theLogBook.com is a chronicle of how we used to imagine the future – an ever-expanding
logbook of what our entertainment, our culture, and even our brightest minds thought would happen.
It’s nostalgia – and some real history – that gives factual context to the fiction, cultural
context to the factual, and always looks to the future.

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Published On: September 6, 2019

Chandrayaan-2 and VikramIndia’s mission to safely put a lander and an autonomous rover on the surface of the moon ends with a sudden loss of data. Deployed by the successful Chandrayaan-2 orbiter, the Vikram lander (carrying the Pragyan rover) begins a powered descent to the lunar surface, only to cease communicating with ground controllers in India at an altitude of 2.1 kilometers. With the speed of Vikram’s descent at the time of data loss measured at 60 meters per second via telemetry, ground controllers declare it likely that Vikram crashed into the moon, resulting in the loss of the vehicle and its payload, a fate somewhat similar to that of the Israel-launched Beresheet lander earlier in the year. The orbiter continues to function, and will search for signs of water ice at the south pole of the moon.

Published On: September 6, 2014

Doctor WhoThe 805th episode of Doctor Who airs on BBC1 (the 106th episode since the series’ revival). Tom Riley, Ben Miller (Primeval), and Trevor Cooper (Star Cops) guest star.

This entry is forthcoming.

Published On: September 6, 1994

MagellanNASA’s Magellan space probe, still orbiting Venus since 1990, enters a phase of slightly riskier experiments, dipping its solar panels into the upper reaches of the Venusian atmosphere and firing its reaction control engines to keep from spinning out of control. This allows for studies of the composition of Venus’ atmosphere, as well as studies of the vehicle’s behavior as it resists atmospheric friction. The results of the “windmill” experiment inform the design of future Mars probes which will need to aerobrake to slow down and enter the Martian atmosphere.

Published On: September 6, 1989

Doctor WhoThe 684th episode of Doctor Who airs on BBC1. Jean Marsh guest stars, and Nicholas Courtney makes his final original series appearance as Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart. This story opens the 26th and final season of the original Doctor Who series. Read more

Published On: September 6, 1988

Red DwarfThe seventh episode of the science fiction comedy Red Dwarf airs on BBC 2. This episode, the second season opener, introduces the character of Kryten, though Kryten doesn’t stay aboard Red Dwarf until his next appearance in the third season. This is the only episode in which Kryten is played by David Ross (Robert Llewellyn plays the role when Kryten becomes a regular fixture). Read more

Published On: September 6, 1986

Doctor WhoThe 642nd episode of Doctor Who airs on BBC1, marking the series’ return to the air (and to a 25-minute episode format) and reflecting its tenuous existence by depicting the Doctor being put on trial by his fellow Time Lords. Lynda Bellingham (All Creatures Great & Small) guest stars as the Inquisitor, with Michael Jayston as the Valeyard and David Selby (Dark Shadows) as Sabalon Glitz. The first four parts of the 14-part story are the final complete storyline written by former script editor Robert Holmes, who dies during production. Read more

Published On: September 6, 1978

Dr. StrangeThe TV movie-of-the-week Dr. Strange premieres on CBS, starring Peter Hooten, Jessica Walter, Clyde Kusatsu, and John Mills. Intended to serve as the pilot for a series, Dr. Strange goes no further in the 1970s as a film or TV character; a big-screen live-action movie based on the same character will appear in 2016. Read more

Absolutely no generative AI was used in the creation of the content on this website.
It’s mostly just some guy named Earl.

EG