1969 in spaceflight

1969 in spaceflight
Humanity's first crewed lunar landing (Apollo 11)
National firsts
Satellite West Germany
Rockets
Maiden flights
Retirements
Crewed flights
Orbital9
Total travellers22

1969 saw humanity step onto another world for the first time. On 20 July 1969, the Apollo 11 Lunar Module, Eagle, landed on the Moon's surface with two astronauts aboard. Days later the crew of three returned safely to Earth, satisfying U.S. President John F. Kennedy's 1962 challenge of 25 May 1961, that "this nation should commit itself to achieving the goal, before this decade is out, of landing a man on the Moon and returning him safely to the Earth."[1][2]

There were four Apollo missions in total in 1969, three of which traveled to the Moon, with Apollo 12 also landing on the surface. The success of the Apollo program was a testament to the efforts of over 500,000 American engineers, scientists and technicians.

In 1969, the Soviet Union's space program had success with the docking of two crewed spacecraft as well as the success of their Venus and Lunar probes. The Soviets, however, suffered severe blows to their crewed Lunar aspirations when their N1 rocket failed twice during two 1969 launches.

Orbital launches

Date and time (UTC) Rocket Flight number Launch site LSP
Payload Operator Orbit Function Decay (UTC) Outcome
Remarks

January

5 January
06:28[3] 		Soviet Union Molniya-M / Blok VL Soviet Union Baikonur Site 1/5 Soviet Union
Soviet Union Venera 5 Heliocentric Venus lander 16 May 1969 Successful
Lander operated for 53 minutes in the atmosphere of Venus.
10 January
05:51[3] 		Soviet Union Molniya-M / Blok-VL Soviet Union Baikonur Site 1/5 Soviet Union
Soviet Union Venera 6 Heliocentric Venus lander 17 May 1969 Successful
Lander operated for 51 minutes in the atmosphere of Venus.
12 January
12:10[4] 		Soviet Union Voskhod Soviet Union Plesetsk Site 41/1 Soviet Union
Soviet Union Kosmos 263 (Zenit-2) Low Earth Optical imaging 20 January 1969[5] Successful
14 January
07:30 		Soviet Union Soyuz Soviet Union Baikonur LC-31 Soviet Union RVSN
Soviet Union Soyuz 4 RVSN Low Earth Crewed orbital flight 17 January 1969 Successful
First docking between two crewed spacecraft (with Soyuz 5)
15 January
07:04 		Soviet Union Soyuz Soviet Union Baikonur LC-1/5 Soviet Union RVSN
Soviet Union Soyuz 5 RVSN Low Earth Crewed orbital flight 18 January 1969 Successful
First docking between two crewed spacecraft (with Soyuz 4)
20 January
04:14[6] 		Soviet Union Proton-K/D Soviet Union Baikonur Site 81/23 Soviet Union
Soviet Union Soyuz 7K-L1 (Zond-1969A) Selenocentric Test flight 20 January 1969 Failure
One of the RD-0210 engines in the second stage failed, resulting in automatic shutdown of the vehicle. Capsule was successfully recovered after successful launch abort.
22 January
16:48[7] 		United States Delta C1 United States Cape Canaveral SLC-17 United States
United States OSO 5 NASA Low Earth Astronomy 2 April 1984[5] Successful
22 January
19:10[9] 		United States Titan IIIB United States Vandenberg SLC-4W United States
United States OPS 7585 (GAMBIT-3 4319) NRO Low Earth Optical imaging 3 February 1969[5] Partial failure
Apogee was too high as the Agena rocket stage failed to switch off at a correct time.[8]
23 January
09:15[6] 		Soviet Union Voskhod Soviet Union Baikonur Site 1/5 Soviet Union
Soviet Union Kosmos 264 (Zenit-4M) Low Earth Optical imaging 5 February 1969[5] Successful
25 January
11:10[6] 		Soviet Union Tsyklon-2A Soviet Union Baikonur Site 90/19 Soviet Union
Soviet Union Kosmos 265 (US-AO No.5) Low Earth Naval surveillance 23 January 1969 Failure
30 January
06:46[9] 		United States Delta E1 United States Vandenberg SLC-2E United States
Canada ISIS 1 CSA Medium Earth Science In orbit Successful

February

1 February
12:11[4] 		Soviet Union Vostok-2M Soviet Union Plesetsk Site 41/1 Soviet Union
Soviet Union Kosmos 265 (Meteor-1) RVSN Low Earth Meteorology 1 February 1969 Failure
5 February
06:46[9] 		United States Thorad-SLV2G-Agena-D United States Vandenberg SLC-3W United States
United States KH-4B 6 (OPS 3890) CIA Low Earth Optical imaging 24 February 1969[5] Successful
United States P-801 2 (OPS 2644) USAF Low Earth Reconnaissance In orbit Successful
6 February
00:39[7] 		United States Delta M United States Cape Canaveral SLC-17A United States NASA
United States Intelsat III F-3 Intelsat Geostationary Communications In orbit Successful
7 February
13:59[4] 		Soviet Union Kosmos-2I Soviet Union Plesetsk Site 133/1 Soviet Union
Soviet Union Kosmos 265 (DS-P1-Yu No.21) RVSN Low Earth Radar calibration 1 May 1969[5] Successful
9 February
21:09[7] 		United States Titan IIIC United States Cape Canaveral SLC-41 United States
United States TACSAT-1 (OPS 0757) USAF Geostationary Communications In orbit Successful
19 February
06:48[6] 		Soviet Union Proton-K / Blok D Soviet Union Baikonur Site 81/24 Soviet Union
Soviet Union Luna 15a + Lunokhod 1A (Ye-8 №201) Selenocentric Lunar lander and rover 19 February 1969 Failure
Engine failure in the first stage, rocket crashed 15 km from the pad.
21 February
09:18 		Soviet Union N1/L3 Soviet Union Baikonur LC-110/38 Soviet Union RVSN
Soviet Union Zond L1S-1 RVSN Selenocentric Test flight 21 February Failure
Soviet Union Dummy LK RVSN Selenocentric Mass simulator 21 February Failure
25 February
01:29[7] 		United States Atlas SLV-3C Centaur-D United States Cape Canaveral LC-36 United States
United States Mariner 6 NASA Heliocentric Mars flyby In orbit Successful
25 February
10:20[4] 		Soviet Union Voskhod Soviet Union Plesetsk Site 41/1 Soviet Union
Soviet Union Kosmos 266 (Zenit-2) Low Earth Optical imaging 5 March 1969[5] Successful
26 February
07:47[7] 		United States Delta E1 United States Cape Canaveral LC-17B United States
United States ESSA-9 ESSA Low Earth (SSO) Meteorology In orbit Successful
26 February
08:30[6] 		Soviet Union Voskhod Soviet Union Baikonur Site 31/6 Soviet Union
Soviet Union Kosmos 267 (Zenit-4) Low Earth Optical imaging 6 March 1969[5] Successful

