How to delete parts in Kerbal Space Program 2

The vehicle assembly tools in Kerbal Space Program 2 are more versatile than ever, but some functions aren’t particularly intuitive. Here’s how to delete specific parts from your assembly, along with a handful of other helpful tips to make your spacefaring dreams a reality.

How to delete parts in Kerbal Space Program 2

Deleting parts or assemblies can be done by hitting backspace on your keyboard or picking them up and placing them in the big red bin in the screen’s bottom left corner. Unlike NASA, the Kerbal Space Program isn’t subject to government oversight or budget limitations, so there’s no penalty to binning parts you don’t need.

Image: Private Division/Intercept Games via Polygon

If you find yourself inadvertently getting rid of more than you initially anticipated, you might want to try removing smaller pieces of your specific assembly to get at specific part. Just remember that if you end up binning a huge chunk of your project, hitting Ctrl+Z will undo your previous action.

Image: Private Division/Intercept Games via Polygon

While putting together a space-capable vehicle in Kerbal Space Program 2 is relatively simple compared to the real thing, the Vehicle Assembly Building can still be a challenging aspect of the game to understand, especially when certain parts may not interact the way you expect them to. Here are some helpful tips to get everything to click.

Divide and conquer

KSP 2 allows you to put together multiple assemblies or vehicles in the VAB simultaneously. So instead of taking on single parts, it sometimes pays off to put together an entire booster assembly by itself before affixing it to your craft.

Rotate objects

Sometimes rotating a part is all it takes to stick to the rest of your vehicle. The WASD keys, as well as Q and E, allow you to spin and rotate a specific part or assembly 45 degrees in any direction. If the alignment is a bit off when a part is attached, you can also use the “translate” tool by pressing the 2 key, which will allow you to make finer adjustments to a parts placement on your craft.

Always be testing

Kerbal Space Program 2’s hardware requirements are much higher than the original’s, but load times have been drastically reduced. Before you create something too crazy, only to have it fall apart on the launchpad, add a few parts at a time, and take your craft to the runway or launchpad at regular intervals to make sure its structurally sound.

Check the list

The engineer’s report will flag any outstanding issues you might want to address before taking off. These aren’t always critical, but keeping the engineers happy is rarely a bad idea.

Remember that a big part of Kerbal Space Program 2 is experimenting, so keep building stuff to see what works. However, if all of this sounds a bit too complicated and you’re trying to get straight to the explosions, check out our guide to launching rockets in Kerbal Space Program 2.