Space Shuttle Columbia lifts off for a scientific research mission with the SPACEHAB module – a successor to Spacelab – in its cargo bay, for a flight lasting almost 17 days. Columbia’s crew for this flight is Commander Rick Husband, Pilot Willie McCool, Payload Commander Michael Anderson, mission specialists Kalpana Chawla, David Brown and Laurel Clark, and payload specialist Ilan Ramon, the first Israeli astronaut. During liftoff, a piece of insulated foam is vibrated loose from the shuttle’s external fuel tank, causing critical damage to the leading edge of Columbia’s left wing. The foam collision is noticed and discussed internally at NASA, but is not deemed a threat by ground controllers.
The 122nd episode of Stargate SG-1 airs on the Sci-Fi Channel, starring Richard Dean Anderson, Amanda Tapping, Christopher Judge, and Corin Nemec.
The 134th episode of Joss Whedon’s supernatural series Buffy The Vampire Slayer, starring Sarah Michelle Gellar, airs on UPN. James Marsters and Alyson Hannigan also star. Felicia Day (Mystery Science Theater 3000) guest stars.
Big Finish Productions 
Big Finish Productions 
After nearly 17 days in orbit performing experiments in the SPACEHAB module its cargo bay, Space Shuttle Columbia deorbits to return to Earth for a planned landing at Kennedy Space Center in Florida. During reentry, a gaping hole in the leading edge of Columbia’s left wing – damage caused by a piece of foam shaken loose from the external fuel tank during liftoff – allows superheated plasma to leak into the shuttle’s superstructure, tearing the vehicle apart. The entire crew (Commander Rick Husband, Pilot Willie McCool, Payload Commander Michael Anderson, mission specialists Kalpana Chawla, David Brown and Laurel Clark, and payload specialist Ilan Ramon) is lost. At first, ground controllers are only aware of a series of sensor failures in the wing, followed by a loss of contact; ground-based cameras finally spot an expanding cloud of debris falling at supersonic speeds. As with the loss of Challenger in 1986, an extensive investigation and review of NASA procedures follows the loss of Columbia and her crew, resulting in a two-year grounding of the remaining shuttle fleet and a pause in construction of the International Space Station.
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The 12th and 13th episodes of the superhero series Birds Of Prey, based on characters from the DC Comics universe, air on the WB. Though the show has a vocal cult following, ratings for the series have not been particularly high, and these are the final episodes of the series. A movie with a completely different cast will revisit the Birds of Prey characters in 2020.
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Penguin Books publishes the novel 
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Artemis Records releases the 
NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope makes an astonishing discovery while observing one of the first planets discovered beyond Earth’s solar system. The gas giant planet designated HD 209458b, orbiting the star HD 209458 in the constellation of Pegasus, 150 light years from Earth, is losing its atmosphere. Slightly larger than Jupiter, but locked into a dizzyingly tight orbit around its star (only 4,000,000 miles, with its “year” lasting less than half of an Earth week), HD 209458b’s atmosphere is boiling away into space thanks to the heat of the nearby star. This leads to a new exoplanet classification, “Hot Jupiters,” used to describe gas giants in similarly suicidal orbits. The core of HD 209458b will probably not last long once the last remnants of its atmosphere dissipate.