Getting into orbit
To get into orbit, one needs at least 3500m/s of delta-V to get out of Kerbin's atmosphere and enter a stable orbit. The rocket should curve to 90° slowly so as to achieve as efficient of a burn as possible. The 1st stage should be used to propel the rocket out of the atmosphere, and the second to achieve orbit. The orbital planner should be used to plan the orbit so that it would not become eccentric.
Docking
To dock, two vessels need to be in the same orbital plane. The lower vessel should be directly below the higher one (as seen from an observer in Kerbin). The lower vessel should fire prograde, maybe with the help of the orbit planner, and fire up until its apoapsis is at the higher vessel's orbit. RCS should be used to reduce the intercept distance. Once near the higher vessel, the lower vessel should point itself towards the higher one and fire until their relative speed is below 20m/s. It should point again and speed up to 30m/s, and RCS should be used to slow down the vessel and translate the vessel left/right and up/down so that its relative prograde marker (towards the higher vessel) is inside the marker for the actual direction the higher vessel is in. To dock, the relative velocity should be no more than 1m/s to prevent the destruction of the docking port.
Landing
Parachutes or rockets can be used for landing. For bodies with thick atmospheres, parachutes or rockets may be used. For bodies with thin or no atmospheres, rockets need to be used. The touchdown speed cannot be more than 7m/s to prevent the destruction of the craft. For propulsive landing with rockets, the rocket should be pointing retrograde (its thrusters pointing to the ground) so that it slows down and touches the ground gently, and not accelerating into it.
Reflection
I learnt about the mechanics of KSP and how to use it effectively, as well as how to get a vessel into orbit and get it back safely without its destruction. The presentation was a bit boring as it was a bit slow and some jokes seemed to be a bit forced. I would like to know how to plan a planetary encounter so that I can send my vessels there.
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