nanoa

The "Alternate Resource Panel" mod allows staging from the map view.

The above picture is not the only reason. To get captured at your target, you have to raise your Peri (although not longer visible from the new SOI) anyway to match the target's orbit. It's easier: Kinetic energy is E=1/2 m v². So, because of the square, the same amount of dV increases the orbital energy more if the current velocity is already high. If the velocity is low, more energy instead is lost with the rocket exhaust.

Very nice idea, I mean "prestige" as a dynamic upper bound for the total cost of running missions. But indeed, running a space station, solar farm or mun base or any other kind of infrastructure can as well be rewarded with a big chunk of prestige. However, the lifting of the upper bound can then be reverted to a lower level if the infrastructure is destroyed or has no longer kerbals in it, to motivate keeping things running.