A History of Humanity in Space
1900 Small Steps, Giant Leaps 2000
2001 The New Millenium 2042
2043 The War of Chinese Hegemony 2046
2047 One Sun, Many Worlds 2080
2081 A New Sun
Small Steps, Giant Leaps
1900 Max Planck suggests the quantum nature of light.
1905 Albert Einstein writes "On the Electrodynamics of Moving Bodies" containing the Special Theory of Relativity.
1915 Albert Einstein proposes the General Theory of Relativity.
1916 Karl Schwarzschild proposes the idea of black holes.
1926 Werner Heisenberg formulates the Uncertainty Principle of quantum mechanics.
1939 September 1 Germany invades Poland. Nominal beginning of the Second World War.
1945 August 6 Atomic bomb dropped on Hiroshima by U.S. forces.
1945 August 14 Japan surrenders, ending World War II.
1945 October 24 United Nations Charter activated.
1957 October U.S.S.R. launches Sputnik 1, first man-made object to orbit Earth.
1957 November Sputnik 2 carries dog Laika into space, the first Earth life to reach orbit.
1959 Soviet Union launches Luna 1, first human spacecraft to orbit Sol, and Luna 2, first human spacecraft to reach the moon.
1961 Soviet cosmonaut Yuri A. Gagarin is first human in space.
1962 U.S. spacecraft Mariner 2 becomes first human-made interplanetary traveler, passing Venus.
1964 Mariner 4 (U.S.) reaches Mars.
1965 Soviet cosmonaut Alexei Leonov makes the first spacewalk.
1969 July 20 Neil Armstrong and Edwin "Buzz" Aldrin become the first humans to set foot on the moon.
1977 Voyagers 1 and 2 are launched by U.S. to visit Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus (2) and Neptune (2).
1981 Space Shuttle Columbia launched by U.S.
1986 January 28 Space Shuttle Challenger explodes 73 seconds after launch.
1986 February U.S.S.R. launches Mir Space Station.
1991 Persian Gulf War conducted by U.S. and allied forces to end the Iraqi occupation of Kuwait.
1999 May during NATO operations in Yugoslavia, the Chinese Embassy is destroyed by NATO bombs.
The New Millenium
2002 International Space Station Freedom completed.
2005 wars and terrorism wrack the Middle East; the Sunni government in Iraq is overthrown.
2006 the United Islamic Republic is formed from the unification of Iran and Iraq.
2008 physicists at MIT, in conjunction with Lawrence Livermore National Laboratories and CERN, succeed in creating a controlled, sustainable fusion reaction.
2010 Diana Mission (U.S.) to establish lunar base at Tycho.
2012 Herschel Probe (U.S.) dispatched to Uranus.
2014 Great Britain builds world's first fusion power plant.
2015 September 9 Tycho City officially founded; although a U.S. base, other nations and corporations are allowed to "lease" space.
2015 December Tycho massdriver construction begun. It is funded by Japan/ ESA but will be controlled by the U.S.
2016 first U.S. fusion power plant is operational at Tycho.
2017 Adams/ Levierre Probe (U.S./ ESA) launched towards Neptune.
2018 massdriver completed; lunar rock hurled into Earth orbit used to begin construction of O'Neill One at L-5 (massdriver use costs are covered by the U.S.; construction is UN funded).
2020 due to human rights violations, U.S. officially bars Chinese nationals and corporations from Freedom and Tycho.
2026 March China founds Ywe Lung (Moon Dragon) base at Fracastorias (Luna). Despite international law, it is armed.
2026 April international sanctions begin against China.
2026 September UN is reorganized to remove China from the security council. In protest, many developing nations refuse to support this action.
2027 January 28 the reformed United Nations is officially recognized by NATO and all of its member nations.
2027 February Japan refuses to honor UN reorganization after China resumes nuclear testing.
2027 March 17 the new UN is officially recognized by Russia.
2027 December by this point, most states belong to the United Nations once more. Notable exceptions are Japan, the UIR, China, and Vietnam.
2028 April sanctions against China eased as certain human-rights issues resolved and China agrees to nuclear test ban.
2028 November joint NASA/ESA mission to Mars departs with goal of establishing permanent base.
2029 February 8 Elysium Base founded on Mars.
2030 April O'Neill One finished; it is officially recognized as a protectorate of the U.N.
2030 August 5 United Nations Space Agency (UNSA) created to administer space colonies and affairs.
2034 Copernicus City founded on Luna by UNSA as Prometheus Station is begun at L-2.
2036 Peoples' Army barracks near Baotou, China is destroyed. The Chinese government blames Mongolian separatists and accuses Taiwan of supporting them. This is the first of several terrorist actions in China over the next several years.
2039 Prometheus Station completed; in orbit on the far side of the moon, it features telescopes and construction facilities for deep space probes and ships.
The War of Chinese Hegemony
2043 May 12 War of Chinese Hegemony begins as China invades Taiwan.
2043 May 14 The U.S. begins airstrikes against Chinese targets.
2043 June 5 China declares that all of SE Asia belongs to it after North Korea agrees to an alliance. Japan agrees to become a member of the UN, and agrees to support NATO attempts to retake Taiwan and reduce China's military.
2043 August 20 China attempts to simultaneously capture Okinawa and invade Korea.
2043 August 24 Okinawa falls to China.
2043 September 27 South Korea surrenders to China/ North Korea.
2043 October 10 U.S. officially declares war on China.
2043 December 4 Russia declares war on China.
2044 May 1 Allied forces retake Okinawa.
2044 October 18 As the war effort largely stalls, Ywe Lung fires rocks from its massdriver into Okinawa and Fukuoka, Japan, resulting in approximately 250,000 casualties.
