New Horizons

The Story
In early 2035, Man builds their first true spaceship, the UNS Terra. The ship is a joint project between the nations of the UN, and is crewed by members of all nations, though the nationalities of the permanent members of the Security Council - USA, Russia, Great Britain, France and China - account for the greatest numbers. Among the technologies used onboard the Terra are the first working Artificial Gravity System, ten high-powered Gauss Guns for destroying objects in the way of the ship, and forty 10-megaton nuclear warheads - or Torpedoes - for destroying objects too large for the Gauss Guns to handle. The ship embarks on an exploratory mission to the planet Mars in early 2036. When it returns in 2038, it brings back numerous samples and much new knowledge. This knowledge is channelled into development of new technologies, and is indirectly responsible for the first usable Laser weapons made by Man.

Missions to Venus and the Asteroid Belt between Mars and Jupiter in 2039 and 2044 yields further samples and knowledge, leading to the discovery of numerous new technologies. As well as these samples, the explorers come across an alien artifact. The technology of the artifacts leads to the discovery and construction of the first Jump Drive according to Einstein's theories of relativity. This drive is installed on the second Terra-class vessel, the UNS Event Horizon in 2046. On its first test run, the plan is to jump to Alpha Centauri, 4,37 light years away. A glitch causes the drive to malfunction however, causing the Event Horizon to jump 437 light years instead of 4,37 light years, stranding the ship and its crew far away from Earth...