STS-119

Space ShuttleSpace Shuttle Discovery lifts off on the 125th shuttle flight, a 13-day mission to the International Space Station. Further spacewalks to repair the station’s solar arrays are conducted, as well as a repair to its on-board water system; with the power and water issues resolved, the station can now house a crew of six astronauts and cosmonauts. Aboard Discovery for her 36th flight are Commander Lee Archambault, Pilot Tony Antonelli, and mission specialists Joseph Acaba, Steve Swanson, Richard Arnold, John Phillips and Koichi Wakata. Wakata stays aboard the station, while ISS crewmember Sandra Magnus returns to Earth aboard Discovery.

Battlestar Galactica: Daybreak – Part Two

Battlestar GalacticaSci-Fi Channel airs the 73rd and final episode of Ronald D. Moore’s re-imagining of Battlestar Galactica. Dean Stockwell (Quantum Leap) and Mark Sheppard guest star in the second half of the series finale. Read more

Dollhouse: Man On The Street

DollhouseThe sixth episode of Joss Whedon’s futuristic “spy-fi” series Dollhouse airs on Fox, starring Eliza Dushku. Amy Acker (Angel), Patton Oswalt, Kevin Kilner (Earth: Final Conflict) and Mark Sheppard (Supernatural, Battlestar Galactica) guest star.

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Soyuz TMA-14 / ISS Expedition 19

Soyuz TMA-14The fourteenth full-time crew of the International Space Station lifts off from Russia’s Baikonur Cosmodrome aboard Soyuz TMA-14. Gennady Padalka and Michael Barratt take up residence on the ISS for 199 days. Arriving with them on the ISS for a 12-day stay is returning space tourist Charles Simonyi, who returns to Earth aboard Soyuz TMA-13 with the Expedition 18 crew. As with his previous flight to the ISS, Simonyi pays for his own Soyuz seat and mission training.

Red Dwarf: Back To Earth, Part 1

Red DwarfThe 53rd episode of the science fiction comedy Red Dwarf airs. This is the first of a three-part story commissioned by UK comedy channel Dave, and proves to be popular enough to merit an order for a full season of six episodes. Cryptically, the cliffhanger ending of the 1999 season is completely ignored here. Read more

Red Dwarf: Back To Earth, Part 2

Red DwarfThe 54th episode of the science fiction comedy Red Dwarf airs on BBC 2. This is the second part of a three-part story commissioned by UK comedy channel Dave, and proves to be popular enough to merit an order for a full season of six episodes. The story receives sharp criticism for completely breaking down the “fourth wall”. Read more

Red Dwarf: Back To Earth, Part 3

Red DwarfThe 55th episode of the science fiction comedy Red Dwarf airs on BBC 2. This is the conclusion of a three-part story commissioned by UK comedy channel Dave. The story receives sharp criticism for completely breaking down the “fourth wall”, and for borrowing heavily from the movie Blade Runner. Despite the fan criticism, Dave begins putting together financing to a full season of six episodes, which won’t appear until 2012. Read more

Caprica

CapricaThe pilot movie of the Battlestar Galactica spinoff series Caprica, a non-space-based tale of the creation of the Cylons over half a century before the events seen in Galactica, is released direct-to-DVD. Starring Eric Stoltz, Esai Morales and Alessandra Toressani, Caprica actually began its development as a non-Galactica-related pitch about the dawn of a society’s disastrous over-reliance on technology. The pilot will be broadcast nearly a year on Syfy, though its initial means of release reflects an end-of-decade spike in direct-to-DVD genre movies that includes two one-off Stargate SG-1 DVDs. Read more Hear about it on the Sci-Fi 5 podcast

Star Trek: Intrepid: Transitions And Lamentations

Star Trek: IntrepidThe fan-produced Star Trek production Star Trek: Intrepid releases its second episode. The UK-based production is shot almost entirely in front of green screen with computer-generated backgrounds added in post production. Read more

Spirit’s sticky situation

SpiritNASA’s Spirit Mars rover becomes stuck in an area of soft, dusty soil in which its wheels can no longer gain traction. Efforts to simulate the problem on Earth begin, as well as studies to see if Spirit can free itself, but attempts to wiggle or rotate the rover’s wheels on Mars produce no results (and eventually wear out the independent motor of another of its wheels). The attempts to free Spirit from its Martian sandtrap continue through early 2010.