Timeline

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c.28th millennium BC

  • Bajoran culture in its modern incarnation first begins, as the religion of the Prophets as proselytized by the Bajora, originally one of many subcultures on the planet, spreads across the entirety of the world. The planet gains the name of Bajor at this time, after that subculture. (DS9 Short Story: "Horn and Ivory")

4th millennium BC

  • The Furies hold a significant presence across local space — including some level of domination of early Human, Andorian, Vulcan, Klingon, and Ferengi cultures, serving as the source of a number of myths and legends. (Novel: "Invasion!" series)
    • Part of this domination may have included genetic experiments upon the natives of Qo'noS to transform them in their own image, including the development of their biological redundancies and the genetic abnormality later known as the JoH'a mu'qaD. Due to this, their place in Klingon mythology otherwise, and the similarities of both them and the victims of the JoH'a mu'qaD to the figure known as Fek'lhr, they may have been the source of the original myths of the Klingon gods as a whole, suggesting that legends of their banishment were distorted over the years to the modern story of the Klingons slaying their gods.

3rd millennium BC

4th century

  • The Time of Awakening occurs on Vulcan, in which those who "marched beneath the raptor's wings", the eventual precursors of the Romulans, depart the planet in the midst of the spread of Surak's philosophy.

14th century

  • The Hur'q, a domineering and vicious alien race native to the Gamma Quadrant, invades Qo'noS as part of a long-term sweep across the Beta Quadrant, intending to subjugate the Klingons and plunder their homeworld of resources and treasures. While may artifacts are stolen, including the Sword of Kahless, the Klingons manage to repel the invasion, jumping from basic land transport directly to warp travel as a result of captured technology. (DS9: "Sword of Kahless"; TLE Novel: The Art of the Impossible)
  • Following the departure of the Hur'q, the Klingon hero Ch'gran uses captures Hur'q facilities to construct a fleet of seven vessels with which to conquer the heavens, to ensure the invasion could not be repeated. Departing exactly one year following their departure, the fleet is lost shortly after communicating the discovery of the first world to be taken by the burgeoning Klingon Empire, its fate unknown. (TLE Novel: The Art of the Impossible)
    • Wreckage in the Betreka Nebula discovered in the 2290s revealed that Ch'gran in fact planned to conquer worlds purely for his own benefit and use their resources to eventually conquer Qo'noS itself, his plans upended only by the mutiny of his subordinate captains, leading to the destruction of the fleet. This fact was suppressed by Chancellor K'mpec and Imperial Intelligence upon its discovery, so as to preserve the legend. (TLE Novel: The Art of the Impossible)

20th century

Mid-century

  • First contact occurs between Vulcans and Andorians; later seen as a disasterous interaction, an attempt at sharing the philosophy of Surak to the then-pre-warp Andorian culture being viewed at an attempt at pacification. The fallout of this contact leads to great enmity between the two powers until the beginnings of peace in the 2150s. (ENT Novel: A Choice of Futures)

1960s

Late 1960s

  • Dr. Sarina Kaur, a brilliant geneticist, founds the Chrysalis Project, a gathering of other leading geneticists, biochemists, and microbiologists in an attempt to breed superhumans through eugenics and genetic engineering techniques. Her plan (unbeknownst to most participating in the Project) consists of eventually wiping out baseline humanity through the targeted release of a genetically-modified strain of necrotizing fasciitis designed to be even more virulent, to clear the planet for her Chrysalis children, or Augments as they were later called.

1970s

1974

  • May 19: The Chrysalis Project is ended through the intervention of Gary Seven and Roberta Lincoln, but not before dozens of children have already been bred over the four years prior. These children are placed in homes around the world, and though not informed of their heritage, they eventually discover their true lineage.

1980s

1984

  • The Great Khanate rises in the remote deserts of Chandigarh, India, Earth, led by the self-proclaimed Khan, Noonien Singh. Despite the efforts of India to suppress his rule, immense popular support prevents the Indian government from taking direct action. Still, little attention is given to him outside the country, seen as nothing but a trivial local warlord. Across the world, other powerful, charismatic, and somewhat unbalanced figures begin to draw followers to themselves in various nations, including Randall "Hawkeye" Morrison, leader of the Army of Eternal Vigilance, an anti-government militia based in Arizona; Chen Tiejun, founder of a separatist matriarchal colony off the coast of New Zealand; Elijah Amin, one of the most influential warlords in Somalia; Vasily Hunyadi, a highly-placed figure in the Yugoslavic civil wars; Alberto Gomez, leader of a Peruvian rebel army seeking the reformation of the Incan Empire as a Marxist state; and Brother Arcturus, founder of the suicide cult known as the Panspermic Church of First Contact. To the international community, these figures seem disconnected and unrelated, mere blips amidst the worldwide chaos of the late 20th century.

