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In a huge space station where thousands of people live and work, the section where space ships dock, passengers wait to board, and goods are being unloaded, will very likely be separate from the working and living areas, just like an airport is separate from the fields and residential areas that surround it. And – unlike on the real-life International Space Station – the "space port" on a space station inhabited and frequented by civillians will certainly be separated by security, check-in and luggage registration from the other sections of the station.

But what is that part of a space station called in SF novels or movies? It probably cannot be a "space port", because to me a port is on the ground, and it certainly is more than a mere dock.

Are there instances in Science Fiction where this part is named? Please give the source!

I am asking for the space station equivalent of a whole airport! A "docking bay" would probably not encompass the waiting area, security checks, ticket sales, and offices, that make up part of an air port besides the actual runway or apron (the area where air craft park).

It seems to me that in most SF the depiction only concerns itself with the starting and landing of military space ships from a military space station. Such a station is similar to an aircraft carrier, or you could say: the whole station is the space port, because that is its only function.

But I am asking about a space station that is large enough to have a population of inhabitants doing business, raising children, going to school or university, growing food, visting a museum or library or enjoying the night life, etc. On such a vast, civillian space station, with hundreds or thousands of inhabitants, the space craft won't just eject their cargo and passengers into the next corridor, just like ocean freighters don't simply dump their cargo on a sidewalk in a residential street, but have facilities that are separated from the space "city" for practical and security reasons. Such a space port won't probably be called a "hangar" or "docking bay", but either a "space port" or something else.

Because of this narrow focus of my question, I don't see how this question can possibly be too broad. Not much of SF actually deals with this kind of space station, and if it does, maybe does not name that section of it. Therefore please reopen this question and give me a chance to actually receive an answer. As yet the answer has not been given.

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    They go by several names. Docking Bay, Docking Ring, Space Dock, Shuttlebay... There are really quite a lot names for it! – Einer Jul 24 '14 at 18:13
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    Perhaps you should consider the word "port" as the operative suffix. A port is a location on a coast or shore containing one or more harbors where ships can dock and transfer people or cargo to or from land. If we consider space and the surface of a planet as just another location from whence food, objects, materials are moved from one place to another (planet or space station) then the word port, even if it is attacked to spaceport or starport or docking ring, or hanger bay makes more sense. Starships and starports or spaceports are a linguistic convenience. – Thaddeus Howze Jul 24 '14 at 18:29
  • I've voted to reopen. Although the answer is (potentially) infinite, there are only a very limited number of recognisable "space stations" in literature, TV and film. – Valorum Jul 24 '14 at 20:32
  • If ports go on the ground, then a (space) ship must stay in the water. ~rolls eyes~ – Izkata Jul 24 '14 at 23:48
  • @Richard Only a limited number so far... Already a dozen possibilities even though it was only open for two hours. – Izkata Jul 24 '14 at 23:50
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    @Izkata - I suspect we've very close to exhaustion. – Valorum Jul 25 '14 at 01:03
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    @Richard I suggest you read up on list questions on meta, for example starting here. The point of closing these as "too broad" is that no one knows if there is a hard limit to the particular question (or we know there isn't one), and they tend to continue attracting more and more answers, meaning no single one can be definitively correct - they're all equally correct. – Izkata Jul 25 '14 at 01:17
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    To your edit: Babylon 5 and Star Trek (both MrLore's DS9 answer and Richard's main Trek answer) are that kind of station (military-like administration but primarily civilian otherwise), and they use the names in the answers. I can't speak of the last 4 in Richard's answer. – Izkata Jul 25 '14 at 11:53
  • Personally, I think "space port" sums it up nicely. It's the 'space' equivalent of an airport. – Omegacron Feb 11 '15 at 16:14

3 Answers3

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  • The Babylon 5 map identifies that part of the Spacestation as a "Docking Bay"

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  • In Star Trek, they're referred to as "Space Docks" (or Stardocks) where they're open to space or "Shuttle Bays" where they're enclosed behind in a forcefield

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  • On the Death Star, they're referred to interchangeably as "Hangar Bays" and "Docking Bays" in the script

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  • In Mass Effect, the embarkation area is referred to as simply a "Dock"

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2001's Space Station V has two landing areas (front and back) described as "Docking Bays" or "Landing Cradles"

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Valorum
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In Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, ships dock with the station on either the Docking Pylons, which extend above the station, or the Docking Ring, which extends around the entire station, as you can see from the schematic below. Throughout the series, characters would wait at either the Docking Ring or Docking Pylons for guests. Alternatively, they could go to the Observation Deck where they'd be able to see the ship arriving before they leave.

DS9 schematic

Crow T Robot
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In most scifi movies, tv, and books ive read it is simple the "space dock". Or in large ships such as battle star galactica, its called the Hanger, Hanger bay. In StarTrek specificly you park your spaceship inside the space station that is called the space dock. enter image description here

Himarm
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