On Jan. 13, 2018 nearly 12,000 commanders in Elite: Dangerous embarked on an epic, 200,000-light year journey to the edge of the Milky Way.

What began as a bold adventure for a single player named Commander Erimus Kamzel has spawned the largest fleet in MMO history. With nearly 12,000 players signed up on day one, the fleet is roughly 10 times larger than the one assembled for the original Distant Worlds in 2016. The one-way trip to Beagle Point, the star farthest from the center of Elite’s simulation of our Milky Way galaxy, will take roughly 18 weeks. Then, the fleet will need to chart a course home.