Raptor98k

I think having the throttle at 0% by default is a bit more intuitive than the current, random 50%. I never saw a good reason for them to make that change, but when they did I assumed it was to shorten the amount of time you had to hold Shift to get to 100% (as the Z key hadn't been implemented yet). While I consider it to mostly be a general annoyance (though not as annoying as not having a navball in map view, or having crew assignment in the VAB rather than just before launch), I did have a few mishaps in 0.90 while playing around with RemoteTech and kOS. For fun, I wrote some kOS scripts to put a rocket into orbit, reenter and land, and a third to tie those together for a fully autonomous flight. At the end on my launch script, it sets the throttle to 0%, then unlocks the throttle so it is under user control again. Problem is, when the throttle is unlocked, it reverts back to the position it was in before the script was initialized. If I forgot to hit X before starting the script, the engine would start again, and rocket would spin out of control as I was out of range of any comms satellites. I think the throttle should default to 0% which an option to change it.

I noticed on a lower speed record that it DID require the SURFACE speed to be above the listed value. As a side note, my 2500 m/s goal disappeared randomly just before the mission in which I surpassed that limit. It does not appear in my completed, failed, or cancelled contracts.

My poor Jeb is stuck on the Mun now because of this. Good thing I decided to check the "allow quicksave" button when starting a hard career mode. I cannot figure out any way to get his engine started on the return stage. Even when the stage is completely separated from the lander, the engine cannot be activated through staging or right-click menu. The engine was an LV-909 with FL-T200 feeding it. I used a standard decoupler below, with a service bay full of science gear below the decoupler. As others have stated, I've had this issue with a radial parachute as well, but luckily it only affected one of them, and the other was enough to get me down.

There is a reduced value to the information if it is transmitted back rather than landing the spacecraft and recovering that experiment. Basically, if the experiment makes it back to Kerbin and is recovered, you get 100% of the value (but could potentially complete fewer tests) or you can transmit the report back, but that report has less value to the scientists than recovering the entire experiment would.