The ninth space shuttle mission (STS-9) is launched. Mission Commander John W. Young becomes the first person to make six spaceflights, and Columbia is the first spacecraft to be launched with a crew of six. The flight is also the first to use the European Spacelab module.
Less than a day after arriving in the Middle East, F-15E Strike Eagles from Seymour-Johnson Air Force Base, N.C. defended Israel from an Iranian attack in April 2024.