Timeline of the Firefly Universe

2020: Star cluster in Taurus is discovered, designated "34 Tauri (2020)". Five stars and 14 gas giants found.

2021: Recycling programs beginning to fail, global warming increasing.

2027 to 2042: Terrestrial planets found by the dozens in 34 Tauri (2020). Most are believed to be within acceptable limits for terraforming.

2027: P/2027 (White Sun) 03 showing chemical signature of Earthlike conditions. Despite reddish hue, P/2027 (White Sun) 04 showing similar conditions.

2030: It's official: Earth will lose the ability to sustain 21st century society and current population levels within 100 years.

2035: The quantum nature of gravity is deduced, allowing for rapid and unprecedented advances in gravity manipulation technologies. Creation of artificial gravity and gravity screening soon follow.

2037: Space technology development vastly accelerated by new discoveries. Due to the advent of gravity technology, terraforming can take decades instead of centuries.

2040: First theories for evacuating the Earth presented. Gravity manipulation technology makes evacuation plausible idea.

2042: Terraforming technology tested on Mars with positive results.

2045: Terraforming of Venus, Mars and Earth's moon begun. Terraforming efforts will be abandoned within two years due to a lack of native resources.

2048: Failure of terraforming efforts in the Solar System hit home. Global morale sink to new lows as riots break out in many major cities. Earth's governments decide that fast action is required to keep society from falling into chaos. As rebuilding Earth's ecosystem no longer appears to be an option, a plan for mass exodus is proposed instead. The GEA (Global Exodus Alliance) is formed and given unlimited governmental authority and complete control over Earth's meager remaining resources as member nations cede their power to the organization. The GEA moves quickly to take control of infrastructure, police and military and most of the private sector as well, all in the name of mobilization of the greatest single endeavor in human history.

2052: Collection and storage of samples of all life on Earth begun.

2060: With plans for colonization in place, global resources mobilized, and construction of arks and ark modules on-going, the GEA makes its final move to cement control over humanity: The GEA publishes the "Articles of Alliance", a super-constitution which supersedes all other legal systems on the planet. As China and the U.S. are contributing most of the resources and much of the know-how to the Exodus Project, they take joint stewardship over the new "global government". Smaller countries are given a choice – toe the line or give up any chance of having their populations join the exodus. Results are almost immediate – unilateral capitulation of 98 percent of Earth's governments. The Alliance is born.

2072: First Wave: Dozens of robotic terraforming ships are launched. Their targets are two planets orbiting the Verse's central sun, a white primary, dubbed "White Star" (later, simply "White Sun") by the Americans and "Bai Hu" or "White Tiger" by the Chinese.

2075: Latest projections show Earth unable to support more than 5 percent of current population within three decades. GEA recommends a vast expansion of the Exodus Project and Alliance approves – remaining cities will be systematically dismantled to increase the size of the ark fleet tenfold. Pollution runs wild as ark fleet is considered the only priority.

2090: Loading of ships begun with cargo, fuel, and stored genetic samples.

2094: Boarding of the ark ships begins. Over the last five decades, Earth population has dropped to around one billion due to starvation, disease, toxic contamination and criminal activities. Reproductive rates have dropped to near zero. Most of the Earth's population now lives in squalor. Although most ark ships will not depart until completely loaded (a process that takes years), survivors welcome the safe, sterile, climate controlled environments of the Ark ships after the horror Earth has become. A rich black market develops that sells positions in the boarding lottery, falsified medical certificates and other items needed to gain quicker access to the arks.

2095: The Alliance declares global martial law.

2097: First ark ships begin to depart. Priority is given to those ships populated with the ancestors of those who will act as the terraforming and construction labor force upon arrival.

2100: Loading of the ark ships is complete. Over a quarter billion people are contained in hundreds of ships ranging in size from a municipal stadium to a small city. Remaining planet-side population negligible – the death rate during the years loading took place rose to near-extinction levels. Those who remain are either too ill to make the journey or are considered "undesirable" by the GEA.

2101: The final Ark ship leaves Earth orbit.

2110: All telemetry data from Earth ceases. It is assumed that remaining Earth population is 0.

2164 TO 2190: As the Exodus fleet approaches, higher resolution imaging of the Verse becomes possible. Observers discover hundreds of planets and moons, many of which appear to be terraformable.

2190: Last person in the fleet who was born on Earth dies.

2218: Last member of first "star generation" dies.

