Your First Star Citizen Session: From the Hangar to Your First Contract

Your first sight of a Star Citizen spaceport can be wonderful and mildly bewildering. There is a city outside, a ship waiting somewhere below and an awful lot of signs between the two. You do not need to master every system before leaving. A good first outing is much simpler: get aboard, make one manageable journey and bring yourself home.

This guide starts in Stanton, where the main landing zones offer a more approachable introduction than heading straight into a less forgiving system. If the game offers the New Player Experience tutorial, take it. Its guided objectives give you a route through the basics; skipping it currently places you in your personal hangar instead.

Before the first launch

Your primary residence determines where your starting ships, equipment and initial respawn point are placed. New Babbage, Area18, Lorville and Orison each have their own character, but the most useful first choice is somewhere you want to learn your way around. You can travel and relocate equipment afterwards; your belongings do not automatically follow you to every new port.

There is also an account task to be aware of this October. Eligible players can choose their protected Game Access pledge until 1 November 2026, through My Hangar → Game Access on the RSI website. The selection must contain access to the relevant game; a standalone ship is not automatically a game package. Check the selection on your existing account rather than assuming the most expensive ship must be the right one.

Once in the game, use the interaction prompts to get comfortable with doors, lifts and terminals. F is the default interaction key and I opens personal inventory. A storage access kiosk in your hab or personal hangar gives access to belongings held at that location. Your pockets and the location’s storage are not the same inventory.

Take the equipment the journey needs

For a first flight, concentrate on being able to travel safely. Wear a suitable undersuit and helmet before exposing yourself to vacuum, and keep food, drink and basic medical supplies accessible for a longer trip. A city walk and an excursion onto an airless moon need different preparation.

There is little benefit in carrying every weapon and armour set you own while learning the hangar doors. Equipment taken into danger can be lost. Leave spare possessions in local storage and add specialist gear when you choose an activity that needs it.

From the terminal to the cockpit

At a spaceport, use an ASOP vehicle terminal to deliver and retrieve your ship, then follow the assigned hangar to the nearby lifts. If you skipped the tutorial and began in your personal hangar, you already have a terminal close by.

Ship entrances vary. Some fighters have a canopy and ladder; larger craft may use a ramp or lift. Follow the available interaction rather than expecting every ship to board the same way. Once seated, use the cockpit’s Flight Ready interaction and check that the ship responds before trying to leave.

Contact the spaceport through your communications display or mobiGlas to request departure. Wait until the hangar doors are visibly open. Some exits are overhead and others are in front of you. A brief look around from the external camera is considerably better than discovering the wrong exit with your wings.

Lift gently, clear the hangar and give yourself room before accelerating. Raise the landing gear once safely away. Use the game’s current keybindings for flight controls if an older video disagrees with your layout; controls and individual setups change.

Make the first trip a short one

A nearby orbital station is a useful first destination. It gives you a reason to leave the atmosphere, navigate to a recognisable place and practise a second landing without committing to a long chain of contracts. Leave plenty of time for the return, especially while the map and cockpit displays are unfamiliar.

On approach, contact Landing Services and follow the assigned marker. Lower the landing gear, reduce speed and line up before entering the hangar. Do not use someone else’s open hangar as an invitation: you need your own clearance and destination.

After landing, wait for confirmation, power down and leave the ship normally. Finding the terminal again and storing the ship completes a useful first circuit. You now know where you started, how to retrieve a vehicle and how to arrive somewhere else.

Choose the first contract around your ship

The mobiGlas Contract Manager is where the evening starts to open up. Read the actual job before accepting it: destination, required cargo, likely combat and whether the target is an NPC or another player all matter more than the headline reward.

• A small delivery: useful for learning locations, provided the route and package requirements fit your ship and the job is behaving normally.
• Introductory hauling: the “Opportunity for Independent Cargo Hauler” contract introduces the Covalex hauling progression. Check container sizes and bring a suitable tractor tool; cargo capacity alone does not load a ship.
• Combat: save it until you can control the ship and understand the target. A contract against another player is a different undertaking from an introductory NPC job.
• A crew invitation: working aboard somebody else’s ship can introduce mining, salvage or support work without needing to own every specialist vessel.

You can also spend the session exploring a city or learning to fly in Arena Commander. There is no requirement to begin with the most profitable route somebody found in a different build. A first session that leaves you confident retrieving, flying and landing your ship is time well spent.

When the game gets in the way

A terminal that does not respond is not necessarily something you have misunderstood. The current known-issues list includes delays with Landing Services and several location-specific hangar problems. Check the relevant issue before repeatedly claiming ships or moving valuable possessions around.

If you would rather learn with another person, the Guide System connects newer players with experienced volunteers. For choosing what to try next, our Star Citizen career guide covers the different kinds of work. Give yourself a little room to get lost along the way; finding your way back is part of becoming comfortable in the ’verse.