As a amateur Naval historian, it annoys me to no end when Star Trek or Star Wars goes
off an invents ships out of nowhere. It's particularly inexcusable for Star Trek because
the show is set on what is ostensibly a Naval Vessel. (Though whether Star Fleet is actually
a Navy is a debate for another time).
For the Sublight Universe I aimed to do better. Each faction has a finite capacity
to make new ships. Their existing fleets require continual maintenance. Every disruptive
new technology causes decades of ripples in inventories. You also see surges in production
immediately before and after wars.
I built a half-assed computer model in Microsoft Excel to track when ships are ordered,
commissioned, destroyed, or retired. Each ship under construction occupies a graving yard
until it is launched. I assume there is a massive delay in building the first ship to
incorporate a disruptive new technology. I assume there is a moderate delay when a graving
yard builds a new type of ship. After the first hull, I assume they can crank out ships
more or less at a steady rate. That rate depends on the faction and the complexity of the
vessel.
Krasnovia is a planned economy where "service guarantees citizenship". As such, the military
is an important source of pride, political prestige, source of gainful employment, and a
gateway to the franchise. The "success" of a project is measured in the jobs it creates,
both in the armed forces and in the industrial complex. They like to focus on building
overwhelming forces, or disruptive technologies.
Of course, unbeknownst to anyone save the most senior Krasnovian party leaders, the entire
nation is managed and operated by network of artificial intelligences.
The dates used in this chronology are according to
Metric Time.
6680 is around about 1945 A.D. The events happen in a parallel universe to ours that diverged
in 1777.
Historical Timeline
6618 - Russian Space Program Founded
6620 - British Space Program Founded
6625 - Prussian Space Program Founded
6628 - Japanese/American Space Program Founded
6636 - First Ballistic Missile Tested
6638 - Russia Establishes first colony on the Moon
6639 - Britain Establishes first colony on the Moon
6639 - Outbreak of the Great War
6642 - First Armistice
6649 - Fighting Resumes in the Great War
6651 - Prussian Empire Conquers Russian Empire, German and Russian space programs merge
6652 - Lunar Colonies Rebel
6653 - End of Great War / Beginning of the Cataclysm
6657 - Krasnovian Union Formed
6659 - Death of O'Kelly-Davis, LaJoie-Davis installed as Supreme Advisor
6660 - Plan 6670 - Establishes the Krasnovian Lunar Defense Force
6670 - Plan 6680 - Sets Goal of Colonizing Jovian Moons
6680 - Plan 6690 - Harness the Power of Fusion
6680 - ISTO Founded
6689 - Fusion Propulsion Invented
6690 - Plan 6700 - Keep Earthers on Earth
6697 - Inner Systems War
6700 - Plan 6710 - Settle Saturn, Neptune, and Uranus
6710 - Plan 6720 - Prosperity For All
6720 - Plan 6730 - Advanced Propulsion and Artificial Gravity
6727 - G-Drive Invented
6730 - Plan 6740 - Harness the G-Drive
6740 - Plan 6750 - Interstellar Travel
6741 - ISTO Captures G-Drive
6750 - Plan 6760 - Dominate the Stars
6760 - Plan 6770 - Prosperity for Everyone. We mean it this time...
6770 - Plan 6780 - (Plan would be a strong word at this point...)