March

3 March
16:00 		United States Saturn V United States KSC LC-39A United States NASA
United States Apollo 9 CSM Gumdrop NASA Low Earth Crewed orbital flight 13 March 1969 Successful
United States Apollo 9 LM Spider NASA Low Earth Test flight 13 March 1969 Successful
First crewed orbital test of lunar module
4 March
16:48[9] 		United States Titan IIIB United States Vandenberg SLC-4W United States
United States KH-8 Gambit 3 (OPS 4248) USAF Low Earth Optical imaging 18 March 1969[5] Successful
Apogee was too high as the Agena rocket stage failed to switch off at a correct time.[8]
5 March
13:04[10] 		Soviet Union Kosmos-2I Soviet Union Kapustin Yar Site 86/4 Soviet Union
Soviet Union Kosmos 268 (DS-P1-Yu No.18) Low Earth Radar calibration 9 May 1970[5] Successful
5 March
17:25[4] 		Soviet Union Kosmos-3M Soviet Union Plesetsk Site 132/2 Soviet Union
Soviet Union Kosmos 269 (Tselina-O-4) Low Earth ELINT 21 October 1978[5] Successful
6 March
12:15[4] 		Soviet Union Voskhod Soviet Union Plesetsk Site 41/1 Soviet Union
Soviet Union Kosmos 270 (Zenit-4 No.52) Low Earth Optical imaging 14 March 1969[5] Successful
15 March
12:15[4] 		Soviet Union Voskhod Soviet Union Plesetsk Site 41/1 Soviet Union
Soviet Union Kosmos 271 (Zenit-4 No.53) Low Earth Optical imaging 23 March 1969[5] Successful
17 March
17:25[4] 		Soviet Union Kosmos-3M Soviet Union Plesetsk Site 132/2 Soviet Union
Soviet Union Kosmos 272 (Sfera No.4) Low Earth Geodesy In orbit Successful
18 March
07:40[9] 		United States Atlas F-OV1 United States Vandenberg ABRES-A2 United States
United States OV1-17 USAF Low Earth Technology demonstration 5 March 1970[5] Successful
United States OV1-17A ORBISCAL USAF Low Earth Technology demonstration 24 March 1969[5] Successful
United States OV1-18 USAF Low Earth Technology demonstration 28 August 1972[5] Successful
United States OV1-19 USAF Low Earth Technology demonstration In orbit Successful
19 March
21:38[9] 		United States Thorad-SLV2G-Agena-D United States Vandenberg SLC-3W United States
United States KH-4A 50 (OPS 3722) CIA Low Earth Optical imaging 24 March 1969[5] Successful
United States P-11 (OPS 2285) USAF Low Earth Reconnaissance 6 December 1971[5] Successful
22 March
12:15[4] 		Soviet Union Voskhod Soviet Union Plesetsk Site 41/1 Soviet Union
Soviet Union Kosmos 273 (Zenit-2 No.72) Low Earth Optical imaging 30 March 1969[5] Successful
24 March
10:10[6] 		Soviet Union Voskhod Soviet Union Baikonur Site 31/6 Soviet Union
Soviet Union Kosmos 274 (Zenit-4 No.54) Low Earth Optical imaging 1 April 1969[5] Successful
26 March
12:30[4] 		Soviet Union Vostok-2M Soviet Union Plesetsk Site 41/1 Soviet Union
Soviet Union Meteor-1 1 Low Earth Meteorology 26 March 2012 Successful
27 March
10:40[6] 		Soviet Union Proton-K/D Soviet Union Baikonur Site 81/23 Soviet Union
Soviet Union Mars 2M No.521 Areocentric Mars orbiter 27 March 1969 Failure
Payload fairing failed at T+51. Third stage failed to ignite.
27 March
22:22[7] 		United States Atlas SLV-3C Centaur-D United States Cape Canaveral LC-36A United States
United States Mariner 7 NASA Heliocentric Mars flyby In orbit Successful
28 March
16:00[4] 		Soviet Union Kosmos-2I Soviet Union Plesetsk Site 133/1 Soviet Union
Soviet Union Kosmos 275 (DS-P1-I No.5) RVSN Low Earth Radar calibration 7 February 1970[5] Successful

April

2 April
10:33[6] 		Soviet Union Proton-K/D Soviet Union Baikonur Site 81/24 Soviet Union
Soviet Union Mars 2M No.522 Areocentric Mars orbiter and lander 2 April 1969 Failure
Rocket crashed near pad after 1st stage engine failure.
4 April
10:20[4] 		Soviet Union Voskhod Soviet Union Plesetsk Site 41/1 Soviet Union
Soviet Union Kosmos 276 (Zenit-4 No.55) Low Earth Optical imaging 11 April 1969[5] Successful
4 April
13:00[4] 		Soviet Union Kosmos-2I Soviet Union Plesetsk Site 133/1 Soviet Union
Soviet Union Kosmos 277 (DS-P1-Yu No.20) Low Earth Radar calibration 6 July 1969[5] Successful
9 April
13:00[4] 		Soviet Union Voskhod Soviet Union Plesetsk Site 41/1 Soviet Union
Soviet Union Kosmos 278 (Zenit-2 No.73) Low Earth Optical imaging 17 April 1969[5] Successful
11 April
02:30[6] 		Soviet Union Molniya-M/Blok ML Soviet Union Baikonur Site 1/5 Soviet Union
Soviet Union Molniya-1 No.11 Molniya Communications 17 April 1974 Successful
13 April
02:24[7] 		United States Atlas-SLV3A Agena-D United States Cape Canaveral LC-13 United States
United States Canyon 2 (OPS 3148) NRO Geostationary Reconnaissance In orbit Successful
14 April
07:54[9] 		United States Thorad-SLV2G-Agena-D United States Vandenberg SLC-2E United States
United States Nimbus 3 NASA, NOAA Low Earth Meteorology In orbit Successful
United States SECOR-13 US Army Low Earth Geodesy In orbit Successful
15 April
08:14[6] 		Soviet Union Voskhod Soviet Union Baikonur Site 31/6 Soviet Union
Soviet Union Kosmos 279 (Zenit-4 No.56) Low Earth Optical imaging 23 April 1969[5] Successful
15 April
17:30[9] 		United States Titan IIIB United States Vandenberg SLC-4W United States
United States KH-8 Gambit 3 (OPS 5310) USAF Low Earth Optical imaging 30 April 1969[5] Successful
23 April
09:55[6] 		Soviet Union Voskhod Soviet Union Baikonur Site 1/5 Soviet Union
Soviet Union Kosmos 280 (Zenit-4M No.3) Low Earth Optical imaging 6 May 1969[5] Successful

May

2 May
01:46[9] 		United States Thorad-SLV2G-Agena-D United States Vandenberg SLC-3W United States
United States KH-4A 51 (OPS 1101) CIA Low Earth Optical imaging 23 May 1969[5] Successful
United States P-11 (OPS 1721) USAF Low Earth Reconnaissance 16 February 1970[5] Successful
13 May
09:15[4] 		Soviet Union Voskhod Soviet Union Plesetsk Site 41/1 Soviet Union
Soviet Union Kosmos 281 (Zenit-2 No.74) Low Earth Optical imaging 21 May 1969[5] Successful
18 May
16:49 		United States Saturn V United States KSC LC-39B United States NASA
United States Apollo 10 CSM Charlie Brown NASA Selenocentric Crewed Lunar orbital flight 26 May 1969 Successful
United States Apollo 10 LM Snoopy NASA Selenocentric Test flight In orbit Successful
First test of lunar module in lunar orbit. "Dress rehearsal" of Apollo 11 landing.
20 May
08:40[4] 		Soviet Union Voskhod Soviet Union Plesetsk Site 41/1 Soviet Union
Soviet Union Kosmos 282 (Zenit-4 No.57) Low Earth Optical imaging 28 May 1969[5] Successful
22 May
02:00[7] 		United States Delta M United States Cape Canaveral LC-17A United States NASA
United States Intelsat III F-4 Intelsat Geostationary Communications In orbit Successful
23 May
07:57[7] 		United States Titan IIIC United States Cape Canaveral SLC-41 United States
United States Vela 9, 10 USAF High Earth Nuclear detection In orbit Successful
United States OV5 5, 6, 9 USAF High Earth Technology demonstration In orbit Successful
27 May
12:59[4] 		Soviet Union Kosmos-2I Soviet Union Plesetsk Site 133/1 Soviet Union
Soviet Union Kosmos 283 (DS-P1-Yu No.21) Low Earth Radar calibration 10 December 1969[5] Successful
29 May
06:59[6] 		Soviet Union Voskhod Soviet Union Baikonur Site 31/6 Soviet Union
Soviet Union Kosmos 284 (Zenit-4 No.58) Low Earth Optical imaging 6 June 1969[5] Successful

