Creating a Tier 1 Rocket

Ad Astra is all about building Rockets and exploring distant worlds. To get started with the mod, you’ll want to craft the Tier 1 Rocket, which is enough to leave the Overworld at least and reach the Moon.

NASA Workbench

To be able to craft a Rocket, you’ll first need to create the NASA Workbench. It requires 2 Redstone Torches, 1 Lever, 1 Crafting Table, 2 Redstone Blocks, 2 Steel Plates, and 1 Steel Block. Use the image below as a reference or a mod like Just Enough Items to see all available recipes.

Most of these requirements are obtained from Vanilla Minecraft, except Steel. Steel Ingots can be created by smelting Iron Ingots inside a Blasting Furnace, and nine can then be used to create a Steel Block. A Hammer must be used on a Steel Ingot inside a crafting grid to obtain Steel Plates.

Once the NASA Workbench has been created, you can right-click it to see what appears to be an overwhelming interface though it’s pretty simple. We’ll build a Tier 1 Rocket to reach locations like the Moon.

Building a Rocket

To build a Tier 1 Rocket inside the NASA Workbench, the following items need to be placed: 1 Rocket Nose Cone, 6 Steel Blocks, 4 Rocket Fines, 2 Steel Tanks, and 1 Steel Engine.

Most of these items will be created with Steel Plates, so collect lots of Iron Ingots, and place them inside a Blast Furnace to turn them into Steel Ingots. You’ll need nearly 80 Steel Ingots to assemble a Tier 1 Rocket.

Place the items inside the NASA Workbench, as shown in the image above. Or hover over the Tier 1 Rocket inside Just Enough Items/Roughly Enough Items and press the R key. You’ll receive the Tier 1 Rocket, which contains no fuel.

Launch Pad

For a Rocket to be able to take off, you will need to build a Launch Pad. This is a single item, but when placed in the game world, it will turn into a 3×3 block on which the Rocket can be placed.

These are simple to craft, requiring 5 Steel Plates and 4 Iron Plates. Again, all you need to do is take Iron or Steel Ingots into a Crafting Table alongside a Hammer. However, creating multiple Launch Pads is necessary, as you’ll want to place one on the Moon to return to the Overworld.

When a Launch Pad is placed down, it can be right-clicked while holding a Rocket. It will then free-stand on the Launch Pad, and it can be right-clicked to enter. When inside, press SHIFT to exit the Rocket. Before being able to take off, you also require Rocket Fuel.

Fueling a Rocket

With Ad Astra installed, Oil Wells can spawn throughout the Overworld. Check within Ocean-Biomes, as that’s where they’ll spawn. You need to locate an Oil Well and then collect multiple Buckets of Oil. 

For a Rocket to take off, you need at least 3 Buckets of Oil. However, it’s worth collecting a lot more to prepare for future trips. Then, a Fuel Refinery will need to be crafted, requiring power.

The easiest way to power a Fuel Refinery is to place a Coal Generator directly next to it or connect them together using Steel Cables, with Coal placed inside the Generator. A Fuel Refinery requires 6 Steel Plates, a Furnace, and 2 Buckets to craft.

Once the Fuel Refinery has received power, the bar on the right will fill up (light blue). In the top-left slot (1), place a Bucket of Oil. The Oil will be added to the Oil Tank, and the Empty Bucket will be returned (2).

As long as the machine is powered, Oil will slowly be converted into Rocket Fuel, and the yellow bar on the right will begin to fill up. Place an Empty Bucket in the top-right slot (3), and a Bucket of Rocket Fuel will be returned (4).

Head back to the Rocket on the Launch Pad, sneak, and right-click it. The Rocket can now be filled with 3 Buckets of Rocket Fuel. A countdown will begin when you stand inside and hold SPACE, and the Rocket will take off. But don’t do this yet; ensure you have everything you need, including a Space Suit.