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Television

A come Andromeda: Episode 1

A come AndromedaItalian broadcaster RAI premieres the first episode of A come Andromeda, starring Luigi Vannucchi and Nicoletta Rizzi. This is an Italian remake of the BBC’s 1961 sci-fi series A For Andromeda, written by Fred Hoyle and John Elliot; the Italian adaptation is written by Claudio Cassinelli. Unlike the BBC’s original series, all episodes of A come Andromeda exist on videotape.

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Crewed Spaceflight Space Shuttle

The Space Transportation System

Space ShuttlePresident Richard Nixon announces that, after three years of studies, design concepts, and deliberations, he has given NASA the go-ahead to develop a reusable space vehicle, the Space Shuttle, which can perform multiple mission profiles, land safely and launch again, with the eventual goal of launching a shuttle almost every week of the year. The contract to build the shuttle is awarded to Apollo command/service module contractor North American Aviation, which is later to complete a merger with Rockwell International, which assumes the task of building the shuttles. The first launch date is projected to take place at some point in the mid-to-late 1970s.

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Television

A come Andromeda: Episode 2

A come AndromedaItalian broadcaster RAI airs the second episode of A come Andromeda, starring Luigi Vannucchi and Nicoletta Rizzi. This is an Italian remake of the BBC’s 1961 sci-fi series A For Andromeda; unlike the BBC’s original series, all episodes of A come Andromeda exist on videotape.

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Television

A come Andromeda: Episode 3

A come AndromedaItalian broadcaster RAI airs the third episode of A come Andromeda, starring Luigi Vannucchi and Nicoletta Rizzi. This is an Italian remake of the BBC’s 1961 sci-fi series A For Andromeda.

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Star Trek Television

The first Star Trek convention

Star TrekA three-day event called Star Trek Lives! gets underway at the Statler Hilton in New York City, organized by a group of fans including Joan Winston and future Star Trek Compendium author Allan Asherman. A gathering of fans in the low hundreds is expected, but instead a crowd of thousands turn up to hear presentations by guest speakers such as Gene and Majel Roddenberry, Isaac Asimov, former Desilu executive Oscar Katz, and Star Trek writer and script editor D.C. Fontana, as well as presentations by guests representing NASA. (Roddenberry will later claim that NBC executives were present as well, though he claims they declined to identify themselves to fans since there was a fair amount of anti-NBC sentiment expressed in the wake of Star Trek’s cancellation.) Though science fiction conventions have been held prior to this event, this is the first dedicated Star Trek convention, and indeed the first such gathering devoted to a single property.

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Television

A come Andromeda: Episode 4

A come AndromedaItalian broadcaster RAI airs the fourth episode of A come Andromeda, starring Luigi Vannucchi and Nicoletta Rizzi. This is an Italian remake of the BBC’s 1961 sci-fi series A For Andromeda.

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Television

A come Andromeda: Episode 5

A come AndromedaItalian broadcaster RAI airs the fifth and final episode of A come Andromeda, starring Luigi Vannucchi and Nicoletta Rizzi. This is an Italian remake of the BBC’s 1961 sci-fi series A For Andromeda.

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Luna Uncrewed Spaceflight

Luna 20

Luna 20The Soviet Union launches unmanned space probe Luna 20 toward the moon, another robotic lunar lander with the capability of gathering a lunar soil sample and returning it to Earth. Over 50 grams of lunar material, including rocky material from the mountainous region near Luna 20’s landing site, are returned to Earth in a shielded re-entry capsule. The lander continues to operate for three days after the sample container is launched back to Earth.

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Television

PROBE

SearchNBC premieres the TV movie/series pilot PROBE, created by Leslie Stevens (The Outer Limits), starring Hugh O’Brian (The Life & Legend Of Wyatt Earp) and Burgess Meredith (Batman, The Twilight Zone), and guest starring Sir John Gielgud. The movie does well with audiences and gets a series pickup, though due to a conflict with a PBS series of the same name, it will be retitled “Search” when it returns on NBC’s fall 1972 TV schedule.

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