[zircher]

Just to expand on that post. There are two types of large items. Systems which appear as a gray gear and components which appear as blue and white icons. Remember, systems are persistent while components usually vanish when you leave the level/planet. So, if you're carrying something like water walkers and you see a weapon, drop the system item, pick up the weapon, and take that back to the shuttle first. There will be a good chance that the system item will still be there when you go back down.