Limyaael

Not planned for the release, but JC thinks it would be a cool idea to include at some later date.

For the alpha, ships will respawn by the Arkship whether or not they are destroyed nearby or in space. JC's plans for the full release are that there will be "Resurrection Nodes" which you craft and place wherever you want. You can have multiple nodes, and you will respawn at the nearest one. But as he says it's the "vision" of the game, not the immediate plans.

In the first gameplay video you can compare the size of the space station (given as 8km) compared to the planet and the planet seems to have an approximate diameter of 130km already.

Rail-powered space elevators would be more efficient at getting goods from the planet to some large craft in orbit (whether it's a freighter or warship) than a swarm of small ships would be. Considering the size of the planets, assuming they don't change, rail systems would be worthwhile on planet scales.