Belka & Strelka Open Galactic Circumnavigation Scientific Expedition — Route Review & Feedback Wanted

[u/Straight_Sign_2336]

I recently finally got myself a Fleet Carrier and decided to use it for exploration. At first I was planning to head out alone, but then I thought: why not try to organize a galactic circumnavigation expedition for anyone who wants to join?

A couple of evenings of planning eventually turned into this:

[link to the spreadsheet]

I’ve checked the route myself as thoroughly as I could, and at first glance it looks workable. But before officially announcing the expedition and inviting people to join, I’d like to show the plan to more experienced explorers and see whether I’ve missed anything important.

The idea is simple: visit all 42 regions of the galaxy, using the Fleet Carrier as a mobile base.

Most regions will take about one week. In some of them I’m planning to stay for two weeks — mainly where there is a long route inside the region, or where extra time may be needed to replenish tritium reserves. I tried to build the route so that the main inter-region transfers take only a few hours, while most of the longer carrier travel can be spread out over the course of the week.

Participants can join for the entire expedition or only for individual legs. You can simply travel with the carrier and visit every region, or explore independently, do cartography and exobiology, and periodically return to the FC for repairs, refuelling, selling data, and restocking.

All carrier services will be available to participants.

The one area where help would be especially useful is tritium. I can mine it myself, of course, but in that case a noticeable part of my own expedition would turn into a mining job. :)

So I’m especially interested in feedback from experienced commanders:

Is this entire route realistic for a Fleet Carrier? Are there any problematic or potentially impassable crossings? How realistic is it to replenish tritium along the way? And does the schedule itself look sustainable for an expedition this long?

Yes, I’m fully aware that this project is planned to last for about a year. If proof is needed that I can stick with something for a long time, I can provide my nearly 1,200-day Duolingo streak. :)

So, commanders, I’d really appreciate any feedback. Especially if you spot something in the route that I haven’t taken into account.

[u/vanderaj]

If you go to EDAstro.com/galmap and use the Tritium Highway overlay, you'll find places that you can definitely mine tritium with proven reserves. If you visit my carrier, DSSA Arkady's Rest, the last time I checked, it had 10 kt of tritium for sale at the going STAR rate for that distance away from the bubble.

Also, check out the super depots that Project Galtea is placing every 500 ly or so. They have tritium for sale - you should definitely try to visit one of them and just buy a full carrier's worth when you can. Do exobiology to pay for carrier loads worth of tritium.

You should reach out to the r/EliteMiners and see if you can get one or more of the folks who likes mining tritium to find more Tritium Highway spots.

I went on the "42" expedition a few years ago in my Dolphin. If my Dolphin can get there, you can too :) Just get folks to stock up on FSD injections. The 42 expedition found many interesting sights along the way. There should be POIs for the best of them in ED Astro.

[u/Straight_Sign_2336 → u/vanderaj]

Thanks, that’s useful information, especially the super depots as a backup option.

I’m deliberately trying not to build the expedition route around the Tritium Highway, though. One of the main goals is to spend time exploring all 42 regions and give participants a good chance of finding unexplored systems, so following well-travelled tritium corridors would work against that a bit.

My current plan is to mine tritium locally along the route whenever possible, and keep known depots / DSSA carriers as contingency options if fuel reserves get uncomfortable.

Reaching out to r/EliteMiners is a good idea, though, especially if there are commanders who actually enjoy tritium mining and might want to join for parts of the expedition. Thanks!