The Odyssey Timeship - the golden timeship against deep space, from the original 2001 site banner

A once-in-a-lifetime chance to travel forward in time to 2101

In June 2001 a virtual timeship departed from The Royal Star and Garter Home in Richmond, carrying the memories, documents and photographs of Britain's veterans. Its cargo is sealed at the Imperial War Museum and will not be opened until the year 2101. This site is the permanent record of the project - what it was, how it was built, and why it will still be readable when it arrives.
Read the storyThe technology
Countdown to Timeship arrival
75|173|08|00|00
YearsDaysHoursMinsSecs
The Odyssey Timeship - the original golden timeship artwork
Flight number TIME - 001
Departure Midnight, 31/12/2002
Arrival Midnight, 31/12/2101
Passengers ~700 ticket holders
Destination Imperial War Museum

About the Odyssey Project

The words below opened the original odysseytimeship.com in 2001, and they still say it best:

A unique record of life in the Armed Forces.

Join us in the Odyssey Timeship, a once-in-a-lifetime chance to travel forward in time to 2101 and to secure your place in history, and at just £10 a ticket you will also be supporting The Royal Star and Garter Home for disabled ex-Service men and women.

Odyssey is a time capsule that will carry the memories and photographs of serving and retired members of the Armed Forces, along with those of their friends and relatives. Individuals and service groups are equally welcome on the voyage.

Odyssey will create a 'living history' - a matchless historical record containing thousands of recollections of life in the Armed Forces during the 20th and very early 21st centuries. Once full, the Timeship will be stored safely for the next 100 years at the Imperial War Museum - to be officially re-opened in the year 2101.

Welcome aboard.

Why this site exists

The Odyssey Timeship closed to new passengers in 2002 and its cargo was handed to the Imperial War Museum. The voyage, though, continues - it ends only when the capsule is opened in 2101. Somebody will open it, and they will need to know what it is, where it came from, and how to read what is inside.

This site keeps that knowledge alive. It records the story of the project - the launch, the famous names, the letter from Her Majesty The Queen - and the technology behind it: how a hundred-year digital archive was engineered in 2001, and why open standards and open source were the only credible way to build it.