Here are the quick solutions I know you’re here for, how to do this new Salvage Contracts:
Open your Quick Menu and switch to the new Star System Map, fly to a Deep Space Outpost, talk to the Quartermaster first (he’s in the building with the yellow frame around the door), then use the yellow salvage & delivery terminal to accept contracts.
The terminal will keep rejecting you or doing nothing until you speak to the Quartermaster. When you finish a job, the contract only counts after you bring the physical salvage back and dump it into the big compactor at the outpost, just collecting it isn’t enough.
And yes, you pretty much need a Corvette with a Tractor Beam installed; you can spacewalk and yank pieces with any ship, but without the Corvette you have no proper way to store and deliver the new physical salvage objects.
Follow the text for more details.
All About Salvage Contracts:
The Problems Everyone Is Hitting
This new update is fine and hype, but as I saw on reddit and other communities, it has made players confused. So I tried to find ways to solve all the problems you probably encounter with.
Get the Contracts
They are not on normal space stations or planetary trading posts. You need to open your Quick Menu and select the brand-new Star System Map (it’s right next to the regular Galaxy Map).
On that map you’ll see new icons for Deep Space Outposts. Fly to one of those. Once you land, talk to the Quartermaster first (he’s usually in the building with the yellow frame around the door), then interact with the yellow salvage & delivery terminal. That’s the mission board.
The Terminal Rejects My Input
You almost certainly skipped the Quartermaster. The game wants you to speak to him before the yellow terminal will work. Talk to him, then try the terminal again. If it still refuses, leave the outpost completely and come back.
I Did the Whole Job, the Contract Didn’t Count
Collecting the salvage is only half the job! You have to bring it back to the Deep Space Outpost and physically put it into the big recycler compactor machine there.
Only after the items go into that machine (and you turn the contract in at the yellow terminal) does the game register progress. A lot of people are finishing the flying and collecting part and then wondering why nothing happened.
Do You need a Corvette
For the full, proper loop, yes. You can leave any ship and use the Gravitino Coil to pull pieces off wrecks, but without a Corvette that has a Tractor Beam installed you have no good way to store and transport the new physical salvage objects. The system was clearly designed around Corvettes.
What Salvage Contracts Actually Are
These are the new repeatable deep-space missions added in the Cosmos update. Instead of the old derelict freighters, you’re now dealing with colossal floating hulks, asteroid belts, ice fields and other deep-space points of interest.
Your job is to spacewalk out to them, rip valuable components free with the Gravitino Coil, fling those pieces into your Corvette and haul everything back to a Deep Space Outpost so it can be processed.
Doing these contracts also counts toward one of the requirements for claiming a space station (you usually need five of them), which is why a lot of people are suddenly very interested in learning the system.
Gear You Need for Salvage Contracts
Gravitino Coil on your Multi-Tool is the first thing you need. This is the gravity gun. If you don’t have it yet, you can get it from Iteration Eos on the Space Anomaly. You also need a Corvette
The Tractor Beam module is another requirement. Buy it for around 350,000 units at the Corvette workshop terminal on any space station, then attach it to one of your Corvette’s habitation modules. This module acts like a vacuum: when you throw salvage toward it, the beam sucks the pieces in, breaks oversized objects down so they fit and dumps them into the connected habitation module.
You can redesign your corvettes specifically for this job so the Tractor Beam storage area is easy to reach when you get back to the outpost.
The Full Step-by-Step Process
Salvage Contracts in No Man’s Sky are doable following these steps. I organized them (where’s my reward) to make the process easy to understand:
- Open the Star System Map and travel to a Deep Space Outpost.
- Land, speak to the Quartermaster then use the yellow salvage & delivery terminal to accept one or more contracts. Stacking similar contracts is very effective.
- Follow the mission marker. It will usually lead you to a colossal hulk or a resource-rich asteroid field.
- Park your Corvette so the Tractor Beam is pointed toward the area you’ll be working.
- Exit the ship using the Quick Menu (Eject) and spacewalk over to the target.
- Use your Mining Beam (or ship weapons if you prefer) to break any protective casings or shielding. Some pieces can be pulled free immediately, others need to be cracked open first.
- Switch to the Gravitino Coil, grab the pieces, and fling them toward your Corvette’s Tractor Beam. The beam has a surprisingly generous capture range, so you don’t have to be perfect with your aim. Once a piece gets close enough, the beam sucks it in automatically.
- When you have what the contract needs (or your ship is full), return to the Deep Space Outpost.
- Get the salvage out of your Corvette. Important: the Tractor Beam only works one way. You have to physically remove the items through a hatch or ramp.
- Use the Gravitino Coil again to move the salvage into the big compactor at the outpost. This machine has a strong pull of its own, so just get the pieces near it.
- Go back to the yellow terminal and turn the contract in.
That’s the complete loop.
Extra Tips That Make Life Much Easier
Stack contracts that ask for the same resource. One good collection run can finish several missions at the same time.
On hulks, open your Analysis Visor. Components are color-coded by value. Grab the high-value pieces first because these wrecks can start a meltdown timer if you strip too much. When the timer hits zero the whole thing explodes and any remaining salvage is gone.
Some of the simpler resource contracts (especially ones for Comet Dust) can occasionally be completed just by mining if you already have enough of the material in your inventory.
As I know, the recycler at the outpost is much more forgiving than the old planetary trash burners. You can basically dump everything in without sorting.
If a contract still refuses to count after you did everything correctly, try leaving the system entirely, reloading a restore point, or turning multiplayer off before turning it in. The system is still a little rough around the edges this early after launch.
Why These Contracts Matter
Besides being a fun new activity, completing five of them is one of the main gates for claiming a space station. Once you own a station you can start or join alliances, customize both the interior and exterior and basically create your own floating headquarters in space.
So get the Gravitino Coil, install a Tractor Beam on a Corvette, find a Deep Space Outpost, talk to the Quartermaster and start throwing space junk into your ship. Once the loop clicks, it’s actually really satisfying.
Now go make the void a little less empty (and a little more profitable).
