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FrontierAstro has now been online for over a quarter of a century! I certainly couldn't have imagined that when I picked up an HTML reference book at the beginning of 2001 and took my first faltering steps towards launching a website. Initially I used the webspace which came with my BT internet package to get online, but it became apparent that I needed something better so I switched to LCN Hosting (or Low Cost Names, as it was known then) where the site has remained ever since.
Above is how the website looked around 18 months after launch. In the early days, changes to the site were much more frequent, as I tried to establish a settled look. Although I've removed the links, many of them would still work now as some sections of the site have remained unchanged. One thing I learned from experience was to reduce reliance on external websites to provide content. Often they would fail to respond, leaving pages with items and graphics missing. In fact, as of 2025, FrontierAstro is entirely self-contained; plenty of links to other places, but without relying on them.
My motivation for starting the site was to combine my hobby of astronomy with the computer games Frontier Elite 2 (FE2) and Frontier First Encounters (FFE). Although I enjoyed playing Elite before those games came out, it was the Frontier games simulating the "real" galaxy around us which I found more interesting. It became possible to dock at a space station or space port in the Altair system in Frontier, for example, and then look up in the night sky and observe the corresponding star with my own eyes. This, as well as for other reasons, cemented Frontier's position as my all-time favourite computer game.
I started collecting the original Elite games in around 2003, mainly for nostalgia, as the BBC version was part of my childhood. At that time, eBay was a great source of reasonably priced retro games which meant I was able to build up my collection quite quickly, including both Elite and Frontier games. The sections of the website devoted to Elite and Frontier are by far the largest; I don't see the point of including a great deal of astronomy information when there are so many great resources elsewhere on the web. So the astronomy section concentrates a little more on the cross-over with the Frontier games, although there are other items there as well, such as monthly star maps for the casual observer and a constellation pronunciation guide.
I have to be realistic and admit that FrontierAstro is unlikely to change from its rather basic appearance any time soon. I simply don't have the spare time or the inclination to put in the hours of work this would require. Hopefully though, it will continue to be a source of useful information about the FEU (Frontier Elite Universe) and astronomy for some considerable time yet!
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