June

3 June
12:57[4] 		Soviet Union Kosmos-2I Soviet Union Plesetsk Site 133/1 Soviet Union
Soviet Union Kosmos 285 (DS-P1-Yu No.22) Low Earth Radar calibration 7 October 1969[5] Successful
3 June
16:49[9] 		United States Titan IIIB United States Vandenberg SLC-4W United States
United States KH-8 Gambit 3 (OPS 1077) USAF Low Earth Optical imaging 14 June 1969[5] Successful
5 June
14:42[9] 		United States Thorad-SLV2H Agena-D United States Vandenberg SLC-3W United States
United States OGO 6 NASA Low Earth Research 12 October 1979[5] Successful
14 June
04:00[6] 		Soviet Union Proton-K/Blok D Soviet Union Baikonur Site 81/24 Soviet Union
Soviet Union Luna E-8-5 No. 402 Selenocentric Lunar sample return 14 June 1969 Failure
Blok D upper stage failed to ignite, thus leaving the payload on a suborbital trajectory.
15 June
08:59[4] 		Soviet Union Voskhod Soviet Union Plesetsk Site 41/1 Soviet Union
Soviet Union Kosmos 286 (Zenit-4 No.59) Low Earth Optical imaging 23 June 1969[5] Successful
21 June
08:47[9] 		United States Delta E1 United States Vandenberg SLC-2W United States
United States Explorer 41 (IMP-G) NASA Highly elliptical Magnetospheric research In orbit Successful
24 June
06:50[6] 		Soviet Union Voskhod Soviet Union Baikonur Site 31/6 Soviet Union
Soviet Union Kosmos 287 (Zenit-2 No.75) Low Earth Optical imaging 2 July 1969[5] Successful
27 June
06:59[6] 		Soviet Union Voskhod Soviet Union Baikonur Site 1/5 Soviet Union
Soviet Union Kosmos 288 (Zenit-4 No.60) Low Earth Optical imaging 5 July 1969[5] Successful
29 June
03:15[7] 		United States Delta N United States Cape Canaveral LC-17A United States
United States Biosatellite 3 NASA Low Earth Life science 7 July 1969[5] Successful

July

2 July
07:04 		Europe Europa-1 Australia Woomera LA-6A Europe ELDO
Europe STV-2 ELDO Test flight 2 July 1969 Failure
3 July
20:18 		Soviet Union N1/L3 Soviet Union Baikonur LC-110/38 Soviet Union
Soviet Union Zond L1S-2 Selenocentric Test flight 3 July 1969 Failure
Soviet Union Dummy LK Selenocentric Mass simulator 3 July 1969 Failure
Exploded due to faulty engines and a bolt that was sucked into a fuel pump.
10 July
09:00[4] 		Soviet Union Voskhod Soviet Union Plesetsk Site 41/1 Soviet Union
Soviet Union Kosmos 289 (Zenit-4 No.61) Low Earth Optical imaging 15 July 1969[5] Successful
13 July
02:54[6] 		Soviet Union Proton-K/D Soviet Union Baikonur Site 81/24 Soviet Union
Soviet Union Luna 15 (Ye-8-5 №401) Selenocentric Lunar sample return 20 July 1969 Success
Lander crashed to the surface of the Moon in an attempted landing.
16 July
13:32 		United States Saturn V United States KSC LC-39A United States NASA
United States Apollo 11 CSM Columbia NASA Selenocentric Crewed Lunar orbital flight 24 July 1969 Successful
United States Apollo 11 LM Eagle NASA Selenocentric Crewed Lunar landing In orbit Successful
First crewed Moon landing.
22 July
12:30[4] 		Soviet Union Voskhod Soviet Union Plesetsk Site 41/1 Soviet Union
Soviet Union Kosmos 290 (Zenit-2 No.76) Low Earth Optical imaging 30 July 1969[5] Successful
22 July
12:55[6] 		Soviet Union Molniya-M/Blok ML Soviet Union Baikonur Site 1/5 Soviet Union
Soviet Union Molniya-1 No.12 Molniya Communications 18 June 1971[5] Successful
23 July
04:39[9] 		United States Thor-LV2F Burner-2 United States Vandenberg SLC-10W United States
United States DSAP-4B F3 (OPS 1127) USAF, NRO Low Earth Meteorology In orbit Successful
23 July
09:00[4] 		Soviet Union Kosmos-2I Soviet Union Plesetsk Site 133/1 Soviet Union
Soviet Union DS-P1-Yu No.23 Low Earth Radar calibration 23 July 1969 Failure
Second stage failed at T+267 seconds.
24 July
01:30[9] 		United States Thorad-SLV2H-Agena-D United States Vandenberg SLC-3W United States
United States KH-4B 7 (OPS 3654) CIA Low Earth Optical imaging 23 August 1969[5] Successful
26 July
02:06[7] 		United States Delta M United States Cape Canaveral LC-17A United States
United States Intelsat III F-5 Intelsat Geostationary Communications 14 October 1988[5] Failure
Third stage failure left the spacecraft in an unusable orbit.
31 July
10:19[9] 		United States Thorad-SLV2G-Agena-D United States Vandenberg SLC-1W United States
United States Strawman-2 (OPS 8285) USAF Low Earth ELINT 4 January 1973[5] Successful

August

6 August
05:40[6] 		Soviet Union Tsyklon-2 Soviet Union Baikonur Site 90/19 Soviet Union
Soviet Union Kosmos 291 (IS-GVM) Low Earth Mass simulator 8 September 1969 Successful
First test flight of Tsyklon-2 booster. Flew with a dummy payload planned to be used as an ASAT target but the ASAT interceptor test flight was later cancelled.
7 August
23:48[6] 		Soviet Union Proton-K/Blok D Soviet Union Baikonur Site 81/23 Soviet Union
Soviet Union Zond 7 High Earth Lunar flyby 13 August 1969 Successful
The only successful test flight of Soyuz 7K-L1 spacecraft. Circumlunar flight, perilune 1,984 km.
9 August
07:52[7] 		United States Delta N United States Cape Canaveral LC-17A United States
United States OSO 6 NASA Low Earth Solar observatory 7 March 1981[5] Successful
United States PAC 1 NASA Low Earth Technology demonstration 28 April 1977[5] Successful
12 August
11:01[7] 		United States Atlas SLV-3C Centaur-D United States Cape Canaveral LC-36A United States
United States ATS-5 NASA Geosynchronous Communications In orbit Successful
13 August
22:00[4] 		Soviet Union Kosmos-3M Soviet Union Plesetsk Site 132/2 Soviet Union
Soviet Union Kosmos 292 (Zaliv No.3) Low Earth Navigation In orbit Successful
16 August
11:59[6] 		Soviet Union Voskhod Soviet Union Baikonur Site 31/6 Soviet Union
Soviet Union Kosmos 293 (Zenit-2M No.4) / Nauka 5KS L.1 Low Earth Optical imaging 28 August 1969[5] Successful
19 August
13:00[4] 		Soviet Union Voskhod Soviet Union Plesetsk Site 41/1 Soviet Union
Soviet Union Kosmos 294 (Zenit-4 No.62) Low Earth Optical imaging 27 August 1969[5] Successful
22 August
14:14[4] 		Soviet Union Kosmos-2I Soviet Union Plesetsk Site 133/1 Soviet Union
Soviet Union Kosmos 295 (DS-P1-Yu No.24) Low Earth Radar calibration 1 December 1969[5] Successful
23 August
16:00[9] 		United States Titan IIIB United States Vandenberg SLC-4W United States
United States KH-8 Gambit 3 (OPS 7807) USAF Low Earth Optical imaging 7 September 1969[5] Successful
27 August
21:59[7] 		United States Delta L United States Cape Canaveral LC-17A United States
United States Pioneer E NASA Heliocentric Solar orbiter 27 August 1969 Failure
United States TETR 3 NASA Low Earth orbit Technology demonstration 27 August 1969 Failure
First flight of Delta L rocket. First stage hydraulics failure threw the second stage far off course and the vehicle was destroyed by range safety at T+383 seconds.
29 August
09:05[6] 		Soviet Union Voskhod Soviet Union Baikonur Site 31/6 Soviet Union
Soviet Union Kosmos 296 (Zenit-4 No.63) Low Earth Optical imaging 6 September 1969[5] Successful

