Day: October 16, 1959

Categories
Television

Pathfinders In Space: Disaster On The Moon

  • October 16, 1960

Pathfinders In SpaceBritish broadcaster ABC airs the sixth 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.

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Categories
Atomic Energy Science & Technology

Project 596

  • October 16, 1964

Project 596The People’s Republic of China detonates its first nuclear weapon, the 22-kiloton Project 596. Though the Chinese nuclear program did receive an early boost from Soviet researchers, much of the research and production of Chinese nuclear weapons has taken place without outside help since the initiation of the Chinese nuclear weapons development program in 1959. Within three years of this test, China will have developed hydrogen bomb technology.

Categories
Television

Thunderbirds: Alias Mr. Hackenbacker

  • October 16, 1966

ThunderbirdsUK broadcaster ATV Midlands airs the 29th 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.

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Categories
Science & Technology Uncrewed Spaceflight Weather & Climate

GOES-1 goes up

  • October 16, 1975

Earth seen from GOES-1The first in a new generation of weather satellites operating in geosynchronous orbit for the National Oceanic & Atmospheric Administration, GOES-1, is launched from Cape Canaveral. An acronym for Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite, GOES-1 is positioned over the Indian Ocean, where it is expected to become but the first in a constellation of weather satellites monitoring Earth’s atmosphere in both visible and infrared light. In 1978, GOES-1 will be repositioned over the Pacific Ocean, which it will monitor until it is decommissioned in 1985, after almost ten full years of operation.

Categories
Television

Beasts: Special Offer

  • October 16, 1976

BeastsITV premieres the first episode of horror anthology Beasts, created and written by Nigel Kneale (Quatermass). Geoffrey Bateman (Versailles) stars.

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Categories
Uncrewed Spaceflight Voyager

Voyager 1 and the case of the wrong star

  • October 16, 1979

Voyager 1NASA temporarily loses contact with unmanned space probe Voyager 1 as it cruises toward Saturn. A science experiment is conducted which requires Voyager to point its antenna away from Earth and enter a rolling maneuver, but ground controllers do not hear back from Voyager 1 when they expect to receive the signal that the experiment has ended. A tracking station in Australia sends a wide-beam command to Voyager 1 to reorient itself; it is later discovered that, attempting to regain its orientation with respect to Earth, Voyager 1’s star tracker locked on to Alpha Centauri instead of Canopus, pointing its antenna dish five degrees away from Earth. Normal operations resume once Voyager is pointed correctly. A similar problem will again cause Voyager 1 to break contact after a course correction burn in December.

Categories
Television

Beauty and the Beast: No Way Down

  • October 16, 1987

Beauty and the BeastCBS airs the fourth episode of Ron Koslow’s fantasy series Beauty and the Beast, starring Linda Hamilton, Ron Perlman, and Roy Dotrice. Merritt Butrick (Star Trek II: The Wrath Of Khan), Jeffrey Combs (Star Trek: Deep Space Nine), and (in her first TV appearance) Mayim Bialik (Blossom, The Big Bang Theory) guest star.

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Categories
Television

Max Headroom: Whacketts

  • October 16, 1987

Max HeadroomThe 11th episode of the American-made Max Headroom series premieres on ABC, starring Matt Frewer and Amanda Pays. (This is the the American-made drama series, not the music video/talk show series featuring the same character.) W. Morgan Sheppard, Concetta Tomei, Bill Maher and Andreas Katsulas (Babylon 5) guest star. After this episode airs, ABC pulls the show from its prime time schedule for six months.

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