Try finding another abaondoned station in another orbit,there are loads around.Im sure that was what worked for me in my second playthrough.Also the mission is to find the Derelict Orbital Station,make sure your looking for the right one bud as there are 2 stations in the starter orbit,sorry if you you already know this,but i did the same thing in one of my playthroughs.

You can try the command pda rd before placing the core down again if nothing else works, may nudge things back on track.

You can destroy your player core to complete the mission. (Not remove it with a tool, shoot it with a gun).