FAC at a colony with no population you need a recreational facility which you can build in a station too.

I also would contemplate using ground based STO for basic beam defences if you are at a colony, they are generally cheaper and a bit more effective than stations. I generally emphasise AMM defences at orbital stations.