Each ship has a max range.
More precisely, each ship has a maximum distance that its destination can be from a settled planet or space station.
That distance is determined by Life Support modules (look at Modules in the ship design screen) on the ship itself, and also simply by having researched progressively stronger Life Support techs.
Examine the research path that includes Logistics (IIRC). I think once you research Basic Logistics, you can begin to research Life Support upgrades.
However, you generally start with "Basic Support" modules already available to put on ship designs. You may just have to add one or more of them to your Freighter design.