3.1 Overview

Many of the foundations of spaceflight had been established by the beginning of the twenty-first century: earth-to-orbit transportation, interorbital transfer, space habitation, space construction, space industrialization, autonomous onboard navigation, laser communication, the basics of space medicine. Yet man's space efforts still lacked a worldwide consensus in spite of the enormous impact space exploration had so far produced. A global commitment was missing—until 2003. That year, the United Nations passed the historic United Space Initiative.

This was official recognition of a trend that had been steadily growing since the APOLLO-SOYUZ linkup. Cooperation among space nations had been increasing, and politically, the planet was moving closer to a one-world concept. Also, the Eugenic Wars were a recent reminder that the welfare of man required worldwide harmony. With the passing of the United Space Initiative, Earthmen pledged themselves irreversibly to exploration of the heavens.

The blueprints for man's space efforts can be found in this extraordinary document: the creation of a solar fleet, centralized research activities, joint settlement of the other planets, star probes, and the setting up of a Chronological Space Log (from which all entries in this Chronology have been taken).

One of the first results of this new initiative was the establishment of a permanent base on Mars. Started as a research station, it quickly grew into a space settlement and eventually established planet autonomy. Marsbase experiments yielded invaluable data about mechanics, environments and extraterrestrial geologies paving the way for all future space sciences. But most importantly, in 2021, it was discovered that the dust storms that ravaged Mars contained the planet's first evidence of life. Silicone fossil fragments of creatures with entirely different molecular structure than any life on Earth were the first proof that man was no longer alone, nor ever had been.

The exploration of man's home Solar System continued outward during this period with an extensive survey of the largest planet, Jupiter. Over ten times the size of Earth and 300 times more massive, this huge hydrogen and helium formed world had been a source of astronomical fascination for hundreds of years, ever since the first telescopes discovered a vast surface marking that became known as the Red Spot of Jupiter. Researchers stationed on the Jovian moon Ganymede sent probes into the Red Spot seeking its origin and cause. From the data returned, it was shown to be a permanent hurricane sustained by the magnetic configuration of the underlying mantle of liquid metalic hydrogen.

Closer to home, moonbases began springing up at strategic points including the farside, which was primarily used for radio astronomy research. It was there that one of the greatest events in history took place: the birth of the first spacechild. This world shaking milestone was yet another step towards the stars for mankind.

The area of space manufacturing had proven its economic competitiveness and functional desirability, and L-5 industrial complexes, such as Tsiolkovskygrad, began producing revolutionary new products in earnest: superconductive electronics for a new generation of microcomputers, perfect optical lenses, pure vaccines, and new metal composites for deep space construction, to name just a few. Asteroid mining began first with Earth-approaching asteroids, followed by mining colonies located in the asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter which provided unlimited raw materials for industry in space and on Earth itself.

It was also during this era that space tourism has its origins, first with visits by families to space construction workers, followed by an increasing stream of curious citizens eager to experience the ineffable beauty of space.

Others saw space as a new beginning, a limitless frontier that would give their dreams a chance the Earth no longer could. Groups of like-minded people banded together to create L-5 and asteroid colonies to house their vision of the perfect society. Since the demand for deep space labor was desperate, the United Nations encouraged these space age pilgrims with the "Space Homesteading Act of 2014," and our present pluralistic space society owes much to this initial openness to all varieties of people.

As civilization expanded further into the Solar System, the need for more advanced propulsion became painfully evident. The messy chemical rockets of the twentieth century could not traverse the planetary void within acceptable time limits. Meeting this challenge, fission propulsion was perfected, harnessing the explosive releases of nuclear energy to propel rockets with a high enough thrust and impulse to span solar distances.

The Earth-Saturn Probe was the era's most important mission because of the discovery of extraterrestrial evidence, in the form of mining scars, on two of the moons. (To this day, who they were remains a mystery.) The era's greatest tragedy was the unfortunate loss of the UNSS COURAGEOUS, which lead to the raising of design and safety standards for all forthcoming ships.

But man was not content to remain restricted to his home Solar System. The Stellar Series of unmanned probes were sent on data-collecting missions to the nearest stars to our sun (Alpha Centauri, Barnard's Star, Sirius), one of which, the U THANT, detected significant amounts of antimatter in the interstellar void. This resource was later exploited for the fuel needed for matter/antimatter propulsion.

Toward the end of this era, a new generation of ships, the DY-500 series, journeyed well into the extra-solar void beyond Pluto, familiarizing crews with extended voyages of up to three years. But it would be almost two decades of tireless experimentation before science supplied the answers needed for even rudimentary interstellar travel to the stars.