How do you Kerbal Rate your ships?

[Halo_003]

I just don't get questions like this. Designing lifters is the most trivial thing in all of KSP. Once you've done it 2 or 3 times, you know what works and what doesn't, and after that it's just the 2-minute finishing touch you apply to the mission payload that you put all your real design effort into. So I don't "hope" the lifter will work, I am always 100% sure it will work. I waste no time or dV on carrying launch escape systems because I know I'll never need them, and most of my Kerbals go up in ships without even parachutes because they're usually not going to be coming home in those ships anyway (and if they're permanent exiles colonists, they're not coming home at all).

I don't even design lifters, I have a set that I use for a given payload. In my career save I try not to kill any kerbals and I don't revert with difficulty settings at max. The "hope" part is not really intended as "gee I hope it makes orbit", it's the "hope" that you didn't mess up anything like forgetting solar panels on a lander, etc.

[bigyihsuan]

Must be able to land and return from the body with a Mk 1-2 pod.

Yes, I massively overbuild things. Why do you ask?