I got the quest for the rock ship, easily survived the heat and jumped after the rock ship. I was told there would be another quest marker (I thought this confirmed my completion of the challenge).
But I could not find any quest markers in that or the next zone to complete the quest. The next zone was an uncharted nebula. No rock ship for me
Forgot the question: Should I have looked around in the next zone for the quest marker? Are there special rules for such zones (uncharted nebula)?
I believe you should unlock it as the ship jumps away, but I've never got it myself. Your best bet is to just unlock it via cheats if you don't wanna do it again.
I don't remember precisely how I unlocked that ship, I think I got it on my first or second try. It is possible you uncovered a bug, only Matthew can tell.
Some quests add markers on the current sector, others in the next sector. Are you sure you verified your current sector had no new quest marker before leaving it? Maybe in Rebel-controlled zone?
Forum janitor — If you spot spam, PM me the URL and/or the username of the spammer. I have powers, moderator powers. I am not keen on using them, but will do so if needed.
If it is indeed a bug and not that he just overlooked something, it's not a common one, as many people have unlocked that ship without encountering that kind of problem.