Well, that was more info than I expected. Might I ask what those exploration buoys do? Are they basically automated telescopes that gather astronomical data on a system, that gets periodically downloaded by a service ship?Arioch wrote: The departure point was Esperanza at 82 Eridani. They would have left in multiple groups, the first including the lead scouts Pellew and Utsumi and the support ship Cavadini, which set up a supply base at the halfway point. The second group included Bellarmine, Matveyev, the transport Prabhu and the frigate Hampton. Both groups rendezvoused at the halfway point to refuel; Hampton returned toward human space to deliver a progress report, and Prabhu and the four scouts continued to the relay point located near Loroi/Umiak space. From the relay point, each of the four scouts took separate paths. The plan called for a third group including Tartakovsky, Galvin and Russell to be sent out for resupply and relay.
The TCA maintains a few buoys in systems they control (for navigational aids and as communication relays); there are not many beyond Esperanza as no regular traffic goes that way, but you would run into a few exploration buoys as you approached 82 Eridani from Loroi/Umiak space.
Are there any more stations/outposts in the Eridani system (apart from the planet itself)?
One more question would be whether asteroid mining is prevalent (it would not seem so in the setting)?
I must say, the expedition seems to have been quite a serious undertaking from a logistics standpoint.