1974 in spaceflight

On March 29, 1974 Mariner 10 became the first ever spacecraft to fly by Mercury, that saw a spacecraft for the first and last time in the 20th century.

1974 in spaceflight

Soyuz-U launch vehicle
Orbital launches
First	5 January
Last	2 December

Launches

Date and time (UTC)	Rocket	Flight number	Launch site		LSP
	Payload (⚀ = CubeSat)	Operator	Orbit	Function	Decay (UTC)	Outcome
	Remarks
January
5 January 01:45	Aerobee 200A		White Sands		NASA
		NASA	Sub-orbital	Aeronomy/Ultraviolet astronomy	5 January 1974	Successful
8 January 01:40	Aerobee 200A		White Sands		NASA
		NASA/NRL	Sub-orbital	Aeronomy/Ultraviolet astronomy	8 January 1974	Successful
12 January 19:12	Skylark		El Arenosillo		NASA
	H-GR-58	DFVLR	Sub-orbital	Astronomy	12 Jan 1974	Successful
12 January	R-36		Baikonur (LC-162/36)		RVSN
	Dkh	RVSN	Sub-orbital	ICBM test	12 January 1974	Successful
15 January 20:00	Black Brant VC		White Sands (LC-36)		NASA
		NASA	Sub-orbital	Solar research	15 January 1974	Successful
16 January 02:00	Kappa 9M		Kagoshima (LC-36)		ISAS
		ISAS	Sub-orbital	Ionosphere & Solar research	16 January 1974	Successful
16 January 17:40	Nike Apache		Wallops Island		NASA
		NASA	Sub-orbital	Aeronomy	16 January 1974	Successful
16 January 18:13	Super Arcas		Wallops Island		NASA
		NASA	Sub-orbital	Ionosphere research	16 January 1974	Successful
16 January 01:40	Aerobee 200A		White Sands		NASA
		NASA	Sub-orbital	Solar research	16 January 1974	Successful
17 January 02:37	Nike Tomahawk		Poker Flat		NASA
		NASA/NRL	Sub-orbital	Plasma research	17 January 1974	Successful
17 January 02:37	Kosmos 3M		Plesetsk (LC-132/2)		VKS
	Kosmos 628 (Tsiklon)	MOM	LEO	Navigation	In orbit	Successful
19 January 01:38	Delta 2313		CCAFS (LC-17B)		UK Ministry of Defence
	Skynet 2A	UK MOD	Intended: GEO Achieved: LEO	Comms	25 January 1974	Failure
	Placed in incorrect orbit due to carrier rocket malfunction
19 January 11:34	Skua		El Arenosillo		RAE
		RAE	Sub-orbital	Ionosphere research	19 January 1974	Success
19 January	R-36M		LC-103, Baikonur		RVSN
	POR	RVSN	Sub-orbital	ICBM Test	20 January 1974	Success
21 January 02:39	Nike Tomahawk		Poker Flat		NASA
		NASA	Sub-orbital	Plasma research	21 January 1974	Success
21 January 11:30	Skua4		El Arenosillo		RAE
		RAE	Sub-orbital	Ionosphere research	21 January 1974	Success
22 January 02:41	Nike Tomahawk		Poker Flat		NASA
		NASA	Sub-orbital	Plasma research	22 January 1974	Success
22 January 11:00	Lambda 3H		Area 3L, Kagoshima		ISAS
		ISAS	Sub-orbital	X-ray astronomy	22 January 1974	Success
22 January 01:40	Aerobee 200A		White Sands		NASA
		NASA/NRL	Sub-orbital	Solar research	22 January 1974	Successful
22 January 01:40	Minuteman I		LF-06, Vandenberg AFB		USAF
		USAF	Sub-orbital	ICBM test	22 January 1974	Successful
23 January 11:30	Skua		El Arenosillo		RAE
		RAE	Sub-orbital	Ionosphere research	23 January 1974	Success
23 January 12:50	Black Brant VB		Churchill		NRC
		NRC	Sub-orbital	Aeronomy/Ionosphere/Aurora research	23 January 1974	Success
24 January 15:00	Voskhod		Plesetsk		MOM
	Kosmos 629 (Zenit-2M)	MOM	LEO	Recon	5 February 1974	Success
25 January 11:30	Skua		El Arenosillo		RAE
		RAE	Sub-orbital	Ionosphere research	25 January 1974	Success
25 January	UR-100N		Baikonur Cosmodrome		RVSN
		RVSN	Sub-orbital	ICBM test	25 January 1974	Success
26 January	Minuteman III		LF-25, Vandenberg AFB		USAF
	GT-24GB-1	USAF	Sub-orbital	ICBM test	26 January 1974	Success
26 January	UR-100N		Baikonur Cosmodrome		RVSN
	GT-24GB-1	RVSN	Sub-orbital	ICBM test	26 January 1974	Success
27 January 19:08	Nike Tomahawk		Andøya		NASA
	Ferdinand 35 (Polar 3)	NDRE	Sub-orbital	Aurora research	27 January 1974	Success
30 January 11:00	Voskhod		Plesetsk		MOM
	Kosmos 630 (Zenit-4MK)	MOM	LEO	Aurora research	13 February 1974	Success
30 January	SSBS		BLB, Biscarosse		DMA
		DMA	Sub-orbital	Aurora research	30 January 1974	Success
February
1 February 06:30	JCR		Area T, Tanegashima		NADSA
	Kosmos 547 (Zenit 2M)	NASDA	Sub-orbital	Test flight	1 February 1974	Successful
4 February 14:40	Skylark 6AC		LA-2SL, Woomera		BAC
		BAC	Sub-orbital	Astronomy	4 February 1974	Successful
4 February	MR-UR-100		LC-177, Baikonur		RVSN
		RVSN	Sub-orbital	ICBM test	4 February 1974	Successful
06 February 00:34	Kosmos-3M		LC-132/2, Plesetsk		VKS
	Kosmos 631 (Tselina-O)	VKS	LEO	ELINT	3 October 1980	Successful
6 February 22:48	Black Brant IVB		Andoya		DLR
		DLR	Sub-orbital	Aurora research (DLR A-BB4-63 Auroral mission)	6 February 1974	Successful
6 February	Polaris A3		Submarine, WTR		US Navy
		US Navy	Sub-orbital	SLBM test	6 February 1974	Successful
6 February	Polaris A3		Submarine, WTR		US Navy
		US Navy	Sub-orbital	SLBM test	6 February 1974	Successful
9 February 02:10	Aerobee 200A		White Sands		NASA
		NASA	Sub-orbital	Astronomy	9 February 1974	Successful
9 February 06:30	LS-C		Area T, Tanegashima		NASDA
		NASDA	Sub-orbital	Test flight	9 February 1974	Successful
11 February 13:48	Titan IIIE/Centaur		LC-41, CCAFS		NASA
	Boilerplate	NASA	Intended: GSO	Test carrier rocket	12 February 1974	Failure
	Viking	NASA	Intended: GSO	Plasma research	12 February 1974	Failure
	Upper stage turbopump malfunction
March
April
May
June
July
3 July	Soyuz (11A511)		LC-1/5, Baikonur
	Soyuz 14		LEO, docked to Salyut 3	Crewed orbital flight	19 July 1974	Successful
16 July	Scout		Western Space and Missile Center at Vandenberg AFB		NASA
	Aeros 2	NASA
August
28 August 10:08	Soyuz (11A511)		LC-1/5, Baikonur
	Soyuz 15		LEO Plan: Dock to Salyut 3	Crewed orbital flight	28 August 1974	Failure
	Failed to dock with Salyut 3
September
October
November
December
2 December 15:00	Soyuz-U (11A511U)		LC-1/5, Baikonur
	Soyuz 16		LEO	Crewed orbital flight	8 December 1974	Successful
	First successful crewed use of Soyuz-U launch vehicle
10 December 07:11:01	Titan IIIE/Star-37		Cape Canaveral SLC-41		NASA
	Helios-A	NASA / DFVLR	Heliocentric	Solar probe	In orbit	Successful
	Achieved a closest approach to the Sun of 46.5 million km (0.31 AU) in February 1975, the closest approach achieved by an artificial satellite at that point; it was succeeded later by Helios-B.

