DSSA Eleanor - Gateway to Route 33

[Snowymonk]

Gateway to Route 33
Introduction
In support of the DSSA initiative, the DSSA Eleanor will be departing from the bubble to take up its residence at the base of Route 33 in order to act as both a beacon and a refuge for those looking to traverse the Galaxy and follow in the footsteps of commanders past.

Expedition Details
Launch date: 15th June 3306
Journey Start: Dublin Citadel, Gateway system,
Departure time: 21:00 UTC

Destination Region: The Abyss
Destination System: CHO THUA NL-C B40-0

Number of waypoints: 10
Duration of journey: We'll get there when we get there.

What is the DSSA?
The Deep Space Support Array is an initiative that was conceived by Qohen Leth and proposed to the FleetComm and Distant Worlds team in September 3305. Aimed at offering explorers and expeditionary events the use of their facilities while out in the depths.

The long-term ambition lays way beyond this, and if feasible, will lay foundations for many more opportunities to come.

What route will the DSSA Eleanor take?
The Eleanor will follow the route previously set out by the Distant Worlds II expedition, deviating at Sag A* in the Galactic core to pause at Explorer’s Anchorage before continuing on towards The Abyss. Once at The Abyss, the DSSA Eleanor will take up residence at the base of the Route 33 bridge across to the Outer Arm towards Beagle Point.

To support future Fleet Carrier expeditions, if as part of the outbound route, the Eleanor jumps to a system containing a potential Tritium hotspot, it will pause temporarily to map tthat system for future use by other carriers.

Expedition Pacing
I am UK based (with family and kids) and as such, carrier jumping will be limited to when and where I can get it.
The journey will not be as aggressive as some of the other expeditions.

I expect to be jumping every 30 minutes between 20:00 UTC and 23:00 UTC (on the hour and half hour mark) unless I am actively involved in the mapping an Ice Ring.
I will also stop for a full day at each of the waypoints, resuming the following day at 20:00 UTC.
Edit: jumping is now between 22:00 UTC and 23:00 UTC as Tritium fuel reserves are low.

This will be a PS4 Carrier expedition but fellow Commanders for all platforms are welcome on board. Commanders are free to join or leave the Carrier throughout the journey as they see fit.

 

[Snowymonk]

Current Location: Bleae AUB NK-Q B5-0
Waypoints for Gateway to Route 33 expedition:

Stage	Names	Location	Distance (approx ly)	Expected number of Jumps	Arrival Date	Departure Date
Start​	Gateway	Gateway	0​	0​	9th June 3306	15th June 3306
1​	Omega Mining Corporation	Omega Sector VE-Q b5-15	5500​	12​	20th June 3306	24th June 3306
2​	Conflux Abandoned Settlements	PRU AESCS NC-M D7-192	3700​	8​	Scrubbed
3​	Llyn Tegid Nebula	Clooku EW-Y C3-197	4000​	9​	4th July 3306	6th July 3306
4​	Polo Harbour	Boewnst KS-S c20-959	4600​	10​	11th July 3306	13th July 3306
5​	Kashyapa	Kasyapa	​	​	skipped
6​	Ratraii	Ratraii	​	​	23rd July 3306	6th Aug 3306
7​	Cerulean Tranquility	Phroi Bluae QI-T e3-3454	18000​	36​	18th Aug 3306	19th Aug 3306
8​	The Morphenniel Nebula	Bleethuae NI-B D674	3250​	7​	19th Aug 3306	19th Aug 3306
9​	Aristo	PRU AUB DL-P E5-35	4900​	10​	21st Aug 3306	23rd Aug 3306
10​	Kalipheron	BYUA AUB WO-K B36-0	5000​	11​	24th Aug 3306	24th Aug 3306
Final​	Base of Route 33	CHO THUA NL-C B40-0	11650​	25​

 

[Snowymonk]

9th June - Day 1 - DSSA Eleanor purchased.
The store option were a nice touch. Went with the nautilus model in tactical white.
Also decided on Donovan to run my ATC.
Relocated to Gateway to prep for departure.

10th June - Day 2 - Tested out the utilities to make sure everything was working as expected.
Relocated to HIP 114037 3 to spend a couple of days Tritium mining.
Nice double Tritium hotspot In the Icy ring.

