SpaceCraft Shuttles: Why Your Supply Chain Clogs Up (2026)
A SpaceCraft shuttle usually doesn't clog your supply chain because it carries too little, but because of its round-trip time. Whatever gets produced while it's out and back has to fit on the pad and get picked up. This guide shows how to plan shuttles and landing pads around that and what the patches up to October 2026 changed.
๐ Shuttle and landing pad: the basics
You unlock the Shuttle and the Shuttle Landing Pad through Technology experience; spacecraft.tools lists both under the unlock Interplanetary Commuting. The pad lets a shuttle dock at your base and carry goods in and out. The base quest "Interplanetary Logistics" walks you through the first setup.
These values are officially confirmed in the patch notes:
- Pad storage: 2,000 units since patch v0.5.25674 (previously 1,000).
- Footprint: 4 FP since the same patch (previously 5).
- Speed and range: patch v0.3.22978 on July 28, 2026 increased range by 1.5 times and speed by 4 times.
- Per-item limits: since Major Update #1 you can set maximum amounts for individual goods at the pad. A search bar was added too.
- Liquids: according to the developer blog on liquids, shuttles can't carry them directly. You have to bottle them or fly them yourself.
๐ What players measure
Cargo capacity and round-trip time aren't in the patch notes. In the Steam thread "About shuttles (inefficiency)" (as of August 5, 2026), players consistently report 500 units per trip, 4 shuttle slots per pad and a round trip of about two days.
These are player values. The thread doesn't make clear whether the round-trip time already includes the four-fold speed boost from July 28. So measure how long a shuttle takes on your own route before you plan big.
๐งฎ The round-trip math
The mistake is always the same: people count cargo but not time. A shuttle with 500 units doesn't move 500 per day, it moves 500 per round trip. That gives you the formula:
Shuttles = daily production ร round trip in days รท 500, rounded up. Plan one shuttle as a reserve, because the factory keeps running while the shuttle is away.
| Daily production | Round trip 2 days | Round trip 1 day | Round trip ยฝ day |
|---|---|---|---|
| 250 units | 1 (+1 reserve) | 1 | 1 |
| 500 units | 2 (+1) | 1 (+1) | 1 |
| 1,000 units | 4 (+1) | 2 (+1) | 1 (+1) |
| 1,500 units | 6, so 2 pads | 3 (+1) | 2 (+1) |
The table shows how much the round trip decides everything. Halve the round trip and you halve the number of shuttles. That's why measuring pays off more than any rule of thumb.
๐ฆ When the pad storage overflows
Since v0.5.25674 the pad holds 2,000 units. The point where it fills up is 2,000 รท round trip in days per day. With a two-day round trip that's 1,000 units of daily production, with one day 2,000.
Anything above that backs up: the pad stops accepting goods, the drones stop delivering, the factory blocks. That's the "clogged supply chain" feeling. It's usually not too few drones or wrong crafting chains, but the buffer in between.
The fix is a Warehouse as a buffer, connected to the pad through the Drone Dispatcher. With the new per-item limit you also stop a single good from taking over the whole pad. How to set up the drone network is in the base automation guide.
โ The community setup: one pad per direction
- Separate import and export. Otherwise departing shuttles take goods that just arrived.
- One pad per product once a good fills more than two shuttles. Mixed loads often make shuttles leave half empty.
- Warehouse as a buffer. For transit bases, players recommend two pads with a Warehouse in between.
- Check utilization. A shuttle carrying 200 instead of 500 units doubles what you need.
Do the math before you spend footprint. Since the October patch, two pads cost 8 instead of 10 FP. If you're missing unlocks, the permits guide helps.
๐ Freighter: the bigger SpaceCraft shuttle
Major Update #1 on October 8, 2026 brought the Freighter at Technology level 6. According to the patch notes it's an improved shuttle that flies further, faster and with more storage. The patch notes give no exact values. Since hotfix v0.5.25570, a Freighter weighs 50 SU, just like a shuttle.
According to spacecraft.tools you build it in the Workshop from 6 Small Titanium Part Casings, 12 Support Hardware, 2 Cargo Holds, 1 Cosmic Navigator, 3 "Cart Pusher" Thrusters and 60 Carbonic Superfuel. For big flows it's the obvious answer to full pads.
โ ๏ธ Other logistics patches
- v0.3.22866 (July 21): "Take All" button for the Warehouse and Drone Dispatcher, missing filter icons in the Warehouse, Trade Nexus buying tax cut from 20 to 8 %. Drones that stood still and a Recycling Plant that wouldn't work with several scrap types were also fixed.
- v0.3.22978 (July 28): shuttles no longer get stuck when the corporation storage is full.
With the lower tax, buying instead of transporting is a real option. Details in the make money guide.
๐ก FAQ: SpaceCraft shuttle
How do I unlock a SpaceCraft shuttle?
Through Technology experience. The same unlock (Interplanetary Commuting) brings both the Shuttle and the Shuttle Landing Pad.
How many shuttles fit on one landing pad?
Four, according to consistent player reports. The number isn't officially confirmed.
Can a shuttle carry liquids?
Not directly. Bottle them or fly them yourself with suitable tanks.
Why do my shuttles leave half empty?
Usually there's no buffer. A Warehouse in front of the pad fixes that in most cases.
How do I plan shuttles in a corporation?
Division of labor beats running in parallel: one base produces one good in volume instead of three players doing a bit of everything. More in the corporations guide and the overview on resources and automation. For long distances, hauling it yourself with a cargo ship is still an option.
As of October 2026, SpaceCraft Early Access v0.5.25674. Officially confirmed: the details from the patch notes (v0.3.22866, v0.3.22978, Major Update #1, hotfix v0.5.25570, v0.5.25674) and the developer blog on liquids. Unlock and Freighter recipe per our SpaceCraft database and spacecraft.tools. Cargo, slots and round-trip time are player values from the Steam thread "About shuttles (inefficiency)".
