The Sci-Fi Channel officially announces that it will be producing a new Babylon 5 movie in 2001, tentatively titled Babylon 5: The Legend Of The Rangers, set three years after the events of Babylon 5’s fifth season, as the Anla’shok try to restore peace and order to the war-torn galaxy. Members of the Babylon 5 cast may appear in the movie – which is confirmed as a pilot for a potential new series with the same premise – but the cast will consist largely of new faces. Douglas Netter and creator J. Michael Straczynski will serve as executive producers.
Big Finish Productions 
Sci-Fi Channel premieres the 
Fat Wreck Chords releases 
Despite attempts in recent years to keep the station in orbit for commercial purposes, the Russian space station Mir – originally launched in 1986 by the Soviet Union – is brought out of orbit with a deorbit burn fired by the engines of an attached unmanned Progress cargo vehicle. The largest space vehicle ever to plunge through Earth’s atmosphere, Mir breaks up over the south Pacific, where any surviving debris is expected to sink harmlessly into the ocean east of New Zealand. The fifteen-year-old station, having been designed with a service life of five years in mind, had been the site of the first joint Russian-American manned space operations since 1975, and led directly to both the contractual agreements and design of the International Space Station.
Sci-Fi Channel airs the 130th episode of The Outer Limits. Michael Rooker (Guardians Of The Galaxy) guest stars.
Sony Records releases 
The 15th episode of James Cameron & Charles H. Eglee’s cyberpunk series Dark Angel, starring Jessica Alba and Michael Weatherly, airs on Fox. John Savage and Mark Rolston guest star.
Sci-Fi Channel premieres the 
The 176th episode of Chris Carter’s modern-day science fiction series The X-Files airs on Fox, starring Gillian Anderson and Robert Patrick. David Duchovny appears as Agent Mulder; Nicholas Lea guest stars.
Sci-Fi Channel premieres the 
Actor David Graf, forever known as Sergeant Tackleberry in the Police Academy series of films, dies of a heart attack at the age of 50. Graf made a number of guest appearances on TV series near and dear to SF fans, perhaps most notably in the role of aviator Fred Noonan in the original season finale of Star Trek: Voyager’s first season, The 37s (which was later relocated to the show’s second season by UPN). Mr. Graf also guest starred on Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, Quantum Leap, Lois & Clark and Beauty And The Beast, as well as appearing alongside ex-DS9er Terry Farrell in some recent episodes of Becker, a recurring role in The West Wing, and providing character voices for the Star Trek: Voyager Elite Force video game.
UPN premieres the first 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). 
UPN airs the 
Sci-Fi Channel premieres the 
The 84th episode of Gene Roddenberry’s Earth: Final Conflict, airs in syndication, starring Robert Leeshock, Jayne Heitmeyer, and Von Flores.
The 95th 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. David Boreanaz and Clare Kramer guest star.
UPN airs the 
Space Shuttle Endeavour lifts off on the 104th shuttle flight, a 12-day mission to resupply and continue construction of the International Space Station. The primary addition to the station is the Canadian-built remote manipulator arm, derived from the design that has been flown throughout the Space Shuttle program, to be affixed to the station itself. Aboard Endeavour for her 16th flight are Commander Kent Rominger, Pilot Jeff Ashby, and mission specialists Chris Hadfield, Scott Parazynski, John Phillips, Umberto Guidoni and Yuri Lonchakov.
Sci-Fi Channel premieres the 
Big Finish Productions 
The week-long national syndication window opens for the