Late century

  • First contact occurs between the Vulcans and Klingons, leading to decades of war following. (ENT Novel: A Choice of Futures; TNG: "First Contact")

1990s

1992

  • Following the failure of uniting his brethren in the name of world conquest, Khan Singh instead decides to seek war against them. Thus begin the Eugenics Wars, a series of shadow wars fought through third-parties and proxies via the manipulation of other brewing conflicts by the Chrysalis Augments to their own benefit.

1996

  • The Eugenics Wars end following the revelation to the world’s nations of their existence. Most Augments are thought killed in the aftermath, though a number of partially-developed augmented embryos that survive the various bombing campaigns in a state of medical stasis are captured by the nations of the world, unsure what fate they deserve. Ultimately, these embryos are consigned to a number of secure cryonics stations dotting near-Earth space. Following the revelation of the Eugenics Wars and the chaos the Augments brewed across the world in their deigns for conquest, the nations of Earth ban genetic augmentation and genetic engineering of humankind.
  • The first DY-100, the first model of the DY series of sleeper ships, is launched, with many more to follow. It is later supplanted by the DY-500; both lead to Earth’s first wave of interplanetary exploration, though these ships are not likely to reach their destinations for decades, if not centuries.

21st century

2000s

2001

  • Jan 01: The Millennium Gate, Earth’s first self-contained and self-sustaining biosphere, begins construction outside Portage Creek, Indiana in the United States, intended to serve as a model for the first Martian colony. When completed in 2012, it spans 3.2 kilometers wide, with a height of nearly one kilometer, totally covered in reflective solar panels that render it easily visible from orbit. (VOY: "11:59")

2002

  • NASA launches the first true interstellar probe, the Nomad MK-15c. Designed by Dr. Jackson Roykirk, it was also Earth’s closest approximation of true AI to date, intended to function without contact from Earth or other vessels for prolonged periods in order to seek out and communicate with extraterrestrial lifeforms. Earth eventually loses contact with Nomad, as expected. (TOS: "The Changeling")

2010s

Late 2010s

  • Even as the technological developments of the human race seem to continue unceasingly, the nations of Earth fall into further chaos, possibly still suffering the aftermath of the international manipulations of the long-since defeated Augments. Civil unrest broils worldwide as a result of global economic and environmental turmoil and growing poverty and unemployment, concentrated especially in western Europe and the United States. The United Nations collapse under the weight of the growing global crises. (TNG: "Encounter at Farpoint")
  • In the United States, poverty had grown to such a degree that the Employment Act of 1946 was repealed, the Federal government abandoning any claim towards ensuring the employment and economic stability of its citizens. As an alternative, most major American cities instituted “Sanctuary Districts”; intended to be neighborhoods devoted specifically to providing homes to those without the means to obtain them otherwise, these districts soon degenerated into nothing more than massive outdoor debtors’ prisons. Similar measures were seen in other nations as well, with many governments choosing to hide their poverty-stricken citizens away rather than address the underlying issues responsible for their state. (DS9: "Past Tense")
  • To help stave off the growing economic troubles, the Eastern Coalition (ECON) is formed, an alliance of various Asian states largely dominated by the People’s Republic of China, but also including India, Pakistan, Iran, Kazakhstan, Vietnam, and Singapore as members. As a demonstration of dominance, the ECON’s space agency manages a successful manned return to the moon before any of the more dominant space agencies can accomplish such. (TLE Novel: "The Sundered"; TOS Novel: "The Rings of Time")

2018

  • Due to the discovery of internally metered pulse ion drive technology (also known colloquially as "impulse drive"), allowing travel time to nearby planets to be cut from years to months, sleeper ships are slowly phased out of production. Many DY series ships are still en route to their destinations, overtaken by newer vessels.

