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Operation Hurricane
Operation Hurricane, the first test detonation of a British-built atomic bomb, takes place aboard a Royal Navy frigate anchored near the Monte Bello Islands off of the western Australian coast. The detonation has a yield of 25 kilotons, and is remotely detonated aboard the frigate to gauge the damage that would result from a scenario in which a nuclear device is smuggled into a sea port aboard a ship. This is a continuation of Britain’s own nuclear weapon development program initiated during World War II, and makes the U.K. the third nuclear-armed nation on Earth.
CBS airs the 
British broadcaster ABC airs the fourth episode of Pathfinders In Space, a follow-up series to Target Luna, produced by future Doctor Who creator Sydney Newman. Peter Williams stars in a script written by Malcolm Hulke (Doctor Who) and Eric Paice (Star Maidens). Though the original master tape of this episode was later wiped for reuse, film recordings of all seven episodes would be recovered and released on DVD in the 21st century.
The 85th episode of Doctor Who airs on the BBC. This is part one of the story now collectively known as 
UK broadcaster ATV Midlands airs the 27th episode of Gerry Anderson’s Supermarionation science fiction series Thunderbirds, featuring the voices of Shane Rimmer, David Graham, Sylvia Anderson, Ray Barrett, and Peter Dyneley. This is the second season premiere.
The fourth episode of the time travel sitcom It’s About Time, created by Sherwood Schwarz (I Dream Of Jeannie) and starring Frank Aletter, Jack Mullaney, and Imogene Coca, is broadcast on CBS.
The 61st episode of Irwin Allen’s adventure series Voyage To The Bottom Of The Sea airs on ABC, starring Richard Basehart and David Hedison. Skip Homeier guest stars.
The recently-rechristened Environmental Sciences Service Administration (previously the U.S. Weather Bureau) launches, with the help of NASA, weather satellite ESSA-3, the third in a constellation of Earth-observing weather satellites. The timing of the launch is fortunate, as ESSA-3 takes up its station in orbit mere days before the unexpected shutdown of ESSA-1’s camera system. ESSA-3’s own camera system begins to fail in less than a year, and it is deactivated near the end of 1968 due to continued system failures.
British broadcaster Thames Television airs the 130th episode of the spy-fi series The Avengers, starring Patrick Macnee and Linda Thorson. 
London Weekend Television airs the 13th and final episode of the alternate-future-history series The Guardians, starring Gwyneth Powell and Cyril Luckham. The series’ political plotline prevents it from being broadcast in Northern Ireland, and the series never receives a repeat broadcast. There is no home video release until the 21st century.
The 
The fifth episode of Gerry Anderson’s space adventure series 
The 
NBC airs the fourth episode of Monster Squad, a live-action Saturday morning comedy starring Fred Grandy. H.B. Haggerty (Buck Rogers In The 25th Century) guest stars.
The 26th episode of Filmation’s live-action Shazam! series airs on CBS, starring John Davey, Michael Gray and Les Tremayne. Joanna Cameron guest stars as Isis.
ABC airs the 
CBS airs 
The 83rd episode of The Six Million Dollar Man is broadcast on ABC, starring Lee Majors and Richard Anderson. Jenny Agutter (Logan’s Run) guest stars.
The 
The 
Long after Glen A. Larson’s science fiction series Battlestar Galactica has completed its run, a California judge throws out 20th Century Fox’s 1978 lawsuit, which alleged that Galactica was too close to elements of Star Wars for the studio’s comfort. (Also at issue, though not specifically mentioned in the legal proceedings, was Universal Studios’ hiring of such Star Wars personnel as FX guru John Dykstra and illustrator Ralph McQuarrie to work on Galactica.) Universal’s television series is declared different enough in key areas to not be considered a rip-off – small comfort for the studio, since ABC cancelled had the series earlier in the year. Still, Galactica’s legal status will come into play later, as Universal will later reassert and exploit its rights to the basic Battlestar Galactica storyline in the 21st century. This is not the end of the lawsuit, however; much like both franchises, it too is revived in 1983, and Universal is ordered to pay 20th Century Fox a settlement of nearly a quarter million dollars in 1984.
A&M Records releases the 
NBC airs the 16th episode of the Marvel animated series Spider-Man And His Amazing Friends, starring the voices of Dan Gilvezan, Kathy Garver, and Frank Welker, concluding the second season.
The unmanned Kosmos 1686 module, launched by the Soviet Union in September, successfully completes an automated docking with space station Salyut 7. This new module is a permanent addition to the final Salyut station, offering more habitable space for work and storage aboard the aging station. Kosmos 1686 arrives with nearly 10,000 pounds of supplies and consumables, and serves as a case study to help engineers plan the upcoming Mir space station, which is designed from the outset to consist of several add-on modules.
CBS airs the second episode of Ron Koslow’s fantasy series Beauty and the Beast, starring Linda Hamilton, Ron Perlman, and Roy Dotrice. Delroy Lindo guest stars.
The 
The 23rd episode of the horror anthology series Freddy’s Nightmares is broadcast in syndication in North America, hosted by Robert Englund in character as Freddy Krueger. This is the second season premiere.
The week-long national syndication window opens for 
Fox Network premieres 
NBC airs the 55th episode of Donald Bellisario’s science fiction series Quantum Leap, starring Scott Bakula and Dean Stockwell.