Mounting a 35mm film camera into a captured German V2 rocket launched to an altitude of 65 miles, scientists and engineers at the U.S. Navy’s White Sands Missile Range capture the first photo of Earth from space. (The previous highest-altitude photos taken were from a hot-air balloon in 1935, from an altitude of less than 14 miles, although at that altitude the photos did reveal the curvature of the Earth.) The rocket and camera are destroyed when they fall back to Earth, but the reinforced film cartridge survives. This is the first of many such experimental flights carried out at White Sands.
The sixth episode of The Adventures Of Superman airs in syndication, based on the comic by Joe Shuster and Jerry Siegel. George Reeves, Phyllis Coates, and Jack Larson star.
The 53rd episode of ABC’s science fiction anthology series, Tales Of Tomorrow, airs on ABC, starring Gene Raymond.
The fourth episode of the British science fiction series A For Andromeda, created and written by John Elliot and astronomer Fred Hoyle, is broadcast on the BBC, starring Esmond Knight and Julie Christie. Despite being considered a seminal early British science fiction series, much of A For Andromeda, including this episode, no longer exists in the BBC’s archives.
ABC airs the 38th episode of Leslie Stevens’ anthology series The Outer Limits. Eddie Albert and June Havoc star.
The 37th episode of Irwin Allen’s adventure series Voyage To The Bottom Of The Sea airs on ABC, starring Richard Basehart and David Hedison. Renzo Cesana guest stars.
The 25th episode of Larry Cohen’s science fiction series The Invaders, starring Roy Thinnes and produced by Quinn Martin’s QM Productions, is broadcast on ABC. Andrew Prine (The Road West) and Dawn Wells (Gilligan’s Island) guest star.
The eighth episode of Filmation’s live-action Shazam! series airs on CBS, starring Jackson Bostwick, Michael Gray and Les Tremayne.
The 62nd episode of The Six Million Dollar Man is broadcast on ABC, starring Lee Majors and Richard Anderson. Elke Sommer guest stars.
ITV airs the 
After nearly a year of George Lucas struggling to revise the script for The Empire Strikes Back after the death of his original co-writer, Leigh Brackett, writer Lawrence Kasdan turns in his revisions for the fourth draft of the movie’s screenplay. Kasdan has been brought on board the Star Wars sequel by Lucas, who is co-producing a movie with Steven Spielberg, Raiders Of The Lost Ark, whose script has also been revised by Kasdan – and at this point, Lucas has yet to read Kasdan’s revisions to the Raiders script.
NASA launches the Nimbus 7 satellite, the last of a series of experimental satellites designed to test new weather and climate detection technologies. This satellite tests more precise attitude control systems and instruments designed to monitor the layer of ozone within Earth’s atmosphere. Many of the technologies developed in the Nimbus series are transferred not to future weather satellites, but to future Landsat Earth observation satellites.
The first episode of Nigel Kneale’s revived science fiction series Quatermass airs on London Weekend Television, starring John Mills and Simon MacCorkindale (Manimal). This is the character’s first color television adventure (his 19th TV appearance overall), as well as the first Quatermass TV project to be broadcast somewhere other than the BBC. 
NBC airs the seventh episode of the Marvel animated series Spider-Man And His Amazing Friends, starring the voices of Dan Gilvezan (Transformers), Kathy Garver (Family Affair), and Frank Welker (Scooby-Doo, Transformers, The Smurfs).
NBC airs the third episode of James D. Parriott’s time travel series Voyagers!, starring Jon-Erik Hexum and Meeno Peluce. Gregg Henry (Star Trek: Insurrection, Scandal) guest stars as Teddy Roosevelt.
Reeltime Pictures releases the first professionally-produced Doctor Who fan production direct to VHS, War Time, starring John Levene as Sgt. Benton of UNIT and Michael Wisher. By not directly referencing the Doctor, the production is able to separately license the character of Benton and thus legally sell the video. 
Having been hospitalized for several weeks, Star Trek creator Gene Roddenberry dies in a Los Angeles hospital; his health had been declining in recent years and he had become confined to a wheelchair, leaving much of the day-to-day production duties of Star Trek: The Next Generation executive producers Rick Berman and Michael Piller. Roddenberry is survived by his son and by Majel Barrett Roddenberry, who still occasionally guest stars on Star Trek: TNG as Lwaxana Troi, and fans the world over mourn his passing. Rick Berman is expected to continue assuming full responsibility for the Star Trek franchise’s production and creative decisions, a role he had already been fulfilling during Roddenberry’s recent years of ill health. TNG is currently in its fifth season.
The week-long national syndication window opens for the fourth episode of the fantasy series Highlander, starring Adrian Paul (War Of The Worlds), Alexandra Vandernoort, and Stan Kirsch, and based on the mythology created in the 1986 movie of the same name.
The sixth episode of Lois & Clark: The New Adventures Of Superman airs on ABC, starring Dean Cain and Teri Hatcher. John Shea (Mutant X) guest stars.
The 29th episode of the supernatural crime series Forever Knight airs in syndication, starring Geraint Wyn-Davies, Catherine Disher, Nigel Bennett, and John Kapelos. Peter Boretski guest stars.
The week-long American syndication window opens for 
The week-long national syndication window opens for 
Silvertone Records releases 
Pay cable channel Showtime premieres the 
The fifth episode of Highlander: The Raven, starring Amanda Gracen and Paul Johannson, airs in syndication; the series is a spinoff from Highlander: The Series.
Westwood Studios releases a CD of 
The 83rd episode of Joss Whedon’s supernatural series Buffy The Vampire Slayer, starring Sarah Michelle Gellar, airs on the WB network. James Marsters, Anthony Stewart Head, and Alyson Hannigan also star. Clare Kramer guest stars.
Former Jellyfish guitarist Jason Falkner releases an instrumental album of lullaby-styled Beatles covers, 
UPN broadcasts the tenth episode of the supernatural crime comedy series Special Unit 2, starring Michael Landes (Lois & Clark: The New Adventures Of Superman) and Alexondra Lee (Party Of Five). Jonathan Togo (CSI: Miami), Pauley Perrette (NCIS), and Amy Acker (Angel) guest star.