Historical Technology Timeline

This timeline was updated since it was first published. The original is Here. The revisions are to support some of the plot in the Pre-quil for Iliad 07, currently code named "Project Gilgamesh".

September 11, 1777 - Battle of Brandywine

General George Washington shot by British sniper Patrick Ferguson.

October 4, 1777 - Battle of Germantown

Nathaniel Green leads the American Army in beating the British at Germantown, and retaking Philadelphia.

October 7, 1777 - Battle of Saratoga

Horatio Gates and Benedict Arnold defeat General John Burgoyne at Saratoga. This victory, combined with the actions in Germantown secure French support in the war.

February, 1778 - Treaty of Paris

With both armies defeated, and still embroiled in wars overseas, the British Empire sues for peace.

March 1, 1781 - Article of Confederation

All 13 states ratify the Articles of Confederation

1787 - American Fissure

A second Constitutional Convention to address the shortcomings of the Articles of Confederation falls apart. The thirteen colonies break into the USA and CSA.

1803 - Louisiana Purchase

CSA Purchases Lousiana from France

1812-1814 - War of 1812

The USA and the British Empire go to war over trade and the impressment of Sailors. The British enlisted the CSA as an ally. The USA invades and occupies Delaware to secure control of the Delaware Bay, after the British sail up the river and shell the Capital.

1818-1850 - Wars of American Unification

Border disputes between the First Nations, USA, CSA, French Holdings, British holding, Spanish Holdings, and newly emergent states result in a series of wars for territorial control. A collection of independent states that worked to repell European influence form, under the auspices of the Federation of American States (FAS).

1847 - Radiation Discovered

Abel Niépce de Saint-Victor discovers radiation after observing uranium salts fogging film.

1850 - Radium Discovered

1862 - Radium Isolated

1867 - Seward's Folly

FAS Purchases Alaska from Russia

1863 - Radioactive Isotopes Discovered

1880 - Neutron Discovered

1885 - Main Cycle of Nuclear Fusion

1886 - Energy Release from Nuclear Decay

1890 - Plutonium Discovered

1895 - Nuclear Naval Reactors

1897 - Commercial Nuclear Reactors

1898 - First Nuclear Bombs

1901 - Outbreak of The Great War

1903 - Konstantin Tsiolkovsky publishes paper on Rocket Theory. Prussia conquers Russia

1917 - Prussia/Russia collapse into the Union of Krasnovian States.

1918 - End of The Great War

1920 - Start of the Cold War

1934 - Start of the space race

1938 - First man in Orbit

1940 - First Hydrogen Bomb

1945 - Krasnovia lands on the moon

1946 - American Federation lands on the moon

1949-1955 - Proxy wars to control Uranium reserves

1950 - Krasnovia establishes permanent moon colony

1951 - American Federation establishes permanent moon colony

1954 - The Grimaldi Crater Incident

Krasnovia asserts territorial rights on an area claimed by the American Federation. The issue comes to voilence. The Krasnovians come out on top, mainly through attacking civilian installations with military units.

1955 - Lunar Proclimation

Krasnovia asserts military control over the entire surface of the Moon.

1955 - ISTO Formed.

European Coalition and American Federation form a unified space agency: the International Space Treaty Organization (ISTO), as a direct answer to the Lunar Proclimation.

1962 - Fusion Engines

ISTO scientists develop fusion engines, opening asteroid belt to colonization.

1964 - Ceres Colony

ISTO establishes colony on Ceres.

1965 - Psyche Colony

ISTO establishes colony on Psyche.

1966 - Battle of Psyche

Krasnovia attempts to launch invasion force from Luna to take over ISTO interests in the newly founded Psyche asteroid. The Battle exposed the difficulty of massive fleet actions over massive distances.

1970 - First Commercial Fusion Plant

1996 - G-Drive invented

Krasnovian Scientists perfect the G-Drive. Allowing vessels to undergo constant acceleration.

1971-1998 - The Planetoid Rush

Corporations and other independent parties leveral commercial fusion propulsion to explode human settlements around the asteroid belt.

1999 - Ceres Incident

Krasnovians utilizing G-Drive technology attempt to blockade Ceres and other key travel points between Earth and Space. The assumption was that cut off from supplies the colonies would starve and sue for peace. Instead, the colonies outlasted the invading fleet. Fusion powered agriculture demonstrated that colonies could maintain themselves virtually indefinitely.

2002 - Krasnovia Expands to Outer Solar System

Krasnovia begins dispatching large scale mining missions to the outer solar System, utilizing the G-Drive.

1999-2010 - ISTO Consolidation

Colonies recognizing the risk that a newly organized Krasnovia posed, began to form a central government with a unified defense network.

2001 - Graf Zeppelin Incident

A Kraznovian Frigate, "Graf Zeppelin", collides with an ISTO transport, the Hakudo Maru, after a series of threatening (and highly unprofessional) manuevers. The crew of the Zeppelin died nearly instantly, with the ship itself ending up embedded in the side of the Hakudo Maru. The Verne returned to port. The Graf Zeppelin was eventually returned to Krasnovia. In shipping crates. ISTO reverse engineered their own G-Drive from the wreckage.

2014 - Project Gilgamesh

ISTO develops the Gilgamesh class vessel to open up bodies in the Oort cloud for harvest. The Gilgamesh paired an ISTO G-Drive with essentially a small self-contained colony habitat.

2016-2035 - Krasnovian Mission to Alpha Centauri

Krasnovian vessel "Jormungand" departs Luna for Proxima Centauri.

2020-2041 - Iliad Block 1 Missions

2030-2075 - Iliad Block 2 Missions

2056 - Block-2 Download

Data from of Block 2 mission starts streaming from remote missions. Lessons learned are captured. Need for a redesign recognized. Block-3 design phase begins.

2060 - Block-3 Design Finalized

Designs for block 3 finalized. Long lead construction items ordered. Shipyard construction begins.

2065 - Iliad-06 - Construction Begins

Construction started for Iliad-06 (Isaac Asimov) at Psyche.

2069 - Iliad-07 - Construction Begins

Core structure for Iliad-06 completed, hull moved from graving dock. Construction started for Iliad-07 (Arthur Charles Clarke).

2072 - Iliad-07 - Builder's Trials

Core structure for Iliad-07 completed, hull moved from graving dock. Construction started for Iliad-08 (Robert Anson Heinlein). Start of builder's trials for Iliad-07. Crew recruitment drive begins for Iliad-07.

2074 - Iliad-07 - Delivery

Completion of builder's trials. Hull delivered to Ceres colony. Crew training begins. Iliad-07 takes on livestock and crops. Biosphere established.

2076-2079 - Iliad-07 - Fueling Mission

Iliad-07 travels to the outer solar system for a shakedown cruise. Mission is to gather fuel for its own mission, plus a bit extra to help defray the cost of construction.

2080 - Iliad-07 - Departs for 18 Scorpii

Mission Year Zero (MYZ) for Iliad-07. Final crew transfers. Vessel departs Ceres colony for mission to 18 Scorpii.