How to start No Man’s Sky Expedition 2: Beachhead/Normandy

No Man’s Sky Expedition 2: Beachhead/Normandy is the most popular Expedition in the game to date. The reason for this is that this is the Expedition from which you can earn the Normandy SR1 Frigate, inspired by the Mass Effect franchise. The Expedition went live in late 2021 but is being brought back as part of Hello Games’ Expeditions Revisited initiative. This guide covers how to start the Expedition so that you can get on the path to the Normandy. 

At the time of writing, the latest version of No Man’s Sky Expedition 2: Beachhead/Normandy will be live from December 8 to 21, 2021.

Step 1: Start a new game

Open No Man’s Sky and select the option for singleplayer. Next, select an empty save file to start a new game on the next screen. You’ll need to do this because any old community Expedition files will be converted to standard save files once those Expeditions end.

Step 2: Select community Expedition

To start No Man’s Sky Expedition 2: Beachhead/Normandy, select the option on the right-hand side of the screen to start a new community Expedition. This will launch you into the Expedition at the chosen location, slightly different from how standard save files work in the game. From there, it’s down to you to complete every Milestone and Phase to unlock the Normandy SR1 Frigate.