The Radiation Belt Storm Probes mission launched by NASA begins activating sensors just a few days after liftoff, weeks ahead of schedule, just in time to reveal a finding that forces a rethink of over half a century of widely-accepted science. The probes find that, in response to the recent eruption of a solar prominence, the two Van Allen radiation belts discovered in 1958 by Explorer 1 have expanded to include a third belt, which traps and repels additional solar radiation back into space. The third radiation belt dissipates after four weeks, and scientists begin rethinking their theories on Earth’s magnetosphere.
The 787th episode of Doctor Who airs on BBC1 (the 89th episode since the series’ revival). Asylum Of The Daleks opens the seventh season of the revived show, and features a surprising first appearance by new series regular Jenna-Louise Coleman, whose new companion character was originally announced as debuting in the 2012 Christmas special. (The most surprising thing about this is that preview audiences keep this secret from the entire internet for several weeks.) 
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NASA’s Dawn unmanned space probe fires up its ion propulsion system, breaking its orbit around the large asteroid Vesta. Having orbited and mapped Vesta since 2011, Dawn must now survive a nearly-three-year trip through the main asteroid belt to reach the largest body in that region, Ceres. Successful arrival at Ceres, planned for 2015, would make Dawn the first unmanned spacecraft to have orbited two bodies in the solar system.
Soundtrack specialty label Intrada releases a third volume of Stu Phillips’ episode soundtracks from the TV Series Battlestar Galactica. The complete scores from the episodes The Long Patrol, The Lost Warriors, The Magnificent Warriors, The Young Lords, Murder On The Rising Star, The Hand Of God and the Galactica 1980 episode The Return Of Starbuck are included. (more…)
The 788th episode of Doctor Who airs on BBC1 (the 90th episode since the series’ revival). Mark Williams guest stars as Brian Williams. (more…)
The 789th episode of Doctor Who airs on BBC1 (the 91st episode since the series’ revival). Ben Browder (Farscape, Stargate SG-1) guest stars. (more…)
Sony releases the Ben Folds Five album The Sound Of The Life Of The Mind, reuniting the group after over a decade thanks to crowd-funded studio time. (more…)
Big Finish Productions releases the 164th Doctor Who audio drama in its main monthly range, starring Sylvester McCoy, Sophie Aldred, and Philip Olivier. (more…)
Big Finish Productions releases the 165th Doctor Who audio drama in its main monthly range, starring Peter Davison. (more…)
NASA donates the retired Space Shuttle Endeavour, stripped of working engines and other vital equipment, to the California Science Center in Los Angeles. The last shuttle to be built, construction on Endeavour began in 1988 from spare parts to replace the destroyed Challenger; Endeavour lifted off for the first time in 1992, ultimately flying 25 missions, including many of the International Space Station construction missions. This also marks the final flight of the modified Boeing 747 shuttle carrier aircraft, which flew for the first time in 1977.
The 790th episode of Doctor Who airs on BBC1 (the 92nd episode since the series’ revival). Mark Williams guest stars as Brian Williams; Jemma Redgrave appears as UNIT’s new scientific advisor, Kate Stewart. (more…)
The soundtrack from the late 1980s children’s science fiction series Captian Power and the Soldiers of the Future is released on CD, including a modern remake of the series’ main theme. (more…)
Michael O’Hare, who starred in the 1993 pilot movie and the first full season (1994) of the science fiction series Babylon 5, dies of complications from a heart attack he suffered the week before. An accomplished stage actor who made infrequent forays into television, O’Hare had been out of the public eye (including the science fiction convention circuit) for several years.
The 791st episode of Doctor Who airs on BBC1 (the 93rd episode since the series’ revival). This episode sees the exit of TARDIS travelers Amy and Rory, and the return of the Weeping Angels. Alex Kingston guest stars. (more…)
The 56th episode of the science fiction comedy Red Dwarf airs on UK cable/satellite comedy channel Dave. This is the beginning of Red Dwarf X, the first full season of the series since 1999. (more…)
Having successfully demonstrated an unmanned cargo vehicle to make supply runs to the International Space Station, SpaceX launches the first Dragon capsule to the ISS under its new commercial resupply contract with NASA. The flight is not without difficulties: one of the nine engines of the Falcon 9 booster’s first stage shuts down in flight without impacting the Dragon capsule’s ability to reach the right orbit, but a secondary payload – a commercial satellite to be launched from the Falcon’s upper stage – is stranded in the wrong orbit and falls back into Earth’s atmosphere in days. NASA and SpaceX begin a joint investigation into the mishap, while the Dragon capsule docks with the ISS and remains in orbit for nearly three weeks as Expedition 33 crew members unload new cargo and stow items for return to Earth aboard the capsule, which will be recovered on Earth after splashdown in the Pacific Ocean.
