CHRONOLOGY

Space exploration and certain major historic events, with special reference to [Voyager]
and other Star Trek, with Star Trek series and films shown in bold print. Illustrated.
section abbreviations

YEAR	EVENTS	MINI-PIC
1609	Galileo Galilei builds the first astronomical telescope. His observations about the moon, planets in the solar system, the sun, and individual stars in the Milky Way confirm Copernican theories. The sky is no longer the sole domain of mystics.	Galileo
1639	On 24th November, in England Jeremiah Horrocks and William Crabtree are the first to observe the transit of Venus across the sun, with Horrocks making valuable records. Later Halley realises that timing Venus at certain points across the sun enables a very accurate calculation to be made of the distance from the Earth to the sun, vastly improving on the measurement by ancient Greek Anaximander in the 7th century BC (about 9 million miles out).
1666	Sir Isaac Newton postulates laws of universal gravitation - linking celestial and earthly mechanics - and his three laws of motion, and develops calculus to discover and describe his theories.	Sir Isaac Newton [#34 Death Wish]
1799	Henry Spencer builds a sailing ship, a schooner named Enterprise.	representation of the many English sailing ships that bore the name Enterprise or Enterprize, from [Enterprise] opening credits
1877	Astronomer Giovanni Virginio Schiaparelli observes what he believes are markings on Mars, which he calls canali which is Italian for channels or furrows. Canali is misinterpreted as "canals", suggesting artificial structures. With subsequent writings by Percival Lowell and others, humans actively speculate about intelligent life on other worlds.
1903	The Wright Brothers build and fly the first motorised airplane in Kitty Hawk, North Carolina, forever giving mankind "wings."	Kitty Hawk
1905	Albert Einstein introduces his Special Theory of Relativity and contributes to the development of quantum theory. Introducing the concept of space-time and postulating that mass and energy are equivalent and transposable, he formulates the equation E=mc2. In doing so, Einstein predicts that the velocity of light is the absolute "speed limit" in the universe.	Albert Einstein
1927	Aviator Charles Lindbergh makes the first non-stop solo transatlantic aeroplane flight and galvanises world interest in aviation.	Charles Lindbergh
1920's-1940's	Science-fiction books together with black-and-white movies and tv series become popular, for many increasing interest in space exploration. This is the era that, in the 24th century, Tom Paris, an officer aboard U.S.S. Voyager NCC-74656, will take a great interest in.	in 1996 Paris and Rain Robinson share an interest in sci-fi B-movies [#50 and #51 Future's End]
1936	American warship U.S.S. Enterprise CV-6, a Yorktown-class carrier, launches. She barely misses the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbour in 1941, an event that brings the United States into World War II on the side of Britain and her allies who have been valiantly resisting the evil ideology of Nazi Germany as well as its territorial conquests. The warship Enterprise will participate in every major battle in the Pacific theatre during World War II and become one of the most decorated ships in U.S. history.
