Pzar

From what I can tell thus far, you have: Different gathering methods: EVA Report Crew Report Sample Stuff you attach to your explosive devi.... Rockets Recovery* Different Zones: Landed on body Flying in atmosphere Orbiting body (high and low in some cases) Kerbin has biomes (water/shore/ksp/mountain/desert/and likely heaps more), so you can get a seperate zone for each one (but not for all gathering methods) So you get science for doing gatheringmethod@zone, and getting it back to base, either by recovering vehicle, or transmitting data. The exact science you get appears to be a function based on a score base, score cap, how much you have previously used of that method@zone, and method of getting it back (transmission vs recovery). This function makes it so while you get less science for transmitting vs recovering, the DR also comes on a lot slower. * Recovery is a little different, as the "zone" is based on where the craft has been.

You don't want to break terminal velocity There's a table here: http://wiki.kerbalspaceprogram.com/wiki/Kerbin As for the burning straight up vs gravity turn, the real savings in the gravity turn method comes from changes in design you can make. Burning straight up you need a TWR > 1 until you reach escape velocity. Once you're in orbit, you need a TWR > 0 to achieve escape velocity. So while the delta V requirements are not significantly different, the last ~1k or so (based on PirateAE's numbers, and ~4.5k to orbit, and you could probably save over a little more than that if you trie) can be done with engines with a much higher ISP, meaning less fuel spent.

My conscience could handle it, 'til I got Jebediah as my next Kerbonaut. I haven't killed one since And, for those that want to see it, timestamped link: http://www.twitch.tv/kurtjmac/b/328128129?t=205m55s should go to just before the introductions.