September

2 September
11:00[4] 		Soviet Union Voskhod Soviet Union Plesetsk Site 41/1 Soviet Union
Soviet Union Kosmos 297 (Zenit-4 No.64) Low Earth Optical imaging 10 September 1969[5] Successful
15 September
08:40[6] 		Soviet Union R-36O Soviet Union Baikonur Site 191/66 Soviet Union
Soviet Union Kosmos 298 (OGCh No.21) Low Earth Weapon test 15 September 1969[5] Successful
18 September
08:40[6] 		Soviet Union Voskhod Soviet Union Baikonur Site 31/6 Soviet Union
Soviet Union Kosmos 299 (Zenit-4 No.65) Low Earth Optical imaging 22 September 1969[5] Successful
22 September
02:10[11] 		Japan Lambda 4S Japan Kagoshima L Japan ISAS
Japan Ōsumi-4 ISAS Low Earth Test flight 22 September 1969 Failure
22 September
21:11[9] 		United States Thorad-SLV2G-Agena-D United States Vandenberg SLC-3W United States
United States KH-4A 52 (OPS 3531) CIA Low Earth Optical imaging 13 October 1969[5] Successful
United States P-11 (OPS 4710) USAF Low Earth Reconnaissance 16 May 1971[5] Successful
23 September
14:07[6] 		Soviet Union Proton-K/Blok D Soviet Union Baikonur Site 81/24 Soviet Union
Soviet Union Kosmos 300 (Luna 16a, Ye-8-5 №403) Selenocentric Lunar sample return 27 September 1969[5] Failure
Blok D stage failed due to valve defect and the probe failed to leave Earth orbit.
24 September
12:15[4] 		Soviet Union Voskhod Soviet Union Plesetsk Site 41/1 Soviet Union
Soviet Union Kosmos 301 (Zenit-2 No.77) Low Earth Optical imaging 2 October 1969[5] Successful
30 September
13:40[9] 		United States Thorad-SLV2G-Agena-D United States Vandenberg SLC-3W United States
United States Poppy 8A-D (NRL-PL 161-164) NRL/US Navy Low Earth ELINT In orbit Successful
United States NRL-PL 165 NRL/US Navy Low Earth Technology demonstration In orbit Successful
United States Timation-2 NRL/US Navy Low Earth Navigation In orbit Successful
United States Tempsat 2 NRL Low Earth Calibration In orbit Successful
United States SOICAL Cone & Cylinder USAF Low Earth Calibration Cone: In orbit
Cylinder: 14 February 2023[12]		 Successful
United States P-11 (OPS 7613) USAF Low Earth Reconnaissance In orbit Successful

October

1 October
22:29[9] 		United States Scout-B United States Vandenberg SLC-5 United States
Europe ESRO 1B ESRO Low Earth Research In orbit Partial failure
Orbit was lower than planned.
6 October
01:45[4] 		Soviet Union Vostok-2M Soviet Union Plesetsk Site 41/1 Soviet Union
Soviet Union Meteor-1 2 Low Earth Meteorology 20 August 2002[5] Successful
11 October
11:10 		Soviet Union Soyuz Soviet Union Baikonur LC-31/6 Soviet Union RVSN
Soviet Union Soyuz 6 RVSN Low Earth Crewed orbital flight 16 October 1969 Partial failure
Rendezvous with Soyuz 7 and 8 unsuccessful due to electronic failure.
12 October
10:44 		Soviet Union Soyuz Soviet Union Baikonur LC-1/5 Soviet Union RVSN
Soviet Union Soyuz 7 RVSN Low Earth Crewed orbital flight 16 October 1969 Partial failure
Rendezvous with Soyuz 6 and 8 unsuccessful due to electronic failure.
13 October
10:19 		Soviet Union Soyuz Soviet Union Baikonur LC-31/6 Soviet Union RVSN
Soviet Union Soyuz 8 RVSN Low Earth Crewed orbital flight 16 October 1969 Partial failure
Rendezvous with Soyuz 6 and 7 unsuccessful due to electronic failure.
14 October[13]
13:19 		Soviet Union Kosmos-2I Soviet Union Plesetsk Site 133/1 Soviet Union
Soviet Union Interkosmos 1 (DS-U3-IK No.1) Interkosmos Low Earth Solar research 2 January 1970[5] Successful
17 October
11:45[4] 		Soviet Union Voskhod Soviet Union Plesetsk Site 41/1 Soviet Union
Soviet Union Kosmos 302 (Zenit-4 No.66) Low Earth Optical imaging 25 October 1969[5] Successful
18 October
10:00[4] 		Soviet Union Kosmos-2I Soviet Union Plesetsk Site 133/1 Soviet Union
Soviet Union Kosmos 303 (DS-P1-Yu No.25) Low Earth Radar calibration 23 January 1970[5] Successful
21 October
12:49[4] 		Soviet Union Kosmos-3M Soviet Union Plesetsk Site 132 Soviet Union
Soviet Union Kosmos 304 (Zaliv No.4) Low Earth Navigation In orbit Successful
22 October
14:09[6] 		Soviet Union Proton-K/Blok D Soviet Union Baikonur Site 81/24 Soviet Union
Soviet Union Kosmos 305 (Luna 16b, Ye-8-5 №404) Selenocentric Lunar sample return In orbit Failure
Control system of the Blok D stage failed and the probe failed to leave Earth orbit.
24 October
09:40[6] 		Soviet Union Voskhod Soviet Union Baikonur Site 1/5 Soviet Union
Soviet Union Kosmos 306 (Zenit-2M No.5) Low Earth Optical imaging 5 November 1969[5] Successful
24 October
13:01[10] 		Soviet Union Kosmos-2I Soviet Union Kapustin Yar Site 86/4 Soviet Union
Soviet Union Kosmos 307 (DS-P1-Yu No.26) Low Earth Radar calibration 30 December 1970[5] Successful
24 October
18:10[9] 		United States Titan IIIB United States Vandenberg SLC-4W United States
United States KH-8 Gambit 3 (OPS 8455) USAF Low Earth Optical imaging 8 November 1969[5] Successful

November

4 November
11:59[4] 		Soviet Union Kosmos-2I Soviet Union Plesetsk Site 133/1 Soviet Union
Soviet Union Kosmos 308 (DS-P1-I No.6) Low Earth Radar calibration 4 January 1970[5] Successful
8 November
01:52[9] 		United States Scout-B United States Vandenberg SLC-5 United States
West Germany Azur BMWF/DLR Medium Earth Ionospheric research In orbit Successful
First West German satellite
12 November
11:30[4] 		Soviet Union Voskhod Soviet Union Plesetsk Site 41/1 Soviet Union
Soviet Union Kosmos 309 (Zenit-2 No.78) / Nauka 3KS L.1 Low Earth Optical imaging 20 November 1969[5] Successful
14 November
16:22 		United States Saturn V United States KSC LC-39A United States NASA
United States Apollo 12 CSM Yankee Clipper NASA Selenocentric Crewed Lunar orbital flight 24 November 1969 Successful
United States Apollo 12 LM Intrepid NASA Selenocentric Crewed Lunar landing 20 November 1969 Successful
Second crewed Moon landing.
15 November
08:30[6] 		Soviet Union Voskhod Soviet Union Baikonur Site 31/6 Soviet Union
Soviet Union Kosmos 310 (Zenit-4 No.67) Low Earth Optical imaging 23 November 1969[5] Successful
22 November
02:00[7] 		United States Delta M United States Cape Canaveral LC-17A United States
United Kingdom Skynet 1A MoD Geostationary Communications (military) In orbit Successful
24 November
11:00[4] 		Soviet Union Kosmos-2I Soviet Union Plesetsk Site 133/1 Soviet Union
Soviet Union Kosmos 311 (DS-P1-Yu No.27) Low Earth Radar calibration 10 March 1970[5] Successful
24 November
16:49[4] 		Soviet Union Kosmos-3M Soviet Union Plesetsk Site 132 Soviet Union
Soviet Union Kosmos 312 (Sfera No.5) Low Earth Geodesy In orbit Successful
28 November
09:00[6] 		Soviet Union Proton-K/Blok D Soviet Union Baikonur Site 81/23 Soviet Union
Soviet Union Soyuz 7K-L1E Medium Earth Flight test In orbit Failure
First stage failure

