Freelancer/Mission 2

Fly mission 2; you end up at Battleship Missouri.

Interlude
Now you have access to all of Liberty. Don't bother to visit California yet, as you'll be going there for Mission 3. You probably want to wait for a better shield before going to Texas.

The Silverton asteroid field in Colorado where you just were can be mined for Silver, which is worth $630 on Manhattan, or $713 on California Minor. The Copperton field a bit north can be mined for copper, worth $400 on nearby Pueblo Station.

Conveniently, you'll be going to California Minor for Mission 3, so pick up some Silver before heading back to Manhattan, and then on to California.