|
July 20, 1969: Neil Armstrong becomes the first man to set foot on the moon
Mar 15, 1975: The Metrostar Project, searching for a means by which gravity waves can be generated, begins its first controlled experiments
Nov 2, 1978: Repeated budget cuts force NASA to delay its space shuttle and space station programs indefinitely
Jan 28, 1981: As commander of a joint US/Soviet mission, Anton Borkoff becomes the first man to walk on the planet Mars
Aug 22, 1981: Through a merging of NASA with the Soviet and European space agencies, the World Space Commission (WSC) is formed. All future manned spaceflight is to be approved, managed, and funded through the combined resources of all spacefaring nations. Decisions concerning all lunar activities are to be handled under the authority of a sub-agency, the International Lunar Commission (ILC).
Feb 23, 1982: Nuclear power becomes the standard worldwide, replacing non-replenishable coal as the primary fuel source
Mar 7, 1982: The first operable artificial gravity system becomes a reality
July 2, 1982: Under the guidance of the newly-formed International Lunar Finance Committee (ILFC), a sub-branch of the WSC, Spacedock 'Centuri' begins construction in high Earth orbit
Sept 18, 1982: Space shuttle 'Falcon,' designed to service Centuri, is rolled out at the Vostaach Space Center
July 19, 1983: Centuri is completed
Sept 25, 1983: ILFC authorizes the construction of 'Moonbase Alpha' as part of a lunar nuclear waste storage facility
May 3, 1984: Construction of Moonbase Alpha begins on the floor of crater Plato (N. Latitude 52 degrees, W. Longitude 10 degrees) in the lunar Alps
Nov 9, 1984: Ernst Queller develops the fast-neutron drive
Oct 7, 1986: The Uranus Probe, commanded by Jack Tanner and Cabot Rowland, is launched from Centuri
May 21, 1987: World conflicts escalate. Peace talks at Geneva, moving slowly, accomplish little.
June 9, 1987: Armed forces are mobilized worldwide. Construction on Moonbase Alpha is halted as resources are directed toward the impending military conflict.
June 30, 1987: Western Switzerland is destroyed by a nuclear device of unknown origin. The blast is centered near the site of the peace talks, and all participating diplomatic negotiators are lost. John Koenig's wife, Jean, a UN translator, is killed.
Nuclear retaliatory strikes begin. A limited global exchange takes place before a North Korean terrorist group claims responsibility for the initial detonation at Geneva. Despite the claim, the war continues to escalate.
July 2, 1987: An emergency peace conference is called aboard Air Force One. For the first time, the world realizes the power of their nuclear arsenals. A cease-fire goes into effect at 2130 hours, GMT.
July 28, 1987: Under the terms of the peace agreement, all nuclear weapons are broken down. Their fissionable materials are gathered for storage at an Antarctic facility used for the burial of nuclear power plant waste.
Oct 4, 1987: Construction resumes on Moonbase Alpha
Dec 10, 1987: The Uranus Probe vanishes in a proton storm only five days from reaching orbit
Jan 27, 1988: The WSC awards contracts to six primary contractors for the construction of the proposed Eagle Transporter. They are:
Command Module -- Grumman Corporation
Mission Modules -- McDonnell Douglas Astronautics
Lift Engines, RCS and Main Propulsion -- Aerodyne/Westinghouse
Electronics and Computer Systems -- Maurasan Aerospace
Gravity Compensation/Structural Mainframe -- Boeing Company
Life Support System -- Hamilton Standard/United Aircraft
Apr 9, 1988: Voyager One with its Queller Drive propulsion system is launched. Several lunar orbital technicians die when the drive proves faulty.
Mar 25, 1989: Robert Addison lands on Venus. Exploration is halted prematurely due to extreme surface conditions even more harsh than those expected.
May 8, 1992: Initial construction on Moonbase Alpha is completed. Launch Pad 1 and the Space Exploration Division go into full operation. The above-ground structures support a crew of 100 while underground work continues.
May 17, 1992: On the far side of the moon, Nuclear Waste Disposal Area One is established as a part of the 'final' answer to Earth's problem of radioactive waste disposition
June 2, 1992: The Eagle Transporter replaces the Falcon shuttle
July 11, 1992: The transport of nuclear waste from the holding site in Antarctica begins as Eagle spacecraft carry specially-designed containers to the disposal site on the moon
Nov 14, 1992: The WSC approves the construction of an Eagle production facility to be located beneath Moonbase Alpha
Feb 23, 1993: Eagle pilot John Koenig is assigned to Moonbase Alpha as head of Reconnaissance
Apr 16, 1994: Commander Gorski takes over command of Alpha
May 15, 1994: Disposal Area One is shut down as the larger Area Two begins operation
June 23, 1994: Professor Victor Bergman discovers the planet Ultra
July 10, 1995: Astro 7, under the command of Lee Russell, husband of Helena Russell, is launched toward Jupiter
Dec 21, 1995: Io, one of Jupiter's moons, explodes due to geophysical forces. The event is captured by Astro 7's long-range telescope.
