To use your ship to its full potential, you'll need to pledge yourself to it. You need to claim ownership of it so it can always stay with you on your travels. After you've claimed ownership of your ship you can summon and unsummon it at will. Also it will be able to carry you even to the most distant worlds.

First ship you ever build will be automatically owned by you. Any other ships you will have to claim manually in the Radial menu while focusing on it.

Summoning and unsummoning will also be available for you to use in the Radial menu.