KSI Timeline

Several pieces of writing take the form of retrospectives, as if being written by Freddie in his Memoirs. They talk about various milestones on the final fates of different project pieces. Year 0 in the timeline is the first Valkyrie launch.

Year 0 - First Valkyrie Launch, Mars 1

Year 3 - Second Valkyrie completed, first fully-successful Mars mission and earth-return(Mars 2).

Year 5 - First Balistner completed, five-years mission to Jupiter begins(Jupiter I), Mars III launches at the same time with the third Valkyrie spacecraft. Both vehicles are in orbit at the same time, first test of tandem Service Shuttle launch(two shuttles mounted to a single first-stage).

Year 6 - Midway Space Station launched. Issues encountered during Jupiter I/Mars 3 orbital phases prove need for a permanent station. Station is used for in-space re-fit on Valkyrie vehicle, first in-space re-fit of space vehicle.

Year 7 - Mars 4 launched for three-year stay on martian surface. Mars 4 arrives just before Mars 3 departure, marking first time any planetary body has played host to two manned space missions at the same time. KSI launches mission 'Explorer One' consisting of a large myster-module and a manned Service Shuttle on root to the L3 Earth/Moon Lagrange point.

Year 8 - Mars 5 launches, first mission to use separate, chemically-fueled ascender and decender vehicles while Valkyrie spacecraft remains in orbit(decision made over growing concerns regarding radiation released by using nuclear engine as ascent-stage). Mission is carried out while Mars 4 Still on surface. Explorer One revealed to be test of large-scale rotational gravity concept. Initial planning begins on KSI Stardock

Year 9 - Mars 4 returns. Mission built first human structures on mars, inflated concrete domes and tests of radiation shielding. However, Mars 4 team determined that permanent surface-structures were too challenging to construct. Plans revised for Mars 6. Valkyrie spacecraft launched into polar orbit over the sun on one-year mission.

Year 10 - Balistner returns, plans immediately begin for second Jupiter mission. Samples brought beck elate the world. Construction on second Balistner spacecraft underway. Midway Station now severely over-crowded(there are now 4 seperate Valkyrie spacecraft and a second Balistner in the pipeline. Mars 6 launches on the modified Mars to Stay plan. Two space craft, the first a normal Valkyrie, and the second specially modified, travel to mars together and land in different regions. Crew from the first travel to the second by rover, and together begin construction on a series of presurized domes. This is the official beginning of the Mars Colony. The specially-built Valkyrie is eventually broken down and used in the construction of the new base, while the second returns to earth with a crew of two. Mars Colony population: 14.

Year 11 - Stardock completed ahead of schedule, capable of docking up to thirty-two spacecraft. Station includes two independently rotating rings which provide gravity, as well as extensive storage and maintencne facilities in the non-gravitational sections. Included in Stardock is the largest-ever enclosed area in space, a fully-pressurized, shirt-sleeve hangar large enough to accept a Balistner spacecraft, two of which are now completed, with a third under construction. Stardock also doubles as the world's first space hotel, able to accommodate up to forty-eight guests at the price of $24 million dollars for a twenty-eight-day stay. Part of the fee guest's pay is to sponsor a scientist also residing on the station. Stardock is capable of holding up to 140 people. At the same time as Stardock is completed, work begins on a second station in lunar orbit. Saturn I launches from the newly completed Stardock with an unexpected stow-away on board. Despite increased distance between Earth and Saturn, Saturn I is also projected to only take about five years. The Balistner spacecraft will accomplish this by traveling much faster. It will also carry additional fuel and employ a lengthy series of aerobreaking manuever on earth return(expected to last an additional year). Crew will, however, be able to transfer to a smaller ship for a quicker earth-intercept. Second Valkyrie helology mission, fifth Valkyrie spacecraft.

Year 12 - Mars 7 launches as first supply mission to Mars 6(Mars Colony) tests a variety of powered and unpowered landers. No Valkyrie spacecraft lands on the surface. Considerations are made for an un-manned supply ship, KSI having ruled out the prospect of expendable supply craft. Mysterious lunar station revealed as construction point for KSI's most ambitious project to date: Epsilon Eridani I. Ceres 1 launches on a mission to the astroid belt using valkyrie.

Year 13 - Cerses I suffers unknown catastrophic failure and crashes on Ceres. Ship believed lost with all hands. Work begins in earnest on Epsilon Eridani, now revealed to be an Orion mission. The ship will carry two Balistner spacecraft, which must be constructed custom for this mission. Second-ever Valkyrie spaceraft is re-purposed into one-way powered lander to carry supplies as part of Mars 8, a Balistner spacecraft accompanying the valkyrie will carry additional colonists and several unpowered decent pods. First time Valkyrie and Balistner spacecraft used together in tandem mission Work is completed on a supply ship that will use ion engines to move between earth and mars. The new ship is pressurized and has a shirt-sleeve environment onboard, but is un-manned.

Year 14 - Mars 9, last Valkyrie landing on Mars. First Mars Pollar Mission. Entire mission set to take two years so craft could "winter" in martial polar region. First un-manned supply delivery ends in failure, Mars 9 re-tasked to manually unload supplies, Mars 9 mission still completed.

Year 15 - Following the debacle with the supply ship, Mars 10 is launched carrying equipment to construct a re-usable, manned launch vehicle to assist with bringing people too and from the Mars surface. Each subsequent manned supply mission has also brought additional colonists. Mars Colony population is now 22, and provides 40% of it's own food. Mars 10 brings along four additional colonists and a two-stage vehicle, the upper stage of which does look suspiciously like a flying saucer. The vehicle is then successfully used to intercept with the second arrival of the un-manned supply ship and offload supplies while Mars 10 is still in orbit.

Year 16 - Saturn I Returns. Freddie over-sees final stages of EE1 preparation. The ship, simply named Orion(KSI tradition typically does not give individual ships names) is tested on the far side of the moon, the nuclear pulse propulsion drive works even better than anticipated. Mars 9 returns, Mars 11 launches. A total of four Balistner spacecraft were constructed for the Eridani mission, with two selected. The others are put into service on Mars 11 and Jupiter II respectively.

Year 17 - Epislon Eridani I launches amidsts great fanfare. Jupiter II launches. Mars 12 launches with test of new "Interim Habitat Module"; an add-on component designed to add a second rotational-gravity living space to the Valkyrie spacecraft, allowing it to hold additional collonists. The second module proves unsound, causing more than anticipated course corrections, and while Mars 12 delivers it's passengers, Valkyrie spacecraft is now deemed unsuitable for future Mars missions. Mars Colony Population: 50

Year 18 - Mission Inner Space launches, two Valkyrie spacecraft go on a tandem mission to visit both Venus and Mercury.