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Moon Landing
Astronauts Neil Armstrong and Edwin Aldrin land Eagle on Moon at Mare Tranquilitatis. -
Period: to
Project Barsoom
U.S. Air Force conducts “Project Barsoom” which tests reactions of ordinary people to scenario that aliens are real and have made contact with Earth. Extremely negative reactions of participants lead to high classification of test results and creation of policy within U.S. government to suppress any knowledge of possible alien contact. -
HAL 9000
HAL 9000, Artificial Intelligence Computer System becomes operational. -
Lunar Base
Dedication of first United States Lunar Base. Clavius Base constructed by U.S. Astronomical Engineering Corp. -
Nuclear Power
Germany becomes fourth space power to launch a nuclear weapons platform into Earth orbit. They join United States, Great Britain, and Russia. -
TMA-1
Lunar Orbiter 10 discovers evidence of a magnetic disturbance in lunar southern hemisphere near crater Tycho. United States Astronautics Agency (USAA) assigns code name of “Tycho Magnetic Anomaly-1” (TMA-1) to disturbance and begins to organize a team to investigate phenomenon. -
Monolith
TMA-1 uncovered just after local sunset. TMA-1 is a black monolithic structure of unknown origin and purpose. -
Takeoff
Discovery 1 embarks on test flight from Earth to Moon. Final checkout and preparations made for launch to Jupiter. -
Disturbances
Aboard Discovery 1, HAL 9000 A.I. computer predicts that AE-35 electronics unit that controls pointing of high-gain antenna at Earth for primary communications will fail within 72 hours. HAL recommends to Bowman that unit be replaced prior to failure. -
Murder
HAL shuts down communications between work pod and Discovery 1, then murders Poole using pod manipulators to cut air supply hose and send him and pod tumbling into deep space. Then, HAL cuts life support to hibernaculums, murdering Kaminsky, Kimball, and Hunter. Bowman procedes to remove logic processing systems from HAL's processing systems. -
Jupiter
Arrival in Jupiter space. Discovery 1 enters Jovian orbit. -
Star Gate
Bowman takes work pod A (Anna) to investigate giant artifact similar in form to TMA-1, found in orbit near Jupiter’s moon Io. Monolith measures 212 ft wide x 848 ft across x 1908 ft high. Bowman enters Star Gate and is transported 20,000 light years across Milky Way to point near galactic core.
