Timeline & Lore of the Next Sunrise Universe
Timeline of Events
April 28, 2001
Human Space Tourism Begins: Dennis Tito becomes the first paying space tourist, visiting the International Space Station aboard a Russian Soyuz spacecraft.
October 2037
First Space Tourist Hotel: Commissioned in Earth orbit, marking the dawn of commercial hospitality in space.
February 2059
Asteroid Mining Breakthrough: The first successful extraction of minerals from an asteroid.
January 2063
Mars Colony Established: Humanity’s first permanent settlement on Mars is founded.
May 2066
Lunar Tourist Compound Opens: The first dedicated tourist facility on the Moon welcomes visitors.
December 2089
Mars Tourist Hotel Opens: Expanding space tourism beyond Earth’s orbit.
August 22, 2115
Next Sunrise Commissioned: Launched as a premier tourist hotel orbiting Saturn.
October 2145
Lunar Tourism Evolves: Moon tourist compounds begin conversion into mining crew habitats.
April 5, 2163
First Contact: Humanity makes official contact with extraterrestrial life.
April 26, 2163
Formation of the Galactic Alliances of Sol: Following first contact, Earth, human colonies, and major corporations unite to establish a coordinated alliance for diplomacy, security, and interstellar cooperation.
July 2187
Next Sunrise Transformation: Begins conversion from tourist hotel to ice mining station.
September 1, 2233
CryoFlow Synthesizer Invented: Dr. Zara develops a revolutionary system for storage, filtration, and transport of ice mined from Saturn’s rings.
January 31, 2242
Episode 1 - The Pilot: The story of Next Sunrise begins.
How Time Works on Next Sunrise
SCT (Solar Coordinated Time)
The official solar system standard, used in all legal, trade, and navigation documents. It is based on the Earth calendar.
NST (Next Sunrise Time)
The station’s local human-friendly time system for daily life, based on a 24-hour cycle. Each day is counted as a cycle, beginning from the date that Next Sunrise was first commissioned, August 22, 2115.
Cycles
A Cycle is one full rotation of the station’s 24-hour artificial day.
Instead of “day,” Next Sunrise locals say “Cycle”. It makes sense in a space habitat where day and night are artificially manufactured with lighting. This also helps avoid confusion with a Saturn day, which is significantly shorter than an SCT Earth day.