Back up thread I posted step by step instructions for getting into orbit. You can also search YouTube for Scott Manley's videos or Verner Von Kerman's stuff. Both have really good tutorials that will take you through the basics.
I'll see about working up an explanation for staging more efficently here in a minute. I need some visual aids and don't have any good pictures of my main booster. I'll try to remember to take pictures of assembly for it.
Mods:
MechJeb, get version 2.0.7 I think is the latest. This will automate a lot of flight functions. If it feels like cheating, get over it. First off doing anything big is going to take multiple launches and intercepts in orbit. Unless you can lift the whole spacecraft on one rocket all you're doing is adding to your pain trying to man mode it.
ISA Mapsat, this is what gives me the parts and ability to make maps of planets and moons. It adds a part and then gives you a plugin that will map out planetary surfaces for you. Mind you it behaves like a real satellite so it only maps what it flies over. You get the most complete map with an orbital inclination of about 80 to 85 degrees. Just remember, it's going to take a while. Also I like to map from a different orbit than I usually use for parking and construction. I shoot for 250km circular.
Kerbal Stock Parts Expansion, this is a popular mod that adds lots of new parts. They are balanced and the guy did such a good job with him that Squad hired him.
Home, parts for orbital bases and surface bases.
B9 Aerospace, mostly parts for spaceplanes but fantastic.
Roster Manager, I may be getting that wrong but it lets you manage who is on your ships. So you can put your favorite Kerbals where they need to be. This is also SO helpful on the big rockets as you don't have to build buses to move more Kerbals to rockets, you can just add them in.
Inflatable Hab Module, I used this on my station. Space for several Kerbals and it's just fun. No real function.
Chatterer, One of my favorites. Just put a part on your ships and then you get random mission control chatter. It's in Kerbese so you don't understand any of it but on my manned missions it's one of my favorite things.
I'm sure there's more, I'd have to check my mods folder.
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Ok this is your basic rocket:
This is one stage. We have a central core that is your main stack and four boosters around it. You set it up so they all fire at the same time. When they're done firing you'll dump them all at the same time. This is a quick and dirty way to increase your delta V at launch. It works but it's also incredibly inefficent. Why? The entire launch you're carrying the entire weight of all five tanks, all five decouplers, all five engines, all five struts, and all the drag of those parts through the dense lower atmosphere. So lets make it a bit more efficent.
What have we done? We've added fuel ducts to the rocket. Now the outer tanks feed inward. (Make sure the first point you attach a duct to is the booster as the fuel flows from where you start it to where you end it). What happens is all five engines start at the same time giving you the same initial thrust but they are only depleting the outer booster tanks. The central tank stays full. Now, that does mean that you don't get the boost for as long but you're doing something important. You're getting all the boost the boosters would give you quicker, then you can dump them ridding yourself of all that weight and drag and your central core tank is still full. You'll see an immediate improvement in your delta V with this modification. But can we do better?
What in the hell is this. This is what people call Asparasus staging. No, I do not know why. We're taking the idea from the crossfeed plan above and amping it up. Now when you launch all five engines are only pulling from the two tanks at the end of the line. They'll go dry quick and you can dump them. You get rid of their dead weight and drag very fast. Then you just burn on the remaining two and dump them quickly and then just like in the last example you've still got a full core tank to help you go. This method is the most efficent staging method in the game. It's not used in real life more often because of the difficulty in moving that much fuel that fast between tanks, shifting center of gravity issues, and so on. You can do this with as many tanks as you can string together.
