RSI Discovery Month is the new event that arrived with Alpha 4.10.2 on October 9, 2026: a month of Defense, Transport and Collection missions across the Stanton system, four reward tracks you follow in your mobiGlas, and a five-day rental of the unreleased Constellation Mk V Centaurus for anyone who completes one specific contract. The event closes on October 20.
The same day CIG opened the retirement window for the Constellation Mk IV, which leaves the pledge store on January 27, 2027, and put a 15-item Digital Goodies Pack on sale. This guide covers how the event works, what you can earn, and what the retirement means if you own or want a Mk IV.
What RSI Discovery Month is
Roberts Space Industries, the in-fiction manufacturer behind the Aurora and the Constellation, is celebrating the arrival of the next-generation Constellation, the Mk V Centaurus, and its companion snub ship, the Skylark. In the game that means special RSI installations placed around Stanton, the starting system, dedicated to the history of the Mk IV and the new Mk V, plus a set of event contracts around them.
CIG describes the event as part of a year-long RSI Celebration. It began with the Hermes and the Aurora Mk II earlier in 2026, continues with the Centaurus and Skylark in October, and ends with the RSI Galaxy at this year’s Intergalactic Aerospace Expo, the annual ship show.
The event missions are in Stanton only. The new RSI event locations sit around Hurston, ArcCorp and microTech and their moons. There are missions near Crusader too, but there are no RSI locations there, so any contract that needs a drop-off at an RSI site has to be completed near one of the other three planets.
The four reward tracks
Every event mission belongs to one of three career tracks, Defense, Transport or Collection, and completing it awards points in that category. Those points move the matching track forward and also count toward a fourth, overall track that CIG calls Your Total. Progress is shown in the Journal in your mobiGlas, the wrist computer.
Each track has four tiers of rewards. CIG lists ship paints, flight blades, components, armor, weapons and tools, and says that once a reward is earned it is yours to keep for good. One PTU patch note mentions that the rank 3 event reward is an RS-30, so at least one of the tiers hands out a specific ship weapon.
Every mission type in the event
CIG groups the contracts by track, and the release notes name the employers. Defense work comes from the Bounty Hunters Guild, Foxwell and Northrock, who want the space around microTech kept clear of pirates while visitors arrive, through ship combat, patrols and ground work at caves, outposts and distribution centers. Transport contracts come from Ling Family Hauling, Covalex and FTL, moving goods to the expo platform from landing zones, distribution centers and stations in low orbit. Collection work is for Shubin, which is buying raw and crafted materials for ship manufacturing, and Adagio, which wants hulls broken down for recycling, including Kruger Merlins, Archimedes and Constellations.
- Defense, ship: Defend Ship, protecting a friendly vessel, and Patrol, investigating threats in designated areas of space
- Defense, on foot: Eliminate Specific Target, Eliminate Hostiles and Eliminate Hostile Leader
- Transport: Courier deliveries to the new RSI locations, Recover Item for cargo lost in transit or taken by hostiles, Refueling for stranded ships, and Hauling across Stanton
- Transport: the RSI Relay Race, moving golden Constellation Centaurus model boxes between designated locations
- Transport: RSI Discovery Month: Constellation Rental Offer, the contract that unlocks the Centaurus rental
- Collection: Salvage, fracturing abandoned ships and delivering construction materials to Lagrange points
- Collection: Resource Gathering, mining, refining and delivering Iron, Beryl and Quantanium to landing zones
How to get the Constellation Mk V Centaurus rental
The headline reward sits on the Transport track. Complete the contract named RSI Discovery Month: Constellation Rental Offer and you receive a five-day rental of the Constellation Mk V Centaurus, including its snub fighter, the RSI Skylark. The ship has not been released yet, so this is the only way to fly it during the event.
One note of caution: CIG’s event page says in one place that the rental unlocks after your first Relay Race mission and in another that it needs the Constellation Rental Offer contract. The event FAQ names the Constellation Rental Offer, so treat that as the one to look for, and do not be surprised if the Relay Race is involved along the way.
The Digital Goodies Pack
Alongside the event, CIG’s annual Digital Goodies Pack is on sale with 15 new in-game items. It stays available through the end of this year’s Intergalactic Aerospace Expo. Two items are delivered later: the Galaxy Starwalker paint arrives with the Galaxy itself at the expo, and the RSI Discovery Event Poster comes once the art is finished.