2020s

2020

  • The first successful manned mission to another planet in the solar system is completed, with NASA astronauts Christopher, Fontana, and O’Herlihy arriving at Saturn in the UNSS Lewis & Clark in a mere three months thanks to recently-developed impulse drive technology. This mission is intended largely to recover face lost by the ECON’s moon launch, but also to analyze the recent odd deterioration of Saturn’s rings and increasing activity of its renown hexagonal polar storm. (TOS: "Tomorrow is Yesterday"; TOS Novel: "The Rings of Time")

2024

  • The Bell Riots in the United States lead to the end of that nation's Sanctuary Districts, as the inner workings of the Districts are revealed to the greater populace and public opinion turns.

2026

  • The global destabilization of numerous nations leads numerous bands of eco-terrorists upset at the mismanaging of Earth’s biosphere to strike out at the weakened nations, leading to the deaths of 37 million people across the globe. In response to these attacks, the New United Nations (NUN) are formed, seeking progress towards a true United Earth. The ECON refuses to pursue membership in the NUN, seeing it as merely further attempts at re-asserting Western dominance. (ENT: "In a Mirror, Darkly, Part II")

2030s

2030

  • The first successful manned mission to Mars — the Ares I, a joint NASA/ESA ship — arrives at the planet and makes landfall.

2031

  • 6 Earth-crossing asteroids are prevented from colliding with the Earth by the joint efforts of the United States, the European Union, the Pan-African Alliance, the Muslim Bloc nations, and ECON, a rare moment of international cooperation. These asteroids are moved to Earth’s L5 point and hollowed out to serve as the shells for permanently-inhabited O’Neill colonies. (TLE Novel: "The Sundered")
  • Lee Kuan becomes leader of the ECON, reorienting it onto a more militaristic footing and making no attempt at hiding his desires to wipe out the “Western imperialists” of the NUN and assert ECON as the dominant global power of Earth. (TLE Novel: "The Sundered")

2032

  • August: The Ares IV under the auspices of the International Space Agency - a joint multinational agency formed in the aftermath of the 2031 incident - reaches Mars, the fourth manned mission to that planet. While the two mission specialists land successfully, the orbital module disappears and is thought destroyed by a phenomenon detected as passing dangerously near Mars at the time, described by mission commander Lieutenant John Kelly in his last transmission prior to the capsule’s destruction as an unknown object over a kilometer wide but later identified as a graviton ellipse, Earth's first encounter with a spatial anomaly. The Ares V is rushed to launch to rescue the stranded astronauts, arriving within weeks and recovering them safely. (VOY: "One Small Step")

2037

  • July 23: NASA launches the ESS Charybdis, the third attempt to explore beyond the solar system in an active manned vessel. (TNG: "The Royale")

2038

  • Early 2038: Earth loses contact with the Charybdis. The ESS Jacob was later launched to discover its fate, to no avail. (TNG: "The Royale")

2039

  • Inspired by the success of the L5 O’Neill colonies as proving that self-sufficient colonies are possible, the Luna colonies are founded, a growing interest in spaceflight and increasingly poor conditions on Earth encouraging many to seek out a better life elsewhere.

2040s

  • Despite efforts on both sides and continued cooperation in some endeavors, relations between the NUN (dominated by the US and EU) and the ECON continue to degenerate at frightening speed.

2042

  • The final World Series game, featuring the New York Yankees against the London Kings, is played on Earth, to 300 attendees. (DS9: "If Wishes Were Horses"; Novel: "Articles of the Federation")

2047

  • The Hermosa Earthquake hits the western coast of North America; a devastating natural disaster, it wipes out much of Los Angeles, weakening an already-unsteady United States.

2050s

2053

  • Early 2053: Recently-discovered oil fields in Antarctica and the Taklamakan Desert lead to a flare-up of hostilities between the NUN and the ECON.
  • May 1, 0230 UTC: The beginning of Earth's World War III, a global nuclear war that lasts for mere months, but ends in 600 million dead worldwide.

2056

  • After ordering the euthanasia of hundreds of thousands of radiation-sickened people in an effort at “purifying” the human race, Colonel Phillip Green, one of the worst eco-terrorists of the 2026 attacks and the last holdout of the independent armies, is captured and placed on trial. While many considered him a genocidal madman, others saw him as a pragmatist seeking the best interests of humanity in purging likely-deadly mutations from the species’ gene pool and ending the suffering of the radiation-afflicted.