December

3 December
13:20[4] 		Soviet Union Voskhod Soviet Union Plesetsk Site 41/1 Soviet Union
Soviet Union Kosmos 313 (Zenit-2M No.6) / Gektor No.6 Low Earth Optical imaging 15 December 1969[5] Successful
4 December
21:37[9] 		United States Thorad-SLV2H-Agena-D United States Vandenberg SLC-3W United States
United States KH-4B 8 (OPS 6617) CIA Low Earth Optical imaging 10 January 1970[5] Successful
11 December
12:58[4] 		Soviet Union Kosmos-2I Soviet Union Plesetsk Site 133/1 Soviet Union
Soviet Union Kosmos 314 (DS-P1-Yu No.28) Low Earth Radar calibration 22 March 1970[5] Successful
20 December
03:26[4] 		Soviet Union Kosmos-3M Soviet Union Plesetsk Site 132 Soviet Union
Soviet Union Kosmos 315 (Tselina-O No.5) Low Earth ELINT 25 March 1979[5] Successful
23 December
09:25[6] 		Soviet Union Tsyklon-2 Soviet Union Baikonur Site 90/19 Soviet Union
Soviet Union Kosmos 316 (I2P No.3) Low Earth Dummy ASAT warhead 28 August 1970[5] Successful
23 December
13:50[4] 		Soviet Union Voskhod Soviet Union Plesetsk Site 41/1 Soviet Union
Soviet Union Kosmos 317 (Zenit-4MK No.1 / Germes No.1) Low Earth Optical imaging 5 January 1970[5] Successful
25 December
09:59[10] 		Soviet Union Kosmos-2I Soviet Union Kapustin Yar Site 86/4 Soviet Union
Soviet Union Interkosmos 2 (DS-U1-IK No.1) Interkosmos Low Earth Ionosphere research 7 June 1970[5] Successful
27 December[4] Soviet Union Kosmos-3M Soviet Union Plesetsk Site 132 Soviet Union
Soviet Union Ionosfernaya No.1 Low Earth Ionosphere research In orbit Failure

Suborbital flights

Date and time (UTC) Rocket Flight number Launch site LSP
Payload
(⚀ = CubeSat) 		Operator Orbit Function Decay (UTC) Outcome
Remarks

January-March

17 January[14] United States Nike-Cajun Sweden Esrange United States NASA
Sweden / United States RTG SNC 2A / 1 Aeronomy mission NASA/RTG Suborbital Aeronomy 17 January Successful
Apogee: 117 kilometres (73 mi).
21 January[15] United Kingdom Skylark 6 Australia Woomera LA-2 SL United Kingdom British Aerospace
United Kingdom UK SL781 Solar x-ray mission RAE/WRE Suborbital Astronomy 21 January Failure
23 January
20:00[15] 		United Kingdom Skylark Australia Woomera LA-2 SL United Kingdom British Aerospace
United Kingdom / Ion / Te Ionosphere mission RAE/WRE Suborbital Astronomy 23 January Successful
Apogee: 149 kilometres (93 mi).
23 January
23:00[14] 		United States Nike-Cajun Sweden Esrange United States NASA
Sweden / United States RTG SNC 2A / 3 Aeronomy mission NASA/RTG Suborbital Aeronomy 23 January Successful
Apogee: 116 kilometres (72 mi).
25 January
21:00[14] 		United States Nike-Cajun Sweden Esrange United States NASA
Sweden / United States RTG SNC 2A / 4 Aeronomy mission NASA/RTG Suborbital Aeronomy 25 January Successful
Apogee: 118 kilometres (73 mi).
3 February
21:05[14] 		United Kingdom Petrel Sweden Esrange Canada Bristol Aerospace
United Kingdom Electrons Ionosphere mission SRC Suborbital Ionosphere research 3 February Successful
Apogee: 157 kilometres (98 mi).
11 February
21:09[14] 		United Kingdom Petrel Sweden Esrange Canada Bristol Aerospace
United Kingdom Electrons Ionosphere mission SRC Suborbital Ionosphere research 11 February Successful
Apogee: 157 kilometres (98 mi).
14 February
22:15[14] 		United Kingdom Petrel Sweden Esrange Canada Bristol Aerospace
United Kingdom Small scale structure Ionosphere mission SRC Suborbital Ionosphere research 14 February Successful
Apogee: 149 kilometres (93 mi).
15 February
21:20[14] 		United Kingdom Petrel Sweden Esrange Canada Bristol Aerospace
United Kingdom Small scale structure Ionosphere mission SRC Suborbital Ionosphere research 15 February Successful
Apogee: 153 kilometres (95 mi).
20 February
11:48[16] 		France Véronique France Kourou ALFS France LRBA
FU-170 CIRCE CNES Suborbital Ionosphere research 20 February Successful
Apogee: 107 kilometres (66 mi)
25 February
16:33[17] 		France Centaure 2B Norway Andøya Rocket Range
Europe ESRO C49 / 1 (R3) Aurora mission ESRO Suborbital 25 February Successful
Apogee: 136 kilometres (85 mi).
25 February
21:37[17] 		United States Sidewinder Arcas Norway Andøya Rocket Range
Europe ESRO A40 / 4 Ionosphere / plasma / field mission ESRO Suborbital 25 February Failure
25 February
23:50[17] 		France Centaure 2B Norway Andøya Rocket Range
Europe ESRO C49 / 2 Aurora mission ESRO Suborbital 25 February Successful
Apogee: 128 kilometres (80 mi).
15 March
17:55[14] 		United States Nike-Apache Sweden Esrange United States Sandia
West Germany DLR K-NA-11 DFVLR Suborbital Ionosphere research, Aeronomy 15 March Successful
Apogee: 226 kilometres (140 mi).
15 March
20:54[14] 		United Kingdom Skylark 2 Sweden Esrange United Kingdom British Aerospace
Europe ESRO S43 / 2 Aurora mission ESRO Suborbital 15 March Successful
Apogee: 211 kilometres (131 mi).
15 March
22:31[14] 		France Centaure 2B Sweden Esrange
Europe ESRO C52 / 1 Aurora mission ESRO Suborbital 15 March Successful
Apogee: 211 kilometres (131 mi).
16 March
18:05[14] 		United States Nike-Apache Sweden Esrange United States Sandia
West Germany DLR K-NA-17 DFVLR Suborbital Ionosphere research, Aeronomy 16 March Successful
Apogee: 233 kilometres (145 mi).
17 March
00:04[14] 		United Kingdom Petrel Sweden Esrange Canada Bristol Aerospace
United Kingdom Particles Ionosphere mission SRC Suborbital Ionosphere research 17 March Successful
Apogee: 151 kilometres (94 mi).
17 March
18:10[14] 		United States Nike-Apache Sweden Esrange United States Sandia
West Germany DLR K-NA-18 DFVLR Suborbital Ionosphere research, Aeronomy 17 March Successful
Apogee: 231 kilometres (144 mi).
17 March
18:23[14] 		United Kingdom Petrel Sweden Esrange Canada Bristol Aerospace
United Kingdom E field gradient Ionosphere mission SRC Suborbital Ionosphere research 17 March Successful
Apogee: 148 kilometres (92 mi).
18 March
18:16[14] 		United Kingdom Petrel Sweden Esrange Canada Bristol Aerospace
United Kingdom E-region E field Ionosphere mission SRC Suborbital Ionosphere research 18 March Successful
Apogee: 170 kilometres (110 mi).
20 March
05:37[18] 		United States Terrier Sandhawk United States Poker Flat Research Range United States Sandia
HEMLOCK DARPA Suborbital Aeronomy 20 March Successful
Apogee: 176 kilometres (109 mi)
29 March
20:00[14] 		United Kingdom Petrel Sweden Esrange Canada Bristol Aerospace
United Kingdom Small scale structure Ionosphere mission SRC Suborbital Ionosphere research 29 March Successful
Apogee: 150 kilometres (93 mi).

