It was half a century ago, in Earth years, that pop culture and real science were first struck by the bold, influential rays of Star Trek. When the original series (canceled after three seasons; devoted cult following afterward—you know the story) premiered in the fall of 1966, no one would have guessed it would become a multi-media franchise juggernaut, much less that it would still be growing 50 years later. And yet here we are. To honor *Trek’*s golden jubilee, happening officially Sept. 8, here’s a list of one thing it caused, inspired, or influenced during each year of its long, prosperous life.

1967: Martin Luther King Jr. personally implores Nichelle Nichols (Lieutenant Uhura) to stay on the show rather than leave and pursue a Broadway career as she had planned. Calling himself her “greatest fan,” King “said something along the lines of ‘Nichelle, whether you like it or not, you have become a symbol. If you leave, they can replace you with a blonde-haired white girl, and it will be like you were never there. What you’ve accomplished, for all of us, will only be real if you stay.’ That got me thinking. . . . I saw that this was bigger than just me,” Nichols said.

1968: NBC receives some 115,000 fan letters begging for Star Trek to remain on-air, up from the 29,000 received the first season. It’s not the first time that a letter-writing campaign has saved a TV show, but it represents the highest volume of mail to date and sets a precedent for the future.

1969: The show’s cancellation is announced in February; the final episode airs in June. But in the meantime, the show starts playing around the country in syndication, often as counter-programming for the networks’ six P.M. newscasts. In syndication, Star Trek gains more momentum and viewers than it ever hoped for on NBC, and another precedent—the post-death popularity boost—is set.

From Paramount Pictures/Photofest.

1970: Leonard Nimoy releases his fifth and final album, The New World of Leonard Nimoy, featuring covers like “I Walk the Line,” “Proud Mary,” and “Everybody’s Talkin’” (from Midnight Cowboy). While his previous records had plenty of Spock-like touches, this one is all Nimoy. Strangely, he declines to pursue a career in singing.

1971: A high schooler named Mike Mayfield starts programming what would become the first Star Trek computer game (and one of the first popular computer games of any kind). Unsurprisingly, many early computer users are Star Trek fans, so the game spreads like wildfire.