Soyuz TMA-3 / ISS Expedition 8

Soyuz TMA-3The eighth full-time crew of the International Space Station lifts off from Russia’s Baikonur Cosmodrome aboard Soyuz TMA-3. Alexander Kaleri and Michael Foale take up residence on the ISS for 194 days, both of them veterans of long-term stays aboard the Mir space station; arriving on the ISS with them for a ten-day stay is Spanish astronaut Pedro Duque, who returns to Earth aboard Soyuz TMA-2 with the Expedition 7 crew.

Nabil Shaban, actor, dies

Nabil ShabanActor Nabil Shaban, who portrayed the slug-like alien capitalist Sil in late 1980s Doctor Who, dies at the age of 72. First appearing in 1985’s Vengeance On Varos, Sil was penciled in for a rematch against the Doctor in an episode that would’ve been titled Mission To Magnus, which was ultimately abandoned as the BBC demanded a rethink of the series’ 23rd season; despite this, Sil still make a comeback in parts five through eight of The Trial Of A Time Lord. Mission To Magnus would later be released as a novelization, and finally as a full-cast Big Finish audio drama, in which Shaban revived the role of Sil. (He appeared in another Big Finish audio, Antidote To Oblivion, in 2014, and revived Sil onscreen in the direct-to-video project Sil And The Devil Seeds Of Arodor. The character of Sil was popular enough to become an action figure.) Shaban turned his disability to his advantage in playing the part of the legless creature, but also advocated for other actors with disabilities throughout his career.