April-June

1 April
09:54[15] 		United Kingdom Skylark Australia Woomera LA-2 SL United Kingdom British Aerospace
United Kingdom X-ray Survey X-ray astronomy mission BAC Suborbital Astronomy 1 April Successful
Apogee: 192 kilometres (119 mi).
3 April
00:35[15] 		United Kingdom Skylark 6 AC Australia Woomera LA-2 SL United Kingdom British Aerospace
United Kingdom UK SL502 Ionosphere / solar x-rays mission BAC Suborbital Astronomy 3 April Successful
Apogee: 192 kilometres (119 mi).
9 April
20:38[17] 		United States Nike-Apache Norway Andøya Rocket Range United States Sandia
Norway Ferdinand 20 Aeronomy / ionosphere / plasma mission NTNF Suborbital Ionosphere research, Aeronomy 9 April Successful
Apogee: 139 kilometres (86 mi).
13 April
00:33[17] 		France Dragon 2B Norway Andøya Rocket Range
France FU-182 Ions / Electric field Ionosphere mission CNES Suborbital Ionosphere research 13 April Successful
Apogee: 139 kilometres (86 mi).
14 April
18:15[14] 		France Centaure 2B Sweden Esrange C
Europe ESRO C39 / 1 Aurora mission ESRO Suborbital 14 April Failure
15 April
11:03[14] 		France Centaure 2B Sweden Esrange C
Europe ESRO C39 / 2 Aurora mission ESRO Suborbital 15 April Successful
Apogee: 134 kilometres (83 mi).
16 April[19] Argentina Canopus 2 Argentina CELPA Argentina CONAE
CONAE Suborbital Test flight 16 April Successful
First flight of Canopus 2 sounding rocket. Apogee: 150 kilometres (93 mi).
17 April
05:05[15] 		United Kingdom Skylark 3 AC Australia Woomera LA-2 SL United Kingdom British Aerospace
United Kingdom UK SL606 Solar ultraviolet and x-ray mission BAC Suborbital Astronomy 17 April Successful
Apogee: 202 kilometres (126 mi).
17 April
21:48[17] 		France Dragon 2B Norway Andøya Rocket Range
France FU-190 E field / Barium release / Ionosphere mission CNES Suborbital 17 April Successful
Apogee: 329 kilometres (204 mi).
22 April
03:31[15] 		United Kingdom Skylark 3 AC Australia Woomera LA-2 SL United Kingdom British Aerospace
United Kingdom UK SL604 Solar ultraviolet mission BAC Suborbital Astronomy 22 April Successful
Apogee: 181 kilometres (112 mi).
1 May[20] United States Sandhawk Tomahawk United States Pacific Missile Range Facility United States Sandia
Sandia National Laboratories Suborbital Test flight 1 May Successful
First flight of the Sandhawk Tomahawk configuration. Apogee: 528 kilometres (328 mi).
14 May
02:44[15] 		United Kingdom Skylark 3 AC Australia Woomera LA-2 SL United Kingdom British Aerospace
United Kingdom UK SL404 Solar ultraviolet and x-ray mission BAC Suborbital Astronomy 14 May Successful
Apogee: 178 kilometres (111 mi).
24 May
05:52[21] 		United States Terrier Tomahawk United States Pacific Missile Range Facility United States Sandia
LRL BOX-16 TT-9 Sandia National Laboratories Suborbital Astronomy 24 May Successful
Apogee: 159 kilometres (99 mi)
5 June
19:28[14] 		France Centaure 2B Sweden Esrange C
Europe ESRO C35 / 2 X-ray astronomy mission ESRO Suborbital 5 June Successful
Apogee: 130 kilometres (81 mi).
27 June
22:58[22] 		United Kingdom Black Arrow R0 Australia Woomera LA-5B United Kingdom RAE
RAE Suborbital Test flight 27 June Failure
Test flight with inert third stage. Lost control 50 seconds into the flight, destroyed by range safety.

July-September

5 July
19:45[23] 		United Kingdom Skylark Italy Salto di Quirra United Kingdom British Aerospace
Europe ESRO S38 / 1 Ionosphere mission ESRO Suborbital Ionosphere research 5 July Successful
Apogee: 200 kilometres (120 mi).
6 July
19:50[23] 		United Kingdom Skylark 3 Italy Salto di Quirra United Kingdom British Aerospace
Europe ESRO S64 / 1 Aeronomy mission ESRO Suborbital Aeronomy 6 July Successful
Apogee: 275 kilometres (171 mi).
11 July
19:42[23] 		United Kingdom Skylark Italy Salto di Quirra United Kingdom British Aerospace
Europe ESRO S38 / 2 Ionosphere mission ESRO Suborbital Ionosphere research 11 July Successful
Apogee: 203 kilometres (126 mi).
13 July
19:41[23] 		United Kingdom Skylark 3 Italy Salto di Quirra United Kingdom British Aerospace
Europe ESRO S64 / 2 Aeronomy mission ESRO Suborbital Aeronomy 13 July Successful
Apogee: 280 kilometres (170 mi).
14 July
23:53[15] 		United Kingdom Skylark Australia Woomera LA-2 SL United Kingdom British Aerospace
United Kingdom Electron profile Ionosphere mission BAC Suborbital Ionosphere research 14 July Successful
Apogee: 216 kilometres (134 mi).
15 July[25][26] Soviet Union K63D Soviet Union Vladimirovka near Kapustin Yar
Soviet UnionBOR-1 Suborbital Re-entry test for the Spiral program 15 July Successful
Subscale model of the Spiral spaceplane, transmitted data until burning up as planned at 60-70 km altitude. Apogee: 100 km[24]
16 July
22:33[15] 		United Kingdom Skylark Australia Woomera LA-2 SL United Kingdom British Aerospace
United Kingdom Dayglow / electrons Ionosphere mission BAC Suborbital Ionosphere research 16 July Successful
Apogee: 244 kilometres (152 mi).
24 July[27] Australia HAD Australia Woomera LA-1 Australia WRE
WRE Suborbital Test flight 24 July Successful
Apogee: 115 kilometres (71 mi)
25 July
04:10[15] 		United Kingdom Skylark Australia Woomera LA-2 SL United Kingdom British Aerospace
United Kingdom Electron profile Ionosphere mission BAC Suborbital Ionosphere research 25 July Successful
Apogee: 244 kilometres (152 mi).
29 July
22:57[15] 		United Kingdom Skylark 3 Australia Woomera LA-2 SL United Kingdom British Aerospace
United Kingdom Dayglow / electrons Ionosphere mission BAC Suborbital Ionosphere research 29 July Successful
Apogee: 262 kilometres (163 mi).
5 August
09:08[28] 		Australia Aero High Australia Woomera LA-1 Australia WRE
WRE Suborbital 5 August Successful
Apogee: 208 kilometres (129 mi)
11 August
01:30[14] 		France Centaure 2B Sweden Esrange C
Europe ESRO C51 / 1 Aeronomy mission ESRO Suborbital Aeronomy 11 August Successful
Apogee: 112 kilometres (70 mi).
14 August
02:01[14] 		France Centaure 2B Sweden Esrange C
Europe ESRO C58 / 1 Meteorites mission ESRO Suborbital 11 August Successful
Apogee: 112 kilometres (70 mi).
21 August
01:57[15] 		United Kingdom Skylark 3 AC Australia Woomera LA-2 SL United Kingdom British Aerospace
United Kingdom HRCS / PHC Solar x-ray mission BAC Suborbital Astronomy 29 July Successful
Apogee: 197 kilometres (122 mi).
12 September[19] Argentina Rigel Argentina CELPA Argentina CONAE
CONAE Suborbital Test flight 12 September Successful
First test flight of Rigel sounding rocket. Apogee: 250 kilometres (160 mi)

