Please post all of you entries into the timeline. Before, after or within. Anything from major political, conflicts, events, disasters, science/space achievements. Let's create our own future:
1609
Galileo Galilei builds the first astronomical telescope. His observations about the moon, planets in the solar system, the sun, and individual stars in the Milky Way confirm Copernican theories. The sky is no longer the sole domain of mystics.
1666
Sir Isaac Newton postulates laws of universal gravitation – linking celestial and earthly mechanics – and his three laws of motion, and develops calculus to discover and describe his theories.
1799
Henry Spencer of Baltimore, Maryland, builds a sailing ship, a schooner named Enterprise.
1877
Astronomer Giovanni Schiaparelli observes what he believes are markings on Mars, which he calls canali – Italian for channels or furrows. Canali is misinterpreted as "canals," suggesting artificial structures. With subsequent writings by Percival Lowell and others, humans actively speculate about intelligent life on other worlds.
1903
The Wright Brothers build and fly the first motorized airplane in Kitty Hawk, North Carolina, forever giving mankind "wings."
1905
Albert Einstein introduces his Special Theory of Relativity and contributes to the development of quantum theory. Introducing the concept of space-time and postulating that mass and energy are equivalent and transposable, he formulates the equation E=mc. In doing so, Einstein predicts that the velocity of light is the absolute "speed limit" in the universe.
1911
The Great World War begins.
1927
Aviator Charles Lindbergh makes the first nonstop solo transatlantic airplane flight and galvanizes world interest in aviation.
1936
American warship U.S.S. Enterprise CV-6, a Yorktown-class carrier, launches. After barely missing the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbour in 1941, the Enterprise will participate in every major battle in the Pacific theatre during World War II and become one of the most decorated ships in U.S. history.
1937
Aviator Amelia Earhart, who captured the world's attention as the first woman to match Lindbergh's transatlantic flight, vanishes somewhere over the Pacific Ocean while attempting to circumnavigate the globe.
1939
World War II begins between the Nazis and the Allies.
1947
It is reported that observers in Roswell, New Mexico, find a strange craft, and its crew, crashed in the desert. Officials claim the object was a weather balloon. People begin to believe beings from outer space are visiting Earth.
Test pilot Chuck Yeager travels faster than the speed of sound in a new rocket-powered plane. Yeager's supersonic flight begins the Jet Age.
1957
Earth's Space Age, and the so-called space race, begins when the USSR puts an artificial satellite, Sputnik-1, into orbit around the planet.
1960
Radio astronomer Frank D. Drake carries out humanity's first attempt to detect interstellar radio transmissions in an effort called SETI (Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence). The stars chosen by Drake for the first SETI search are Tau Ceti and Epsilon Eridani.
1961
Yuri Gagarin is the first human to achieve orbital space flight. His craft, Vostok I, circles the Earth once. The flight, which lasts less than two hours, proves that the human body can function in the weightlessness of space.
1961
The first nuclear-powered aircraft carrier, the U.S.S. Enterprise CVAN-65, is commissioned.
1966
The first episode of the cult TV series Star Trek is show for the first time.
1969
First manned lunar landing. The crew of Apollo 11 — Neil A. Armstrong and Edwin E. Aldrin, Jr. (with Michael Collins remaining in orbit) — set down in the Sea of Tranquillity, collect moon rocks, and return safely to Earth.
1972
The Pioneer 10 Jupiter flyby space probe is launched. During its journey, the probe sends 500 images of this enormous planet, plus amazing technical data, back to Earth. This mission is followed up by Pioneer 11 and the Voyager series, all of which allow mankind to closely observe the large outer planets and their moons.
1976
Viking 2 lands on Mars at Utopia Planitia and sends images from the planet's red surface to Earth. Viking conducts experiments to discover the presence of micro-organisms. The test results are debated.
NASA unveils Enterprise (Space Shuttle OV-101), the prototype for its new fleet of reusable Earth-orbiting shuttles. Flight testing begins the following year.
