Part of the series:

Quick Answer

  • Visit the Starship Outfitting Terminal inside any space station to purchase additional inventory slots with Units or upgrade your ship's class with Nanites.
  • Buying slots directly gets expensive fast. Costs scale steeply with each slot added.
  • The cost-effective approach is farming Storage Augmentations by scrapping ships at the Outfitting Terminal, then using those augmentations to add slots for free.
  • S-class ships yield more augmentations per scrap; cheap S-class shuttles are the go-to target for efficient farming.
  • Upgrading your ship's class (C → B → A → S) costs Nanites and unlocks additional supercharged slots and better stat bonuses. It does not by itself add cargo slots.
  • Each ship type has a maximum slot cap; Haulers and Sentinel Interceptors share the highest cargo capacity while Fighters cap out lower.
  • You do not need to be far into the game to start. Any space station works.

Overview

Every ship in No Man's Sky starts with a fixed number of inventory slots determined by the ship when you acquire it. That number is not set in stone. The Starship Outfitting Terminal, found at the back of every inhabited space station past the teleporter, identifiable by the large starship holograph hovering above it, is the central hub for all ship upgrades: slot expansion, class upgrades, and scrapping.

Ship inventory is divided into two tabs:

  • General (Cargo) Inventory: where you store resources, products, and trade goods.
  • Technology Inventory: dedicated to installed modules and upgrades. Expanding this tab gives your ship room for more upgrade modules without sacrificing cargo space.

Both tabs can be expanded independently, and each tab has its own slot cap depending on your ship type and class.

Understanding the difference between adding slots and upgrading class is key. Adding slots costs Units (or Storage Augmentations). Upgrading class costs Nanites and changes the ship's tier from C through S, which improves the potency of installed technology and unlocks more supercharged slots, but does not directly add cargo slots.

For a broader look at how slot expansion works across your exosuit and multi-tool as well, see the No Man's Sky: How to Get More Inventory Slots guide.

Method 1: Buy Slots at the Starship Outfitting Terminal

This is the most straightforward method and requires no special preparation beyond having Units.

How It Works

  1. Land at any space station and walk to the back of the station past the teleporter. The Starship Outfitting Terminal is on the left side, marked by a large holograph of a starship above it.
  2. Call your ship if needed, then interact with the terminal.
  3. Select Upgrade Starship and choose either the General or Technology inventory tab.
  4. Purchase a slot. The cost increases with every slot you add.

What It Costs

Slot prices start in the low millions of Units and can climb to tens of millions per slot as you approach the cap. The exact price depends on how many slots you have already purchased and the Purchases difficulty setting in your game mode. On standard difficulty the cost curve is noticeable; on easier settings costs are reduced.

Because of this scaling, buying every slot outright becomes extremely expensive toward the end. This method is fine for the first several slots early in the game, but the Storage Augmentation method below is far more efficient for maxing out a ship.

If you need more Units to fund early upgrades, the No Man's Sky: Best Money-Making Methods Ranked by Game Stage guide covers the fastest approaches for your current progress.

Storage Augmentations are consumable items that each unlock one inventory slot on your ship for free when used at the Starship Outfitting Terminal. Farming them is the most unit-efficient way to max out a ship's storage.

Where Storage Augmentations Come From

  • Scrapping ships at the Outfitting Terminal is the primary source. Every scrapped ship has a chance to yield Storage Augmentations; higher-class ships produce more.
  • Derelict freighters contain them in storage containers during exploration.
  • Crashed freighter sites (on planets) occasionally contain them as well.
  • Frigate expeditions can return them as loot.
  • Harmonic Camps: wheelbarrows of harmonic scrap found at these sites can yield augmentations.
  • Mission agents on space stations occasionally offer them as mission rewards.

How to Farm Them Efficiently

The scrapping loop is the go-to method:

  1. Fly to a busy space station and wait near the landing pads for ships to arrive. Alternatively, warp between systems to find new ships quickly.
  2. Hail and purchase cheap S-class ships: S-class shuttles, fighters, or explorers with minimal pre-installed slots are ideal because their purchase price is lower, meaning the scrap return covers most of the cost.
  3. Take each ship to the Starship Outfitting Terminal and select Scrap Starship.
  4. Collect the resulting scrap materials, technology modules, and any Storage Augmentations.
  5. Sell scrap materials for Units to fund the next round of purchases. Tech modules can be sold for Nanites.
  6. Repeat until you have enough augmentations to reach your target slot count.

The net cost per run is low because scrapping returns a significant portion of the ship's purchase price as tradeable scrap. Higher-class ships (A and S) yield more augmentations per scrap than C or B-class ships. A cheap S-class shuttle will typically produce better results than a large C-class hauler because the purchase cost is far lower relative to what you get back.

Using Storage Augmentations

Once you have augmentations in your inventory, interact with the Starship Outfitting Terminal, choose Upgrade Starship, and select the option to apply a Storage Augmentation to the General or Technology slot. Each one expands the inventory by a single slot at no Units cost.

Method 3: Upgrade Ship Class with Nanites

Upgrading your ship from C-class to S-class via the Starship Outfitting Terminal costs Nanite Clusters and must be done one tier at a time (C → B → A → S). This upgrade improves the bonuses provided by your installed technology and directly increases the number of supercharged slots available. The special orange slots that multiply the output of modules placed in them. S-class ships have four supercharged slots; A-class has three, B-class has two, and C-class has one.

