2015:
The New Horizons probe reaches Pluto only to find that Charon is not a moon but a 5 km artificial structure with a core with unique properties.
It takes until 2016 for all the data to reach Earth.
2016:
The data is fully obtained by NASA. Using the data NASA figures out a way to differentiate Element Zero (named due to the fact that even though the atoms have mass, without a current it does not have any gravitational field) from its normal counterparts. The US government tries to keep the eezo method to differentiate eezo from normal matter and the structure secret but it leaked onto the internet and the world learned it is not alone.
All around the world people, corporations, and governments all try to find deposits of eezo, finding many deposits.
Research into the applications of eezo becomes one of the main focuses of the scientific community with countless billions in corporate and government funding helping them along. All of the data from New Horizons is dissected by everyone who can get their hands on it and the UN gives NASA the funds to send another probe alongside a massive increase in funding.
This event fundamentally changes humanity, but the world still goes on.
2017:
Eezo's mass altering properties are discovered. A rough design for a modified ion engine that dramatically increases acceleration by increasing the mass of the propellant is proposed. The design is approved and the first prototype is expected to be completed in two years.
A research facility explodes in Japan during a test to see how much of a current can be sent into eezo. The explosion spreads eezo stored in the facility across a small amount of Tokyo, containing around 1 million people. Several more events like this occur over the years.
2018:
A concept to use eezo to decrease the mass of the atmosphere around an object during reentry to decrease friction and lower the amount of heat shielding needed is proposed. The idea is further expanded as a protection system against micrometeoroid.
The Hermes project begins. The project's goal is to launch 30 probes of various designs across the solar system within the next 15 years.
30% of the children born in the aftermath of the eezo event have negative health consequences because of it but 20% gain strange abilities. Scientists begin to research these children and eventually name these abilities biotics.
2019:
The ion engine is completed, and testing begins. The 10 kg prototype is capable of producing 15 newtons of thrust per second. This is an order of magnitude superior to any previous ion engines and without a substantial increase in power requirements.
2021:
A Starship prototype is tested with the kinetic energy reduction systems (commonly called kinetic barriers as shorthand or shields by the Internet) and a eezo core that lightens the craft to a fraction its original mass launches. The test is a huge success and marks the beginning of the second space race as the cost of space travel dramatically reduces with eezo.
There is a massive resurgence in space agencies across the world with an increased amount of funding being put into existing ones and new ones being created.
2022:
The first prototype element zero enhanced weapons are tested.
A small amount of eezo tech begins to be seen outside of scientific institutions and the military.
The Starship design is scrapped and SpaceX begins to design a new vessel that takes advantage of all of eezo and all its benefits, while still using many of the starship components. In the meantime current rockets are modified with eezo, dramatically increasing their effectiveness.
2025:
Humanity reaches for the moon once more as over a dozen private and government landings are planned to occur within the next decade.
The Distrupter is invented and replaces high explosives as the premier payload for newer weapons.
2026:
Hermes 1-5 are launched and go to different locations. NASA plans to launch 5 probes per year. Hermes 1 is sent to Charon to conduct tests on the structure; it is expected to arrive in 2031.
2027:
Humanity lands on the moon once more as a ship with 4 humans on board lands on the moon.
Another five Hermes probes are launched.
The SpaceX Traveler is completed. It and the other new spacecraft coming out in the next few years are massive improvements on all previous spacecraft.
2028:
The first semi permanent outpost is constructed on the moon. It hosts several rovers that operate out of the base and recharge and repair there alongside a habitable area meant to test the moon's gravity's effects on the human body and the proposition of further colonization.
Another five Hermes probes are launched.
The first Space hotel begins operation. The hotel has room for 30 guests and is 50,000 USD a trip per person and an additional 10,000 a night. The hotel has multiple attractions, including EVA, zero g sports and an observation area that includes a transparent aluminum dome looking down at the earth.
The first industrial space station is completed. It is meant for zero g manufacturing.
A ship with zero g mining equipment travels to a near earth asteroid that has been surveyed and extracts billions of dollars in rare elements. Further expeditions are planned by many different groups.
2029:
Armstrong colony is founded. Powered by a fission reactor, the colony's 200 personnel operate hundreds of robots and an automated mining, refining, and production base meant to supply resources for zero g manufacturing and further construction without dealing with the earth's gravity or atmosphere.
It takes over 100 trips to bring the materials for the colony to the moon but it is expected to earn back its cost 10 fold.
Another five Hermes probes are launched.
