Ship Controls

ASTRA supports two control schemes. You can switch between them in Settings.

Keys Mode (Default)

Movement

Key	Action
W or UP	Thrust forward
S or DOWN	Reverse thrust
A	Strafe left
D	Strafe right
LEFT	Rotate left
RIGHT	Rotate right
X	Brake
SHIFT	Boost

Combat & Interaction

Key	Action
SPACE	Fire primary weapon
Q	Secondary action
E	Interact (dock, mine, pick up loot)

Navigation & UI

Key	Action
M	Toggle constellation map
R	Radar scan
F	Fast travel / Approach
J	Gateway travel
I	Open inventory
B	Drone bay overlay
C	Toggle chat
Mouse Wheel	Zoom in/out
ESC	Close menus / Pause

Keys & Mouse Mode

In this mode, your ship rotates to follow the mouse cursor and weapons fire with clicks.

Movement

Key	Action
W	Thrust forward
S	Reverse thrust
A	Strafe left
D	Strafe right
Mouse	Rotate ship toward cursor
SPACE	Brake
SHIFT	Boost

Combat

Key	Action
Left Click	Fire primary weapon
Right Click	Secondary action

All other keys (E, M, R, F, J, I, B, C, ESC) work the same in both modes.

Custom Keybindings

All controls are fully rebindable. Open Settings from the pause menu (ESC) to customize your keybindings.

Tips

• Momentum matters - Your ship continues moving in the direction of thrust even after releasing the key. Use braking and counter-thrust to stop.
• Strafe is your friend - Strafing lets you dodge while keeping your weapons aimed at a target.
• Approach stations carefully - Docking requires being within range of the station.
• Boost wisely - Boosting gives a speed burst but has a cooldown.

Pro Tip

In combat, combine rotation with strafing to orbit your target while keeping weapons locked on. This makes you harder to hit while maintaining damage output.