This is worth doing once you have a ship you want to keep long-term, since a well-upgraded S-class ship with supercharged slots performs dramatically better than the same ship at C-class. For a deep dive on squeezing the best performance out of those slots, see the No Man's Sky: Best Technology Upgrades & Supercharged Slots Guide.

Need Nanites for the upgrade? The No Man's Sky: How to Get Nanites Fast guide covers the fastest farming methods.

Maximum Slot Caps by Ship Type

Not all ships can reach the same maximum. The caps below reflect fully upgraded S-class ships. Ships of lower class or type will have lower maximums until upgraded.

Ship Type Max General/Cargo Slots Max Tech Slots
Hauler 120 60
Sentinel Interceptor 120 60
Shuttle / Explorer / Solar ~110 60
Exotic ~105 60
Fighter 100 60
Living Ship See note below —

These figures are based on community-verified data from fully upgraded S-class ships. Haulers and Sentinel Interceptors are tied for the highest raw cargo capacity, making them the preferred choices for traders and resource runners. Fighters have the lowest cargo cap but make up for it in combat performance. For a full comparison of what each ship type does best, see No Man's Sky Starship Types Explained: All Ship Classes Compared.

Living Ships use a different upgrade system entirely. See the FAQ below.

Choosing a Ship Worth Maxing Out

Before investing heavily in slot upgrades, make sure the ship you are expanding is one you plan to keep. Upgrading a ship that you will replace soon is wasteful. Storage Augmentations are not transferred when you trade in a ship. They are applied permanently to that specific vessel.

If you are still searching for the right ship, check the No Man's Sky: How to Get an S-Class Ship guide before spending heavily on upgrades. Getting an S-class ship first means your Nanite class-upgrade cost is zero and you start with the best possible stat bonuses from the outset.

FAQ

Can I transfer inventory upgrades to a new ship?

No. Slot expansions purchased with Units or Storage Augmentations are permanently tied to the ship they were applied to. If you trade in or scrap that ship, those slot upgrades are gone. Only the items stored in the inventory transfer when you swap ships. Plan your upgrades around a ship you intend to keep.

Does upgrading ship class add more cargo slots?

Not directly. Upgrading from C to S-class costs Nanites and increases the number of supercharged slots (C=1, B=2, A=3, S=4) and improves the power of installed technology, but it does not add new cargo or tech slots on its own. You still need to purchase or earn additional slots separately.

Do Storage Augmentations work on Living Ships?

No. Living Ships use a completely different upgrade system and cannot have their inventory expanded via Storage Augmentations at the Starship Outfitting Terminal. The primary method is obtaining Spawning Sacs: these are acquired by sending a frigate fleet that includes Organic Frigates on expeditions, or occasionally by destroying living ship enemies in space. An older workaround also exists: expanding your freighter's inventory while a Living Ship is your active ship adds a slot to it. See the No Man's Sky: How to Get a Living Ship guide for full details on this ship type.

Do Storage Augmentations work on Sentinel Interceptors?

Yes. Sentinel Interceptors can be expanded using Storage Augmentations at the Starship Outfitting Terminal in the same way as standard ships, reaching the same 120 cargo / 60 tech maximum as a Hauler.

Is there a cost difference between expanding General and Technology slots?

Both slot types can be expanded with Units or Storage Augmentations. The Unit cost scaling applies across all slot purchases on a given ship. Adding slots to either tab drives up the cost of the next slot in either tab. Decide which tab you need more and prioritize accordingly.

Where is the Starship Outfitting Terminal?

It is at the back of every inhabited space station, past the teleporter, on the left side. It is identifiable by the large holograph of a starship hovering above it. In Outlaw Stations it is on the right side next to the Salvage Dealer; in Abandoned Stations it is near the back of the landing area.

What is the cheapest way to max out ship storage?

The Storage Augmentation farming loop is the most efficient approach. Buy cheap S-class ships (shuttles work well), scrap them at the Outfitting Terminal, collect augmentations, and repeat. The scrap sellback offsets most of the purchase cost, so the net spend per augmentation is a fraction of what direct slot purchases cost. Once you have enough augmentations saved, apply them all at once to expand your chosen ship's inventory.

Key Takeaways

  • The Starship Outfitting Terminal is at the back of every inhabited space station, past the teleporter, marked by a large starship holograph. It handles all ship upgrades: slot purchases, class upgrades, and scrapping.
  • Buying slots directly with Units works early on but scales steeply. Prices can reach tens of millions per slot near the cap.
  • Storage Augmentations are the efficient mid-to-late-game solution: scrap S-class ships to collect them, then apply each one for a free slot expansion. Additional sources include derelict freighters, harmonic camps, frigate expeditions, and mission agents.
  • Class upgrades (C → B → A → S) cost Nanites and unlock more supercharged slots (up to four at S-class). They do not directly add cargo space.
  • Haulers and Sentinel Interceptors share the highest cargo slot cap (120); Fighters have the lowest (100). Living Ships use an entirely different expansion system and cannot be upgraded with Storage Augmentations.
  • Apply upgrades to a ship you plan to keep long-term. Slot expansions do not transfer when you change ships.
  • If you are scrapping a ship you own, consider that you can expand its inventory first or simply scrap it for units and modules.