Reddeyfish

I remember Scott Manley did a 'space-bar-only-to-space' ship in a stream, so it should be possible. EDIT: link: http://www.reddit.com/r/KerbalSpaceProgram/comments/1v19fj/scott_manleys_lazy_rocket_challenge_done_without/ EDIT: and a complete one-button-press-to-orbit by someone else (technically 4 because of max trottle, RCS, and SAS): http://www.reddit.com/r/KerbalSpaceProgram/comments/1dsvgk/i_see_your_singlestagetoorbit_and_raise_you_my/

1) that's in Kelvin. Kelvin scale is the exact same as Celcius, except that Kelvin starts with zero being Absolute Zero. (0 degrees C is 273 Kelvin).

yep; everything is on the Kelvin scale now. (zero kelvin is absolute zero, zero degrees Centigrade is 273 Kelvin, one kelvin = one degree Centigrade)

sub-orbital = min altitude 70k (be out of the atmosphere). Anything else doesn't matter. (Technically, you also have to have a periapsis below the atmosphere for it to count, but there isn't any way to reach 70k without achieving that as well) orbit of kerbin: any orbit of kerbin. (periapsis above 70k). Anything else doesn't matter. If you achieve orbit, then you automatically achieved sub-orbital because there is no way to reach orbit without first passing through a sub-orbital path. The green \F (your 'ECG hearbeat') is the symbol for the amount of funds.

yes; multiple passes will work. Also, you can survive quite well without doing multiple passes by using your final stage's engine and fuel tanks as a heat shield. (although you might want to still ditch the final stage once the re-entry effects stop so that you don't tip over when landing)

the temperature gauges only appear once the parts are close to exploding (around 70%). Not sure about the drag values.

you can crew transfer them between different capsules; they just have to be inside some sort of crew container at all times

there isn't an efficient way to get a profit out of just mining, but mining is an awesome way of saving money. If you instead use mined ore as fuel instead of bringing/buying fuel all the way from kerbin, you can save a lot of money. (set up a fuel depot for your ships)

you can 'sell' the ore by recovering the vessel on kerbin, but the profit will be tiny

it is downloadable without the launcher; go to the ksp store (where you first got ksp), and there should be a direct download for KSP 1.0.2 (the one that isn't the installer)

Isn't that only when they're upgraded? The runway and launchpad you start off with are made with dirt. The spaceplane Hangar also has lights, but that is also only after it has been upgraded.

pilots are less likely to run out of power and stop working completely. Mods like RemoteTech add the idea of probe connection issues and makes pilots very viable, but it is a mod. other than that, nothing I can think of. EDIT: scientists can still be useful if you're converting science into funds or reputation through administration strategies.

For now, they might be expanding in non-game-related ways, such as the kerbal plushies.

mission control has to be upgraded to allow mission planning maneuver nodes.

if you're orbiting the same body as the target orbit, then the ascending node and descending node should automatically appear on the target orbit just like the periapsis and apoapsis. If you hover over either node, it'll list the relative inclination of the orbits. However, the orbits are lenient enough that you can just eyeball it and it'll work.

some of them do, and some of them don't. The speed and distance records are automatically accepted and do not take up a contract slot, whereas things like rendezvous in kerbin orbit do need to be accepted and do take up a contract slot.

the berbonaut complex gives you a log of what they've done to get experience if you mouse over the kerbal

technically they still can, but it causes the chute to burn up. Activating the chute after all the re-entry effects are gone doesn't pull as many gees, and now there is a reason to do so.

changelog is in the readme (does anyone actually read the readme?)

This has been a problem with LV-Ns in general ever since 1.0. Current solutions include using a massive fuel tank as a heat sink, surrounding the engines with wings (the wings act as radiators), and/or bugging Squad to reduce the amount of heat generated by LV-Ns.

Also, if you're in career mode, you need a pilot in order to activate SAS, and for the red/green SAS mode-select buttons, the pilot needs at least one star for those to appear (and more stars to be able to use the more advanced modes) EDIT: or a probe with SAS

Shouldn't there be more worry about the pollution here on earth due to the launch stage than about probe bits left on Mercury's surface?

To display part info when selecting a part (not placing it) on windows, it's just right mouse button, not middle mouse button (This is the window that shows things like the exact amount of fuel in a tank, the lift rating of wings, and the exact reaction wheel torque). RMB is also used for opening the menu on placed parts to adjust tweakables. EDIT: middle mouse button doesn't seem to do anything at all

I've heard that reputation affects the type of contracts you get, but I haven't gotten far enough into career mode to verify if that's actually true or not.