Fuel
The galaxy is naturally composed of clusters of relatively close-by stars. Sol is relatively unusual in having its nearest neighbor over 4 light years away, which is not the case for most stars. For any given jump distance, groups of stars are naturally grouped into 3D ‘islands’ separated by that distance, and as the distance increases then the islands get bigger and there are fewer of them. This natural phenomenon provides a challenge to the smaller ships with limited jump distances, as quite often they have to go on quite a detour to reach a slightly further destination, or can choose to compromise on what they are carrying – perhaps stripping down their ship a little to make the jump in one. Ultimately it provides a challenge to explorers, especially as you move out of the galactic plane.
Fuel Requirements
Fuel consumption for a hyperspace jump will be determined by the total mass of your ship, the class and type of hyperdrive you have fitted, and the distance of the jump. Stripping some kit or cargo from your ship will extend the range a little, or doing multiple smaller jumps will take less fuel in total. In addition to this, normal propulsion and supercruise also use fuel, though vastly less than for long range hyperjumps with the Frame Shift Drive. Of course different ship types are able to accommodate different drive types, and will have different fuel capacities. You can increase the fuel capacity of your ship by mounting a Fuel Tank.
During normal operation, a small amount of fuel that is proportionate to the demands you are placing on your power plant, is drawn continuously - the higher the power demand the faster your fuel is used. Fuel use in normal space is a good deal less than in supercruise, but even then a single tank will last a significant amount of time. In comparison, hyperspace jumps are extremely thirsty, because of the much larger distances. However, it would require much more time and fuel when travelling from one sun to another on supercruise.
Refueling Options
You can re-fuel your ship at star ports. You can identify Star Ports that offer refueling in the System Map.
Later on in development, there will be dedicated refueling outposts.
When you buy a Fuel Scoop, you are be able to replenish your fuel by scooping directly from stars and gas giants (but you will find that not all such naturally occurring sources of fuel are equal in quality).
Eventually benefit from the milk of human kindness of your fellow Pilot Federation members who may be persuaded to ‘fill you up’ via a ship-to-ship fuel transfer.
Stranding
When you run out of fuel in a system without refueling stations and without a fuel scoop or scoopable sun, you are stranded. It this case you should choose to self-destruct, which puts you back to the last safepoint, but may be costly.