2058

  • August 9: While taking part in an experiment that may potentially lead to an FTL breakthrough in conjunction with Earth Station Bozeman, all six L5 asteroid habitats vanish, presumed destroyed. (TLE Novel: "The Sundered")

2060s

2063

  • April 5: The launch of the first successful human warp-capable vessel, the Phoenix, designed and piloted by the brilliant physicist and engineer Zefram Cochrane from Earth Station Bozeman, leading shortly after to Earth’s first official contact with other intelligent life: a Vulcan scout vessel, the T’Plana-Hath, that had detected the Phoenix’s warp signature while passing through the system. Earth is declared a protectorate of the Confederacy of Vulcan and soon begins to receive Vulcan aid, both humanitarian and ecological, which slowly reverses the worst of the damage suffered by the planet since WW3. The governments of Earth work to reconstruct themselves as news of First Contact spreads, a light of hope in the darkness and pessimism that’s settled on Earth since the revelation of the Eugenics Wars. (Movie: "First Contact")

2064

  • Humanity begins work on a fleet of warp-capable ships with which to explore space.

2067

  • The United Earth Space Probe Agency (UESPA) (an agency cobbled together by the weakened NUN from the remains of the International Space Agency and Project Phoenix) launches Friendship One, Earth’s first warp-capable probe. (VOY: "Friendship One")

2069

  • Eta Cassiopeia III is chosen as the site for the first Human extrasolar colony. The SS Conestoga is launched; at warp speeds available at the time (below warp 1.5), the 19.43 ly journey takes 9 years to complete. (ENT: "Terra Nova")

2070s

2078

  • June 23: Terra Nova, Earth’s first extrasolar colony, is founded on Eta Cassiopeia III, the nearest uninhabited temperate world to Earth yet detected. Over the next few years, relations between Earth and the Novans grow strained as Earth attempts to gain an increasing hold over its extraterrestrial colonies and send a second ship to the Terra Nova colony, but these plans end when contact with Terra Nova is lost without explanation in 2083. The fate of the colony is not discovered for another 73 years. (ENT: "Terra Nova")

2079

  • Despite Vulcan aid, the still-weak New United Nations collapse due to the chaos of the post-atomic horror and the anarchy that still ravages much of the planet, for now ending all thoughts of a United Earth; UESPA, however, manages to survive independently as an agency, largely due to the increasing presence of Earth in local space.

2080s

  • The Earth Cargo Service is established, a largely-independent body of long-haul cargo vessels governed by Earth Cargo Authority. These ships spend years at a time hauling cargo along trade routes, leading to an independent, frontier culture among its crews.

2085

  • The SS Valiant, a civilian endeavor by UESPA led by ship's captain Carlos Tarasco, sets out in a planned multi-year exploration of distant space. (SGR Novel: The Valiant)

2089

  • December 30: The SS Valiant is caught in a magnetic storm and swept beyond the galactic barrier, the first human ship to encounter that phenomenon. The ship ends up destroyed by Captain Tarasco two days later to end the threat of Geirrod Agnarsson, at the time undergoing accelerated barrier mutation. (SGR Novel: The Valiant)

2090s

2090

  • July: The survivors of the SS Valiant, having drifted in a loose convoy near the galactic barrier since the ship's destruction, reach the planet on which they settle the city of Magnia, humanity's second extragalactic colony. (SGR Novel: The Valiant)

22nd century

2100s

2103

  • The first Martian colonies are established.

2105

  • The War of Martian Independence (also known as the Martian Revolution) begins with the Gundersdottir's Dome Rebellion. Following the rebellion was a protracted but bloody conflict that rocks Earth’s slowly-recovering global economy by disrupting sorely-needed interplanetary trade, and soon leads to the political independence of Mars from the nations of Earth. The War ends with the drafting of the Fundamental Declarations of the Martian Colonies, resulting in the formation of the Confederated Martian Colonies. (ENT Novel: Beneath the Raptor's Wing; TOS: "Court Martial"; TNG Novel: Rogue)

