I believe in one of the recent Newsletters they answered this question... TWO TICS...
Jant:*How much freedom will there be to customise our ships from a purely aesthetic standpoint (like different cockpits, paint jobs, etc)?
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⦁ The intention is to support as wide a range of customisation as possible, we’re still working out some of the details but support for skins and decals is certain, ways to customise your cockpit are also something we’re interested in. This can be expanded further when we expand the game to allow walking around ships and stations, not only with the ship but the player’s avatar as well. In other words – yes, leather upholstery is on the cards!