Mechjeb does a lot of automation for complex maneuvers like planetary transfers, ascent autopilot, target interception, etc.. You can even do a porkchop plot for interplanetary transfer. but lagrange points are not possible in KSP because of the Sphere of Influence Model. and orbital slingshots are not included, I assume because they require an intense bruteforce calculation.
Aha ok! Ambition reignited, it's not that it's trivial but it's very possible to simulate these things and there are plenty of valid shortcuts. The "BMW" astrodynamics books I learned a large chunk of it from was published in 1971. "Sphere of influence" is a lot more "things you have to do with pen and paper" than things you're forced to do with modern computers.