2110s

2113

  • Defying UESPA’s colonization board, a large group of would-be colonists (including Zefram Cochrane) lead an attempt at settling Earth’s second extrasolar colony following the seeming disappearance of Terra Nova, selecting a more nearby location for their attempt: Centauri III, a borderline-habitable planet in orbit of Alpha Centauri A, suffering the aftereffects of an impact winter from a collision centuries prior, previously rejected by UESPA for just that reason. This attempt succeeds two years after launch in spite of the planet’s harsh conditions, marking the start of the Alpha Centauri Concordium. It is soon followed by colonies on a number of other worlds in the Alpha Centauri system, including Centaurus and Proxima Colony. A colonization boom followed soon after, leading to the founding of colonies on such worlds as Vega, Deneva, Eristas, and Gault.

2119

  • The Warp Five Complex is founded on Earth by Drs. Zefram Cochrane and Henry Archer, an institute devoted to the development of a M/AM warp drive capable of reaching Warp 5, in hopes that such a tremendous leap forward would unlock even more avenues of exploration and discovery in spite of what is seen by many on Earth as Vulcan reticence to, over the last 50 years, either stand alongside humanity as equals or allow humanity to stand on its own. Shortly after, Zefram Cochrane disappears, flying alone into the great unknown in a one-man warp ship. (ENT)
  • As a competing effort to Dr. Archer's Warp Five Complex, Dr. Victor Brodesser begins research into an alternate means of propulsion, the engine eventually termed the cascading ion drive. The two physicists have a long-term rivalry as each pursues their own divergent path into FTL propulsion. (ENT Novel: "Daedalus")

2120s

2123

2130s

2130

  • The government of United Earth is officially formed with the signing of the Traité d'Unification at the Place de la Concorde in Paris, France. While not all surviving nations were initially signatories to the treaty, by 2140 the last hold-out - the Independent Republic of Australia - had signed on, officially establishing United Earth as the planet’s first true planetary government. (Novel: "Articles of the Federation")
  • Along with United Earth, Earth Starfleet is established as an organization parallel to and working alongside the officially-unaligned UESPA, the branch of United Earth devoted to exploration of space.

2140s

2140

  • The cascading ion drive prototype Daedalus is launched, projected to have a top speed upwards of warp 7. Unfortunately, the cascading ion drive proves itself unstable, and the ship is lost with all hands. However, the design of the ship itself proves quite feasible, and after a redesign to support conventional M/AM warp drive, becomes the basis of the Daedalus class, the cornerstone of Earth Starfleet for decades to follow. (ENT Novel: "Daedalus")

2143

  • Starfleet’s NX program, an experimental program developed out of the Warp Five complex, first produces a prototype engine capable of breaking the Warp 2 barrier. (ENT: "First Flight")

2144

  • The NX program achieves Warp 3. (ENT: "First Flight")

Late 2140s

  • Deneva Colony is established on Kappa Fornacis III as a base for local asteroid miners; at the time, the most distant Earth settlement yet established. (ENT Novel: "Beneath the Raptor's Wing")

2150s

2151

  • April 12: Starfleet’s first Warp 5 vessel is launched, the Enterprise NX-01. (ENT: "Broken Bow")

2156

2160s

2160

2161

  • August 12: The Coalition of Planets is officially dissolved, and the United Federation of Planets is founded in its place, initially consisting of United Earth, the Andorian Empire, the Vulcan Confederacy, the United Planets of Tellar, and the Alpha Centauri Concordium. Thomas Vanderbilt, former Secretary of Defense for United Earth, is elected first President of the United Federation of Planets.

2162

  • The Martian Confederacy is accepted into the Federation as its sixth member. (ENT Novel: "A Choice of Futures")

2162

  • Diplomatic relations open between the Federation and the nations of Sauria (ENT Novel: "A Choice of Futures")

2164

  • First contact with the worlds of Ornara and Brekka (TNG: "Symbiosis")
  • Vega Colony is accepted into the Federation as its seventh member. (ENT Novel: "Tower of Babel")
  • The United Worlds and Colonies of Rigel are accepted into the Federation as its eighth member. (ENT Novel: "Tower of Babel")
  • Haroun al-Rashid, former Interior Minister for United Earth and Federation Councillor for United Earth, is elected second President of the United Federation of Planets for the term beginning 2165. At this point, the Federation Council decides to solidify the office of President as a four-year term. (ENT Novel: "Tower of Babel")

