If I press the shift key once, the new engines don't start up until I increase the throttle further. The smaller, older engines work fine. I haven't encountered any parachute problems.
I've completed my first rendezvous and docking after a long period of adjusting the capsule's orbit. The capsule bumped into the space station before the two craft were docked, so they're in a different orientation in the second image.
An improved space station was launched into a 256 km circular orbit and the practice one deorbited. The new space station, Unity (might as well steal some names from the ISS), will be expanded in the future. Attaching a large tank to the other end and using Unity as a fuel depot sounds like a good idea.
Is there a way to maintain the orientation of a spacecraft relative to the horizon in KSP?