Things you always do, or never do.

[Matt56]

Funny thing is based on the view in the VAB, it should be facing the right way by default. But when you go outside, it's facing north :S

[Cydonian Monk]

I never use solid rocket boosters on kerb'd craft. (Aside from sepratrons.)

I always overestimate the ability of my CPU to cope with 500-part expedition ships to other planets.

[dazhat]

Always:

1. Bring stranded Kerbals home.

2. Fly with Bill Bob and Jebediah (except on rescue missions or when filling stations)

Never:

1. De-orbit space junk.

2. Use mechjeb. (I used to but I prefer stock + chatterer now)

[Yakuzi]

Always:

- SSTO where possible

- Recover parts of non-SSTO's

- Aesthetics before efficiency

- Click EVA instead of IVA (applied mostly involuntarily)

- Lose at least 1 Kerbal unit during IVA (see previous point)

Never:

- Worry too much about abusing air-spam tech

- Run out of power

[TheDarkStar]

Always:

- Make a minimal craft when possible

- Bring a Kerbal home safely

- Asparagus unless doing crazy tests

- Do lots of crazy tests

- Do real science with those tests

- Air hog

- Be efficient

- Do major things (especially landing and return) for the first time stock (where possible)

- Value the life of a Kerbal on a real mission

Never:

- Put aesthetics above something else

- Recover parts

- Worry about space junk

- Worry about LV-Ns on Kerbin

- Worry about making something realistic

- Use mechjeb

- Strand a Kerbal off Kerbin

- Value the life of a Kerbal in a test

[softweir]

I always fine-tune my launchers so that all parts divide into two: payload, and stuff that re-enters. I even make sure all my fairings and shrouds are jettisoned before orbit is reached. And I put parachutes on all the bits that re-enter: it makes no sense because the game just deletes them, but it feels like I am running a 100% reusable space program.

[Matt56]

Forgot one:

Always perform Munar gravity assist when going interplanetary.

[Procyon]

ALWAYS:

prelaunch checklist.

staging check

sas on check

throttle up check.

clear to launch...

design and such I generally don't have to much trouble with, but every time I don't follow those three things I end up with some rather spectacular and fairly large debris falling all around the launchpad

[JakeGrey]

Always:

- Give boosters and the first stage a parachute. (Some day it'll matter.)

- Fit capsules with a launch escape system.

- Eject with the EVA Parachutes mod rather than hit Revert Flight. (Except for that time it propelled Jeb through the window of the control tower...)

Never:

- Light off LV-Ns in the atmosphere.

- Kill Kerbals on purpose.

[Lazro]

Always:

-Add a LES

-Send a probe before a Kerb

-Use tried and true launchers

-Test every part of a mission.

-Follow a mission to its end.

Never:

-Crash an LV-N into anything.

-Leave upper stages in orbit (if you can help it.)

-Use Kerbals in an untested vehicle.

[mcrbradbury]

Always:

-Test every stage meticulously, even with minor changes

-Test with unmanned probes first (build a station unmanned before sending Kerbals up)

-Put some sort of power source/capacity on the craft (i always forget anyway, i have a lot of battery dead ships floating around)

Never:

-Clean up

-Trust Jeb

[Vector]

Never:

Reduce time-warp one step at a time. Invariably and infuriatingly overshoots due to "smooth" time-warp transition.

Always:

Reduce two, increase one. Watch the day count down, then "left, left, right". Watch hours count down, then "left, left, right". Watch tens of minutes count down, "left, left, right". etc.

[mellojoe]

Always put a probe, even on manned missions, for those times when you EVA everybody.

Always find room for an RTG.

Always stick at least one flat solar panel on my main launch stage.

[Dynamo]

Always:

Redundancies for Kerbals - i use ejection seats on experimental planes.

Slap on an RTG on anything unmanned.

1 stage IPV's, i like to flirt with the idea of reusable systems (though i usually end up having to send tankers).

Strut all the things. If it has a decoupler, strut it. If you're stacking a silver 32t on top of an orange, strut it.

Double check the staging for launch systems.

Throttle Mainsails only up to half throttle on launch with orange tanks to prevent overheating.

Test base modules on Kerbin, and build mock-ups of docking-built craft to correct the final product if necessary.

Test RCS setups on prototypes with grav hack.

[TheCanadianVendingMachine]

Always

Make a LES on manned craft

Same launch stage for every rocket

Never Do

Put anything nuclear on manned rockets

[Mitchz95]

I always include:

- solar panels/nuclear power rod and batteries

- SAS (all three of them)

- wings for atmospheric craft

- RCS thrusters and enough monofuel to last at least one docking

- structural supports

- launch supports

- at least one docking port

- lights placed so that each docking port is visible at all times

- parachutes and landing gear for landers