Voyager Completes Historic Flight: Earth Circled Nonstop
Voyager's winglets snapped off during takeoff as fuel-laden tips scraped Edwards AFB's runway, yet Burt Rutan and Mike Melvill pressed on through typhoons and cramped quarters to complete the first non-stop, non-refueled circumnavigation. This daring flight proved humanity could circle the globe without landing, earning the 1986 Collier Trophy for Yeager, the Rutans, and Bruce Evans while leaving only 106 pounds of fuel upon landing.
December 23, 1986
40 years ago
Key Figures & Places
What Else Happened on December 23
King Gunthamund ended the systematic persecution of Nicene Christians, reversing the harsh policies of his predecessor, Huneric. By restoring confiscated church…
Huneric spent years hunting Catholics across North Africa — burning churches, exiling bishops, confiscating estates. Then he died. His nephew Gunthamund took th…
Chlothar spent 47 years carving up his father's kingdom with his brothers — three civil wars, two murdered nephews, and a burned church full of peasants who bac…
The dome fell in 558 — not from one quake, but aftershocks that kept coming, until 20,000 square feet of Justinian's ceiling crashed down mid-service. No one di…
Yohl Ik'nal took power in Palenque when no male heir existed. She ruled for 20 years — a woman sovereign in a civilization that typically reserved kingship for …
King Dagobert II rode into the Woëvre forest near Stenay on December 23. Someone drove a lance through his eye while he rested under a tree. His own men, most l…
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