October-December

5 October
22:28[14] 		United Kingdom Skylark 2 Sweden Esrange United Kingdom British Aerospace
Europe ESRO S29 / 1 Aurora mission ESRO Suborbital 5 October Successful
Apogee: 225 kilometres (140 mi).
10 October
20:01[14] 		France Centaure 2B Sweden Esrange C
Europe ESRO C52 / 2 Aurora mission ESRO Suborbital 10 October Successful
Apogee: 135 kilometres (84 mi).
15 October
18:46[15] 		United Kingdom Skylark 3 Australia Woomera LA-2 SL United Kingdom British Aerospace
United Kingdom Grenades / TMA/Barium release Aeronomy / ionosphere mission BAC Suborbital Ionosphere research 15 October Successful
Apogee: 318 kilometres (198 mi).
17 October
09:15[15] 		United Kingdom Skylark 3 Australia Woomera LA-2 SL United Kingdom British Aerospace
United Kingdom Grenades / TMA/Barium release Aeronomy / ionosphere mission BAC Suborbital Ionosphere research 17 October Successful
Apogee: 318 kilometres (198 mi).
17 October
22:27[14] 		United Kingdom Skylark 2 Sweden Esrange United Kingdom British Aerospace
Europe ESRO S29 / 2 Aurora mission ESRO Suborbital 17 October Successful
Apogee: 225 kilometres (140 mi).
20 October
07:28[15] 		United Kingdom Skylark 3 AC Australia Woomera LA-2 SL United Kingdom British Aerospace
United Kingdom UK SL586 test BAC Suborbital Technology demonstration 20 October Successful
Apogee: 223 kilometres (139 mi).
22 October
06:10[15] 		United Kingdom Skylark 3 Australia Woomera LA-2 SL United Kingdom British Aerospace
United Kingdom X-ray survey / Solar X X-ray astronomy mission BAC Suborbital Astronomy 22 October Successful
Apogee: 216 kilometres (134 mi).
23 October[19] Argentina Canopus 2 Argentina CELPA Argentina CONAE
CONAE Suborbital Test flight 23 October Successful
Apogee: 150 kilometres (93 mi).
24 October
05:44[23] 		United Kingdom Skylark Italy Salto di Quirra United Kingdom British Aerospace
Europe ESRO S68 / 1 X-ray astronomy mission ESRO Suborbital Astronomy 13 July Successful
Apogee: 184 kilometres (114 mi).
8 November[29] France Vesta France Kourou ALFS France LRBA
FU-189 Star pointing test CNES Suborbital Technology demonstration 8 November Successful
Last flight of the Vesta sounding rocket. Apogee: 204 kilometres (127 mi).
10 November
21:00[14] 		United Kingdom Skylark 2 Sweden Esrange United Kingdom British Aerospace
Europe ESRO S46 / 1 Aurora mission ESRO Suborbital 10 November Successful
Apogee: 214 kilometres (133 mi).
18 November
02:17[15] 		United Kingdom Skylark 3 AC Australia Woomera LA-2 SL United Kingdom British Aerospace
United Kingdom Fresnel shadowgraph X-ray astronomy mission BAC Suborbital Astronomy 18 November Failure
Apogee: 208 kilometres (129 mi).
20 November
00:30[15] 		United Kingdom Skylark 3 AC Australia Woomera LA-2 SL United Kingdom British Aerospace
United Kingdom Solar ultraviolet Spectrum / PHC Solar ultraviolet and x-ray mission BAC Suborbital Astronomy 20 November Successful
Apogee: 242 kilometres (150 mi).
26 November
00:38[17] 		United States Nike-Cajun Norway Andøya Rocket Range United States NASA
Norway Ferdinand 21 Aeronomy / ionosphere mission NTNF Suborbital Ionosphere research, Aeronomy 26 November Successful
Apogee: 107 kilometres (66 mi).
26 November
23:32[15] 		United Kingdom Skylark 3 AC Australia Woomera LA-2 SL United Kingdom British Aerospace
United Kingdom Solar ultraviolet FP / PHC Solar ultraviolet mission BAC Suborbital Astronomy 26 November Successful
Apogee: 180 kilometres (110 mi).
27 November
05:29[14] 		France Centaure 2B Sweden Esrange C
Europe ESRO C62 / 1 Aurora mission ESRO Suborbital 27 November Successful
Apogee: 160 kilometres (99 mi).
27 November
06:31[14] 		France Centaure 2B Sweden Esrange C
Europe ESRO C62 / 2 Aurora mission ESRO Suborbital 27 November Successful
Apogee: 164 kilometres (102 mi).
30 November
02:58[17] 		United States Sparrow-Arcas Norway Andøya Rocket Range United States NASA
Norway Arcas VII Aeronomy / ionosphere / plasma mission NTNF Suborbital Ionosphere research, Aeronomy 30 November Successful
Apogee: 100 kilometres (62 mi).
6 December
06:00[25] 		Soviet Union K63D Soviet Union Vladimirovka near Kapustin Yar
Soviet Union BOR-2 No.101 Suborbital Re-entry test for the Spiral program 6 December Successful
Subscale model of the Spiral spaceplane.[30] Apogee: 100 km
9 December[27] Australia HAD Australia Woomera LA-1 Australia WRE
WRE Suborbital Test flight 9 December Successful
Last flight of HAD rocket. Apogee: 115 kilometres (71 mi).
22 December[19] Argentina Rigel Argentina CELPA Argentina CONAE
CONAE Suborbital Test flight 22 December Successful
Apogee: 250 kilometres (160 mi)
23 December[19] Argentina Canopus 2 Argentina CELPA Argentina CONAE
CONAE Suborbital Test flight 23 December Successful
Apogee: 150 kilometres (93 mi).

Launches from the Moon

Date and time (UTC) Rocket Flight number Launch site LSP
Payload
(⚀ = CubeSat) 		Operator Orbit Function Decay (UTC) Outcome
Remarks
21 July
17:54 		United States Lunar Module Ascent Stage Tranquility Base, Mare Tranquillitatis (Luna) United States NASA
United States Apollo 11 LM NASA Selenocentric (CSM) Crewed In orbit Successful
Carrying two astronauts back to CSM after lunar landing
20 November
14:25:47 		United States Lunar Module Ascent Stage Ocean of Storms (Luna) United States NASA
United States Apollo 12 LM NASA Selenocentric (CSM) Crewed 20 November Successful
Carrying two astronauts back to CSM after lunar landing

Deep-space rendezvous

Date (GMT) Spacecraft Event Remarks
16 May Venera 5 Atmospheric entry in Venus Atmospheric probe worked for 53 min in the Venerian atmosphere
17 May Venera 6 Atmospheric entry in Venus Atmospheric probe worked for 51 min in the Venerian atmosphere
21 May Apollo 10 31 orbits around the Moon Altitude ~15,4 km
20 July Apollo 11 Moon landing 22 kg from Mare Tranquillitatis (sample return mission)
21 July Luna 15 Moon impact Impacted at Mare Crisium (sample return mission). Primary mission failed.
5 August Mariner 6 Flyby of Mars Periapsis: 3,412 km. 25 close-up pictures.
5 August Mariner 7 Flyby of Mars Periapsis: 3,543 km. 33 close-up pictures.
11 August Zond 7 Circumlunar flight Periapsis: 1,984 km.
19 November Apollo 12 Moon landing 34 kg from Oceanus Procellarum (sample return mission)

