Hodari

Oh Misy, you're so fine, you're so fine you blow my mind. Hey Misy!

Definitely think you're gonna have to add a rule about the launch clamps there. Having it high enough to give you some clearance off the ground and get started is one thing. Almost a kilometer off the ground is another.

As far as rockets destroying the runway, this should only happen with a vertical launch. Launching horizontally, like a spaceplane, should be allowed. Simply making the runway be very sensitive to heating should work. Atmospheric Fluid Spectro-Variometer isn't available until relatively late, so I'd substitute only requiring the barometer. Variometer scan could still be required before crew are allowed to EVA on other worlds. Otherwise, these look like good suggestions, though I'd also add in a more realistic tech tree progression. Basic aircraft and unmanned rockets first, then crewed missions later. A lot of the science parts would have to be moved a bit earlier in the tree as well in order to support the idea of requiring those scans in order to be able to plan out the mission.

1. Watch Scott Manley or some of the other people on Youtube and see how they design theirs. Don't need to copy them exactly, but at least see how they approach the different problems and get some ideas from that. 2. Start from the end of your mission and figure out what you need for that, then work your way backwards through each stage from there. 3. If you haven't already done so, learn to dock. There's only so much you can carry up in one launch, but being able to dock or refuel will let you do a lot more. 4. There's two ways you can make your rockets bigger, building up or building out. Experiment with both. 5. If your first attempt doesn't work, at least figure out WHY and learn from that. Use what you learned to make your next one better. As for more specific suggestions, post what you've tried so far and whatever specific problems you're running into.