Categories
Astronomy Science & Technology Uncrewed Spaceflight

SAS-B

SAS-BNASA launches Explorer 48, renamed Small Astronomy Satellite B, from an Italian-owned offshore launch platform off the coast of Kenya. SAS-B is a smaller spacecraft than NASA’s larger Orbiting Astronomical Observatory (OAO) series, but can be aimed very precisely at any gamma ray sources that it detects. One of those sources turns out to be the pulsar remnant of a massive supernova, a discovery later named Geminga. An electrical fault will end SAS-B’s functionality in June 1973, and it will re-enter Earth’s atmosphere in 1976.

Categories
Science & Technology Uncrewed Spaceflight Weather & Climate

NOAA-4

NOAA / ESSA satellite seriesNASA and the National Oceanic & Atmospheric Administration launch NOAA-4, a weather satellite intended to operate in a near-polar low Earth orbit. NOAA-4 is based on the already-flown ITOS satellite design, and will operate without any major malfunctions through November 1978.

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Movies

Close Encounters Of The Third Kind

Close Encounters Of The Third KindColumbia Pictures releases the Steven-Spielberg-written-and-directed science fiction film Close Encounters Of The Third Kind in American theaters, starring Richard Dreyfuss, Teri Garr, Melinda Dillon, and François Truffaut. A movie about contact with alien life set in modern-day America, Close Encounters (often abbreviated to CE3K) it a genuine hit in its own right, cementing Spielberg’s future connection to the genre and proving that the sudden surge of interest in science fiction was not attributable only to Star Wars.

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Franchises Television Twilight Zone

Twilight Zone: Episode 8

The Twilight ZoneCBS airs the eighth episode of a revival of Rod Serling’s The Twilight Zone. James Coco, Piper Laurie, and Morgan Freeman star in an episode comprised of three short stories, including an adaptation of Ray Bradbury’s short story, The Burning Man.

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The Twilight Zone now streaming on Paramount Plus

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Buran Crewed Spaceflight

Buran’s only flight

BuranModeled closely after the American Space Shuttle, the Soviet-built orbiter Buran lifts off for its first and only voyage into space. Still in the testing stages, Buran flies completely unmanned, with ground controllers at Baikonur Cosmodrome guiding the vehicle’s every move. With no large engines of its own (unlike NASA’s shuttle fleet), Buran is lifted into orbit solely by the giant Energia booster, makes two orbits, and returns home as a glider. A second flight is scheduled, but before it can take place, the Soviet Union collapses. Buran never flies again.

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Atlantis Crewed Spaceflight Space Shuttle

STS-38

Space ShuttleSpace Shuttle Atlantis is launched on a mission involving a classified Defense Department payload, staying in Earth orbit for nearly five days. Atlantis’ crew on this flight consists of Commander Richard Covey, Pilot Frank Culbertson, and mission specialists Robert Springer, Carl Meade and Charles Gemar.

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Television

The Flash: Child’s Play

The FlashThe seventh episode of the superhero series The Flash, based on the DC Comics character, airs on CBS, starring John Wesley Shipp and Amanda Pays. Jonathan Brandis (seaQuest DSV) guest stars.

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Television X-Files

The X-Files: Drive

The X-FilesThe 119th episode of Chris Carter’s modern-day science fiction series The X-Files airs on Fox, starring Gillian Anderson and David Duchovny. Bryan Cranston (Breaking Bad) guest stars in an episode written by future Breaking Bad creator Vince Gilligan.

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