11th June - Day 3 - Spent the night mining. Having bounced around a few systems yesterday, the fuel tanks are low. If I am going to head towards the base of the Route 33 bridge into The Abyss, I am going to need more fuel.
A night’s mining secured me 180t of Tritium at the double hotspot. A steady return.

12th June - Day 4 - Another night mining. Fuel tank is almost full. One more night should do it and then to start packing for the trip.

13th June - Day 5 - 48 hours until launch. fuel tank is now full. Excess Tritium from mining has been stored in the hold. All systems are go. Will be returning to Gateway ahead of departure. Not sure if I will be taking any other commanders with me but the offer will be there. Will be back in Gateway by 2300 hrs UTC tonight and will then be parked up until 2000 hrs UTC on the 15th, when I will be departing.

...may be the last post for a while

14th June - Day 6 - Bags are packed, ships are loaded and the fuel tanks are primed. One final check to make sure that all the unneccesary electrics are switched off and an early night. Departure tomorrow. The DSSA Eleanor is currently orbiting Gateway 2 and will be departing at some point tonight at 2000 UTC. The Alt. commander will be at the helm, mining where necessary to keep the tanks filled. The main commander will be staying in the bubble, controlling the carrier jumps from a central location.

15th June - Day 7 - We are underway. Route is planned and being keyed into the jump computer as we progress. Taking it easy to start with. Want to make sure that the fully operational Fleet Carrier is behaving as expected. There is a big difference between an issue occuring whilst still in the bubble and something unexpected happening when deep in the black. The biggest challenge that we are facing is sourcing Tritium to continue jumping. We have jumped into a few systems with planets with icy rings, hopefully leading to Tritium hotspots. The first planetary ring was devoid of any hotspots, leading to a quick re-validation that I had the mining ship built correctly. Finally found a Tritium hotspot aournd a planet in the second system the carrier jumped to. It was only a single hotspot, but it did allow for a full shakedown of the mechanics that I would be using for the duration of the journey.
I have decided to replan the jump route to stop to refuel more often, reserving a larger buffer of Tritium in the hold. The same overall distance but it may take a little bit longer to get there.
8 jumps to WP1.

16th June - Day 8 - Tritium levels are low. I don’t want to break into the hold fuel this early in the trip. Only managed a few jumps today. Have decided to park up for a day or so to refuel the tanks.
6 jumps to WP1.

17th June - Day 9 - Received a pleasant surprise today. We have been joined by a Mining Cutter. The logistics of controlling the jumps from the bubble have proved too much. The main commander has joined the Carrier. 123 jumps from the bubble to the carriers current position. The Cutter’s paint job was a bit worse for wear and the FSD is currently being rebuilt by the repair crew. Hopefully we’ll increase mining speed from this point and we will be able to make better headway.
Still 6 jumps to WP1.

18th June - Day 10 - A couple of hours of mining. Single Tritium hotspot in Droju VF-A c3-10. Fuel tanks about a quarter full now. One more night of mining should give enough to allow jumping to resume.
Still 6 jumps to WP1.

19th June - Day 11 - A good day jumping and mining. I have pressed on to Waypoint 1 but wasn’t able to manage it before I had to turn in for the night.
1 more jump to WP1

20th June - Day 12 - Made it to WP1. Pleased to see another Carrier already present in the system - The Babylon 6. Looking to purchase mined goodies of various types. Good to know. There are two single Tritium Hotspots in the system and as unfortunately the Conflux mining is an extraction only economy, there isn't any Triitum for sale in the markets. Looks like I will be here a few days whilst I restock my reserves.

 

[Darkfyre99]

Hello, DSSA Eleanor!

I'm presently en-route from Beagle point to Colonia, slowly making my way back after Distant Worlds' Two. You're one of four DSSA Carriers I had anticipated encountering in the near future. I'm presently near Masefield's Ocean, on course towards Galactic Unity's future home.

Hope to see you along the way!

 

[Snowymonk]

Hopefully see you in the black

 

[Darkfyre99]

Hello again!

The other three DSSA carriers that I’d anticipated encountering kind of zipped by me so fast, I had no hope of interacting with them.

Thankfully, you’re moving at a more sensible pace, so I’m diverting from my course to Colonia, and am planning on back tracking the route you’re taking, scouting for Tritium hotspots along the way. I’m about 70 jumps away from Waypoint 10, and tend to average about 30 jumps a week.

