Space Shuttle Atlantis lifts off on the 81st shuttle flight, a ten-day mission featuring the fifth docking between Atlantis and the Mir space station. Atlantis again carries the SPACEHAB module in its cargo bay, and thousands of pounds of consumables and equipment are transferred from the shuttle to Mir. Aboard Atlantis for her 17th flight are Commander Michael Baker, Pilot Brent Jett, and mission specialists John Grunsfeld, Marsha Ivins, Peter Wisoff and Jerry Linenger. Linenger remains on Mir, while American Mir Expedition 22 crewmember John Blaha returns after 128 days in space.
The 84th episode of Chris Carter’s modern-day science fiction series The X-Files airs on Fox, starring Gillian Anderson and David Duchovny. Ruben Blades guest stars.
The 24th episode of Joss Whedon’s trend-setting supernatural series Buffy The Vampire Slayer, starring Sarah Michelle Gellar, airs on the WB network. Anthony Stewart Head, David Boreanaz, and Alyson Hannigan also star.
The national syndication window opens for the 
The week-long national syndication window opens for the 
The 12th episode of the sequel series Team Knight Rider airs in syndication, starring Brixton Karnes, Christine Steel, Duane Davis, and Nick Wechsler.
Christopher Franke’s 
Canadian broadcaster CHCH-TV airs the second episode of Art Monterastelli’s sci-fi series Total Recall 2070, starring Michael Easton and Cynthia Preston, very loosely based on the 1990 film Total Recall. The series will air on the American pay cable channel Showtime later in the year, with parts one and two aired as a single movie-length episode. Though the series’ inspiration was based on a Philip K. Dick story, Dick is not acknowledged in the credits.
UPN airs the 
SuperTracks releases 
Pay cable channel Showtime airs the 81st episode of Stargate SG-1. Christopher Cousins (Breaking Bad) and Ronny Cox (RoboCop) guest star.
Sci-Fi Channel premieres the 
Pay cable channel Showtime premieres 
After months of delays in development of its elaborate guidance software system, NASA’s Deep Impact unmanned space probe is launched on a mission to intercept, and fire an impactor into, Comet Tempel 1 half a year later. In order to catch up with the comet, Deep Impact is lofted into orbit by a Delta II rocket, which puts the spacecraft on a precise course at a speed of roughly 64,000mph. Deep Impact will fire the impactor into the comet in July to study the distribution and composition of the debris scattered by the resulting impact.
MIT Press publishes the non-fiction book 
The sixth episode of the science fiction series The Expanse, based on the series of novels by James S.A. Corey (a pseudonym for writers Ty Franck and Daniel Abraham), is broadcast on cable channel Syfy. Chad L. Coleman (The Orville) and Elias Toufexis (Alphas) guest star.
The 856th episode of Doctor Who airs on BBC1 (the 157th episode since the series’ revival), starring Jodie Whittaker, Bradley Walsh, Mandip Gill, and Tosin Cole.
The CW airs the 46th episode of Batwoman starring Javicia Leslie, Rachel Skarsten, and Meagan Tandy.
Streaming service Disney+ releases 
The CW airs the 105th episode of Legends Of Tomorrow, starring Caity Lotz, Jes Macallan, Tala Ashe, and Olivia Swann.