The United States succeeds in launching its own artificial satellite, Explorer 1, atop a Juno 1 rocket. Instruments developed by Dr. James Van Allen reveal the existence of radiation surrounding the Earth, and the areas of radiation are subsequently named the Van Allen radiation belts. The satellite itself is designed by the Jet Propulsion Laboratory and remains in orbit until 1970 – just the first hint of JPL’s knack for making spacecraft that last longer than their rated lifespans.
The 60th episode of Sam Rolfe’s western series Have Gun – Will Travel is broadcast on CBS in the United States, starring Richard Boone. This episode is written by future Star Trek creator Gene Roddenberry, a frequent writer in the series’ early seasons. 
ABC airs the 80th episode of the supernatural anthology series One Step Beyond, hosted and directed by John Newland. Scott Marlowe guest stars.
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The first living creature to reach space aboard an American rocket is Ham, a chimpanzee wired with electrodes and sensors to determine the effects of space travel on a higher primate whose body might react similarly to that of a human being. NASA sends Ham on the sixteen-minute suborbital Mercury 2 flight, ending in a splashdown in the Atlantic. Both Ham and his vehicle survive the flight despite numerous equipment glitches in both the Redstone rocket and the Mercury capsule itself (which actually blasts away from the Redstone via its launch abort system), which loses cabin pressure (fortunately, Ham has his own spacesuit to protect him) and then puts its primate pilot through a punishing 17G reentry. For his pioneering feat of spaceflight, Ham receives an apple, an orange, and paid retirement to the National Zoo.
The 107th episode of Rod Serling’s The Twilight Zone airs on CBS. Barbara Baxley and Frank Overton star.
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The 138th episode of Rod Serling’s The Twilight Zone airs on CBS. Lee Kinsolving and Shelley Fabares star.
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The fourth episode of Larry Cohen’s science fiction series The Invaders, starring Roy Thinnes and produced by Quinn Martin’s QM Productions, premieres on ABC. Peter Mark Richman guest stars.
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The 79th episode of Irwin Allen’s science fiction series Lost In Space premieres on CBS, starring Guy Williams, June Lockhart, and Jonathan Harris. Michael Conrad guest stars.
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The BBC archives erase dozens more episodes of Doctor Who due to an ongoing space crunch and an impending change of video standard from 405-line PAL to 625-line PAL. Whereas the first round of tape-wiping in 1967 was targeted at episodes involving the first Doctor, this round marks episodes featuring the current Doctor, Patrick Troughton, for deletion. The fourth episode of The Tenth Planet – Hartnell’s swan song in the role of the Doctor – is erased at this time, as well as a curious scattershot selection of Troughton episodes.
The 73rd episode of Gene Roddenberry’s science fiction series Star Trek airs on NBC. This episode is co-written by Shari Lewis, better known as the puppeteer behind Lambchop. 
The 258th episode of Doctor Who airs on the BBC. Fulton MacKay, Paul Darrow (Blake’s 7) and Peter Miles guest star. This is the first story to feature the Silurians.
NBC airs the 15th episode of Leslie Steven’s “spy-fi” series Search, starring Doug McClure and Burgess Meredith. Peter Mark Richman guest stars.
With the final Apollo spacecraft’s flight mere months away, an internal NASA document examining the progress of the Space Shuttle program, approved in 1972 by President Nixon, spells out what seems like a worst-case scenario: thanks to the difficulties of creating whole new orders of technology to create a reusable space vehicle (on a budget which each successive Congress keeps slashing), the shuttle won’t be lifting off until 1979 at the earliest, leaving a potential four-year gap in American crewed spaceflight when NASA was anticipating (and publicizing) a gap of no more than two years. (In actuality, the time between crewed American space missions will be even longer than that.)
ABC airs the 15th episode of Kolchak: The Night Stalker, based on Jeff Rice’s novel and the 1972 TV movie The Night Stalker, starring Darren McGavin. Jim Backus (Gilligan’s Island) and Larry Linville (M*A*S*H) guest star in an episode co-written by Bob Gale and Robert Zemeckis, who would collaborate years later on Back To The Future.
The 422nd episode of Doctor Who airs on BBC1. Tony Beckley and John Challis guest star.
UK regional broadcaster HTV premieres the fourth episode of children’s paranormal series Children Of The Stones, starring Gareth Thomas (Blake’s 7) and Freddie Jones (Dune). The series is filmed on location near the real stone circle at Avebury.
The 25th episode of the live-action series based on Marvel’s comic The Incredible Hulk airs on CBS, starring Bill Bixby, Jack Colvin, and Lou Ferrigno. Tony Burton (Rocky) and Ernie Hudson (Ghostbusters) guest star.
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NBC airs the 16th episode of Buck Rogers In The 25th Century.
The 546th episode of Doctor Who airs on BBC1. This is the beginning of a trilogy of stories themed around the Doctor’s regeneration and the reintroduction of the Master. Sarah Sutton makes her debut as Nyssa. Anthony Ainley guest stars.
CBS airs the 16th episode of a revival of Rod Serling’s The Twilight Zone. Robert Prescott and David Birney star in an episode comprised of three short stories, including one written by Ray Bradbury.
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The 13th episode of James D. Parriott’s lighthearted sci-fi series, Misfits Of Science, airs on NBC, starring Dean Paul Martin, Kevin Peter Hall, and Courteney Cox. Liam Sullivan (The Monroes) guest stars.
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Roy Orbison‘s final album, Mystery Girl, is released just weeks after the musician’s death on Virgin Records. With interest in Orbison riding high with the relatively recent success of the Traveling Wilburys, Mystery Girl sells better than most of his previous work.
The 11th episode of the superhero series The Flash, based on the DC Comics character, airs on CBS, starring John Wesley Shipp and Amanda Pays. Angela Bassett (Malcolm X, Contact, Black Panther) guest stars.
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The week-long national syndication window opens for the 165th episode of Star Trek: The Next Generation. Duncan Regehr (Wizards & Warriors) guest stars.
The week-long national syndication window opens for the 33rd episode of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine.
Showtime airs the 47th episode of The Outer Limits, a revival of the 1960s science fiction anthology series. Michael Hogan (Battlestar Galactica) and Fred Savage (The Wonder Years) guest star.
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Fox airs the 37th episode of Tracy Torme’s alternate-universe science fiction series Sliders, starring Jerry O’Connell, John Rhys Davies, Sabrina Lloyd, and Cleavant Derricks.
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The 39th episode of the science fiction comedy Red Dwarf airs on BBC 2. This episode introduces new series regular Chloe Annett as an alternate-universe Kochanski who becomes stuck with the Red Dwarf crew, a character addition that proved controversial with fandom after the exit of Chris Barrie.
The week-long national syndication window opens for the 102nd episode of Xena: Warrior Princess, starring Lucy Lawless and Renee O’Connor. Kevin Sorbo guest stars.
The 57th episode of Gene Roddenberry’s Earth: Final Conflict, airs in syndication, starring Robert Leeshock, Jayne Heitmeyer, Von Flores, and Richard Chevolleau.
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