1937	Aviator Amelia Earhart, who captured the world's attention as the first woman to match Lindbergh's transatlantic flight, vanishes somewhere over the Pacific Ocean while attempting to circumnavigate the globe. She will later be discovered in stasis, and revived, along with other contemporary kidnappees by the crew of U.S.S. Voyager NCC-74656 in 2371.	Amelia Earhart; [#20 The 37's]
1947	It is reported that observers in Roswell, New Mexico, find a strange craft, and its crew, crashed in the desert. Officials claim the object was a weather balloon. The events are depicted in [DS9: Little Green Men]. People begin to believe beings from outer space are visiting Earth. Test pilot Charles 'Chuck' Ellwood Yeager travels faster than the speed of sound in a new rocket-powered plane. Yeager's supersonic flight begins the Jet Age. A flight maneuver will be named 'the Yeager loop' after him and become one of the space flight maneuvers performed by cadets at Starfleet Academy in the 2360's.	newspaper two Roswell aliens, actually Ferengi named Rom and Nog Yeager's craft with Da Vinci's "flying machine" sketches and notes superimposed; from [Enterprise] opening credits
1957	Earth's Space Age, and the so-called space race, begins when the USSR puts an artificial satellite, Sputnik-1, into orbit around the planet. Although unverified, it has been reported that in October of this year a Vulcan scientific party observes Earth and the Sputnik launch. After three weeks of surreptitious intelligence gathering, the party is forced to land on the planet. The fate of the four Vulcans remains a mystery.	Sputnik-1
1960	Radio astronomer Frank D. Drake carries out humanity's first attempt to detect interstellar radio transmissions in an effort called SETI (Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence). The stars chosen by Drake for the first SETI search are Tau Ceti and Epsilon Eridani. In 1996, in an alternate timeline, astronomer Rain Robinson transmits the SETI message to a UFO, actually USS Voyager.	part of the SETI message
1961	Yuri Gagarin, a Russian, is the first human to achieve orbital space flight. His craft, Vostok I, circles the Earth once. The flight, which lasts less than two hours, proves that the human body can function in the weightlessness of space. The first nuclear-powered aircraft carrier, the U.S.S. Enterprise CVAN-65, is commissioned.	Yuri Gagarin
1969	NASA achieves the first manned lunar landing. The crew of Apollo 11 - Neil A. Armstrong and Edwin E. Aldrin, Jr. set down in the Sea of Tranquility, collect moon rocks, and return safely to Earth. The event is watched live by millions on Earth (including Janet).	'Buzz' Aldrin live picture from the moon, seen in [#117 11:59]
1972	The Pioneer 10 Jupiter fly-by space probe is launched. During its journey, the probe sends 500 images of this enormous planet, plus amazing technical data, back to Earth. This mission is followed up by Pioneer 11 and the Voyager series, all of which allow mankind to closely observe the large outer planets and their moons.
1976	Viking 2 lands on Mars at Utopia Planitia and sends images from the planet's red surface to Earth. Viking conducts experiments to discover the presence of microorganisms. The test results are debated. NASA unveils Enterprise (Space Shuttle OV-101), the prototype for its new fleet of re-usable Earth-orbiting shuttles. Flight testing begins the following year. The shuttle is called Enterprise after 400,000 Star Trek fans write to NASA requesting it. Utopia Planitia will become one of Starfleet's major starship-building facility in the 24th century.	Mars shuttle Enterprise from [Enterprise] opening credits Utopia Planitia, 24th century [#118 Relativity]
1977	Two identical, unmanned spacecraft, Voyager 1 and Voyager 2, are launched. In future years they will send back pictures of the planets Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune.	Voyager 1 from BBC2 'The Planets'
1983	Pioneer 10 passes Pluto's orbit boundary and becomes the first man-made object to exit Earth's solar system. The probe carries an engraved plaque with a message of greetings from the people of Earth.
1986	The first human habitat in permanent Earth orbit, the Mir space station, begins construction. Mir becomes a shared resource and training ground for future space stations.	Mir space station
1986	NASA's space shuttle Challenger explodes shortly after lift-off, killing all seven on board including the first private citizen in space. The tragedy brings the manned space program to a temporary halt pending an investigation. The investigation subsequently blames safety compromises as the result of budgetary cut-backs.
1990	The Hubble Telescope, a 2.4 m (94 inch) reflecting telescope, is put into Earth orbit on 25th April by the space shuttle Discovery. The space telescope, controlled from Earth, makes observations in the ultraviolet, optical, and infrared regions of the spectrum, detecting objects up to seven times further from the Earth than was possible with Earth-based telescopes. Because of the finite velocity of light, therefore, it should be possible to observe objects as they were seven times further into the past but this cannot be done until 1993 when a built-in error is corrected by astronauts from the space shuttle Endeavour.	Hubble Telescope
1992-96	The Eugenics Wars. A group of genetically bred 'supermen' seize control of one-quarter of Earth, plunging the planet into terrible conflict. The Eugenics Wars end when the 'supermen' tyrants are overthrown. One, Khan Noonien Singh, and his followers escape into space aboard the sleeper ship called S.S. Botany Bay. He will be discovered and revived in 2267 [TOS: Space Seed]. During 1996, by thwarting corporate executive Henry Starling, USS Voyager from 2373 helps to prevent the large-scale destruction of Earth's solar system in the 29th century [#50 and #51 Future's End].	Khan [TOS: Space Seed] Henry Starling
1996-97	Earth scientists announce the discovery that a Mars meteorite may contain fossilised evidence of primitive bacterial life. While the findings are considered inconclusive, the possibility that life may exist or have once existed on the Red Planet adds urgency to Martian exploration efforts. The Pathfinder spacecraft lands on Mars on 4th July 1997 and releases the Mars-rover vehicle Sojourner to explore the surface, and the mission yields over 16,000 Martian surface images.	Sojourner on Mars; screenshot from [Enterprise] opening credits
1999	The sixth space probe in the Voyager series is launched and continues studying the planets in Earth's solar system. Astronomers make the first direct observation of an extra-solar planet passing in front of a star, leading scientists to conclude that planetary systems may be a common phenomenon in the galaxy and boosting optimism that intelligent life exists elsewhere.
