Categories
The Andromeda Breakthrough: The Roman Peace
The sixth episode of the British science fiction series The Andromeda Breakthrough, created and written by John Elliot and astronomer Fred Hoyle as a follow-up to 1961’s A For Andromeda, is broadcast on the BBC, starring Peter Halliday, Susan Hampshire, John Hollis (The Empire Strikes Back), and Mary Morris. This episode concludes both the series and the A For Andromeda storyline.
This series is not yet chronicled in the LogBook. You could help change that.
Construction commences on NASA’s massive Vehicle Assembly Building (originally named the Vertical Assembly Building), where the giant Saturn V rockets for Apollo lunar missions will be constructed, tested, and then rolled out to the launch pad atop huge mobile crawlers. Covering eight acres of land on Merritt Island, Florida, the building must withstand Florida’s notorious hurricane seasons (and protect any rockets under construction within) as well as the shockwaves of Saturn V rocket launches taking place only three miles away; special ventilation and humidity control systems have to be built as well, as the interior space is so voluminous that the building has its own internal weather! The VAB will later transition to the assembly of the Space Shuttle launch system elements and the Space Launch System boosters for the 21st century Orion program.
With the series’ two most recent producers reporting that actor William Hartnell has become nearly impossible to work with, the first steps are taken to regenerate Doctor Who by hiring a new actor to play the part: Patrick Troughton. In closed-door meetings at the BBC, producer Innes Lloyd and BBC Head of Drama Sydney Newman (who also happens to be Doctor Who’s creator) offer Hartnell the chance to leave, and – having already taken the liberty of contacting him to gauge his interest in the part – contract actor Patrick Troughton to replace Hartnell as the Doctor. Hartnell, suffering from arteriosclerosis, accepts the escape hatch and agrees to leave the series. Lloyd and Newman begin brainstorming ideas to explain the radical change in the Doctor’s look, agreeing that the time has finally come to firmly establish that the Doctor is not human at all. Lloyd envisions a tough “pirate captain” persona for the new Doctor, a notion ultimately rejected by Newman, who instead proposes that the character be played as a “cosmic hobo,” an idea which Troughton likes much better. None of this activity is revealed to the press or the public for some time.
ITV airs 
ITV airs the eighth episode of P.J. Hammond’s science fiction series Sapphire & Steel, starring David McCallum and Joanna Lumley.
Island Records releases the 
ITV premieres the 
NASA launches Space Shuttle Atlantis on a satellite deployment and science mission lasting nearly nine days. The fourth TDRS (Tracking & Data Relay Satellite) is launched, and several experiments are performed on board, including materials processing experiments. Atlantis’ crew consists of Commander John Blaha, Pilot Michael Baker, and mission specialists Shannon Lucid, James Adamson and David Low. 
Fox airs the sixth episode of Bill & Ted’s Excellent Adventures, starring Evan Richards, Christopher Kennedy, and Rick Overton. Tom McBeath (Stargate SG-1) guest stars.
Months after the departure of Babylon 5‘s lead actor, Michael O’Hare, is announced, his replacement is revealed: actor Bruce Boxleitner (Tron, Scarecrow & Mrs. King) has been tapped to play the newly-created character of Captain John Sheridan, a veteran of the Earth-Minbari War that nearly led to the extinction of the human race. Filming on the series’ eagerly anticipated second season is set to begin on August 10th.
The 
Soundtrack specialty label La-La Land Records releases a limited edition 3-CD set featuring selections from various