2037
The DY-400 "Helsinki" class science survey/research vessels are
constructed. Built with a new advanced second generation ion-impulse
propulsion system, travel time is reduced to half. Cryogenic units are no
longer used, but larger crews are needed. This class will total 6 vessels
each with complements of 84 [DYC].

Intensive training begins for crews of forthcoming extra-solar long-
duration interstellar voyages [SFC].

The easy victory that Rupert once seemed to have is now an empty dream.
By the summer, his forces have been driven back to the German borders.
Even though he has brought them to ruin, the German people are still loyal
to Rupert, so an invasion of Germany would mean at least another long,
hard year of fighting against a still rabid citizenry. The Allies decide
to sue for peace instead. The terms of the treaty would require Germany
to destroy all of its military machinery and to aid in the restoration of
Europe. It also requires that Rupert abdicate the throne, and that the
new emperor not be one of the supermen. In return, the Allies will allow
Germany to remain an independent state, something they would not allow if
an invasion was required. Though he is a despot, Rupert still loves his
people, and realizing that the war is lost, accepts the treaty as the best
thing for them. To assure the continuance of his power, Rupert appoints a
distant relative, Joseph Slegberg, Baron Rustaheim, to be emperor. The
war in the East has gone badly for Kahn. One of his allies, K'huarba
Insebe, Emperor of East Africa, attacks Kahn's unprotected rear in an
attempt to widen his power. Kahn realizes that this is but the first of
such results by his allies. Instead of attempting to defend a crumbling
empire, Kahn takes the cream of his supermen and retreats to his
Australian stronghold [TBoT #2].

23 July
The NASA starship S.S. "Charybdis," commanded by Colonel Steven G. Richey,
departs the Sol system. Utilizing Block II gas-core fission reaction
propulsion and a crew of 15, this is the third manned interstellar ship to
depart Earth's solar system. The mission objectives: survey of the deep
extrasolar environment to the distance of 100 A.U., study of the inter-
action of the solar magnetic field at heliopause, long-duration crew
habitation, and a USAF electric-fields experiment module adaptability
study (Interagency Co-op Program). The ship's telemetry will fail and it
will never be heard from again [TNG 138].

Spacefarms, huge orbiting windmill-shaped constructions, become a new
source of food supply for Earth [SFC].

2038, January
Joseph Slegberg becomes Emperor Franz Joseph I. K'huarba, giddy by what
he feels is a major victory over Kahn, assembles the dregs of his armies
and attacks Charon. He is easily defeated, but the effort, coupled with
famine leads to the fall of Charon's empire as well. His armies desert,
and driven almost mad by the failure of his dreams, Charon singles out
Kahn for blame. His last act before committing suicide is to launch his
remaining missiles at Australia. The devastation caused by this attack
allows a strike force of Western Allies to move on Kahn's fortress and
take him and his main body of supermen followers captive. He refuses to
renounce his ambitions, so he and his people are placed aboard a sleeper
ship and launched into space. The long struggle with the supermen is
over. The results: an Earth in ruins. Widespread starvation and
disease. The loss of an incalculable amount of knowledge and resources.
And over one-third of the Earth's population destroyed. Surveying the
carnage, no one would suspect that Man's finest hour was at hand
[TBoT #2].

07 February
The "Charybdis" is classified as lost with consumables runout, though
a 20% possibility exists for the crew survival using hibernation systems
a tlow usage mode. The vessel's telemetry report at cutoff indicates a
thrust abnormality: the vehicle having attained 12 times the solar escape
velocity 2.56 hours earlier than planned. A followup mission "Jacob"
results in a negative track [TNG 138].

The mysterious loss of the "Charybdis" brings an end to the first
attempted wave of Human extrasolar space exploration after a series of
failures. As political tensions worsen, funding for purely scientific
endeavours becomes less popular and harder to attain. A conspiracy theory
is put forward that Khan Noonian Singh and his followers are prowling the
outer solar system blowing up space probes, keeping their genetically
inferior conquerors planetbound [GN 18].

The DY-500 "Woden" class space freighter is built. Over the next few
years the "Woden" class will total six vessels, as will the "Helsinki"
class. The last of the DY-Series, the DY-500 ships will remain in service
until the mid-2100s, carrying crews of 55 and a maximum velocity of
490,000 kilometers per hour [DYC].

Rubindium (Element 120) is discovered in the asteroid belt (Sol system).
The crystalline element is a natural laser if properly cut, and is
similar in certain respects to the soon-to-be-discovered dilithium
[MRM, PF].

UN Resolution 51 determines that no Earth citizens could be held liable
for the acts of their ancestors and confirms the Human status of certain
Human-variant strains created in the gene research laboratories re-
sponsible for the Eugenics supermen. This is known as the 'Khan's
Stepchildren' resolution [TOS #66].

2039, January [reference stardate 0/3901]
Terra's first Pluto Base opens. It will serve as a navigational check-
point for out-system missions [FASA].

The starliner "Enterprise" makes Earth's first successful interstellar
expedition of the Alpha Centauri system. In the 2050s, 7 or more of these
120 meter long, 35 crew starliners will be launched at various target
stars within 15 light years of Sol. Only this UESPA "Enterprise" reaches
its destination. With the advent of warp drive, these early interstellar
probe ships will be phased out [STM].

The 3-man "Bathyscaphe" ships enter service with advanced fission
propulsion [SFC].

2040
Television becomes obsolete as a form of entertainment [TNG 126].

The Klingons clash with the Daa'Vit Confederacy and will remain enemies
for more than three centuries [GN 9].

The "Columbus" class explorers enter service. These ships will be capable
of traveling at 0.75c utilizing antimatter 'spiked' fusion. The
"Columbus" class will be the most advanced sublight fusion ship of the
21st Century and the first spaceship class with on-board shuttlecraft for
extravehicular excursion. The U.N.S.S. "Icarus" will be the most famous
ship of this class when it journies to Alpha Centauri and makes contact
with the inhabitants. The ship will be preserved in the Moon's Space-
flight Museum. Each ship carries a complement of 40 and an armament of 4
forward lasers and 25 fusion torpedoes, and will quickly supercede the
"Columbia" class for interstellar flight [SFC].

Commercial interplanetary travel begins for the Terrans with the inaugural
flight of Solar Spacelines. And a new species will soon inhabit the Solar
System: the tourist. The "Magellan" class spaceliners enter service, each
carrying 260 passengers from Earth to the Asteroid Belt. The "Prince Of
Whales" will be the most famous ship of this class, commanded by Captain
Lars Olmstead. The U.N.S.S. "Magellan" will be instrumental in the colon-
ization of the moons of the gas giants within the Sol system and carries
the distinction of being the first to carry lifeboats [SFC, STD2].

In the "Mirror" universe, the advance fusion drive "Alexander"
class vessels are launched [TBoT #14].

The DY-500 "Wheeler" class explorers are phased-out [SFC].