If u do the burn right and aero brake it takes less fuel to get to other planets then leave the system and is completely possible without nuclear engines
Does ground effect work in KSP I'm guessing not because of how the aerodynamic model work just curious Ground effect http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ground_effect_(aircraft)
What i did was built it in the shuttle in the plane hanger then transferred the file over to the other hanger and built the rocket and launch it from there
Could not find a media thread so i put it here Hopefully Kerbal Space Program Video to help you get to where you want to go http://www.youtube.com/user/Boredade