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Explorer 1
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.
ABC airs the 80th episode of the supernatural anthology series One Step Beyond, hosted and directed by John Newland. Scott Marlowe guest stars.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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NBC airs the 15th episode of Leslie Steven’s “spy-fi” series Search, starring Doug McClure and Burgess Meredith. Peter Mark Richman guest stars.
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With the final Apollo spacecraft’s flight mere months away, an internal NASA document examining the progress of the Space Shuttle program, approved in 
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UK regional broadcaster HTV premieres the 
NBC airs the 
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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.
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.
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.
The week-long national syndication window opens for 
The week-long national syndication window opens for 
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.
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 57th episode of Gene Roddenberry’s Earth: Final Conflict, airs in syndication, starring Robert Leeshock, Jayne Heitmeyer, Von Flores, and Richard Chevolleau.
Completing its extended two-year tour of Jupiter and its intriguing moons Io and Europa, NASA’s Galileo robotic probe is given another extension, this time called the Galileo Millennium Mission. Highlights are expected to include observing Jupiter in tandem with the Cassini unmanned probe, which will swing by Jupiter in 2000 to gain a gravity assist en route to its own final target, Saturn. Galileo will also resume its exploration of the major Jovian moon Ganymede, the solar system’s largest satellite.
UPN airs the 
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