Are all Approximately Up component stats listed here?
No. This wiki lists confirmed categories and examples. Mass, thrust, wattage, and full rosters stay TBA without a current-build check.
Approximately Up Components
Approximately Up components wiki: thrusters, batteries, sensors, routers, automation — confirmed categories only, unverified stats TBA. Verified August 2026.
Thrusters, batteries, sensors, and wiring categories.
~9 min read
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At A Glance
This Approximately Up components page separates the confirmed build → wire → fly → land loop from details that still need a current-build check. Approximately Up starts on Earth. Build modular ships in the garage, route Power and Data cables, fly first-person from inside your craft, land on Planet Stations to unlock permanent launch points, and complete delivery missions to unlock new components. Solo or up to four-player co-op on Steam. Use it as a garage-side reference, not as a promise that every unlisted binding, wattage, or thruster limit matches every patch.
The practical goal is simple: make one safer ship decision at a time, keep Power and Data intact after a crash, and turn a successful landing into a permanent Planet Station unlock. When a result is uncertain, rebuild near Earth and compare notes after you recover.
| Fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Platform | Steam PC |
| Mode | Solo or up to 4-player co-op |
| Core setting | Earth start · ~15 unique planets · Planet Stations |
| Topic | Components |
| Scope | Category wiki — not a full numerical database |
| Confirmed families | Frames · thrusters · fuel · RCS · batteries · solar · sensors · routers · automation |
| Unlock path | Missions unlock new ship components |
| Unverified numbers | Mass, watts, thrust, and full rosters stay TBA |
| Source boundary | Steam listing and current player-observed guidance; unconfirmed details are marked TBA |
How should I browse Approximately Up components without fake stats?
Start from the job: lift in atmosphere, translate in vacuum, hold attitude, store energy, sense velocity or stations, or automate a signal. Confirmed examples exist inside those families; invented capacity tables do not help a garage test.
The reliable foundation is the same whether you fly solo or with a crew: start on Earth, bolt modular frames and thrusters, route Power cables for energy and Data cables for control signals, then pilot first-person from the deck. A ship that looks finished but has a dead battery or a missing Data path will not fly the way you designed it. That is why components advice should start with ports, orientation, and a recoverable garage test rather than with a supposed optimal mega-build.
- Do01Name the failure you are fixing (no lift, no pitch, dead radar, brownout)
- Do02Pick the matching category before shopping for a Workshop megaship
- Do03Confirm whether the block needs Power, Data, or both
- Do04Mount and wire one example part; pad-test before stacking multiples
- Do05Mark any copied numerical claim TBA until you see it in your build
- Do06Use missions to unlock missing families instead of assuming every part is starter gear
Treat the first flight as information, not a flex
A useful first flight tells you what failed: an unpowered thruster, a reversed Data port, an atmospheric thruster used in vacuum, or an RCS battery that died mid-roll. It does not automatically tell you to enlarge the hull. Pause long enough to name the failure, fix the circuit, and decide whether the next test can stay near the pad.
This avoids a common early failure: the crew launches a huge Workshop import, crashes far from Earth, and then cannot tell whether the problem was mass, wiring, or thruster type. If the current craft becomes confusing, a smaller rebuild that lands once is a successful session rather than a wasted attempt.
Use short checks that change behaviour
In co-op, say the subsystem, the symptom, and the intended fix: “RCS pitch dead, battery empty, swap cell,” is more useful than a long description. Solo players can apply the same discipline as a mental checklist. The game rewards decisions that leave you a second option when the first thruster bank fails.
With that baseline in place, the next question is not “can we fly farther?” but “what does continuing cost if the circuit fails again?”
Which Approximately Up component categories should I use?
Use categories as a decision aid. Exact thrust and watt figures without an in-game check are less useful than knowing which family belongs on which leg of a flight.
Use the table as a decision aid, not a hidden-stat calculator. Approximately Up has large modular ships and evolving community knowledge, so a precise number without an in-game check is less useful than a conservative threshold: protect a working circuit when recovery is uncertain, and test risky ideas only when you can still rebuild from a known station.
| Category | Confirmed examples | Use when |
|---|---|---|
| Frames / hull | Modular frames · heat-resistant frames · windows | You need structure, heat tolerance, or first-person visibility |
| Thrusters | Atmospheric thruster · electric thruster · fuel engine | Lift in air, vacuum coasts, or fuelled translation after unlocks |
| Attitude (RCS) | RCS thruster · RCS controller | Roll, pitch, yaw, and landing fine control |
| Power storage | Disposable battery · solar panel · dynamo box (community) | Energy for thrusters/controllers; recharge on longer routes |
| Power / Data routing | Power cable · data cable · power router | Shared circuits and control signals between blocks |
| Sensors | Radar · velocity meter · accelerometer · trajectory curvature meter | Stations, packages, speed, braking, and path error |
| Automation / logic | Accumulator · remapper · adder · multiplier · NOT · switch | Hover holds, braking logic, and merged manual + auto inputs |
| Controls | 3D joystick · controllers | Pilot inputs into Data paths |
Make the irreversible choice last
Deleting a long cable run, launching with disposable batteries near empty, or committing to a Moon approach with no RCS reserve can remove options. Before doing any of those, confirm what the ship keeps if the attempt fails. If the answer is “a dead hull with no station unlock,” choose the reversible option first: rewire, test hover near the pad, or land at a closer Planet Station.