Frontier Records releases the Jeff Lynne solo album Mr. Blue Sky: The Very Best Of Electric Light Orchestra, an album of new recordings of ELO hits, plus one new song, performed entirely by Lynne.
The first episode of Arrow, a modern-day reboot of DC Comics’ Green Arrow superhero, premieres on the CW, starring Stephen Amell. The series has been developed for TV by Greg Berlanti, creator of past TV successes including Everwood and Eli Stone, and will lead to a string of successful series developed by Berlanti around popular DC characters, which will also lead to a successful “shared universe” of TV comics adaptations frequently referred to by fans as the Arrowverse.
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The 57th episode of the science fiction comedy Red Dwarf airs on UK cable/satellite comedy channel Dave. This is the second episode of Red Dwarf X, the first full season of the series since 1999. (more…)
A complete expanded edition of Dennis McCarthy’s soundtrack from the movie Star Trek: Generations is released on GNP Crescendo Records. (more…)
The second episode of Arrow, a modern-day reboot of DC Comics’ Green Arrow superhero starring Stephen Amell, airs on the CW. Susanna Thompson (Star Trek: Voyager) guest stars.
This series is not yet chronicled in the LogBook. You could join theLogBook team and write this guide or support the webmaster’s efforts to expand the site.
The 58th episode of the science fiction comedy Red Dwarf airs on UK cable/satellite comedy channel Dave. This is the third episode of Red Dwarf X, the first full season of the series since 1999. (more…)
La-La Land Records releases Andrew Belling’s soundtrack from the animated 1977 feature film Wizards as a limited edition CD. (more…)
Big Finish Productions releases U.N.I.T.: Dominion, a standalone Doctor Who audio drama starring Sylvester McCoy and Tracey Childs. This story is nrelated to Big Finish’s earlier U.N.I.T. audio series. (more…)
Part of the 33rd full-time crew of the International Space Station lifts off from Russia’s Baikonur Cosmodrome aboard Soyuz TMA-06M. Oleg Novitskiy, Evgeny Tarelkin and Kevin Ford take up residence on the ISS for 143 days, becoming part of the Expedition 33/34 crews. All three return to Earth in March 2013 aboard the same vehicle.
Big Finish Productions releases the first Doctor Who audio drama adaptation of a title published by Virgin Books in the 1990s, adapting Paul Cornell’s Love And War. Sylvester McCoy, Sophie Aldred, and Lisa Bowerman star. (more…)
The third episode of Arrow, a modern-day reboot of DC Comics’ Green Arrow superhero starring Stephen Amell, airs on the CW. Susanna Thompson (Star Trek: Voyager) guest stars.
This series is not yet chronicled in the LogBook. You could join theLogBook team and write this guide or support the webmaster’s efforts to expand the site.
Big Finish Productions releases a Doctor Who / Jago & Litefoot crossover audio drama starring Colin Baker, Christopher Benjamin, and Trevor Baxter. (more…)
Big Finish Productions releases the 166th Doctor Who audio drama in its main monthly range, starring Colin Baker. (more…)
The 59th episode of the science fiction comedy Red Dwarf airs on UK cable/satellite comedy channel Dave. This is the fourth episode of Red Dwarf X, the first full season of the series since 1999. (more…)
Cable channel Syfy airs the first episode of the French-produced sci-fi anthology Metal Hurlant Chronicles, based on the French magazine Metal Hurlant (also the source material of the hit 1981 film Heavy Metal). Scott Adkins (John Wick Chapter 4) and Michael Jai White (Spawn, The Dark Knight) guest star. (more…)
Cable channel Syfy airs the second episode of the French-produced sci-fi anthology Metal Hurlant Chronicles, based on the French magazine Metal Hurlant (also the source material of the hit 1981 film Heavy Metal). James Marsters (Buffy The Vampire Slayer) and Michelle Ryan (The Bionic Woman, Doctor Who) guest star. (more…)
Cable channel Syfy airs the third episode of the French-produced sci-fi anthology Metal Hurlant Chronicles, based on the French magazine Metal Hurlant (also the source material of the hit 1981 film Heavy Metal). Craig Fairbrass (Cliffhanger, One Piece) and Dominique Pinon (Alien: Resurrection) guest star. (more…)
The first episode of Russell T. Davies’ children’s science fiction series Wizards vs. Aliens airs on CBBC. Davies’ replacement for The Sarah Jane Adventures utilizes much of the earlier series’ behind-the-scenes crew, but this show is not a Doctor Who spin-off. (more…)
The second episode of Russell T. Davies’ children’s science fiction series Wizards vs. Aliens airs on CBBC, starring Annette Badland, Brian Blessed (Flash Gordon), and Gwendoline Christie (Game Of Thrones). Dan Starkey (Doctor Who) guest stars. (more…)