2000	The first resident crew of the International Space Station Alpha launches into orbit, establishing a permanent human presence in space. Mankind is no longer a purely planet-bound species.	from an animation of the ISS construction; from [Enterprise] opening credits
2002	Earth launches the first interstellar space probe, Nomad. Designed by Jackson Roykirk, Nomad is tasked with seeking out new life forms. The mutated Nomad will be discovered, and destroyed, by the crew of U.S.S. Enterprise NCC-1701 in 2366.	Nomad schematics [TOS: The Changeling]
2003	The entire crew of seven aboard the Space Shuttle Columbia is killed when the ship breaks up in the Earth's atmosphere. China launches their first national into space in the spacecraft named Shenzou 5. Voyager 1 leaves Earth's solar system.	Shenzou 5 (picture from Janet's personal collection)
2004	On 2nd March the European Space Agency launches the probe Rosetta, designed to meet, and (for the first time ever) land a probe on, a comet in 2014. NASA's Mars Rover explores the surface of Mars. On 8th June the transit of Venus across the sun is recorded for the first time using space telescopes, far more accurate than previous methods, enabling corroboration to be made of the distance from the Earth to the sun as already measured by NASA.	Mars Express at Mars, art
2009	Captain Shaun Geoffrey Christopher leads a successful Earth-Saturn space mission, paving the way for the continuation of manned space exploration.
2018	Propulsion technologies, and speeds, continue to improve. "Sleeper ships" become a thing of the past.
2030	Zefram Cochrane is born.
2032	On 19th October Lieutenant John Mark Kelly, piloting the Ares IV command module in Mars orbit, reports the approach of a large unknown object seconds before he and his craft vanish. Crewmates Rose Kumagawa and Andrei Novakovich, on the planet surface at the time, are stranded but later rescued. Kelly's body will later be discovered and given honourable burial by the crew of U.S.S. Voyager NCC-74656 in 2376.	Ares IV [#128 One Small Step]
2037	NASA launches a deep-space exploration vessel, Charybdis, with Colonel Steven Richey in command. This is the third mission of its kind to depart Earth. The first two were unsuccessful.
2053	World War III begins and humanity struggles to survive.
2063	In the post-war era, Zefram Cochrane converts an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) into the first faster-than-light, or warp, spaceship - the Phoenix. On 5th April, the Phoenix's test flight attracts the attention of other space travellers and first contact is soon made between humans and Vulcans.	the Phoenix first contact both from [ST VIII: First Contact]
2065	The first deep-space exploration vessel since 2037, the S.S. Valiant, departs Earth. Transmissions from the ship eventually die out. Its fate will be learned by the U.S.S. Enterprise NCC-1701 crew in 2366.
2067	John Burke of the Royal Academy is the first to map an area of space that contains Sherman's Planet.
2067	Because previous deep-space exploration attempts ultimately failed, a new approach, an unmanned probe named Friendship 1, leaves Earth with a message of peace, warp technology instructions, and an invitation to visit Earth. The consequences for a species in the Delta Quadrant will be discovered by the crew of U.S.S. Voyager in 2377 in [#167 Friendship One].	Friendship 1 descends towards a Delta Quadrant planet
2103	Humanity establishes a foothold on Mars and the colonisation process begins.
2113	Having learned the lessons of the last World War, the first United Earth government is established. Australia is the only nation that declines membership.