- Paints: Constellation Mk V Starwalker, Skylark Starwalker, Galaxy Starwalker and Hermes Starwalker
- Gear: RSI Venture Starwalker suit, RSI Venture Infrared suit and a Navy Surplus Bobcat RSI bomber jacket
- Weapons: Gemini S71 Infrared sniper rifle, Kastak Arms Ravager-212 Infrared twin shotgun and Lightning Bolt Co. Atzkav Starwalker sniper rifle
- Decor: Constellation Mk IV Andromeda floor model, Aurora Mk II model, Venture Executive armor display, the event poster and a Constellation Mk V coin
Constellation Mk IV retirement: what changes and when
The Constellation Mk IV, meaning the Aquila, Taurus, Andromeda and Phoenix, is being retired the way the Aurora Mk I and the Hornet Mk I were before it. CIG is clear about what that means: the ship is not disappearing and its capabilities are not frozen. Retirement changes how you acquire it, not what it can do. Retired ships keep getting the same gold standard updates as every other ship, including Maelstrom and engineering changes.
The retirement window ends on January 27, 2027. Until then the Mk IV stays in the pledge store. After that it moves to in-game procurement only, and CIG says it will also leave the in-game shops where it is currently rented and sold, including the New Deal dealership in Lorville. Later updates are meant to add dedicated classic ship shops, missions for unique components and crafting for retired ships. The P-52 Merlin and P-72 Archimedes snub fighters are not affected.
To mark the retirement, every Mk IV owner receives a commemorative paint in classic blue and red. It is attributed to accounts that hold an active Mk IV pledge both at the start of the event and a few days after it closes on October 20, so if you want it and do not own a Mk IV, you have until the end of the event to buy or recover one and keep it. The original Kickstarter paints have also been put in the game and are available to newer players through the end of the expo, and a long list of past Constellation paints is back for a limited time.
The Mk IV is also getting a round of upgrades as it leaves production: better visibility from the bridge, redesigned habitation areas, more suit lockers and weapon racks, full component access, and extra luxury touches on the Phoenix. The four variants are on sale with 10-year insurance and a bonus RSI Venture armor set, backpack, t-shirt, hat and an Emerald paint. The Warbond versions cannot be bought with store credit.
What this means for new players
This is a good event to start on. The Transport and Collection contracts, courier runs, refueling, hauling, salvage and mining, do not need a combat ship, and every one of them moves the overall track forward. The rental is the thing to aim for: finishing the Constellation Rental Offer contract puts you in a four-crew Constellation with its own snub fighter for five days, which is a far bigger ship than any starter package includes. Do not buy a Constellation Mk IV just because it is retiring; the ship stays in the game and will still be obtainable in-game later, so the only reason to buy before January 27 is if you want it on your account as a pledge. Our Star Citizen referral code guide explains how the 50,000 UEC signup bonus works and how to apply code STAR-6WPK-3K56 before you enlist.
Frequently Asked Questions
CIG’s event FAQ says the event closes on October 20, 2026. It began with the Alpha 4.10.2 release on October 9. The Constellation Mk IV retirement window runs much longer, until January 27, 2027.
Complete the Transport-track contract called RSI Discovery Month: Constellation Rental Offer. You get a five-day rental of the Centaurus and its Skylark snub fighter.
In the Stanton system, with new RSI event locations around Hurston, ArcCorp and microTech and their moons. Missions also appear near Crusader, but drop-offs to RSI sites have to happen near the other three planets.
No. It leaves the pledge store and in-game shops when the retirement window closes on January 27, 2027, but existing ships keep flying and keep receiving updates. CIG plans in-game ways to obtain retired ships later.
Yes. CIG says the paints, flight blades, components, armor, weapons and tools earned on the four reward tracks are yours to keep for good. The Centaurus rental lasts five days.
Source: Alpha 4.10.2: RSI Discovery Month – Missions, Rewards, & Icons. Details come from CIG’s RSI Discovery Month event page, event FAQ, Digital Goodies Pack page and Constellation Mk IV Celebration page on the RSI Comm-Link, the Alpha 4.10.2 release notes, all published October 9, 2026, and the Alpha 4.10.2 PTU RC1 patch notes on Spectrum.
