(in case you can\'t tell i don\'t like the f-35 much, it replaced a far better jet, the f-22.) But the F-35 can take off VERTICALLY! That obviously makes it better than the F-22.
No, not in space. I want you to make a retreival vehicle for splashed-down pods! It has to be able of floating, moving, grabbing the pods and coming back. Just go!
Actually, I go into map and watch for when my ship is at 45 degrees away from the Mun, like so: o s O Where S is ship, o is Mun and O is Kerbin. Bad rendering, but I think it gets the point across.
Who said I ever tilt over? I timewarp on the pad until the Mun is right, then fire off until I reach what I think is the right apo height. Then I slow down to a vertical descent onto a landing area. Simple.