No you don't. Not in KSP, not in real life. Solid rockets have oxidizer mixed in with the fuel, so they can burn in a hard vacuum as well as in the atmosphere.
I believe the plan is, for when we implement an asteroid belt, to name them things like 0001 Gagarin, 0002 Ride, 0003 Husband, either in chronological order or simple random order.
Let me just say, the Kethane mod is incredible. Also, it actually works with the new planets without any modifications. Not even the name can make me dislike it! ;p
@wizard I've got secret plans on that subject for future updates. @thatoneperson No, there are technical limitations to terrain scatters right now, so, maybe someday, but not yet.
From what I can tell, your game's settings are lower than normal. At least, going by the background in that screenshot - the floor looks low resolution (well, lower than normal), as does the mk1pod atop it.
The issue may lie in the automatic thrust balancing code... In that case, it lowers the thrust so you can rotate evenly around your center of mass, but I'm wondering if it's still consuming the maximum amount of fuel even at a low thrust value... Oh well, it's not a topic for this thread. I'll bring it up tomorrow with the rest of the team.