Deep Space Rendezvous

Date (GMT)	Spacecraft	Event	Remarks
5 February	Mariner 10	Flyby of Venus	Gravity assist; Closest approach: 5,768 kilometres (3,584 mi)
10 February	Mars 4	Flyby of Mars	Closest approach: 2,200 kilometres (1,400 mi) (orbiter mission)
12 February	Mars 5	Areocentric orbit injection
9 March	Mars 7	Lander missed mars by 1,300 kilometres (810 mi)
12 March	Mars 6	Lander lost a few seconds before anticipated landing
29 March	Mariner 10	1st flyby of Mercury	Closest approach: 703 kilometres (437 mi)
2 June	Luna 22	Selenocentric orbit injection	Photographic mission
21 September	Mariner 10	2nd flyby of Mercury	Closest approach: 48,069 kilometres (29,869 mi)
2 November	Luna 23	Landed rough at Mare Crisium, the Moon	Sample return mission
3 December	Pioneer 11	Flyby of Jupiter	Gravity assist; Closest approach: 42,960 kilometres (26,690 mi)

EVAs

Start Date/Time	Duration	End Time	Spacecraft	Crew	Remarks
3 February 15:19	5 hours 19 minutes	20:38	Skylab SLM-3	Gerald P. Carr Edward Gibson	Retrieved the final film from the solar observatory and photographed Kohoutek using an electronographic camera.

References

Generic references:
 Spaceflight portal

• Bergin, Chris. "NASASpaceFlight.com".
• Clark, Stephen. "Spaceflight Now".
• Kelso, T.S. "Satellite Catalog (SATCAT)". CelesTrak.
• Krebs, Gunter. "Chronology of Space Launches".
• Kyle, Ed. "Space Launch Report".
• McDowell, Jonathan. "Jonathan's Space Report".
• Pietrobon, Steven. "Steven Pietrobon's Space Archive".
• Wade, Mark. "Encyclopedia Astronautica".
• Webb, Brian. "Southwest Space Archive".
• Zak, Anatoly. "Russian Space Web".
• "ISS Calendar". Spaceflight 101.
• "NSSDCA Master Catalog". NASA Space Science Data Coordinated Archive. NASA Goddard Space Flight Center.
• "Space Calendar". NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory.
• "Space Information Center". JAXA.
• "Хроника освоения космоса" [Chronicle of space exploration]. CosmoWorld (in Russian).

Footnotes

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