I’ll be registering any double+ hot spots I stumble upon with the Tritium Pathway Network, but they’re not interested in single spots. Would you be interested in the location of any single hot spots I find along the way?

 

[Snowymonk]

Hello again!

The other three DSSA carriers that I’d anticipated encountering kind of zipped by me so fast, I had no hope of interacting with them.

Thankfully, you’re moving at a more sensible pace, so I’m diverting from my course to Colonia, and am planning on back tracking the route you’re taking, scouting for Tritium hotspots along the way. I’m about 70 jumps away from Waypoint 10, and tend to average about 30 jumps a week.

I’ll be registering any double+ hot spots I stumble upon with the Tritium Pathway Network, but they’re not interested in single spots. Would you be interested in the location of any single hot spots I find along the way?

I am primarily following the path of the original DW2 route out towards Beagle and using Spansh for systems with ICY rings to restock. I don't know how it knows about Tritium hotspots. Whether it is calculated, or from known responses, it has proven accurate in nearly all systems so far.

 

[Darkfyre99]

I am primarily following the path of the original DW2 route out towards Beagle and using Spansh for systems with ICY rings to restock. I don't know how it knows about Tritium hotspots. Whether it is calculated, or from known responses, it has proven accurate in nearly all systems so far.

If it’s working for you, no sense changing things up. Spansh uses EDSM, and I’ve been uploading my journals to them, so in theory it should know everything I do.

Based on what you wrote above, you finish your daily jump sequence about the same time I generally log in, which will make a rendezvous a lot easier. With luck, we’ll cross paths between waypoint eight and nine. Look forward to seeing you then, if not sooner.

 

[Darkfyre99]

Had a good stretch of playable time last week, combined with some rather uninteresting systems, so I arrived at Waypoint 10 much earlier than expected. I'm now on my way towards Waypoint 9... and am also making good time, thanks to more uninteresting systems.

 

[Snowymonk]

Had a good stretch of playable time last week, combined with some rather uninteresting systems, so I arrived at Waypoint 10 much earlier than expected. I'm now on my way towards Waypoint 9... and am also making good time, thanks to more uninteresting systems.

I glad you are making use of it.
It follows the high-level Distant World 2 expedition route.
There were some great sights on that expedition

Link to the original expedition planning done by people far better than me:

[DW2] Distant Worlds 2 - A Journey of Discovery

EXPEDITIONARY ROUTE & ITINERARY LINK AN INSIGHT INTO PLANNING DW2 LINK ORIGINAL EXPEDITION & CG PROPOSAL LINK DISTANT WORLDS 2 - A JOURNEY OF DISCOVERY EXPEDITION OVERVIEW AND PROJECT SYNOPSIS Logo by Qohen Leth (original concept by Hi-Ban) with assets borrowed from Frontier...

forums.frontier.co.uk

 

[Darkfyre99]

I glad you are making use of it.
It follows the high-level Distant World 2 expedition route.
There were some great sights on that expedition

Link to the original expedition planning done by people far better than me:

[DW2] Distant Worlds 2 - A Journey of Discovery

EXPEDITIONARY ROUTE & ITINERARY LINK AN INSIGHT INTO PLANNING DW2 LINK ORIGINAL EXPEDITION & CG PROPOSAL LINK DISTANT WORLDS 2 - A JOURNEY OF DISCOVERY EXPEDITION OVERVIEW AND PROJECT SYNOPSIS Logo by Qohen Leth (original concept by Hi-Ban) with assets borrowed from Frontier...

forums.frontier.co.uk

Thanks. I was part of the expedition, though trying to keep pace with my usual available time to play, as well as my rather unorthodox exploration style, was a PITA. That probably explains why as I got closer to waypoint 10, I suddenly starting encountering systems that were already explored, which takes all the mystery out of my style of exploration, and thus the fun.

Which is a good thing in the long run. I've gotten anxious to deliver all this data, as well as get back to the Bubble by the end of the year. Having an excuse not to stop and explore every system along the way will speed me along my way.

