History: 1976-2000

1976: USSR abandons plans of lunar colony, beings planning of habitable space station instead. Fuhrer Lukas Koch suffers stroke, leaves politics to recover. 


1977: USA discusses sending manned shuttle to Mars. Kuppel requests resources to expand colony underground, Germany agrees to send required resources to colony. 


1979: Germany begins planning of manned mission to Mars, largest problems transit time, some suggest waiting until faster engine could be developed.


1980: USSR space station completed, generates artificial gravity equal to Earth's natural via centripetal force, discussions about sending station to Mars or asteroid belt begin.


1981: Britain surrenders control over its colonies (including Ireland), decides to focus on internal affairs and starting a space program of their own.


1983: Germany celebrates fiftieth anniversary of their recovery and revitalization. Empire of Japan lands a manned shuttle on the Moon, begins construction of lunar colony. USA sends a manned shuttle to Mars, using Earth's gravity well to slingshot towards the red planet.


1985: USA shuttle to Mars drifts off course, attempts to contact shuttle result in failure, future attempts marked off. British space program sends satellite into orbit. Egypt successfully attempts to use satellites in orbit to bounce data streams to other side of globe.


1986: Germany begins construction of second lunar colony, Fuhrer Siegfried Jaeger decides to let the ones that colonize the new colony be the ones to name it. USSR decides to build a second station that will upon completion make its way to Venus.


1987: American scientists/computer geeks build on Egyptian work sending signals across the globe using various government satellites to lay down the foundations of what would become the Internet. USSR begins experimenting with plasma as propulsion system on space shuttles.


1988: Empire of Japan sends unmanned ship to Venus, announces plans to develop means of placing a colony on the planet and eventually terraforming it. Announcement is met with skepticism. USA enters an economic recession. Britain successfully lands a manned shuttle on the Moon outside Kuppel, British astronauts greeted with enthusiasm.


1989: Detailed examinations of Adolf Hitler's life come to conclusion that he was immensely unstable mentally, chill seeps over German population at what might have happened. Ireland decides that it lacks the resources to start their own space program, Britain offers use of their facilities for training and shuttle construction and deployment. Germany's second lunar colony reaches half-way mark.


1990: USA recession slips into depression. USSR, Germany, and Empire of Japan leave the League of Nations in order to focus on their space programs. USA enters secret discussions with the crumbling League of Nations.


1991: For internationally unknown reasons, western states of USA attempt to split from USA into own nation, USA breaks into the Second Civil War. Ireland launches their own manned shuttle into space utilizing British facilities. 

1992:  Germany's second colony is completed, new colonists decide to name it Schäfer. USSR completes second space station which begins its trip to Venus.

1995: Schäfer and Kuppel begin construction of subterranean tunnels that would connect the two colonies. Eastern USA makes steady push into the Rockies. Western states reveal new weapon developed in secret that was launched upon Washington: the Atom Bomb. Two groups meet in Canada to sign peace treaty. Western states settle on Coalition of Western States as name for new nation.


1996: USA announces decision to merge with the League of Nations into a single governing body dubbed International Sovereign States. Germany enters deliberations on whether to change its name in a political/propaganda maneuver. Kuppel and Schäfer complete the first stage of the connecting tunnels. USSR receives distress signal from second space station, details unknown.


1997: German leadership poses the question of changing national name to populous, majority decide to change nation's name to simply Reich. CWS begins testing advanced versions of the Atom Bomb in Pacific, rest of world becomes nervous. Empire of Japan places space program on hold to work on an unknown new technology.


1998: Africa becomes embroiled in a war of unification, every nation attempting to be the one that will eventually have total control over Africa. Previously unmatched bomb detonates in CWS territory, removing four population centers off the map. Terrorists suspected.


2000: Kuppel and Schäfer discover unknown material in construction of underground tunnels, Reich scientists travel to colonies to investigate. USSR begins discussions of constructing an elevator that will leave the atmosphere, dubbed "space elevator".