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About Solar Expanse - Space Exploration Manager
Solar Expanse puts you at the helm of an early 21st‑century space exploration company. You must schedule launches, manage costs, and navigate the constantly moving planets, moons and asteroids of the Solar System. By using gravity assists and careful timing, you can extend the reach of each rocket.
As you profit from mining water‑rich and metal‑rich bodies, you unlock larger projects: fuel stations, launch sites, space elevators and permanent colonies. The ultimate ambition is to terraform moons and planets, then build an interstellar ship to explore generated star systems such as Alpha Centauri or Kepler.
01 / THE GUIDE
Company Management
You lead a space exploration corporation, deciding which missions to fund and when to launch them. The game tracks costs and schedules, rewarding efficient planning.
Profits from delivered resources let you expand the corporation, allowing larger‑scale projects and more ambitious contracts for permanent bases.
- Compare the profit margins of water‑rich versus metal‑rich asteroids before committing a launch.
- Balance early low‑cost missions with later high‑value contracts to keep cash flow steady.
02 / THE GUIDE
Flight Planning & Gravity Slingshot
Each celestial object is in constant motion, so precise timing is essential for successful flights. You can exploit gravity effects to slingshot rockets farther than a direct launch would allow.
Accurate scheduling helps you optimize flight costs and plan successful deliveries to a target body.
- Map the orbital paths of nearby planets to find optimal slingshot windows.
- Schedule launches when the target body is moving toward your approach vector.
03 / THE GUIDE
Resource Scanning & Mining
Deploy telescopes, arrays and probes to gather data on asteroid composition. Some asteroids contain water, others precious metals, and scanning helps you prioritize the most profitable targets.
After identification, you can send rockets to mine and deliver the resources back to Earth or colonies for profit.
- Prioritize scanning missions for unknown belt objects before committing mining rockets.
- Cross‑reference water‑rich scans with future colony water needs.
04 / THE GUIDE
Construction & Infrastructure
With sufficient funds you can build fuel stations, launch sites, space catapults, elevators and entire colonies on selected bodies. These structures support further expansion across the system.
Contracts appear as you progress, tasking you with establishing permanent bases on various objects, which become hubs for later operations.
- Place fuel stations on bodies that serve as frequent slingshot points to cut refuel trips.
- Use elevators where gravity is low to streamline material transport.
05 / THE GUIDE
Long‑Term Goals & Interstellar Expansion
After mastering the Solar System, you can drop water asteroids onto Mars, mine Io and Titan, and eventually construct an interstellar ship. The game promises future content that lets you explore generated systems like Alpha Centauri or Kepler.
These later stages require thousands of flights and massive resource accumulation, reflecting the centuries‑long timeline of the project.
- Track cumulative resource totals to gauge when interstellar ship construction becomes feasible.
- Compare the resource profiles of different moons to decide which offers the best long‑term return.
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