On this page
Derelict freighters arrived in the Desolation update (2.6) in July 2020. Hello Games pitched them as haunted wrecks where “the lights are off, life support and gravity are offline, and the security AI has gone haywire.” Six years later they’re still one of the best ways to grow a freighter.
One thing first: these are not the derelict hulks from Cosmos. Hulks are huge wrecks you strip on a spacewalk. Derelict freighters are boardable missions with an airlock, logs and terminals. Our Cosmos update post covers hulks.
How to find a derelict freighter
Emergency Signal Scanner. Buy one from the Scrap Dealer on any space station, then use Tune Signal. The Emergency Signal Scanner is single-use. The Fandom wiki lists the price as 5 million units for the first, then 10 million, then 20 million, capped at 30 million, with a daily reset.
Free scanners. Fandom lists Nexus missions and Iteration: Helios on the Space Anomaly as other sources. The Desolation notes say Helios offers a free one each week.
Pulse drive. Desolation’s notes say derelicts are “occasionally detected by the starships’ subspace radar while using Pulse Drive.”
Fixed spots since Cosmos. Hello Games’ Cosmos notes say abandoned freighters now spawn “at re-visitable fixed locations.” Fandom adds that it’s one per system and doesn’t repeat. Once you finish a system’s derelict, it’s done.
Pack before you board
Inside, your jetpack doesn’t work, you move slowly, and life support drains. Fandom recommends:
Bring a charged weapon too. Some freighters have turrets, drones or infestations.
The airlock computer gives you three Repair Kits plus a little Sodium and Oxygen. It’s cold, so switch on heaters as you go.
What’s waiting inside
The enemy mix changes per freighter. Fandom lists four types:
- Minifiend nests and slime
- fixed Rogue AI turrets that wake up when you get close or shoot them
- security drones on search patterns
- slow green jellyfish that only hurt if you get too close
You can’t save during the mission. You can leave and come back to finish later, as long as you haven’t claimed the final reward.
The three terminals
The route is the same every time, even though the layout is procedural:
- Security Credentials. Pick these up from readable logs lying around the ship.
- Records Terminal. Gives you the Crew Manifest.
- Secure Mainframe. Swaps your credentials for the Captain’s Log.
- Engineering Control. The payout. Pick one reward.
Fandom lists the Engineering Control options as:
| Choice | What you get | Best for |
|---|---|---|
| Nanites | 500 to 600 nanites | Nobody, unless you’re broke |
| Fabricate Technology Upgrade | A Salvaged Fleet Unit or a Starship Reactor | Frigate fleets, or a starship fabricator project |
| Fabricate Freighter Bulkhead | A Cargo Bulkhead or Salvaged Fleet Unit | Adding freighter slots |
| Fabricate Corvette Modules | Corvette parts | Corvette builders |
Cargo Bulkheads add a slot to your freighter’s cargo or tech inventory. Our S-class freighter guide covers how many you’ll want. If you’re building a corvette, the module option is a free source of parts, some of them ones the Workshop doesn’t sell. See the corvette guide.
When you leave after claiming the reward, the airlock seals behind you.
Selling the logs
Take the Crew Manifest and Captain’s Log back to a space station:
- Guild Envoy: gives standing with the system’s dominant guild.
- Scrap Dealer: pays in Tainted Metal.
Tainted Metal refines into Nanite Clusters at 1 to 2, so the Scrap Dealer route is the nanite route. Containers on board can also hold Tainted Metal, plus Hadal Core, Larval Core and Hypnotic Eye. If you’re growing a Living Ship, those three go straight into its organs.
Patch 7.05 fixes
Cosmos 7.05 cleaned up derelicts a fair bit. Per the Fandom update page, it fixed freighters not being flagged as completed (which broke some expedition milestones), heaters that were always on, turrets that couldn’t target the player, and drones stuck in the ceiling. Fandom also notes that since 7.05 each system’s freighter and its rewards are unique, even across galaxies.
Sources
Related
More guides
Frequently asked questions
Buy an Emergency Signal Scanner from the Scrap Dealer on any space station and use it. Derelict freighters can also turn up while you fly with the pulse drive, and the Cosmos update made them spawn at fixed locations in systems.
The Fandom wiki lists 5 million units for the first one, rising to 10 million and 20 million, capped at 30 million. The price resets each day. Nexus missions and Iteration: Helios also hand them out.
No. You can leave and come back to finish it, but once you claim the final reward and leave, the airlock seals for good.
Cargo Bulkheads if you're expanding a freighter, Salvaged Fleet Units if you run frigate expeditions, or corvette modules if you're building a corvette. Take nanites only if you need nothing else.
No. Hulks are the newer deep-space wrecks from the Cosmos update that you strip on a spacewalk. Derelict freighters are the older boardable missions with an airlock, crew logs and terminals.