They differed in comparison to the Skybases as they were armed with their own defence system, a recognised necessity as it was thought Proxima was about to launch an assault on the Jupiter system in 2058. Physically they are about a third as large as a Skybase, with four external docking arms with which to secure the docked spacecraft. Access to the station is provided by four Galileo Shuttlecraft, designed and built by Avery Astronautics. These shuttles dock with craft too large to use the docking port and transport the ship's crews back and forth to the station. Smaller craft make use of the four other berths inside the station. Limited support facilities are provided on-board, but there is a maximum limit of 175 visiting persons on-board at any one time.

The design has proved to be so successful that Jovian Waystations have been transported throughout Federation space, with a total of 3 to 400 in current use. Some have been transported as far as the perimeter via warp freighter to act as bases for exploration and survey teams. Other modifications include fixed location data and monitoring stations, energy production facilities, where huge solar panels and hydrogen scoops are attached to the station to provide a large refuelling station. The example shown on the left is an extremely aged example, a matter of days before being decommissioned. A CAM317 Vampire Frigate can also been seen in the lower left of the picture, docking with the station to take the remaining crew off-site. A large amount of corrosion is noticeable on the lower half, caused by the station facing the star Sirius for more than 50 years.