I suggest you use the Kerbal X (Stock). It can even reach the Mun (don't quote me on that)! Make sure to tilt your rocket at around 10 km to get into actual orbit.
Saturn V, and Ariane 5. Saturn V for sheer awesomeness, and Ariane 5 for its large payload capacity, and the fact that France (I think) contributed to it more than other countries.
Welcome! There is a mod which adds camera views of other players, which isn't bad. I think multiplayer could work as an experiment on Kerbin only, to avoid time warping issues.