Cargo Hold & Welding

The repair opens up once Wade Rusk puts you on the Hold It Together job, which arrives automatically after you finish Waste Not. Until then, the Cargo Hold just shows as damaged.

The repair needs exactly 15 Refined Ferrite and 6 Slag. You can contribute materials across more than one visit, but the game asks you to confirm the exact amount each time — once installed, materials can't be taken back out.

Once both materials are complete, Welding becomes available while you're stationary at the Crash Site. It takes twelve separate welding passes, each about three seconds, to finish the repair.

A repaired Cargo Hold gives you 32 slots of on-site storage at the Crash Site. You can deposit or withdraw a single item or a whole stack while you're stationary there — it's separate from what you're carrying in Inventory.

Welding isn't a one-off button for your ship. Once you've learned it, it's something your character knows how to do, and there are other jobs that need it — starting with the Crew Stop in town, which you can repair during Out of the Weather.

Every welding job works the same way and uses the same skill: install its materials, then weld it in passes of about three seconds each, with each finished pass earning the same Welding XP. What changes from job to job is how much material it needs and how many passes it takes. The Crew Stop needs 20 Refined Ferrite, no Slag, and ten passes.