Day: January 16, 1953

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Television

The Outer Limits: The Probe

  • January 16, 1965

The Outer LimitsABC airs the 49th and final episode of Leslie Stevens’ anthology series The Outer Limits. Though this ends the series’ run in the 1960s, The Outer Limits will be revived for a much longer run in the 1990s, which will include remakes of some original series episodes.

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The Outer Limits now streaming on Amazon Prime

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Television

The Invaders: The Pit

  • January 16, 1968

The InvadersThe 36th episode of Larry Cohen’s science fiction series The Invaders, starring Roy Thinnes and produced by Quinn Martin’s QM Productions, is broadcast on ABC. Joanne Linville guest stars.

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Television

The Next Step Beyond: Possession

  • January 16, 1978

The Next Step BeyondThe week-long syndication window opens for the third episode of The Next Step Beyond, a revival of the 1950s/60s supernatural anthology series One Step Beyond, hosted and directed by John Newland.

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Television

Dark Angel: Red

  • January 16, 2001

Dark AngelThe tenth episode of James Cameron & Charles H. Eglee’s cyberpunk series Dark Angel, starring Jessica Alba and Michael Weatherly, airs on Fox. John Savage and Alex Zahara (Babylon 5: Legend Of The Rangers, Jeremiah) guest star.

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Television

Special Unit 2: The Straw

  • January 16, 2002

Special Unit 2UPN broadcasts the 15th episode of the supernatural crime comedy series Special Unit 2, starring Michael Landes (Lois & Clark: The New Adventures Of Superman) and Alexondra Lee (Party Of Five). Jonathan Togo (CSI: Miami) guest stars.

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Columbia Crewed Spaceflight Space Shuttle

STS-107

  • January 16, 2003

Space ShuttleSpace Shuttle Columbia lifts off for a scientific research mission with the SPACEHAB module – a successor to Spacelab – in its cargo bay, for a flight lasting almost 17 days. Columbia’s crew for this flight is Commander Rick Husband, Pilot Willie McCool, Payload Commander Michael Anderson, mission specialists Kalpana Chawla, David Brown and Laurel Clark, and payload specialist Ilan Ramon, the first Israeli astronaut. During liftoff, a piece of insulated foam is vibrated loose from the shuttle’s external fuel tank, causing critical damage to the leading edge of Columbia’s left wing. The foam collision is noticed and discussed internally at NASA, but is not deemed a threat by ground controllers.

Categories
Star Trek Television

Star Trek Phase II: Come What May

  • January 16, 2004

Star Trek Phase IIThe internet-based fan film Star Trek: New Voyages (later Phase II) releases its first full-length episode, Come What May. Shot with homemade sets, costumes and props in upstate New York, the attention-getting project is greeted with enthusiasm by fans and with consternation by CBS/Paramount, which still has a Star Trek series (Enterprise) on television. The New Voyages group, led by James Cawley, is permitted to continue as long as no profit is made from its use of the Star Trek name, setting a precedent for future fan productions. As the group’s productions improve, it eventually disowns this pilot episode as one of its “official” adventures.

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Categories
Messenger Uncrewed Spaceflight

Messenger’s first visit to Mercury

  • January 16, 2008

Messenger at MercuryFor the first time in over 30 years, a spacecraft from Earth flies past the innermost planet, Mercury. The Messenger space probe, launched in 2004, is due to take up an orbit around Mercury in 2011, but this first close pass – just over 120 miles above Mercury’s surface – is designed to alter its trajectory. Messenger carries little fuel, and has swooped past Earth three times and twice past Venus to use both planets’ gravity to change its heading. Two more close passes of Mercury will be needed before it finally becomes caught in the tiny planet’s orbit, where it will spend roughly a year mapping the planet’s surface and taking dozens of other measurements. The last space probe from Earth to visit Mercury was Mariner 10, which made three close passes in 1974/75. Despite the brief gravity-assist visit, Messenger captures its first 1,200 images of Mercury, including a side of the planet never before seen from Earth.

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Crewed Spaceflight Orion

ESA to provide Orion service modules

  • January 16, 2013

OrionThe European Space Agency and NASA sign an agreement allowing ESA to provide service modules for the upcoming Orion manned spacecraft, with the first module flying as part of an unmanned test scheduled to take place in 2017. While the Orion command module capsules will be built for NASA by contractor Lockheed Martin, the service modules to which the capsules will be connected are to be provided by ESA and customized for each mission (which could include long-duration flights to the moon, asteroids, or Mars). The service module’s “X-wing solar panel” design is derived from ESA’s Automated Transfer Vehicle cargo ferries dispatched to the International Space Station; ESA’s commitment to Orion will replace its obligation to provide further unmanned freighters to the space station.

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Apollo Crewed Spaceflight Deaths Matters of Life & Death

Gene Cernan, Apollo 17 astronaut, dies

  • January 16, 2017

Gene CernanApollo 17 Commander Eugene Cernan, the last human to leave the surface of the moon in the 20th century, dies at the age of 82. One of the members of NASA’s second astronaut class, recruited in 1963 to take part in the Gemini program, Cernan first flew into space aboard Gemini 9 in 1966, a mission in which he became the second American spacewalker, though his assigned tasks outside the Gemini spacecraft proved to be dangerously exhausting. His second flight, as the lunar module pilot for Apollo 10, saw him flying a lunar lander to within miles of the moon’s surface in May 1969, a dress rehearsal for the upcoming Apollo 11 mission. He commanded the final Apollo moon landing mission, Apollo 17, in December 1972, where he earned the title of “last man on the moon” by being the last astronaut to leave the lunar surface to re-enter the Apollo 17 lander. He later wrote an autobiography about his spaceflight experiences, and was frequently outspoken about his disappointment that no one walked on the moon again in his lifetime.