2165

  • Arken is accepted into the Federation as its ninth member. (ENT Novel: "Uncertain Logic")
  • First official contact between the Federation and Deltans. (ENT Novel: "Uncertain Logic")

2168

  • al-Rashid is re-elected Federation President for the term beginning 2169.
  • FGC-758 goes supernova, forming the Azure Nebula near the point that will eventually become the Federation/Klingon/Romulan triborder. (Novel: "Destiny: Gods of Night")

2170s

2172

  • T’Maran, Federation Councillor for the Confederacy of Vulcan, is elected third President of the United Federation of Planets for the term beginning 2173.

2175

  • Jonathan Archer becomes Federation Councillor for United Earth. (ENT: "In a Mirror, Darkly, Part II)

2176

  • Avaranthi sh’Rothress, Federation Councillor for the Andorian Empire, is elected fourth President of the United Federation of Planets for the term beginning 2177.

2178

  • Terra Nova is accepted into the Federation. (Reference: "Star Charts")

2180s

2180

  • Avaranthi sh’Rothress is re-elected Federation President for the term beginning 2181.

2181

  • Denobula Triaxa is accepted into the Federation.

2184

  • Jonathan Archer, retired chief of staff for Starfleet and Federation Councillor for United Earth, is elected fifth President of the United Federation of Planets for the term beginning 2185. (ENT: "In a Mirror, Darkly, Part II")

2188

  • Jonathan Archer is re-elected Federation President for the term beginning 2189.

23rd century

2200s

2207

  • Klingon Empire bans use of the nerve agent theragen. (VAN Novel: “Ruins of Noble Men”)

2220s

2224

2230s

2238

  • Construction begins on the first Constitution-class starships.

2240s

2243

  • The duotronic computer is invented by Richard Daystrom, its technology immediately incorporated into the Constitution-class program in preparation for its completion in the coming years. (TOS: "The Ultimate Computer")

2244

  • The Battle of Donatu V, the first significant skirmish between the Federation and the Klingon Empire. This surprise attack at the Donatu V colony at first seems to be a certain defeat for the Federation, but the timely intervention of a not-yet-complete USS Constitution allows the fight to end in a stalemate. While the Federation accepts the result, the Klingon Empire does not, and begins accelerating their starship construction programs, preparing over the next 25 years to truly finish what they started. (TOS: "The Trouble with Tribbles"; TOS Novel: "Errand of Vengeance: Killing Blow")

2245

2246

  • A fungal outbreak at the Tarsus IV colony wipes out nearly all the colony’s food supplies. Its governor, Kodos, orders the execution of 4,000 of the colonists in order that the remaining 4,000 would survive; a horrific act that would prove unnecessary, as the USS Enterprise would arrive the following day to provide aid. Among those killed are retired Starfleet officer Hoshi Sato, while among the survivors are James Kirk and future Ambassador Kevin Riley. Kodos is reviled for his actions, known following this event as Kodos the Executioner, though some take the failure of Starfleet to arrive sooner as evidence of either its apathy or its inability to properly defend Federation colonies. (TOS: "The Conscience of the King"; TOS Short Story: "Though Hell Should Bar the Way"; ENT: "In a Mirror, Darkly, Part II")

2248

  • Final recorded contact with the Earth warp probe Friendship One, launched 2065. (VOY: "Friendship One")

2251

  • Captain Robert April leaves command of the USS Enterprise and is appointed Federation Ambassador-at-Large. Captain Christopher Pike takes command.
  • The Battle of Axanar occurs, followed by the Axanar Peace Mission.

2255

2260s

2263

  • Following the completion of his second five-year mission, Captain Christopher Pike is promoted to Fleet Captain and steps down from command of the USS Enterprise. James Kirk is promoted to captain, the youngest in Starfleet history to achieve that rank, and assigned to the Enterprise in his stead. The ship begins refit in Earth Spacedock. (TOS Novel: "Burning Dreams")

2264

  • The Enterprise refits are completed, and the ship is sent out to the edge of Federation space prior to the start of Kirk’s first five-year mission.

2265

  • Following up on a two-century-old distress beacon, the Enterprise heads out of the galactic plane towards the edge of the galaxy. (TOS: "Where No Man Has Gone Before")