 

[P-DaRay]

Hi. I hopped back in (playing on PC). But for some reason, can't repair my ship, nor sell my exploration data. I have 3 ships on board and can't use them too.
Anyhow. This seemed interesting trip, would love to do some mining aswel on the way. o7

 

[Snowymonk]

Hi. I hopped back in (playing on PC). But for some reason, can't repair my ship, nor sell my exploration data. I have 3 ships on board and can't use them too.
Anyhow. This seemed interesting trip, would love to do some mining aswel on the way. o7

Repair and UC have been disabled. (sorry, I wasn't aware you were onboard).
Give me an hour or so to switch them back on.

 

[P-DaRay]

Repair and UC have been disabled. (sorry, I wasn't aware you were onboard).
Give me an hour or so to switch them back on.

Thank you! I'll have a beer while waiting. Cheers o7

EDIT: Playing cross-platform with carriers, is like being on ghost ship.

 

[Snowymonk]

Thank you! I'll have a beer while waiting. Cheers o7

EDIT: Playing cross-platform with carriers, is like being on ghost ship.

Lol... Carrier services re-enabled.
Jumping will resume nightly between 22:00 and 23:00 UTC (subject to Tritium reserves)

 

[P-DaRay]

Lol... Carrier services re-enabled.
Jumping will resume nightly between 22:00 and 23:00 UTC (subject to Tritium reserves)

Here with you!

 

[Snowymonk]

4th July - Day 26 - Made it to WP3 - LLyn Tegid Nebula.
I had decided to head straight towards Explorers Anchorage when I left Conflux mining but got a bit lost in the black hence the lack of journal updates.
Jumped into a couple of lovely systems but hit no Tritium deposits.
Decided to head towards the Colonia highway with what little reserves I had, in case I needed to call in rescue.
By day 20, it had got to the stage of having to drop the mining ship to economic routeing and explore ahead as carrier reserves were so low.
On day 25 ( 3rd July) Got lucky and hit a Tritium Double hotspot. Tanks refilled and normal jumping resumed.

Will be leaving WP3 Monday evening (6th July) 22:00 UTC

 

[Snowymonk]

6th July - Day 28.
Paid one final visit to a fellow fleet carrier based in the LLyn Tegid Nebula - The Boitata Honorato
Departed WP3 - next stop Polo harbour.
Left WP3 on schedule. Tanks were not completely full but had sufficient to get us to the next Tritium hotspot.
Back on the road again.

7th July - Day 29
Another 1000 ly towards the target. Broadly following the Colonia highway. On current progress, we look to be reaching WP4 - Polo harbour in another three days. Scouted ahead via the Galaxy map. It looks like we’ll be joining another Fleet Carrier that is already at WP4, for a day or so at least.

8th July - Day 30
Onward, forever onward. Starting to get into a nice routine. Jump into a system, discovery scan the planets and head off to any icy rings to scan for Trtium Hotspots before returning to the Carrier to cash in the UC.
Have picked up a request from one of the ships accompanying the carrier to look for a outfitters so that they can change their mining set-up. It doesn't look like Polo Harbour will have what we need so currently looking at the feasibility of extending the expedition further along the Colonia highway to fly past Kashyapa.

9th July - Day 31
Finished yesterday in a system without a Tritium hotspot so spent most of today scouting the surrounding systems. Finally found one a couple of Ly away. Finished off the evening with an hour or two of mining. Will resume tomorrow to hopefully source enough Tritium to complete the journey to WP4 - Polo Harbour. Will definitely make it by Saturday.

10th July - Day 32
Rolled in to Polo Harbour last thing before turning in for the night.
Will spend the weekend here restocking the tanks and patching up repairs.

 

[Snowymonk]

20th July - Day 42.
We are all but adrift.
Our mechanics are scratching their collective heads.
We are parked in a system with a couple of Tritium hotspots present and only fumes in the tanks.
Miners are returning from the rings reporting that they are unable to find any reasonable amounts of Tritium.
This, coupled with reports that we are getting that Colonia markets have dried up has put us in a difficult position.

We are 2500 ly from Colonia and progress has ground to a halt.

 

[Darkfyre99]

Sorry to hear about that. I’m about an hour away from Waypoint Nine at my normal pace of exploration. I can’t help with mining, needless to say, but my offer to report what I find as I scout backwards along your route remains on the table. Unfortunately, I’ve only found one double tritium hot spot so far.