Tech tree
All 34 nodes, by tier: what each one costs, what it needs first, what it puts in your palette and what it opens.
Read a row like this. Price is what the node costs, in discovery or, on two of them, in credits. Needs lists the nodes you must already own, and on the same two, a feat you must already have done. Puts in the palette names the parts by the name the palette gives them. Opens names a world the node founds a Launch Pad on. A tier is buyable only while your Research Centre reaches it: level 1 for tier 1, level 2 for tier 2, level 3 for tier 3.
Tier 1
| Node | Price | Needs | Puts in the palette | Opens |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rocketry | free | — | Command Pod, Fuel Tank, Engine, Fin, Parachute | Earth |
| Aerodynamics | 12 discovery | Rocketry | Aerocone | — |
| Wings | 24 discovery | Rocketry | Wing | — |
| Staging | 18 discovery | Rocketry | Separator | — |
| Instruments | 15 discovery | Rocketry | Thermometer | — |
| Solid Boosters | 20 discovery | Rocketry | Solid Booster, Solid Booster S, Slim Aerocone | — |
Tier 2
| Node | Price | Needs | Puts in the palette | Opens |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Recovery | 30 discovery | Aerodynamics | Drogue Chute | — |
| Radial Staging | 35 discovery | Staging | Decoupler, Separation Motor | — |
| Probe Control | 40 discovery | Staging | Sat Controller | — |
| Landing Gear | 50 discovery | Staging | LT-1 Landing Strut | — |
| Barometry | 32 discovery | Instruments | Barometer | — |
| Lunar Pad | 20,000 credits | Landing Gear, One Small Step (achievement) | — | Moon |
| Mars Pad | 50,000 credits | Lunar Pad, Dust on the Legs (achievement) | — | Mars |
| Payload Bay | 48 discovery | Barometry | Payload Bay | — |
| Solar Power | 38 discovery | Probe Control | SP-1 Solar Panel | — |
| Batteries | 34 discovery | Probe Control | PB-20 Battery, B-90 Battery | — |
| Thermal Protection | 45 discovery | Recovery | Heat Shield | — |
| Vacuum Engines | 55 discovery | Staging | Vacuum Engine | — |
| Attitude Control | 48 discovery | Probe Control | RCS Thruster Block, HR-1 Hypergolic Sphere | — |
| Lander Engines | 42 discovery | Vacuum Engines | Lander Engine | — |
| Crew Capsules | 45 discovery | Staging | Crew Capsule | — |
| Radio Comms | 36 discovery | Probe Control | CW-1 Whip, CR-1 Relay Whip | — |
Tier 3
| Node | Price | Needs | Puts in the palette | Opens |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Heavy Gear | 70 discovery | Landing Gear | LT-2 Landing Strut | — |
| Solar Arrays | 70 discovery | Solar Power | SP-3 Solar Array, SP-6 Twin Array | — |
| Power Banks | 65 discovery | Batteries | B-400 Battery Bank | — |
| Hypergolic Storage | 60 discovery | Attitude Control | HT-2 Hypergolic Tank, HR-4 Hypergolic Pod | — |
| Docking | 70 discovery | Attitude Control | Docking Port | — |
| Heavy Engines | 75 discovery | Vacuum Engines | Heavy Engine | — |
| Passenger Cabins | 60 discovery | Crew Capsules | Passenger Cabin | — |
| Escape Motors | 68 discovery | Hypergolic Storage, Crew Capsules | Escape Motor | — |
| Payload Fairings | 62 discovery | Payload Bay | Payload Fairing | — |
| Contoured Fairings | 70 discovery | Payload Fairings | Contoured Fairing | — |
| Deep Space Comms | 65 discovery | Radio Comms | CD-2 Dish, CR-2 Relay Dish | — |
| Interplanetary Comms | 78 discovery | Deep Space Comms | CD-3 Deep Space Dish, CR-3 Deep Space Relay | — |
What the whole tree costs
| Tier | Nodes | Discovery | Credits | Needs |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tier 1 | 6 | 89 | — | Research Centre level 1 |
| Tier 2 | 16 | 578 | 70,000 | Research Centre level 2 |
| Tier 3 | 12 | 813 | — | Research Centre level 3 |
| All of it | 34 | 1,480 | 70,000 | Research Centre level 3 |
The Research Centre's own levels are priced separately, in discovery and credits both: see Buildings.
The two nodes priced in credits
Lunar Pad and Mars Pad are the only nodes that cost credits, and the only ones gated on a feat as well as on other nodes. Lunar Pad is 20,000 credits and waits for One Small Step, which is a landing on the Moon. Mars Pad is 50,000 credits and waits for Dust on the Legs, which is a landing on Mars. Neither sells a part. What each buys is a Launch Pad standing on that world, at level 1, and that world's place on the Space Center's tabs and in the hangar's destination picker.