1983
Pioneer 10 passes Pluto's orbit boundary and becomes the first man-made object to exit Earth's Solar system. The probe carries an engraved plaque with a message of greetings from the people of Earth.
1986
The first human habitat in permanent Earth orbit, the Mir space station, begins construction. Mir becomes a shared resource and training ground for future space stations and eventually helps to restore friendly relations between Russia and America.
1986
NASA's space shuttle Challenger explodes shortly after lift-off, killing all seven on board including the first private citizen in space. The tragedy brings the manned space program to a temporary halt pending an investigation.
1991
The Gulf War takes place between Iraq and the UN.
1996
Earth scientists announce the discovery that a Mars meteorite may contain fossilized evidence of primitive bacterial life. While the findings are considered inconclusive, the possibility that life may exist or have once existed on the Red Planet adds urgency to Martian exploration efforts.
1999
Astronomers make the first direct observation of an extrasolar planet passing in front of a star, leading scientists to conclude that planetary systems may be a common phenomenon in the galaxy and boosting optimism that intelligent life exists elsewhere.
2000
The first resident crew of the International Space Station Alpha launches into orbit, establishing a permanent human presence in space. Mankind is no longer a purely planet-bound species.
2001
A terrorist attack on the United States leaves thousands of innocent civilians dead, a horrific tragedy that forces all nations of the world to re-evaluate their values and priorities, and galvanizes the people of Earth to strive harder to put their differences behind them. The USS Enterprise CVN-65 is the first military vessel to combat the War Against Terrorism proposed by the United States of America.
2002
The Mars 2001 Odyssey probe discovers high levels of solid water on Mars, as well as extreme radiation giving the manned mission to Mars another set-back.
2007
The International Space Station, nicknamed Space Station Alpha, is completed. It's cost was extremely higher than anticipated at $15billion.
2012
The Laser Interferometry Space Antenae satellite is launched.
2013
The Europa Orbiter reaches Europa and begins its analysis.
2014
The Sydney Summit takes place voting in more powers and funding for the United Nations. Some nations drop out of the UN.
2015
The Terrestrial Planet Finder is launched into Earth Orbit. The satellite discovers hundreds of new companions in near-by star systems, some that are a few of times larger than Earth. However, the satellite isn't as powerful as orginally thought.
2016
A new space shuttle from the X-99 series is launched for the first time called the Venture-class of Space Shuttles. A Lunar Base, called Lunar 1, is proposed.
2017
The Europa Interceptor lands on Europa and begins its 14 month descent through the icey crust.
2018
The first true Artificial Intelligence is created. The Europa Descender manages to break through the crust and enters an underwater world full of primitive life and bacteria. The Descender catalogues a small section of Europa's ecosystem and discovers that the liquid water has a high melaticity, which would be fatal to most life-forms on Earth. After five days of transmitting, half of its designated schedule, NASA loses contact with the probe. The Venture shuttle performs maintenance on the Terrestrial Planet Finder and installs new hardware.
2019
The Terrestrial Planet Finder is finally heralded a success after discovering Earth-size and even Mars-size planets in other star systems. The TPF discovers close evidence of a terrestrial planet orbiting Delta Pavonis over 19 light-years away.
2023
The Terrestrial Planet Finder discovers an Earth-like planet in the Eta Cassiopeiae system.
2024
The Terrestrial Planet Finder discovers an Earth-like planet in the Chara system.
2029
The Terrestrial Planet Finder discovers an Earth-like planet in the Beta Comae Berenices system.
2033
The Terrestrial Planet Finder discovers an Earth-like planet in the Chi Orionis system and later this year discovers one in the Alpha Mensae system.
2034
The Terrestrial Planet Finder is decomissioned after repeated malfunctions.
2042
Fusion power is finally perfected. Fusion power plants begin construction around the world.
2044
The Manhatten Summit takes place in New York voting in strong military resources and higher powers for the United Nations. Many nations are against this controversial act when an executive veto is established. Nations such as the UK, much of the EU, much of Asia and the Middle East opt out of the UN.
