Ad Astra: From First Machines to Your First Launch
Ad Astra is a space-travel tech mod, and reaching orbit means building an energy grid, processing new metals, and assembling a rocket. This guide walks the ground-level progression before your first launch.
Energy first
Energy is the core resource of Ad Astra — every machine needs it. Start with a coal generator, then upgrade to a solar panel, which produces more energy per tick and is self-reliant. Move power around with cables (steel, or the faster desh variant) and store it in an energizer or a portable Etrionic Capacitor.
Plates and steel
Two early machines unlock most recipes. The compressor turns ingots and blocks into plates — for example, one Iron Ingot compresses into an 
Iron Plate, and a Block of Iron into nine. The Etrionic Blast Furnace makes 
Steel Ingot by combining iron and coal, one steel per iron and coal, and steel is essential for machines and the first rocket.
Fuel and oxygen
Fuel comes from oil, which spouts over the ocean surface and is non-renewable, so collect plenty — at least six buckets for a launch and return — then refine it in a refinery. To breathe off-world, an oxygen loader extracts oxygen from water, which you collect into a tank or space suit.
Building the rocket
Craft the rocket parts — nose cone, plates, fins, tanks and engine — then assemble a Tier 1 Rocket at the 
Nasa Workbench from a 
Rocket Nose Cone, six 
Steel Block, four 
Rocket Fin, two 
Steel Tank and a 
Steel Engine. Place it on a launch pad, load three buckets of fuel, and you are ready for the Moon.
Covers the mod's in-game guide topics: