Confused...

[helix2]

... the tutorial has shown me how to get in orbit around a planet, but not how to launch the lander. What am I missing?

[Wrzlprnft]

there should be a hotkey/button displayed in the bottom right corner giving you that information if you are in the autopilot orbit mode.

[helix2]

I see those, none of them do anything to drop the lander. I thought 'leave' might mean leave the mother ship, but it just took me out of orbit.

[helix2]

Damn, finally got the lander out, but this game has a tough learning curve.

[helix2]

I don't feel that the difficulty of a game should come from fighting the controls. Just sayin'.