2030:
Unity stations comes online. A joint project of 15 countries, the station is the largest man made structure in space, 30 times the size of the ISS, and the first station with a working rotating section, creating 0.3 Gs of gravity. The station is equipped with sophisticated production facilities capable of producing parts, satellites, probes, spacecraft, and even other stations.
The stasis pod is invented. The stasis pod puts the body in a near death state, keeping just enough operational so the person inside does not die. This allows for mass transportation of people.
Another five Hermes probes are launched.
Several more lunar colonies are set up.
A spacecraft collides with an old satellite, causing both to break up and cause countless hypervelocity projectiles that hit other objects. This causes tens of billions of dollars in damage and dozens of dead but luckily doesn't create a full Kessler Syndrome event and can be relatively contained. This event shows how humanity needs a central authority on space travel to prevent another catastrophe.
The United Nations Space Administration (UNSA) is founded to control space around earth to ensure no accidents occur and promote expansion into space.
The first working, fully operatonal Plasma Powered Cannon, also known as the Plasma Propelled Cannon or PPC, is created. The weapon uses plasma to propel a conventional ballistic projectile lightened by eezo.
2031:
Hermes 1 reaches Charon. It does many tests including an attempt at getting samples from the structure. Unfortunately the Hermes 1 fails to get a sample and is destroyed during the attempt, luckily most of the data was already sent back to earth.
The UNSA purchases several spacecraft and equip them to remove space debris.
Another five Hermes probes are launched.
A 1.3 mt metallic asteroid is moved to the L4 point by the new company Galactic Manufacturing. Their plan is to hollow out the asteroid and turn it into a massive zero g manufacturing base while using the money from the resources to keep the operation going. The project is expected to take 20 years but the facility is expected to be partially operational by 2040 with the ability to build small items.
A manned expedition to Mars is launched.
2032:
The final 5 Hermes probes launch. Due to the rapidly advancing technology, the probes are almost obsolete.
The UNSA takes over watching for near earth asteroids.
The first space warship is launched by the US, the USS Shepard. This causes an arms race between the nations of earth to militarize space. By the end of the decade, for every 4 tons of civilian spacecraft, there is 1 ton of warship.
The Mars expedition reaches the planet early in the year and becomes the first humans to ever step foot on the red planet. They set up a colony, and more people come after them.
Expeditions are launched to Venus, Mercury, Jupiter's moons and Ceres. Ceres becomes a jumping board for colonization of the asteroid belt while the same is true for Jupiter's moons for resource extraction from the Gas Giant.
2033:
The battle of Jamestown M32 becomes the first battle on the moon. The Chinese colony of Jiàngluò and the American colony of Jamestown both find a deposit of Iridium. Both send out robots to claim the deposit and set up shop. The Americans get there first but when the Chinese robots get there the operator decides to use his robots' mining equipment to destroy the American robots. The Americans at Jamestown decide to send robots to destroy the Chinese robots in retaliation.
This escalates over several days culminating in a confrontation between the American and Chinese naval forces at Luna, causing the destruction of 3 ships and the deaths of 35 naval personnel. The conflict ends with a ceasefire and an agreement between the countries that includes the Chinese robot operator being given to the US and many other things. The UNSA is given control over mineral claims from this point forward to prevent another conflict like this from occurring.
Another expedition is sent to the structure, this time including half a dozen probes for redundancy. It will arrive in 2036 due to the improved engines.
2034:
The first cost effective fusion reactor is created. Many more will be constructed in the coming years. Many claim that the clean, plentefull energy Produced by the fusion reactors harold a golden age for Humanity.
The US begins a program to equip all warships and a number of vehicles with new PPCs. Other nation fillow suit.
Tensions on earth continue to increase.
The expeditions reach their targets and set up colonies, each with a population of 1,000 people stored in stasis pods.
The first arcology begins construction in Tokyo, It is expected to hold 1 million people.
2040:
Humanity celebrates the human population in space reaching 25,000.
The 20 year war begins. The world devolves into conflict as a clusterfuck of revolution, rebellions, and wars commence. The nations of earth are in a stalemate as they cannot produce more sophisticated equipment in large amounts or even at all in some cases due to broken supply chains, meaning that any equipment destroyed cannot be replaced. This leads to militaries taking a conservative approach in order to minimize losses but leading to a long war where the goal is more to cripple the enemies ability to fight them, not conquering them. The war shares more similarities with the 30 years war then the world wars.
Massive amounts of civil strife rocks the world as the problems that have been building for decades all boil over. Most of the nations who entered the war would not make it out, and those who would will be heavily changed.