2119	The Warp 5 Complex is established to create technology that will allow humans to safely explore deep space. Zefram Cochrane is present during the dedication ceremony, during which he utters famous words including "seek out new life and new civilisations" and going boldly where no man has gone before. Cochrane, now advanced in years and a resident of the Alpha Centauri system, soon takes off for "parts unknown".
2123	A privately-funded ship, the Mariposa, departs Earth carrying two groups of colonists bound for the Ficus sector and the two planets selected as their new homelands.
c.2143	Starfleet pilot Jonathan Archer meets engineer Charles "Trip" Tucker III ("Trip" is short for "Triple") while the two officers are working together on tests for the warp-capable NX-Alpha and Beta ships. Henry Archer, Jonathan's father, was the main designer of the NX ship engine.
2150	Australia, the last hold-out, joins the United Earth government.
2151	Season 1 of [Enterprise] With veteran Starfleet pilot Jonathan Archer at the helm, the first Warp 5 capable ship, the Enterprise NX-01, is sent on its first mission. The actual launch is brought forward to 15th April when a diplomatic crisis escalates. The ship's assignment is to return a mysterious Klingon who landed on Earth at Broken Bow, Oklahoma, back to his homeworld. In late 2151 the Enterprise crew encounter a group of Ferengi without knowing their species name (see also 2364).	Captain Jonathan Archer
2152-53	Season 2 of [Enterprise] In late February 2153 mankind has an encounter with the Borg after two Borg drones are found frozen in the Arctic Circle, but the name "Borg" is not learned by the Enterprise NX-01 crew. Captain Archer mentions that Zefram Cochrane spoke 89 years previously at a speech given at Princeton about what really happened at First Contact: a group of humans thwarted the plans of conquest by cybernetic creatures but Cochrane retracted his words several years afterwards. Captain Archer comments that the invasion by the cybernetic creatures, who come from the Delta Quadrant, may have been merely delayed to the 24th century. The fate of Earth rests in the hands of Enterprise NX-01 and its crew as the NX-01 is assigned to find out more on the Xindi, a multi-species alien race responsible for an unprovoked attack on Earth that resulted in the deaths of millions. Several weeks after the attack, Enterprise enters an area of mysterious and uncharted space called the Delphic Expanse.	thawing cybernetic creature cybernetic creatures
2153-2244	events depicted in [Enterprise] Season 3 onwards The United Federation of Planets is founded.
2245	USS Enterprise NCC-1701 launched from San Francisco Yards under the command of Captain Robert April (the name Robert April is conjecture; Encyclopaedia includes Robert April because this is the name that Gene Roddenberry originally gave to his starship captain but it was never used on television)
2250	Christopher Pike assumes command of USS Enterprise NCC-1701 (conjecture).	Capt. Pike [TOS: The Menagerie]
2254	[TOS 1st pilot: The Cage]
2256	Pike completes his first 5-year mission commanding USS Enterprise NCC-1701 (conjecture)
2261	Pike completes his second 5-year mission commanding USS Enterprise NCC-1701 (conjecture)
2264	James Tiberius Kirk assumes command of Enterprise NCC-1701 and embarks on a 5-year mission	Captain Kirk; publicity shot
2265	[TOS: Where No Man Has Gone Before] (this was the second pilot for [TOS] and became the first episode of the series)
2266-67	Season 1 of [TOS]
2267-68	Season 2 of [TOS] USS Enterprise NCC-1701 discovers S.S. Botany Bay, and revives its occupants from stasis and relocate them on an empty planet. Also, USS Enterprise NCC-1701 discovers the fate of Nomad.	Khan [TOS: Space Seed] Nomad recorder marker [TOS: The Changeling]
2268-69	Season 3 of [TOS] 5-year mission of USS Enterprise NCC-1701 under Kirk ends.
2269-70	Major refit of USS Enterprise NCC-1701.
2270	To honour USS Enterprise NCC-1701's role in space exploration, Starfleet adopts its arrowhead emblem for all of Starfleet, with the addition of a background circle.
