I have been playing this game on and off for less than a year. I am playing in Career Mode. I accepted this contract "Test the RE-I5 Skipper Liquid Fuel Engine in flight over Kerbin". For the mission I need to test the engine when I am at an altitude of 52,000 to 55,000 m while traveling at a speed of 930 - 1,010 m/s.

Since I do not own the MK1-3 command pod, I am using the basic MK1 which holds one kerbal. I know that this pod is too small for the engine, but I am limited by my science. I am aware that I don't have the ideal rocket setup currently (see photo below). Sometimes, when I fly my rocket I am able to meet the speed or distance requirement, but so much is happening on my screen that I miss seeing whether it is referencing surface or orbit speed, and whether it is basing altitude on ground or water. I am thinking altitude is based on ground, but confirmation would be nice. If you have any tips on how to do this mission please post them below.

Link to photo of the mission and my current rocket setup: https://imgur.com/gallery/a0De5OD

Fixed photo of my rocket (realized the side boosters were up too high in original): https://imgur.com/gallery/G01ILqV

Current Tech Tree: https://imgur.com/gallery/ZvjJFca

Today, I am working on a different setup to see if it works any better.