Piloted by Lt. Cmdr. R.C. Starkey, a Lockheed P2V-3C Neptune weighing 74,668 pounds becomes the heaviest aircraft ever launched from an aircraft carrier. The Neptune is flown off USS Coral Sea (CV-43).
The Space Force expects to award $905 million in contracts over the next five years through a new Maneuverable GEO program, which aims to form a commercial fleet of mobile communication satellites in geosynchronous orbit.