Extravehicular activities (EVAs)

Start Date/Time Duration End Time Spacecraft Crew Remarks


Orbital launch statistics

By country

Europe: 1Japan: 1Soviet Union: 82USA: 41
Country Launches Successes Failures Partial
failures 		Remarks
 Europe 1 0 1 0
 Japan 1 0 1 0
 Soviet Union 82 68 14 0
 United States 41 37 2 2
World 125 105 18 2

By rocket

By family

Family Country Launches Successes Failures Partial failures Remarks
Atlas  United States 5 5 0 0
Blue Streak  Europe 1 0 1 0
Kosmos  Soviet Union 22 20 2 0
Lambda  Japan 1 0 1 0
N-1  Soviet Union 2 0 2 0 First flight
R-7  Soviet Union 44 43 1 0
R-36  Soviet Union 4 3 1 0
Saturn  United States 4 4 0 0
Scout  United States 2 1 0 1
Thor  United States 22 20 2 0
Titan  United States 8 7 0 1
Universal Rocket  Soviet Union 10 2 8 0

By type

Rocket Country Family Launches Successes Failures Partial failures Remarks
Atlas-Agena  United States Atlas 1 1 0 0
Atlas-Centaur  United States Atlas 3 3 0 0
Atlas E/F  United States Atlas 1 1 0 0
Delta  United States Thor 11 9 2 0
Europa  Europe Blue Streak 1 0 1 0
Kosmos-2  Soviet Union Kosmos 15 14 1 0
Kosmos-3  Soviet Union Kosmos 7 6 1 0
Lambda 4  Japan Lambda 1 0 1 0
Molniya  Soviet Union R-7 4 4 0 0
N-1  Soviet Union N-1 2 0 2 0 First flight
Proton  Soviet Union Universal Rocket 10 2 8 0
R-36  Soviet Union R-36 1 1 0 0
Saturn V  United States Saturn 4 4 0 0
Scout  United States Scout 2 1 0 1
Soyuz  Soviet Union R-7 37 37 0 0
Thor-Burner  United States Thor 1 1 0 0
Thorad-Agena  United States Thor 10 10 0 0
Titan III  United States Titan 8 7 0 1
Tsyklon  Soviet Union R-36 3 2 1 0
Vostok  Soviet Union R-7 3 2 1 0

By configuration

By spaceport

Site Country Launches Successes Failures Partial failures Remarks
Baikonur  Soviet Union 38 27 11 0
Cape Canaveral  United States 15 13 2 0
Kapustin Yar  Soviet Union 3 3 0 0
Kennedy  United States 4 4 0 0
Plesetsk  Soviet Union 41 38 3 0
Kagoshima  Japan 1 0 1 0
Vandenberg  United States 22 20 0 2
Woomera  Australia 1 0 1 0

By orbit

Orbital regime Launches Achieved Not Achieved Accidentally
Achieved 		Remarks
Low Earth 85 81 3 1
Geosynchronous / transfer 7 6 1 0
Medium Earth 3 2 1 0
High Earth 14 7 7 0 including highly elliptical and Molniya orbits and Trans Lunar trajectories
Heliocentric 7 4 3 0

References

  1. ^ Howard E. McCurdy, et al. "Helpful Lessons From The Space Race." Issues in Science & Technology 27.4 (2011): 19–22. Academic Search Premier. Web. 23 October 2013.
  2. ^ "Excerpt from the 'Special Message to the Congress on Urgent National Needs'" NASA. 24 May 2004. 24 May 2015. <https://www.nasa.gov/vision/space/features/jfk_speech_text.html#.VWIGJ0_tmkp Archived 8 February 2019 at the Wayback Machine>.
  3. ^ a b Wade, Mark. "Venera". Archived from the original on 11 December 2016. Retrieved 19 October 2017.
  4. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z aa ab ac ad ae af ag ah ai aj ak al am an Wade, Mark. "Plesetsk". Archived from the original on 20 August 2016. Retrieved 19 October 2017.
  5. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z aa ab ac ad ae af ag ah ai aj ak al am an ao ap aq ar as at au av aw ax ay az ba bb bc bd be bf bg bh bi bj bk bl bm bn bo bp bq br bs bt bu bv bw bx by bz McDowell, Jonathan. "Satellite Catalog". Jonathan's Space Page. Archived from the original on 18 October 2018. Retrieved 19 October 2017.
  6. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z aa ab ac Wade, Mark. "Baikonur". Archived from the original on 15 November 2016. Retrieved 19 October 2017.
  7. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o Wade, Mark. "Cape Canaveral". Archived from the original on 3 October 2016. Retrieved 19 October 2017.
  8. ^ a b Krebs, Gunter. "KH-8 Gambit-3 (Block 1)". Gunter's Space Page. Archived from the original on 5 October 2017. Retrieved 19 October 2017.
  9. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v Wade, Mark. "Vandenberg". Archived from the original on 20 August 2016. Retrieved 19 October 2017.
  10. ^ a b c Wade, Mark. "Kapustin Yar". Archived from the original on 23 October 2016. Retrieved 19 October 2017.
  11. ^ Wade, Mark. "Lambda 4S". Archived from the original on 21 August 2016. Retrieved 19 October 2017.
  12. ^ "SOICAL (CYLINDER)". N2YO.com. 14 February 2023. Retrieved 4 March 2023.
  13. ^ Krebs, Gunter. "Interkosmos 1, 4, 7, 11, (14) 16 (DS-U3-IK)". Gunter's Space Page. Retrieved 29 October 2017.
  14. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z aa Wade, Mark. "Kiruna". Archived from the original on 28 December 2016. Retrieved 29 October 2017.
  15. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s Wade, Mark. "Woomera". Archived from the original on 20 December 2016. Retrieved 29 October 2017.
  16. ^ Wade, Mark. "Veronique". Archived from the original on 7 November 2016. Retrieved 19 October 2017.
  17. ^ a b c d e f g h Wade, Mark. "Andoya". Archived from the original on 28 December 2016. Retrieved 29 October 2017.
  18. ^ Wade, Mark. "Terrier Sandhawk". Archived from the original on 28 December 2016. Retrieved 19 October 2017.
  19. ^ a b c d e Wade, Mark. "Rigel". Archived from the original on 21 December 2016. Retrieved 19 October 2017.
  20. ^ Wade, Mark. "Sandhawk Tomahawk". Archived from the original on 28 December 2016. Retrieved 19 October 2017.
  21. ^ Wade, Mark. "Terrier Tomahawk". Archived from the original on 28 December 2016. Retrieved 19 October 2017.
  22. ^ Wade, Mark. "Black Arrow". Archived from the original on 6 September 2016. Retrieved 19 October 2017.
  23. ^ a b c d e Wade, Mark. "Salto di Quirra". Archived from the original on 28 December 2016. Retrieved 29 October 2017.
  24. ^ Petrovitch, Vassili. "BOR Description". www.buran-energia.com. Retrieved 12 August 2024.
  25. ^ a b Wade, Mark. "K63D". www.astronautix.com. Retrieved 12 August 2024.
  26. ^ Krebs, Gunter Dirk. "BOR-1". Gunter's Space Page. Retrieved 12 August 2024.
  27. ^ a b Wade, Mark. "HAD". Archived from the original on 28 December 2016. Retrieved 19 October 2017.
  28. ^ Wade, Mark. "Aero High". Archived from the original on 28 December 2016. Retrieved 19 October 2017.
  29. ^ Wade, Mark. "Vesta". Archived from the original on 21 December 2016. Retrieved 19 October 2017.
  30. ^ Krebs, Gunter Dirk. "BOR-2". Gunter's Space Page. Retrieved 12 August 2024.
Generic references:

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