That same habit makes progress steadier. One secure station unlock can change every later rebuild; a speculative crash often repeats the same first minutes with no new parts.
Wire or import what you picked
Matched by build plan, shared topics, and guide progression — not random related links.
What thruster and power components matter first?
Atmospheric thrusters need usable air density and will not save a vacuum coast. Electric thrusters and fuel engines cover translation when fans cannot. Disposable batteries power circuits but are not a free infinite bus; solar panels appear in longer community routes as a way to top up cells. Exact amp-hours stay TBA.
Avoid turning a single player report into a universal rule. A report can be valuable evidence of a wiring pattern, yet it may come from a particular unlock state, thruster mix, or patch. Record the context before copying it: which planet, which thruster types, whether Power and Data both reached the block, and whether the result was repeated after a rebuild.
| Family | Rule of thumb | Common mistake |
|---|---|---|
| Atmospheric thrusters | Use where air density supports lift | Expecting them to work in vacuum or underwater |
| Electric thrusters | Budget them for vacuum coasts and transfers | Launching with empty cells that feed them |
| Fuel engines / mixed fuels | Treat as an unlocked propulsion option — verify in build | Assuming every starter craft already has them |
| Batteries + routers | One clean shared Power path beats spaghetti runs | Orphan thrusters with no battery reach |
| Solar / dynamo (community) | Useful on long routes after you can aim panels | Relying on them as the only pad-test power source |
RCS is its own budget
Attitude thrusters and controllers often die from empty cells while main translation still works — protect pitch reserve on approaches.
The useful follow-up is to connect this observation to the broader loop: does it make launch safer, reduce wiring confusion, change the Moon approach, or simply create a new risk? If it does not answer one of those questions, do not let it pull you into a larger hull before the current circuit works.
Sensors are not decoration
Radar finds stations and packages; velocity meters feed hover and braking logic. Wrong orientation makes “smart” ships stupid.
The useful follow-up is to connect this observation to the broader loop: does it make launch safer, reduce wiring confusion, change the Moon approach, or simply create a new risk? If it does not answer one of those questions, do not let it pull you into a larger hull before the current circuit works.
When should I unlock more Approximately Up components instead of rebuilding?
Rebuild when the category you need is already available and the circuit is wrong. Chase missions when the missing family is gated — for example heavier lift, better sensing, or automation blocks you cannot place yet. Do not invent a tier list that ranks every part S/A/B without environment context.
A conservative guide is especially important while the live knowledge base is still growing. The Steam description confirms the broad systems—modular frames, Power and Data cables, atmospheric and electric thrusters, Planet Stations, missions that unlock parts, and up to four-player co-op—but it does not publish a complete numerical database for every block. Tables on this site therefore distinguish a confirmed loop from TBA details instead of filling gaps with invented wattages.
Category first, cosmetics last
Windows and hull shapes help visibility; they do not replace Power reach or thruster type.
If the observed result matters to your next flight, verify it again after a patch or compare it with a concise report in the community. Keep the claim narrow: “this happened with this thruster layout” is more useful and more durable than a broad claim about every ship.
No fake databases
If a third-party list shows precise watts for every block, treat it as unverified until your build confirms the behaviour.
If the observed result matters to your next flight, verify it again after a patch or compare it with a concise report in the community. Keep the claim narrow: “this happened with this thruster layout” is more useful and more durable than a broad claim about every ship.
What should I verify before trusting components advice?
Check the current build before treating a named binding, numerical power draw, channel name, exact thruster limit, or complete part roster as settled. The official Steam page is the source for the game’s core premise and player count; the verified Discord is the best route for patch-sensitive questions. Do not use copied invite links or anonymous “full databases” as authority.
- Do01Confirm the claim is about Approximately Up, not another spaceship sandbox
- Do02Check whether the report identifies thruster type, planet, and Power/Data state
- Do03Separate a confirmed system from a proposed aesthetic or Workshop preference
- Do04Keep a garage test or nearby station landing before testing a risky claim
- Do05Use blueprints guide when the next decision concerns the wider build loop
- Do06Use the verified Steam listing or the verified community for details marked TBA
Approximately Up Components FAQ
Do atmospheric thrusters work in space?
No. They depend on atmosphere. Plan electric thrusters or other vacuum-capable propulsion for coasts between worlds.
How do I get more parts?
Complete missions that unlock ship components, then rebuild from an unlocked Planet Station.
Is every components detail confirmed?
No. This guide labels build-specific values, full part rosters, and unverified names as TBA rather than guessing.
What should I read next?
Next: blueprints guide. It continues the decision from this page into the part of the loop that keeps your next flight recoverable.
Related pages
Matched by build plan, shared topics, and guide progression — not random related links.