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Deaths Matters of Life & Death

Yuri Gagarin, first man in space, dies

Yuri Gagarin aboard Vostok 1Soviet cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin, the first human space traveler, dies along with a flight instructor in a MiG jet fighter crash. Considered too valuable a publicity asset to risk in another spaceflight, Gagarin had been barred from any further space missions. Several investigations into the fatal crash are conducted, with none of them reaching any definitive conclusions, though unfavorable flying weather and a sudden dive (possibly also a result of the weather) are commonly cited factors. Gagarin’s ashes are buried in the wall of the Kremlin.

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Mariner Uncrewed Spaceflight

Mariner 7 launched

Mariner 7NASA and JPL launch the unmanned Mariner 7 space probe on a mission to Mars, where it will be joined by its recently-launched identical twin, Mariner 6. Mariner 7 will take five months to reach the red planet, but on a slightly faster trajectory it will arrive just days behind Mariner 6. Both will fly past Mars twice as close as the planet’s previous unmanned visitors.

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Television

The Next Step Beyond: The Legacy

The Next Step BeyondThe week-long syndication window opens for the 13th 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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Geosciences Science & Technology

Mt. St. Helens awakens

Mt. St. HelensFollowing eleven days of precursory earthquake activity, Mt. St. Helens, a volcano in Washington which has been dormant for over a century, emits a small eruption of ash and steam. Similar eruptions continue on an hourly basis, though the frequency will gradually diminsh through April. This activity lasts barely a month before ending, at least for a week or two. The north face of Mt. St. Helens begins bulging noticeably, and emergency planners fight to keep sightseers away from the mountain while drawing up evacuation plans for nearby populated areas. Some locals vow to remain despite possible evacuation orders.

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Phobos Uncrewed Spaceflight

Phobos 2 and the curse of Mars

PhobosThe Soviet Union loses all contact with the unmanned Mars probe Phobos 2 during a close flyby of the inner Martian moon Phobos, where the vehicle had been programmed to deposit a pair of surface landers. Unable to reacquire communications with Phobos 2, Soviet ground controllers later discover a fatal error in the programming of the probe’s on-board computer, leading to a loss of attitude control similar to the incident that doomed Phobos 1 in 1988. Since delivery of the landers never occurs, the mission is deemed a failure.

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Television

Quantum Leap: Piano Man

Quantum LeapNBC airs the 45th episode of Donald Bellisario’s science fiction series Quantum Leap, starring Scott Bakula and Dean Stockwell. Denise Gentile (Babylon 5) guest stars.

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Television

Love & Curses: Heart Attack

Love & Curses / She-Wolf Of LondonThe 18th episode of Love & Curses (formerly titled She-Wolf Of London) is broadcast in syndication in North America, starring Kate Hodge and Neil Dickson. Kim Morgan Greene guest stars.

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Television

Nightmare Cafe: Sanctuary For A Child

Nightmare CafeNBC airs the fifth episode of Wes Craven’s Nightmare Cafe, starring Robert Englund (V, A Nightmare On Elm Street), Jack Coleman (Heroes), and Lindsay Frost (Mancuso, FBI). Angela Bassett (Black Panther, Contact), Vondie Curtis-Hall (Chicago Hope, Daredevil), and William B. Davis (The X-Files) guest star.

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Television

Dark Angel: Haven

Dark AngelThe 15th episode of James Cameron & Charles H. Eglee’s cyberpunk series Dark Angel, starring Jessica Alba and Michael Weatherly, airs on Fox. John Savage and Mark Rolston guest star.

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Dawn Uncrewed Spaceflight

NASA rethinks Dawn cancellation

DawnNASA reverses a decision made earlier in the month to cancel the asteroid-hopping Dawn mission, following appeals and assurances from the mission managers. Intended to use ion propulsion to visit to of the asteroid belt’s largest bodies, Dawn’s cancellation does have the effect of sliding the mission from a 2006 launch to a 2007 launch. The budget for the mission is expanded from $373,000,000 to $446,000,000, and arrival at its first target, the large asteroid Vesta, is still scheduled for 2011.

Categories
Astronomy Science & Technology Uncrewed Spaceflight

Hitomi breaks contact

HitomiJapan’s Hitomi satellite, launched in February on a three-year X-ray astronomy mission, suddenly breaks contact with JAXA ground controllers when they begin power-up and checkout procedures. Only brief telemetry signals are received from Hitomi before it falls silent. JAXA initiates emergency procedures to contact Hitomi and diagnose the problem, though some telescopic observations from Earth indicate that pieces of the spacecraft have fallen away from the spacecraft itself.