Any way to load an existing downloaded rocket into career Mode?

[GungaDin]

I know this would be a 'cheat' but I'm mostly interested in rocketry and would love to explore around Kerbin in a jet while I'm working through a career...

[Aegolius13]

Definitely.  Just take the file you want and copy it into the following folder:

Kerbal Space Program\saves\[save name]\Ships\VAB for rockets, or 

Kerbal Space Program\saves\[save name]\Ships\SPH for planes

 

However, if you haven't unlocked all the parts, you'll get a message as such and won't be able to fly it.  I don't think there's a way to get around that without editing game-wide files.  You could cheat yourself up some science points and unlock nodes, but that doesn't sound like what you want either.

 

Edited August 4, 2019 by Aegolius13

[bewing]

And most players don't consider it to be cheating at all. In some sense, that's what sandbox mode is for -- designing and testing craft. Once you have designed and tested something that works, of course you copy it over into your career mode game.

The game is not built to force you to redesign everything from scratch, every time you start a new game.

 

[Claw]

I concur with bewing...there's no intent to force a redesign every time you start a game. Some people love spending a lot of time on design while others prefer exploring. There are a lot of folks who put out well designed vessels to fly, so no need to feel cheaty about taking them out for a ride.