The colonies are mostly cut off from earth. Most of the orbital structures are destroyed but the Lagrange point stations, asteroid mines, interplanetary colonies, and lunar colonies are mostly intact. Most of the warships are destroyed in the battle for earth orbit and those that remained got caught up in the Kessler syndrome cascade that was caused by the battle, leaving the colonies without any supervision and the earth unable to send anything up due to the debris.
Due to the cost of sending up things from earth, even with eezo, the colonies were designed to be mostly self-sufficient and those things they could not produce, sophisticated equipment, could be produced by the remaining manufacturing stations at the L 5, and L 4, and moon side. The colonies coordinate so they can survive, led by the UNSA in exile even after the fall of the UN in 2041.
2041:
The NASA base and communication dishes for the second Charon expedition are destroyed, leaving the probes abandoned and left to drift in space without direction.
All biotics over the age of 15 are conscripted in most militaries. Attempts begin to be made to enhance Biotic abilities.
The first child is born in space by Amelia Jones of the ZM-15 manufacturing station. She is moved to Armstrong due to it having the best medical facilities in the colonies. Both child and mother live and the baby girl is named Luna.
This event leads to the people of the colonies realizing that if the war on earth goes nuclear, the colonies would be all that is left of humanity. This revelation leads to the colonies preparing for that, in their eyes, eventuality.
2043:
The first act of piracy in space occurs when a small single man Mining Ship steals a Cargo Pod filled with food and vital equipment inbound to a mining outpost of 40 people from Ceres and tries to ransom it to the outpost for a large amount of resources.
Instead of giving in, the outpost sends out three of its own one man Mining Ships and a Cargo Shuttle to where they determined the pirate is and put the pod, causing the odd Battle of Timathe's Eye (asteroid named after the large crater in the center of the spherical asteroid and the person who first mined it).
None of the craft in the battle have actual weapons, so they haveto use their chemical engines as weapons by trying to hit the other ships with their exhaust. In the end, one of the outpost ships is heavily damaged, another runs out of fuel, the pirate's ship is crippled, with the pirate killed, and the Cargo Shuttle has to tug all three ships and the Cargo Pod.
2045:
The brain-machine interface is created, allowing for humans to command machines with their minds and, more importantly, download information into their minds. This allows for training to be done insanely fast with only a minimal amount of actual training to ensure that the information took. This also revolutionized education.
2053:
Nations start covertly deploying bio weapons on the populations of other nations and even on the elderly of their own population to conserve resources.
The first Biotic Amp is created.
2060:
The war ends with a billion dead, mostly from starvation, Bio weapons and disease. The powers that remain got tired of the fighting and made peace. The following years would be spent rebuilding what was lost.
The few ships still on earth cannot exit the atmosphere due to the debris still there from the beginning of the war that did not fall to Earth or was savaged by the colonists.
In order to allow access to space to resume, the nations ask the UNSA for help in clearing the Earth's orbit. The UNSA agrees on the conditions that the UN is reformed and the UNSA regains its power and gains more. After some deliberation, the nations agree.
The UNSA regains its authority as the ruler of space, but with more powers and more objectives. While the rest of the UN still has little power the UNSA has full authority in regards to space and unclaimed territory. The UNSA is in charge of distributing territory on planets, moons, asteroids, and all other objects in space, they are usually distributed via an auction. The UNSA is also permitted to have a small navy for patrol and police actions.
2061:
The removal of the debris is completed and space is open to the people of earth once more. The colonies begin to send materials to earth once more and humanities expansion recommences.
2070:
It is discovered how to implant eezo nodules into unborn fetuses, making them biotic.
Sleeper Pods now allow for the brain to continue operation while in the pod and connect to the internet with their Neural Interfaces. This allows people to spend days, weeks, months, or oven years without using their bodies, connected to the internet while their bodies are kept alive in the pods.
Life is discovered under the ice of Europa, drawing the eyes of all humanity due to it being the first extraterrestrial life ever found. Research finds that energy is obtained not from the sun but by biological fusion reactors; plants have managed to fuse deuterium in the water to create heat. Animals either eat the fusion plants or do the same thing, leading to massive fusion-powered fish existing under the surface of Europa. The largest of these are the so-called "Leviathans of Europa".
2072:
The first Helium-3 fusion reactor is created, its aneutronic fusion allowing for lighter reactors and gives more power than current reactors, making it exceptionally popular for ships.
A solar array is put extremely close to the sun, collecting power and sending it to Earth.
2075:
An expedition is sent to the Charon Object. Due to advances in engine technology, It reaches the object by the end of the year. Research begins, but nothing the probes do make the object do anything.
2078:
The Jump Zero initiative is created to attempt to creat FTL.