Jan 15, 1996: Astro 7 lost in Jupiter orbit
Mar 30, 1996: Captain Joseph Michael, commanding a mothership and four Swift support craft, leads a mission to investigate a nearby star system
May 22, 1996: Following the failure of the previous three star missions, Gerald Trapnell of the ILFC attempts to stop the launch of the Ultra Probe mission. He is overruled.
June 6, 1996: The Ultra Probe mission, with Captain Anthony Cellini in command, is launched
Sept 3, 1996: Moonbase Alpha's Eagle production facility begins construction on a fleet to be dedicated to the base's use. Alpha becomes fully operational.
Dec 18, 1996: Planet Ultra is reached. Contact is lost with the probe ship.
July 15, 1997: Alpha's lunar observatory locates the Ultra Probe command module on Earth return trajectory
July 27, 1997: The Ultra Probe command module is retrieved from space. The mission's sole survivor is found aboard.
July 29, 1997: Captain Cellini is placed under mental care because he claims a monster killed his crew, despite the fact that no evidence of extraterrestrial life has ever been found. The probe ship's flight recorder does not support his story.
Aug 27, 1997: The Mark IX Hawk 'attack Swift' is tested in a mock battle over the lunar surface
Sept 16, 1997: The failure of the Ultra Probe mission places great pressure upon the WSC. Used as scapegoats by the ILFC, Tony Cellini, John Koenig, and Victor Bergman are grounded and re-assigned to posts on Earth.
Dec 1, 1998: Planet 'Meta' is discovered passing the solar system far beneath the plane of the ecliptic. A manned mission is planned to find out why a planet so far from the warmth of a star is not frozen. The unmanned photo-probe Spacefarer Nine is redirected toward the planet.
Jan 3, 1999: Helena Russell becomes Chief Medical Officer of Moonbase Alpha
Apr 30, 1999: Victor Bergman returns to Alpha to oversee the astronomical study of Meta
July 14, 1999: The first neutrino communications experiments begin at M.I.T.
July 19, 1999: Tony Cellini returns to Moonbase Alpha as a recon pilot
Aug 7, 1999: The first Meta Probe astronaut dies on the moon of a mysterious illness
Sept 9, 1999: The Meta Probe crew death toll reaches nine. John Koenig, ordered to get the Meta Probe mission under way, returns to Alpha as its ninth and final commander.
Sept 12, 1999: Victor Bergman discovers that the huge amount of nuclear material stored at Nuclear Disposal Areas One and Two is creating fields of immeasurably intense magnetic radiation, and that repeated exposure to these fields is what killed the Meta Probe astronauts.
Area One erupts into a subsurface firestorm and is destroyed as it burns itself out. ILFC Commissioner Gerald Simmonds is brought to Alpha by Koenig in order that he may see firsthand the seriousness of their situation. Bergman states that Area Two will also flare up, far more intensely, unless the huge quantity of nuclear waste there is immediately dispersed over a wider area.
Sept 13, 1999: Koenig orders every available Eagle to attempt to scatter the nuclear material stored at Area Two. In mid-operation, the site goes critical at 1942 Hours (Lunar Time).
A massive series of nuclear detonations at Area Two reduces tens of thousands of square kilometres of the lunar far side to fusion plasma. Like an immense nuclear engine, the reactive force of the twelve-minute blast hurls the moon out of Earth orbit on a trajectory 52 degrees southward relative to the plane of the ecliptic. Captain Alan Carter, monitoring the attempted dispersal operation from high above the moon, is the only surviving eyewitness to the nuclear event. He manages to land safely at Moonbase Alpha.
Those on Alpha suffer the severe G forces created by the runaway moon. Earth sustains worldwide quakes and tidal surges. The Meta Probe launch platform is destroyed by the stresses created as the gravitational fields of Earth and its departing moon conflict.
Spacedock Centuri is thrown from orbit. The fate of the 223 persons aboard is unknown.
Due to Alpha's high departure velocity, devastated Eagle fleet, and unknown course, Operation:Exodus cannot be implemented. Leaving Alpha for Earth is impossible.
All contact with Earth is lost. Moonbase Alpha is isolated and alone.
Sept 14, 1999-May 2000: The severity of Earth's geophysical response to the moon's departure increases dramatically. The planet slips 5.7 degrees on its axis, creating devastating changes in the Earth's climate. On the European and Asian continents a new Ice Age begins, while North America, South America, and Africa are covered largely by lifeless desert. The planet's ozone layer disintegrates entirely except for a narrow and irregular band that remains near the equator. Vast areas of radioactive ash, created by intense and repeated volcanic upheavals, cover most of the land area of the planet. Complex life perishes, save that in Santa Maria, a seven thousand square mile region near what was once the California/Baja California border.
