How to Dock Ship in Starfield

Knowing how to dock your ship in Starfield, be it to another ship or a space station, is going to be necessary to complete some missions. You’ll also need the mechanic to pick up some quests, gather resources, and much more. Problem is, the mechanic is pretty complicated. Plus, you don’t get the option to dock from the beginning; you actually have to play before you earn the privilege. In this guide, we will explain how to dock your ship to both friendly (or neutral) and hostile vessels, because it’s not the same.

How to Dock Ship on Another Ship or Space Station in Starfield

To dock your ship to another ship or a space station in Starfield, you first have to unlock the mechanic. It’s not available from the get-go. Just keep going through the Old Neighborhood main quest, and you’ll eventually get to dock to the Nova Galactic Staryard. That’s when you’ll learn everything you need to know about docking and get access to the mechanic. Here’s what has to happen. As you approach a friendly ship or space station, fly close and use A on the controller or E on the keyboard to select it as an active target. Hold the same button to hail the object you want to dock with (this isn’t strictly necessary, but it’s polite). Keep closing the distance carefully to avoid a collision. Once you’re 500 meters away, you’ll get a button prompt to dock. Hold the button (X on controller) to activate docking mode, and that’s all you need to do. From there, you can board the vessel, undock, or explore.

So, that’s how you dock your ship or to another ship or a space station in Starfield, if the other side is friendly. If you want to board an hostile ship, things are a little bit different. The first step is to destroy their engines. You’ll know you’ve succeeded if you see the red ENG sign under their health bar. From there, the process is similar – get within 500 meters (but be careful not to get shot at), then press and hold X (or whatever it is on keyboard) until the docking cutscene plays. Board the ship at your convenience. One thing that we do have to mention is that the surviving enemy crew will be less than thrilled and will definitely put up a fight.

Important addendum before we wrap up: you won’t have access to fast travel while docked. You’ll have to go back to your ship, sit in the pilot seat, and hit the Undock button. Once you’re floating freely, you can fast travel again.