Satisfactory Space Elevator Phase 4 guide: unlock Tier 9

You’ve now reached one of the late-game stages where only upgrading the Space Elevator will unlock Tier 9. In this phase you’ll focus on propulsion and must deliver four additional parts you gained across Tiers 7 and 8. It’s a sizeable undertaking, requiring many resources and long production chains before you can craft and ship the four end products. With patience and solid infrastructure, though, it’s absolutely manageable.

Preparing for Space Elevator Phase 4 in Satisfactory: nuclear power, electricity and production expansion

The further you progress in Satisfactory, the larger and more complex your productions become. That’s especially true in Phase 4 of the Space Elevator, where many of your previous setups and accomplishments come together. These four parts demand a lot of work, but once your layout is in place, nothing stands in your way.

For Phase 4 of the Space Elevator in Satisfactory you’ll need:

• 500x Assembly Director System
• 500x Magnetic Field Generator
• 250x Thermal Propulsion Rocket
• 100x Nuclear Pasta

We recommend tackling each part separately, step by step. Check which components they are made from and how you can optimise the sequence. In some cases you can overlap chains and produce one sub‑part for several end products. Crucially, expand your power grid. Nuclear power from Tier 8 can help here; otherwise Rocket Fuel or Turbo Fuel are strong options.

Many sub‑parts are based on previous elevator phases, including Versatile Framework, Modular Engines, and Adaptive Control Units. You can extend and rework those existing lines with little trouble.

There are no alternate recipes for any of the four elevator parts, but alternates can still streamline earlier steps, saving time and resources overall. We’ve already covered the best alternate recipes if you want more detail (Satisfactory: The 10 best alternative recipes for efficient factories) .

Crafting the Assembly Director System in Satisfactory: Supercomputer and Adaptive Control Unit

The Assembly Director System is one of the more straightforward Phase 4 parts and breaks down cleanly. There are also some production overlaps, which simplifies things. It’s made from two items:

• Supercomputer: Use standard Computers, AI Limiters, High-Speed Connectors, and Plastic. The chain is simpler than it first appears, as many prerequisites like Cable, Stator, or Circuit Boards should already be familiar.

• Adaptive Control Unit: This consists of four items: Automated Wiring, Circuit Board, Heavy Modular Frame, and Computer. You’ll notice immediate overlaps with other chains.

Building the Magnetic Field Generator: Versatile Framework and Electromagnetic Control Rod

The Magnetic Field Generator is a surprisingly simple branch of Phase 4. Versatile Framework will be familiar from earlier phases, as it was required for Phases 2 and 3. Control rods are also not too demanding. Aside from making Stators from Steel Pipe and Wire, there are no major overlaps between the two sides here.

• Versatile Framework: You should be comfortable producing Modular Frames and Steel Beams by now.

• Electromagnetic Control Rod: Requires Stators and AI Limiters, which you can likely carry over from the previous step.

Producing the Thermal Propulsion Rocket: Modular Engine, Turbo Motor, Cooling System, and Fused Modular Frame

The last two parts are more involved, starting with the Thermal Propulsion Rocket. You’ll combine four components, each of which also requires significant effort. Break this down into stages to stay organised. Many steps overlap, so a large mega‑factory layout pays off.

• Modular Engine: Requires Motors, Rubber, and Smart Plating — all items you should be able to produce comfortably.

• Turbo Motor: These need similar sub‑parts, which helps. Combine Rubber, Motors, Cooling Systems, and Radio Control Units. You can link this with your Rubber and Motor lines.

• Cooling System: Since you already need Cooling Systems for Turbo Motors, this is largely covered. You’ll need Heat Sinks, Water, Nitrogen Gas, and again Rubber.

• Fused Modular Frame: Another step up from modular frames, with more overlaps. It consists of Nitrogen Gas, Heavy Modular Frames, and Aluminum Casing. You can use the same Nitrogen Gas for both Cooling Systems and Fused Modular Frames.

The Thermal Propulsion Rocket is where a single, integrated factory truly shines. Many elements feed into each other, reducing duplication. For example, your Rubber, Motor, and Nitrogen Gas production serves multiple parts, and Cooling Systems are already required elsewhere, further simplifying the chain.

Making Nuclear Pasta: Copper Powder and Pressure Conversion Cube with a Particle Accelerator

Finally, you’ll produce Nuclear Pasta, one of the most advanced items in the game. At first glance it seems simple — you combine just two components — but it requires a Particle Accelerator, tied to nuclear power. The building is the real challenge; the items themselves are relatively straightforward.

• Copper Powder: The simplest recipe in Phase 4, made directly from Copper Ingots.

• Pressure Conversion Cube: Also not difficult, since you’re already producing the required parts for the Thermal Propulsion Rocket. The cube uses Fused Modular Frames and Radio Control Units.

As you can see, there are shortcuts here: much of what you need for the rocket is already running, so you can expand and re‑use those lines.

Conclusion and tips: unlock the final Tier 9 milestone in Satisfactory

With Phase 4 of the Space Elevator, you’re steadily approaching the end of the story. You’ll need to bring together your production once more to unlock Tier 9. The good news is that many lines overlap, and you can also carry over sub‑parts from Phase 3. In the end, it’s less complex than it first appears.

To play this far with maximum comfort, rent your own Satisfactory server from us! Look forward to many hours of fun, puzzling, and serious brain‑training as you make your factories as efficient as possible. The more efficient they are, the faster you’ll reach and complete Phase 4.