CMDR Petrenus profile > Logbook

Profile
Commander name:
Current ship:
BPS - ASTRAEUS [PE-02E]
(Anaconda)
 
Member since:
Mar 18, 2019
 
Distances submitted:
35
 
Systems visited:
4,839
Systems discovered first:
1,909
Between Beaten Paths - Preparations 3

The big plan!
The route of the big exploration is taking on form. I have tried to find a way that avoids the big travel routes taken so far and I have taken my time to study the maps available by universal cartographics. The idea of course is to find new systems and trilaterate them to improve maps as well as document new stars and planets while still incorporating the big obvious stops at Colonia, Sagittarius A* and in the end reach Beagle point.
I have not plotted a return journey from there yet and I am not sure if I will follow a predefined route back as well or if I plot one step at a time. This is already a very big plan.
I am not under time pressure but looking at the stats so far is somewhat intimidating. Not only is the furthest point more than 65 thousand LY away but the actual path is almost 140 thousand LY long.

The big plan

I will check all my plans and replenish my stocks of manufactured materials before I leave the bubble. Not only for the purpose of synthesis but also for the chance to visit the engineers I have been told about in Colonia.

I am confident at this point that my ship will be able to carry me all this way. Named after Astraeus, or Astraios, the Titan and God of the dusk, father of the four winds. He was also known as the Titan god of stars, planets and the art of astrology. This ship is meant to be out there amongst the stars and map the galaxy.

Hesiod, Theogony 375 ff (trans. Evelyn-White) (Greek epic C8th or C7th B.C.):
"And Eurybia, bright goddess, was joined in love to Krios (Crius) and bare great Astraios (Astraeus, the Starry-One)..."

Between Beaten Paths - Preparations 2

Still in the bubble. I am busy with preparing the expedition and planing a possible route. So far I know that I want to see Colonia and Sagittarius A* but select a route in sectors that are mostly unexplored. That also means to stay away from the obvious direct route.
As a second test I visited the Skardee system today to perform the second trial on the ship, a heat test. The planet Skardee 1 is very close to the stars corona and well within the fuel scooping zone. After depletion of my heatsinks I decided to abort the first try to land on the first planet. It is probably a downside of the amount of comfort I build into the ship, she runs cool but approaching this planet leads to systems overheating fairly quickly.

Heat test on Skardee 3

My second attempt at landing on Skardee 3 actually worked quite well. Skardee 3 is still in the scooping zone of the star and has a surface temperature of 884K. The ship did manage the approach and the landing on the planet without any overheating so I am happy with it.
I guess the engineering is done. The only question would be to maybe change the engineering on the heat sinks to increase their ammo amount? I will think about that while I return to Tewanta for now and while I continue with planning the trip I will base myself there and help The Buurian Protectorate.

Skardee 3

Preparations for the Between Beaten Paths Trip

Just finished the last engineering touches on my Anaconda. The BPS - ASTRAEUS is now ready for the next exploration trip. It has not been long since I came back to the bubble and I had some plans here but I cannot deny that after just some short days everything in me wants to head back out. I will do some last trials on the ship and take my time to properly plan and organise the trip because I have a feeling that this will be a long time out in the black.

Last engineering touches in Achenar

The Anaconda however brings everything I could possibly need. It flies like a pregnant cow to be honest but in supercruise and for what I need she is unbeatable. I am bringing a fighter hanger though to be able to fly something more nimble every once in a while.

First test for the new exploration ship. As I am in Achenar for the final engineering touches I went to land her on Achenar 3. Good for some raw materials as well.
Man, that sure scratched the paint in the end. Well better to test it here where repairs can still be done.
The Anaconda might be the lightest of the big ships but that still means bringing down a mass of about 700t. On Achenar 3 with 6,73g that means the thrusters have to counter 46,2 MN of force, well disregarding descent velocity. I have to admit that I ended up switching on the flight assist to help with the final touch down. Although I don't like doing it but the thrusters where screaming and releasing the pressure on upward thrust could have easily cost me the ship here.
Luckily I regard this as a stress test and it's not very likely to be landing on planets with such high gravity. Apart from the fact that I cannot stand it very long despite the assistance of the suit, I also just put more than 46 MJ of energy to thrust which overstressed the reactor of the ship to about 160% of it's nominal capacity. Should not be doing this too much while I am away from any chance to repair the power plant.
Still nice to know that it is possible and manageable with the help of the computer.

Leaving Achenar 3 in one piece