Reviewed September 12, 2026. Handling details from launch players are identified as community reports.
Prepare the cargo route before pulling a wreck apart. A successful first salvage trip is one object recovered, transported, and processed with a clear understanding of every step. That is a more useful result than a large pile of loose components you cannot bring home.
Space hulks can lose structural integrity and explode when disturbed. Spacewalking also drains the Exosuit's cold protection. Our advice is to treat both the return route and the suit's remaining protection as part of the job from the start.
Prepare the tools for physical cargo
You need a way to manipulate a loose object and a way to carry it away. Prepare these before heading for a wreck:
| Equipment | Where it comes from | What to check before departure |
|---|---|---|
| Gravitino Coil for the Multi-Tool | Space Anomaly or a planetary Waste Processing Plant | The technology is installed, selected, and charged. |
| Corvette with a Tractor Beam | Buy the beam at a space station's Corvette Workshop | The beam is part of the ship you are actually taking. |
| Exosuit protection and recharge supplies | Your existing loadout and its accepted recharge materials | You can recharge without searching through unfamiliar menus. |
The community item record lists 3 Magnetic Resonators, 1 Gravitino Ball, and 50 Chromatic Metal for installing the Gravitino Coil. A separate equipment reference lists Ferrite Dust, Pure Ferrite, Magnetised Ferrite, and Silicate Powder among its recharge materials. Check the current installation and recharge prompts on your save.
Use the crafting-material calculator for the supplies it supports. Keep the ship and Coil ready before accepting a trip whose objective requires them; a blueprint sitting unbuilt in a menu does not solve the cargo problem.
Start from an outpost and read the contract
If the local map is unfamiliar or has few visible sites, start with the map and progression checks in our beginner and returning-player guide.
Outposts offer missions and trade with alien inhabitants. Our suggested first stop is the place where you intend to return, so you can inspect the delivery instructions before collecting anything.
Record four things from the chosen task: its name, the required object or material, the quantity, and the destination. Check whether it asks for an object to transport or an inventory material. Keep that task selected while learning the route.
For your first trip, choose a single objective. Save unrelated discoveries for later and leave room in the plan for practising cargo handling. If you cannot explain what completing the delivery should look like, inspect the outpost's interactions before departing.
Scout the wreck before extracting
Our recommended approach is a short inspection with a clear exit in mind. Locate your intended return point and identify the object required for the task before removing other parts.
Look for a route that is easy to describe without relying on a distant marker: out of a chamber, around a recognisable structure, and back toward the ship. Keep narrow passages and loose debris in mind when deciding how to move the first object.
Avoid making your first attempt an effort to strip the whole hulk. Choose a reachable target and treat its delivery as the objective. Once that succeeds, you have a repeatable sequence to refine rather than several uncertain steps happening at once.
If you are collecting a Reactor Core for an orbital base, decide that before dismantling nearby structures. Players report finding cores in the central section of hulks, behind protective panels.
Move one object through the whole delivery loop
Launch players describe using the Coil to bring loose salvage into the Corvette's Tractor Beam, then transporting it to an outpost. They also describe processing physical objects there to receive the corresponding inventory materials.
Our proposed first-run sequence is:
- Identify the intended salvage and the path back before detaching it.
- Manipulate one object with the Coil and guide it toward the cargo collection area.
- Confirm that the ship has actually accepted it before leaving the wreck.
- Return to the planned outpost and follow its unloading or processing prompts.
- Inspect the received material and the contract state before beginning another run.
If an object refuses to load, do not immediately destroy it to clear the view. Check the selected tool, the collection area, and the task's required cargo. Destroying a rare target may give a different material from the one your construction or delivery needs.
Leave when the return becomes uncertain
Our stopping rule is simple: leave while you still understand the path back and have the supplies to use it. Do not reserve the final fraction of protection for a route you have not practised.
If a structural warning appears, prioritise getting clear over searching another chamber. There is no fixed safe countdown promised by this guide. React to your current HUD and the wreck's condition instead of relying on a timer from a different hulk or video.
Patch 7.01 improved meltdown messaging, fixed a Tractor Beam cargo-venting issue, and addressed several salvage physics problems. The announcement specified Steam availability first, with other platforms following. If handling seems broken, compare your installed version with the current release notes before rebuilding the ship around a suspected bug.
After a successful return, reserve any construction ingredient before selling the remaining haul. For a longer progression goal, continue with space-station ownership; for the full guide collection, visit the No Man's Sky hub.