Lt. Col. Ed Yielding (pilot) and Lt. Col. J.T. Vida (reconnaissance systems officer) set four speed records while flying the Lockheed SR-71 Blackbird, including a transcontinental mark of 2,112.52 mph (one hour, eight minutes, 17 seconds elapsed time) over the 2,404.05-mile course from Oxnard, Calif., to Salisbury, Md. The flight was anticipated to be the SR-71s retirement flight.
NASA Boss: Race to Moon Has National Security Stakes
Sept. 15, 2026
NASA is pushing hard to get astronauts back to the moon by 2028—and the urgency is driven in no small part by the national security implications of doing so before China does, Administrator Jared Isaacman said Sept. 15.
