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Soyuz 12: the USSR returns to space
After two years of reorganization and rethinking, the Soviet manned space program resumes with the launch of Soyuz 12, carrying cosmonauts Vasili Lazarev and Oleg Makarov. Previously a three-seater, Soyuz has been redesigned following the Soyuz 11 tragedy: the vehicle now seats a crew of two, both wearing fully pressurized spacesuits. Originally intended to visit the Salyut 2 station, Soyuz 12 is only a two-day shakedown flight for the redesigned spacecraft (Salyut 2’s own technical problems have rendered it uninhabitable by a human crew).
The second episode of the short-lived Canadian-made science fiction series 
The third episode of the horror anthology series The Evil Touch airs on Australia’s Nine Network, hosted by Anthony Quayle (Strange Report). (The series will later appear in the U.S. and elsewhere in first-run syndication.) Kim Hunter (Planet Of The Apes) guest stars.
The fourth episode of the BBC’s short-lived science fiction series 
The third episode of the short-lived Canadian-made science fiction series 
The fifth episode of the BBC’s short-lived science fiction series 
Atari releases its fourth arcade game: the very first video maze game, 
The fourth episode of the short-lived Canadian-made science fiction series 
The final episode of the BBC’s short-lived science fiction series 
The 
The fifth episode of the short-lived Canadian-made science fiction series 
The sixth episode of the short-lived Canadian-made science fiction series 
The first unmanned space probe to use a gravity assist maneuver to get from one planet to another in a reduced amount of time, Mariner 10 is lauched on a course for the planet Venus, where a carefully planned trajectory allows it to take pictures and measurements at that planet before using Venus’ gravity to fling Mariner 10 inward toward Mercury, allowing it to reach two planets in under two months. It will be the first space probe to visit Mercury.
The seventh episode of the short-lived Canadian-made science fiction series 
NASA and the National Oceanic & Atmospheric Administration launch NOAA-3, a weather satellite intended to operate in a near-polar low Earth orbit. NOAA-3 is based on the already-flown ITOS satellite design, and will wait in orbit until 
The eighth episode of the short-lived Canadian-made science fiction series 
The 
The third and final crew of the first American space station, Skylab 4, lifts off for an 84-day stay. The crew’s tasks include medical and biological experiments, solar observations (including the first space-based recording of solar flare origination), and observations of Comet Kohoutek. Crewmembers Gerald Carr, William Pogue and Edward Gibson have a frank discussion with ground controllers about their extremely busy work schedule (similar to heated discussions between Apollo 7’s crew and Houston) halfway through the nearly-three-month mission. Skylab is left powered down, but still habitable, at the end of the crew’s stay, in anticipation that future Space Shuttle crews will someday occupy Skylab.
The 
The ninth episode of the short-lived Canadian-made science fiction series 
The 
The 
Electric Light Orchestra‘s third album,