2271	[Star Trek: The Motion Picture]
2277	USS Enterprise NCC-1701 retired from exploratory service, assigned to Starfleet Academy.
2285	USS Enterprise NCC-1701 called out of retirement. Kirk faces a vengeful Khan, the genetically bred 'superman' he had relocated to a planet in 2267. USS Enterprise NCC-1701 is at the Genesis planet when it is destroyed [Star Trek II: The Wrath Of Khan]. Mention of the Genesis device's creator Dr Carol Marcus is made in Janeway's confidential log in [#89 The Omega Directive]. [Star Trek III: The Search For Spock]	Khan in 2285 Dr Carol Marcus [ST II: The Wrath Of Khan]
2286	The former Enterprise crew return home in a commandeered Klingon bird-of-prey in time to save humanity from an alien threat. USS Enterprise NCC-1701-A is launched. Kirk is demoted from admiral to captain and placed in command of the new starship. [Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home]	Enterprise-A [ST IV: The Voyage Home]
2287	USS Enterprise NCC-1701-A is hijacked and the crew forced to search for 'God'. [Star Trek V: The Final Frontier]	Enterprise-A [ST V: The Final Frontier]
2293	The Klingon moon Praxis explodes, crippling the Klingon economy and forcing the Khitomer peace accords between the Federation and the Klingon Empire. The peace accords are later explained to a generations-old Klingon sect travelling in the Delta Quadrant, [#160 Prophecy]. This is the era which Janeway experiences in 2373, in [#44 Flashback], with Tuvok through a mental technique that takes them back to Tuvok's experiences on USS Excelsior. [Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country]. The USS Enterprise NCC-1701-A is retired, and USS Enterprise NCC-1701-B launched but Kirk is lost, presumed killed, during its maiden voyage. His fate is learned in [Star Trek VII: Generations].	USS Excelsior caught in the explosion's shockwave [#44 Flashback]
2300-2350	Several future famous space pioneers are born, including Kathryn Janeway, Chakotay (2329; date from [#171 and #172 Endgame]), Harry Kim (2349), Annika Hansen (2348), etc., and (from [TNG] and [DS9]) Jean-Luc Picard (2305), William Riker (seen in [#34 Death Wish]), Worf (2340) and Bejamin Sisko (2332), and Data the android (mentioned in [#29 Prototype]) is found in 2338. In 2344 the USS Enterprise NCC-1701-C is destroyed at the planet Narendra III.	Enterprise-D [TNG: Season 3: Yesterday's Enterprise] Data [TNG: Season 3: The Ensigns Of Command]
2363	USS Enterprise NCC-1701-D is launched, the fifth starship to bear the name Enterprise, with Jean-Luc Picard commanding.	Enterprise-D [TNG: Season 1: Homesoil]
2364	Season 1 of [TNG] First known encounter with the Q. The Q, and one Q in particular, will visit USS Voyager in the Delta Quadrant three times in the 2370's [#34 Death Wish], [#53 The Q And The Gray], [#165 Q2].	[TNG: Season 1: Encounter At Farpoint]
2365	Season 2 of [TNG]. First officially known contact by mankind with the Borg.	[TNG: Season 2: Q Who?]
2366	Season 3 of [TNG]. For a time Picard is the prisoner of the Borg, transformed into Locutus. This event is mentioned by Janeway in [#68 and #69 Scorpion].	Locutus of Borg [TNG: Season 3: The Best Of Both Worlds, Part 1]
2367	Season 4 of [TNG]. The Battle of Wolf 359, an event referred to in [#59 Unity] as Chakotay meets many Federation personnel assimilated by the Borg there.	The Battle of Wolf 359 [#59 Unity] - scenes in that episode are actually footage from [DS9: Season 1: Emissary]
