Butterflies and hurricanes. If you're going to change one event as large as the Challenger tragedy, you have to pretty much disregard anything that happened afterward on our time line (though you're right that something else may have happened eventually).
Are you using the Docking HUD? it will highlight whatever docking port you have selected in your NAV1 in the COM/NAV MFD. There's also a docking port revealer made my Artlav somewhere that works nice.
If only it were just one person... But the States aside, is it really any surprise that a state so out of touch with the modern world has these views? I wonder if we put this stuff in the news just to make us feel better about our own damn selves.
You might want to take a look at this thread if you want to learn how to do a REAL direct ascent ;)
http://www.orbiter-forum.com/showthread.php?t=14722&highlight=dgatsoulis
I would argue that Metallica has the same excuse. The band I love and listen to died on an icy road in Sweden with Cliff Burton. ...And Justice was the last good thing they could muster up.
It's usually always best (fuel efficient) to do each burn as a prograde burn. To make it easier on yourself, get yourself in a circular orbit (200x200km or something) first, then raise yourself with one or more prograde burns to the altitude you want.