2044 October 25 Martial law is declared in Ywe Lung after many scientists, students, and engineers protest massdriver attacks.
2044 October 30 U.S. forces attack Ywe Lung in an attempt to seize the massdriver.
2044 November 12 Ywe Lung officially surrenders to the UNSA.
2045 July 30 in desperation, China uses nuclear weapons against Russian and Allied troops. The U.S. responds with submarine launched cruise missles with tactical nuclear warheads.
2045 August 6 "100 years and nothing learned" mass protests around the world.
2046 February word of atrocities in conquered territories reaches the public.
2046 March 30 Taiwanese ex-nationals seize Ywe Lung mass driver. They treaten to use it against Chinese targets if the war is not immediatly ended with conquered territories vacated by Chinese military units.
2046 March 31 as U.S. orbital marines attempt to breach the mass driver, it is fired, sending approximatly 20 tons of lunar rock into Beijing and the surrounding area. Although an official death count is not available, estimates reach 1,000,000 dead as a result of this action.
2046 April 1 many battles begin in Chinese territory as conquered peoples, dissidents, and power-hungry warlords attempt to seize power after the loss of most central control.
2046 May 5 Taiwan declares itself free of Chinese rule.
2046 June 15 United Korea free of Chinese military units.
2046 July 3 Chinese warlord Tsu Tao Chu offers unconditional surrender of all remaining Chinese forces to the West. In reality, he controls only 72% of the military, and sporadic fighting occurs for months.
2046 November 12 Hong Kong Peace Accords signed. China is welcomed into the United Nations as a probationary ward.
One Sun, Many Worlds
2047 August World Disarmament Conference held in Paris.
2047 October a coalition of leading citizens from Luna and Orbit manage, with great popular support, to have measures passed that make the detonation of nuclear weapons a crime, an atrocity against mankind.
2048 as economies regain a peace footing, a 8.1 magnitude earthquake hits Japan. The already reeling Japanese economy collapses, causing markets around the world to fall.
2049 swayed by public opinion, the U.S. Senate finally approves the Nuclear Free Act. It containes provision for the use of nuclear power plants.
2050 world economic depression worsens as earthquakes continue around the Ring of Fire and drought affects much of Asia and North America.
2051 June an 7.7 magnitude quake strikes Los Angeles. Secondary quakes and aftershocks affect the rest of California, averaging 4.1-7.1 in magnitude.
2052 many wealthy individuals emigrate to Orbit, Luna, and Mars. The abundant mineral and energy resources keeps economies here booming.
2053 Mars is recognized as effectively being its own state, and is granted ward status in the UN.
2054 a partnership between megacorps Biogene, Orbital Air, and Microtech is founded to control the market in space transport/ manufacturing.
2055 O'Neill Two begun at L-4. Many corporations include travel costs for self and family as a sign-on bonus with an orbital work contract.
2056 Salamiyah Mining and Transportation Company founded at just-settled corporate town of New Damascus, Syria Planum, Mars.
2058 helped in part by the need to educate and move workers into space, as well as by new products, abundant energy, and an outward spirit, Earth's economy re-obtains its pre-war level.
2059 Salamiyah becomes the first corporation to mine an asteroid for rare metals.
2060 anti-trust suits against Biogene/ OA/ Microtech are concluded in the U.S. The corporations are able to show that they are not suppressing competition.
2062 O'Neill Two completed. Under the UNSA, it is divided into corporate sectors.
2063 several children born in B/O/M controlled space habitats display an amazing affinity for space, but have severe allergies and become somnolent and ill in even minimal gravity.
2065 the UNSA brings charges against B/O/M for human experimentation after it is dicovered that their employees' children have had genome modifications.
2066 January prototype Outer Solar System Explorer Discovery construction begun at Prometheus Station.
2067 November Biogene is found liable of requiring employees to submit to dangerous genetic experiments. In an effort to distance themselves from this PR catastrophe, Orbital Air and Microtech officially end their association with Biogene.
2068 protesters riot at a Biogene facility in Germany. Biogene security kills 5 and wounds 33. As a result, Biogene is officially sanctioned by the UN. The corporation collapses; its research and remaining assets are divided up by other corporations.
2069 ancient formations discovered on Mars that strongly resemble artificial structures.
2072 Explorer launched towards Jupiter.
2073 Explorer enters Jupiter orbit.
2075 Astronomers John Masters and Yuri Vishenko note anomalous comet tracks. They publish their findings of an orbiting body beyond Pluto.
2076 Physicist Josef Ben-Gurion proposes that Masters and Vishenko have discovered a Lorentzian wormhole.
2079 Orpheus probe, managed by the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, is launched from Prometheus Station.
2080 September 29 Orpheus probe reaches object and confirms that it appears to be a Lorentzian wormhole.
2080 December 1 Orpheus probe enters the wormhole.
2080 December 6 Orpheus probe reemerges from the wormhole and begins broadcasting mankind's first views from another star system.
A New Sun
2081 the UNSA approves plans for the exploration of Tau Ceti through the wormhole.
2084 Endeavor (Discovery-class ship) is launched from Prometheus for the wormhole.
2085 the Endeavor enters the wormhole after placing a relay station in orbit.
2088 Endeavor returns to Sol System. A habitable planet has prompted the approval of a colonization effort, to be called the Athena Project.
2099 the Aeneas, first ship of the Athena Project, departs for Tau Ceti.
