Things you can do in KSP that no real space program would be stupid enough to try . .

[KrisM]

"We're oscillating, we're about to break up!"

"Fire the launch escape system!"

"The what!?"

"...um. okay, remain calm. I'm going to pop the first stage early, see if it'll settle us out."

"And essentially send an uncontrolled missile to wherever it may land..."

"Correct. Engaging second stage."

"It worked! We're stable again!"

"Whew. Okay, approaching apoapsis, prepare for orbital insertion burn."

[Ekscalybur]

This conversation has never happened at JPL.

George, you're new rocket has collapsed on the launch pad 5 times in a row now. You need to design a new one.

No Bill, I need more struts.

[Aragosnat]

Look around in Third Person View.

[jebisanaggie]

Launch a vehicle simply to see if it needs more struts.

[ArmchairGravy]

"This SSTO design has killed 4 pilots in a row."

"Yes, but I feel really good about #5. Launch it!"

[MBobrik]

Flying and hovering above your base with a NERVA powered hovercraft.

[I_do_robots]

Oxygen? We don't need no stinking OXYGEN! We're not modded!

[mellojoe]

Nuclear powered flyby of the airport control tower.

Testing out brand new designs fully crewed. This thing will seat 5 kerbals, so dammit we are putting 5 kerbals on it. Who cares if I haven't put any struts on yet.

[I_do_robots]

What? There's actually a price for these components? I just staged 10 million credits (?) in tanks to burn up on reentry...oh well, we have 999 of each item anyway!

[Jerjare]

"We should really be putting parachutes on these jettisoned stages"

"Meh, I like the cool radial patterns the craters leave."

[DChurchill]

Launch a vehicle simply to see if it needs more struts.

Knowing that's it's going to wobble like a rubber chicken and break up sometime before orbit, but launching it anyway.

[llamatoes]

Having external tanks that make my rocket look like a particular part of the male anatomy.

[I_do_robots]

Knowing no matter how ridiculous a craft you WILL attempt to launch, including a giant cluster of nothing more than tied together tanks and engines just to see what it does, you always have ESC + REVERT TO...VAB...to fall back on to save your K-ass...

[Kulebron]

I made a huge rover with a skycrane and an ascent stage above it (the smallest manned pod & small fuel tank & 4 engines). I did not remove the skycrane and just started riding. It rode a lot, then tipped over. I tred to turn it back with landing legs & pumping the fuel back and forth, to no success. I just decoupled the crane and the ascent stage in it and used the stage (which could stand inclined in the air with SAS turned on) to push the rover. Had to chase it 3 km with EVA pack after that, but finally everything was ok. What made me mad and why I deleted the entire game folder was that it crashed again because kbd keys stopped working at some point.

[leax256]

Having external tanks that make my rocket look like a particular part of the male anatomy.

spherical tanks, stock orange tanks, and a stock nosecone, I actually have a pic...not gonna post it tho since it would be a bit inapropiate.

[Moar Boosters]

We're going to Jool.

We're not entirely sure what we're going to do when we get there, we did the calculations for our fuel budget in our head.

We're definitely going to land somewhere though, and we might even make it back home assuming the information on wikipedia is correct.

[techonce]

Attaching 6 SRB's to a capsule, but tilting them 10degrees, just to see if you can make Jeb stop smiling.

[Sauron]

Doing a direct-to-Laythe aerocapture at OVER 9000 m/s. Yes. I just did this. It was the result of a massive unplanned gravity assist from the Mun (in addition to a full ejection burn) followed by another Jool assist. I got there *100 days* before the other ships I sent.

[GDJ]

Letting Jeb wear a greasy muscle shirt and wearing a "FORD Racing" cap, holding wrenches, a six-er, and yelling "GIT-R-DUN!!" and actually allowing him near anything.

[Meltro]

"Who's this guy?"

"Dunno, some engineering dropout, went to the Military. He just showed up at the door this morning."

"Sounds Qualified! Get him into the VAB!"

[dudester28]

Going on an 8 year voyage to Eeloo:

"We needed to decrease mass for the extra Delta V so we took out the food supplies and crew commodities. Oh well, Kerbals breathe happiness and eat gravity."

[SRV Ron]

Let some kids build a monster two stage pancake rocket from 1.25meter x6 meter fuel tanks with matching engines that not only held together, it escape the Kerbal solar system at over 5000m/sec as it flew past Eeloo orbit 120 kerbal days later.

[Eric S]

Continuing to ascend to orbit after cartwheeling the entire launch craft. And laughing all the way.

[henryrasia]

Adding. More. Boosters.

And never planning ahead.

[7499275]

Trying to launch a 150+ ton fuel tank section into orbit...