2368	Season 5 of [TNG]. Ambassador Spock is sighted on Romulus, working to help re-unite the Vulcan and Romulan peoples.
2369	Season 6 of [TNG]. Season 1 of [DS9] Cardassian forces withdraw from the mining station they built called Terek Nor as part of their withdrawal of their claim to the planet Bajor. Starfleet assumes joint control of the station with the Bajoran Militia, with the now re-designated Deep Space 9 under overall command of Commander Benjamin Sisko. Picard briefly visits Sisko on Deep Space 9. First stable wormhole discovered near the station.	[DS9: Season 1: ?] wormhole between the Alpha and Gamma Quadrants [DS9: Season 1: Emissary]
2370	Season 7 of [TNG]. Season 2 of [DS9] Kes is born on the Ocampa homeworld. Dominion invasion of the Alpha Quadrant feared.	[#26 Cold Fire]
2371	Season 3 of [DS9]. Season 1 of [Voyager] USS Voyager, commanded by Captain Kathryn Janeway, sets off from Deep Space 9 but is lost in the Badlands while seeking a lost Maquis ship and Starfleet agent Tuvok. Captain Kirk dies heroically at Veridian III; USS Enterprise NCC-1701-D is destroyed there [Star Trek VII: Generations]. Amelia Earhart found alive in the Delta Quadrant [#20 The 37's].	USS Voyager [#1 and #2 Caretaker] Capt. Janeway [#150 Repentance] Picard buries Kirk [ST VII: Generations] Amelia Earhart; [#20 The 37's]
2372	Season 4 of [DS9]. Season 2 of [Voyager] Tom Paris becomes the first human to break the transwarp barrier [#31 Threshold]. USS Enterprise NCC-1701-E launched under the command of Captain Jean-Luc Picard.	Tom Paris evolves after his historic flight [#31 Threshold]
2373	Season 5 of [DS9]. Season 3 of [Voyager] The crew of USS Enterprise NCC-1701-E pursue a Borg ship back in time to 4th April 2063; there the Enterprise crew repel the Borg conquest of Earth and safeguard the momentous event of Zefram Cochrane's first contact with non-humans [Star Trek VIII: First Contact].	Zefram Cochrane first contact both from [ST VIII: First Contact]
2374	Season 6 of [DS9]. Season 4 of [Voyager] USS Voyager's crew succeed in transmitting the Doctor's holographic program to the Alpha Quadrant so that Starfleet learns that ship and crew are not lost but are in the Delta Quadrant trying to reach home [#82 Message In A Bottle]. First encounter with Species 8472 in the Delta Quadrant. The Dominion, long keen to conquer the Alpha Quadant, enters into open warfare against the Federation.	the Doctor aboard USS Prometheus in the Alpha Quadrant [#82 Message In A Bottle]
2375	Season 7 of [DS9]. Season 5 of [Voyager] The USS Voyager crew constructs a new shuttlecraft called the Delta Flyer which, among its many missions, aids exploration of the Delta Quadrant. Aboard U.S.S. Voyager, Tom Paris creates a popular holoprogram amalgamating elements of early 20th century science-fiction, and as a result first contact is made with photonic beings in 2375 [#106 Bride of Chaotica!]. In the Alpha Quadrant, the Federation defeats the Dominion; and the crew of USS Enterprise NCC-1701-E prevent the forcible relocation by the Federation of the Ba'ku people [Star Trek IX: Insurrection]	first contact with photonic beings [#106 Bride of Chaotica!] Delta Flyer under construction [#97 Extreme Risk] Picard defies the Federation [ST IX: Insurrection]
2376	Season 6 of [Voyager] Project Pathfinder establishes audio contact then monthly datastream contact with the USS Voyager crew [#130 Pathfinder], [#144 Lifeline] and [#166 Author, Author].	the MIDAS Array enables audio contact with Voyager [#130 Pathfinder]
2377	Season 7 of [Voyager] In the Delta Quadrant, the USS Voyager and crew deal a crippling blow to the Borg and return home to the Alpha Qudrant [#171 and #172 Endgame].	USS Voyager about to destroy a Borg transwarp hub [#171 and #172 Endgame]
2378	Admiral Kathryn Janeway orders Captain Jean-Luc Picard of USS Enterprise NCC-1701-E to deal with a new threat - the hitherto barely known Remans. [Star Trek X: Nemesis]	Admiral Janeway [ST X: Nemesis]