OIG Report Shows Corps Currently Maintained for ISS Missions, But Artemis and Mars Will Require Expansion

As NASA moves full speed ahead with their crewed moon mission program, the corps of flight-qualified and mission-ready astronauts has been eyed with increasing wariness. A higher mission tempo and expansion of space programs have required the administration to draw on the limited pool of candidates for not only its space station missions, but further missions to the moon or the upcoming Orbital Reef project. NASA's management of their numbers has resulted in a report from the OIG Office of Audits, analyzing the administration's treatment of its astronaut program. Currently, the OIG says, the administration has fallen into the habit of tailorin

Surprise! Half of Afghan Air Force Planes Remain Outside of Country

The acting Defense Minister of Afghanistan, Mawlawi Mohammad Yaqoob Mujahid told those gathered at a ceremony featuring the country's limited air force that those surrounding countries still holding 'Afghani' aircraft should return them to the regime or face nebulous consequences. The last days of the Afghani Republic saw droves of qualified pilots flee the country (for their lives) with their mechanical steeds, escaping the advancing Taliban forces by using their (often desperately needed) aeronautical skills. A large portion of the US-funded Afghan Air Force ended up parked in neighboring Uzbekistan as nearly 600 escaping servicemen and their families abandoned almost 50 ai