Space Shuttle Atlantis lifts off on the 81st shuttle flight, a ten-day mission featuring the fifth docking between Atlantis and the Mir space station. Atlantis again carries the SPACEHAB module in its cargo bay, and thousands of pounds of consumables and equipment are transferred from the shuttle to Mir. Aboard Atlantis for her 17th flight are Commander Michael Baker, Pilot Brent Jett, and mission specialists John Grunsfeld, Marsha Ivins, Peter Wisoff and Jerry Linenger. Linenger remains on Mir, while American Mir Expedition 22 crewmember John Blaha returns after 128 days in space.
The 84th episode of Chris Carter’s modern-day science fiction series The X-Files airs on Fox, starring Gillian Anderson and David Duchovny. Ruben Blades guest stars.
The week-long national syndication window opens for the 
RCA Victor Records releases an expanded, 2-CD re-release of John Williams’ complete score from Star Wars, tying into the upcoming Special Edition re-release of the original trilogy. (Previous CD releases of the original LP program had a running time just under the capacity of a standard compact disc, so this release adds roughly half an hour of additional material not previously available.) 
UPN airs the 
Virgin Books publishes the non-fiction book 
Fox airs the 36th episode of Tracy Torme’s alternate-universe science fiction series Sliders, starring Jerry O’Connell, John Rhys Davies, Sabrina Lloyd, and Cleavant Derricks.
The 
Showtime airs the 44th episode of The Outer Limits, a revival of the 1960s science fiction anthology series. Jon Tenney (The Closer) and Natasha Henstridge (Species) guest star in the third season premiere. 
The 78th episode of Lois & Clark: The New Adventures Of Superman airs on ABC, starring Dean Cain and Teri Hatcher. Jack Wagner and Tony Amendola (Stargate SG-1) guest star.
The week-long national syndication window opens for the 
NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope does some interstellar storm spotting, capturing an image of funnel-cloud-shaped structures in the Lagoon Nebula, 5,000 light years away from Earth. Similar to the star-forming structures in the Eagle Nebula, the Lagoon Nebula’s star-birthing clouds are seen to be twisting into tornado-like shapes, possibly due to interactions of gases with extreme hot and cold temperatures, not unlike the weather processes leading to tornado formation on Earth.
The 
The week-long national syndication window opens for 
The 14th episode of The Cape airs in syndication in North America, starring Corbin Bernsen and Adam Baldwin, presenting a fictionalized version of NASA’s shuttle program. 
The week-long national syndication window opens for the 
The week-long national syndication window opens for 
RCA/Victor releases 
UPN airs the 
The 
The week-long national syndication window opens for 
The week-long national syndication window opens for the 
The week-long national syndication window opens for