The Lone Starport

[dragoner]

It would make more economical sense to build say a dozen or so large jump transports who's primary job would be to ferry in modules for the station (say 10k Dtons each). That way once the ships had moved the station modules they could economically be re-purposed to haul other large, outsized cargos. There actually is a similar industry today, with some very specialized ships that can haul destroyers, oil platforms, and all manner of oversized cargos.

Making one giant station would require building a drive to move that kind of mass, and once it was done it wouldn't (most likely) have any other purpose. A modular station would also allow for growth and reduction over time as needed, thus keeping the costs of this place down whenever possible.

I agree, and the Starports book makes them modular as well.

Another interesting idea, are thousands of years old abandoned space stations. A lot of Cherryh's books, like Downbelow Station, focus on space stations.

 

[Condottiere]

Unlike starships, space stations can be a widely distributed agglomerations of habitats, warehouses, docks and work areas.

The modules can be small and slowly accumulate as the space station's traffic and population increases.