Transport pod

Transport pods are single-use miscellaneous structures launched through the lower atmosphere by pod launchers, and used to carry pawns and/or items across the world map up to 66 tiles away.

Acquisition

Transport pods can be constructed once the Transport pod research project has been completed. Each pod requires 60 Steel, 1 Component, 1,600 ticks (26.67 secs) of work, and a Construction skill of 6.

A pod can only be constructed on a pod launcher, in the position indicated by the white icon and where the umbilical is present on the launcher sprite. Constructing the pod launcher requires the Transport pod research project to be completed, 50 Steel, 1 Component, 3,000 ticks (50 secs) of work, and a Construction skill of 6.

Creating a Pod Group

A pod can be launched individually or with others. Grouped pods must be connected to pod launchers that are all touching along one of their borders - see grouped launchers.

To select multiple pods for a launch group, make sure their launchers are connected (see previous), and use one of the following methods:

You can double-click a pod to select all pods on the screen.
You can hold ⇧ Shift and click each pod.
You can draw a selection box around the pods.

Loading Pods

Once the desired pods are chosen, click the 'Load launch group X' button (X indicates the number of pods). A window appears to choose what pawns or items to load. Each pod holds up to 150 kg. For comparison, an adult human weighs 60 kg before equipment. Colonists will immediately proceed to load the pods. Only one colonist may load a pod at a time.

While loading multiple pods, the game intentionally ignores individual pod capacity. Instead, only the pod group's total combined capacity is considered. Therefore, a single item or pawn that exceeds 150 kg can still be loaded into multiple pods. For example, a 280 kg elephant can be added to a group of two pods because together 2 pods accommodate up to 300 kg. The elephant will be loaded into one of the pods, and the other pod will have 20 kg of capacity remaining.

Prisoners that are sent will begin to "wander" upon arrival and may need to be taken to their beds if not contained by walls.

If a colonist is part of the load, that colonist will prioritize loading the pod, even if they are otherwise incapable of hauling. The system is not without some quirks:

Pawns loading the pods will ignore their need for food and sleep, which will result in starvation and likely lowered mood. This means that if a colonist gets too tired, they might collapse and discard their assigned load, so some items might be missing in the end.
If one of the colonists who are loading the pod is downed or killed, all of the pods will automatically unload and the loading process will be canceled.^{[Fact Check]}

Due to the game's inefficiency in loading large stocks, it's best to create a stockpile right next to the pods and haul all desired items there before loading the pods, to reduce time spent going back and forth. Once inside the pods, pawns will keep their needs, meaning if you load them hungry or exhausted, they will be hungry and exhausted upon arrival.

Launching Pods

Once the pods have been loaded, clicking the 'Launch group' button opens the world map to select a destination. The maximum range, based on the launcher's amount of fuel, is indicated by a white border. Pods can either be launched at a tile (including tiles owned by a faction), or at a caravan. Selecting a faction base triggers a prompt asking whether to drop at the edge or drop at the center, whereas selecting a caravan allows you to add the contents of the pod to the target caravan. Selecting a tile not occupied by a faction base will immediately launch the pod group without further prompts.

Selecting a tile with a colony or destroyed outpost (i.e. an active and loaded map) will open the map, and allow you to choose the approximate position the pods land. You can choose your own colony where the pods are launched from.

Be careful with the landing site, as the pods can go through roofs; while they don't deal any damage directly, the collapsing roof can damage nearby items.

If a pod containing only cargo is launched at an unoccupied tile, the contents are lost. This also occurs if a pirate faction on the tile. Launching at caravans will allow them to receive the contents, while launching at friendly/negotiable factions will send the contents as a gift.

Pod launchers only consume as much fuel as required for the launch. The Transport Pod is single use and will leave nothing behind after touchdown.

For extra long distance travel it is possible to load the transport pod with resources to build another pod launcher immediately upon landing. When this is done the resources ( 110 + 2 + 150) will take up 64kg for every secondary launch. This cost can be dramatically reduced by mining steel at the landing site, reducing the weight cost to 9kg of chemfuel and components per secondary pod.