Astronaut Norman E. Thagard, flying on the Russian Mir space station, sets the U.S. record for spaceflight endurance, passing 84 days, one hour, and 17 minutes in space. The previous U.S. record- holders were the three astronauts on the third Skylab mission in 1974.
The Pentagon’s fiscal 2026 defense budget, submitted to Congress last week, accelerates the downsizing of the U.S. Air Force. It proposes divesting 340 aircraft, while only acquiring 76. These cuts risk the Air Force’s ability to prevail.