January 1st, 2028European UnionEurope begins the drastic process of abandoning its colonies on Hyperion and Deimos and relocating the mines to Io.
The Galileo and both Audacious class are scrapped in shipyards, with plans to sue some of their parts in a new class.
Production of ground units comes to a hault in order to conserve duranium.
February 15thJapan finishes retooling its yards to build the Mirai mk II. It is estimated that refitting the old ships would cost 2/3rds as much as new construction, so for now no refitting is attempted.
Europe completes construction of 4 new Poleaxe gunboats; with the shipayrds no longer in use, more duranium is available for other uses.
March 6thAmerica completes production of the USS Invincible, humanity's first faster than light starship. After a grand launching ceremony, it sets course for the first of the discovered jump points.
March 10thThe Invincible briefly disappears from the Solar system, then reappears a few minutes later, broadcasting a short encrypted report.
The system beyond Jump Point #1 has been identified as Barnard's star.
The system contains 10 planets and several dozen moons. It is smaller than the Solar System, with Barnards Star-A X occupying a similar orbit to Saturn. It has no asteroids.
Barnards Star-A II is a terrestrial planet with an oxygen-nitrogen atmosphere and liquid water on its surface. While cold (-22 degrees) and with an atmosphere too thin to be breathable, it is more hospitable than even Mars. Barnard's Star-A III also has an oxygen-nitrogen atmosphere, though it is much colder and and has no water; it would be harder to colonize than Mars, but easier than Titan.
The Invincible will return and attempt to survey the second and third planet, then report back
Europe finishes upgrading a commercial shipyard to be capable of building 20,000 ton ships; it immediately begins preparation for a new, jump capable design
Mule class Jump Tender 17,000 tons 426 Crew 520.8 BP TCS 340 TH 375 EM 0
1102 km/s JR 2-25(C) Armour 1-58 Shields 0-0 Sensors 1/1/0/0 Damage Control Rating 15 PPV 0
Maint Capacity 287 MSP Max Repair 56 MSP
JC17K Commercial Jump Drive Max Ship Size 17000 tons Distance 25k km Squadron Size 2
Nuclear Thermal Engine E0.9 (6) Power 62.5 Fuel Use 9% Signature 62.5 Armour 0 Exp 1%
Fuel Capacity 600,000 Litres Range 705.3 billion km (7407 days at full power)
This design is classed as a Commercial Vessel for maintenance purposes
May 1stA Japanese espionage group steals blueprints for the European 'Quicksilver' missile.
May 26thEurope completes upgrading a naval yard to 10,000 tons, and begins preparations to build a new science ship
Newton class Science Vessel 10,000 tons 418 Crew 842.6 BP TCS 200 TH 312 EM 0
1560 km/s Armour 4-41 Shields 0-0 Sensors 1/1/2/2 Damage Control Rating 8 PPV 8
Annual Failure Rate: 100% IFR: 1.4% Maint Capacity 421 MSP Max Repair 100 MSP Est Time: 2.4 Years
Nuclear Thermal Engine E0.9 (5) Power 62.5 Fuel Use 9% Signature 62.5 Armour 0 Exp 1%
Fuel Capacity 50,000 Litres Range 100.0 billion km (741 days at full power)
Single 10cm C3 Visible Light Laser Turret (2x1) Range 32,000km TS: 10000 km/s Power 3-3 RM 2 ROF 5 3 3 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Fire Control S04 16-8000 (1) Max Range: 32,000 km TS: 8000 km/s 69 37 6 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Pressurised Water Reactor (3) Total Power Output 6 Armour 0 Exp 5%
Gravitational Survey Sensors (2) 2 Survey Points Per Hour
Geological Survey Sensors (2) 2 Survey Points Per Hour
This design is classed as a Military Vessel for maintenance purposes
September 8thThe US gains a civilian space presence when the heavily subsidized Patrick Marine launches an Oregon class Colony Ship.
September 13thEurope completes construction of two OSR-232s. Construction of two more begins, and one of the first pair is transferred to US control. The other sets course for Saturn
America dispatches its OSR-232 to Jupiter.
October 27thAn espionage team from Europe succeeds in stealing copies of the US's stolen lightning submissile blueprints.
November 3rdAmerican scientists finish research into more efficient jump drives. They begin work on technology to build permanent jump gates at jump points.
November 20thJapanese scientists develop enhanced mining techniques allowing a mine to extract 14 tons a year. The begin aiding in development of improved jump drives.
December 23rdEurope begins construction on two Newton class Science Vessels
December 30thAmerican analysts submit a top secret report
It is now past even the most generous estimate of the Invincible's planned survey. Its failure to report back may indicate it has encountered difficulties
European Analysts submit a report on the Duranium situation:
Annual Duranium production: 3,206 tons
Usage:
Fleet maintenance: 320.3 tons
Mine Construction: 977.4 tons
OSR-232 construction: 1,196 tons
Newton construction: 591.2 tons
Retool for Mule: 58.2 tons