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Third atempt & new record: I will add VAB and landed screenshots once the pod has finally landed. Edit: And she's down!

My Second Atempt: 398640m Edit: And Survived the water landing!

My best attempt after experimenting for half an hour:

Nice Streetwind, I knew I could get the mass down by losing some fuel, but I didn't think it would go down this far. Nicely done. @Foxster, Nice design, but half your craft is 'massless' parts. If you add the VAB part masses together it's like 1,56t or something in that range (added the masses in my head from memory).

In the vessel information in the map view you get 2 decimals, however the massless parts are not included. So the mass can be slightly lower than the mass in the VAB/SPH. To get more decimals you can use mods like kerbal engineer, or just add the individual part masses together like I did.

5 Parts, less than 1,3t with fuel and battery power to spare. If you replace the probe with a command seat you could do it manned just as easy. Edit: You could also remove both batteries and do it on a single small battery or solar panel. But I like the look of the batteries. exact mass should be: 1,295 if you count all the parts including the batteries (they are massless, so are not added in the info on the map view.

Do you measure the weight as shown in the VAB or in the vessel info in the map view? These values can differ depending on the physicsless part used. Edit: And also, should the rocket be manned? And if so, are command seats allowed?

The cubic octagonal strut will also work, but you have a weaker joint and it can be tricky to align them exactly in the middle.

This is my solution to the unstackable engines: Full functionality, no extra parts needed, only creative use of the offset and rotation options. Craft file here: (Un)stackable.craft

It's a kraken egg. The green stripes are the cracks in the shell. And since it's now gone, it must have hatched!

For 1.0 I say aero overhaul, bugfixing and balance first. New features can be added later, but for a 1.0 release the basic game should be fun, stable and well-balanced.

For me it depends on the goal. When I try to recreate and existing craft (like Saturn 5, Mir, Soyuz etc.) Form is the most important, and then function should match the required performance, but it most certainly is not optimized for function. When I build a craft to accomplish something in game, like a manned mission to eve or eeloo I try to make it (1) as light and efficient as possible with (2) a low part count and then (3) try to make it look the part.

I made this Apollo 11 replica last august. All stock parts, only used the kerbpaint mod to get the colors right. Not sure if it's rep-worthy, but I'm happy with the result.

You don't need mods to get your Delta-V stats. The formula is very simple. I always calculate my Delta-V with my phone calculator from the map view. ISP Vac of your Engine(s) * 9,82 * ln( ships total mass in Kerbin orbit / ( ships total mass - ( liquid fuel / 90 ) ) ). For example, a 10t ship with 360 units of liquid fuel and LV-N engines has: 800 * 9,82 * ln ( 10 / ( 10 - ( 360/90 ) ) ) = 800 * 9,82 * ln ( 10 / 6 ) 4013m/s delta-V. This of course only works if you have the needed oxidizer for the units of liquid fuel you use and assumes you are not using your engines in an atmosphere.(because then the ISP changes depending on altitude).

Wow, I love the shape of the reentry module. Can you fit any kerbals in there?

Nice job, Here is my Soyuz TMA. (87 parts, 1 kerbal capacity) Aproaching MIR And Docked