2200: Robot terraformers arrive and "tweak" P/2027 (White Sun) 03 and P/2027 (White Sun) 04, start terraforming P/2028(White Sun) 13.

2220: Terraforming of P/2027 (White Sun) 03 "Londinium" complete. Terraforming of P/2027 (White Sun) 04 "Sihnon" complete. Arks arrive in the Verse; start terraforming other worlds, mostly core worlds.

2225: Colonization of Londinium and Sihnon complete.

2240: P/2028 (White Sun) 13 "Bernadette" ready for colonization. Terraforming of worlds in Georgia and Red Sun systems begun.

2251: Terraforming of P/2030 (Red Sun) 08 "Harvest" complete.

2253: Decision to use nano-compression technology to compress and ignite brown dwarfs. P/2020 (Blue Sun) 01 "Burnham" first brown dwarf to be "helioformed" due to distance from core systems. Ignition successful but produces random bursts of radiation.

2255: Terraforming of P/2028 (White Sun) 12 "Liann Juin" complete.

2256: Terraforming of P/2027 (White Sun) 06 "Osiris" complete.

2258: Helioform process improved to mostly stable levels, minor radiation bursts but within acceptable levels. P/2020 (Red Sun) 02 "Heinlein" helioformed.

2259: Heinlein stable. Heinlein's satellites available for terraforming. P/2020 (Red Sun) 01 "Himinbjorg" helioformed.

2260: Himinbjorg stable. Himinbjorg's satellites available for terraforming. P/2020 (Georgia) 01 "Murphy" helioformed. Helioform technology vastly improved, declared safe for brown dwarfs inside inner solar systems.

2261: Murphy stable. Murphy's satellites available for terraforming. P/2020 (White Sun) 02 "Lux" helioformed.

2262: Lux stable. Lux's satellites available for terraforming. Radiation burst problem at Burnham resolved. S/2038 (Burnham) 01 "Miranda" available for terraforming.

2266: Terraforming of P/2027 (White Sun) 07 "Ariel" complete. Terraforming of P/2028 (White Sun) 09 "Valentine" complete. Terraforming of P/2027 (White Sun) 08 "Bellerophon" complete.

2270: P/2020 (Kalidasa) 01 "Penglai" helioformed. Terraforming of P/2028 (White Sun) 11 "Albion" complete.

2271: Penglai stable, satellites available for terraforming. P/2020 (White Sun) 01 "Qin Shi Huang", last brown dwarf to be helioformed, is ignited.

2273: Qin Shi Huang stable. S/2032 (Qin Shi Huang) 01 "Santo" available for terraforming.

2290: Comm Station Ring 1 asteroids terraforming complete. Cortex coverage expanded.

2305: Comm Station Ring 2 asteroids terraforming complete. Cortex coverage optimum for four inner systems, considered mostly reliable in Blue Sun system. Terraforming of S/2032 (Qin Shi Huang) 01 "Santo" complete.

2308: Terraforming of S/2040 (Lux) 02 "Persephone" complete except for S/2176 (Persephone) 01 "Hades". Terraforming of S/2040 (Lux) 01 "Pelorum" complete.

2404: Terraforming of S/2037 (Murphy) 02 "Shadow" complete.

2407: Terraforming of S/2041 (Murphy) 03 "Hera" complete.

2417: Terraforming of S/2036 (Heinlein) 02 "Silverhold" complete.

2420: Titan Terraforming Project complete. The moons of gas giants P/2020 (Kalidasa) 02 "Heaven," P/2020 (Kalidasa) 03 "Zeus," P/2020 (Kalidasa) 04 "Djinn's Bane," P/2020 (Blue Sun) 02 "Fury," and P/2020 (Blue Sun) 03 "Dragon's Egg" are ready for colonization, except for S/2165 (Fury) 03 "Seventh Circle" and S/2178 (Zeus) 06 "Betty." While the moons are ready for colonization, they are not opened to colonists until 2436.

2433: Terraforming of P/2031 (Kalidasa) 16 "Beaumonde" complete.

2435: Terraforming of P/2027 (Blue Sun) 04 "New Canaan" should be complete, but having trouble. Terraforming of New Canaan's moons completed on schedule.

2436: Core resources running low, Londinium importing over 60% of raw materials despite extensive recycling programs. Rimward expansion begins as worlds in Kalidasa and Blue Sun systems complete terraforming.

2506: Terraforming fails on Miranda. Some settlers die. Miranda removed from maps of habitable worlds. The war for Unification begins.

2511: Unification War ends with the defeat of the Independents.

2518: Now