2011 in spaceflight
The year 2011 saw a number of significant events in spaceflight, including the retirement of NASA's Space Shuttle after its final flight in July 2011, and the launch of China's first space station module, Tiangong-1, in September. A total of 84 orbital launches were conducted over the course of the year, of which 78 were successful. Russia, China and the United States conducted the majority of the year's orbital launches, with 35, 19 and 18 launches respectively; 2011 marked the first year that China conducted more successful launches than the United States.[1] Seven crewed missions were launched into orbit during 2011, carrying a total of 28 astronauts to the International Space Station. Additionally, the Zenit-3F and Long March 2F/G carrier rockets made their maiden flights in 2011, while the Delta II Heavy made its last.
![]() Space Shuttle Atlantis lands at the Shuttle Landing Facility on 21 July 2011, completing the final mission of the Space Shuttle programme. | |
Orbital launches | |
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First | 20 January |
Last | 28 December |
Total | 84 |
Successes | 78 |
Failures | 6 |
Catalogued | 80 |
National firsts | |
Satellite | ![]() |
Rockets | |
Maiden flights | Zenit-3F Long March 2F/G Atlas V 541 |
Retirements | Space Shuttle Delta II Heavy |
Crewed flights | |
Orbital | 7 |
Total travellers | 28 |
EVAs | 10 |
Overview of orbital spaceflight
A total of 84 orbital launches were attempted in 2011, with 78 being reported as successful; 80 launches reached orbit. 35 launches were conducted using Russian and former Soviet rockets, whilst China launched 19 rockets, and the United States launched 18. Europe conducted five launches, India and Japan launched three rockets each, and Iran conducted one launch.
Crewed launches
Seven crewed spaceflights – four Soyuz and three Space Shuttle missions – were launched in 2011, carrying a total of 28 astronauts and cosmonauts into orbit. At the beginning of the year, the Expedition 26 crew was aboard the International Space Station (ISS). The first crewed flight of 2011 was STS-133, the final flight of the Space Shuttle Discovery, which launched from the Kennedy Space Center on 24 February. STS-133 carried Leonardo, the final American pressurised module of the ISS, for installation. Discovery returned to Earth on 9 March.
On 16 March, Expedition 27 began aboard the ISS with the departure of the Soyuz TMA-01M spacecraft, which had been docked since October 2010. On 4 April, Soyuz TMA-21 launched to the space station, delivering a further three crewmembers. On 16 May, Space Shuttle Space Shuttle Endeavour launched to the station on its final mission, STS-134, delivering and installing the Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer, before returning to Earth on 1 June. Expedition 28 began aboard the ISS on 23 May with the departure of Soyuz TMA-20, which had been launched in December 2010, and landed in the early morning of 24 May. Three more crewmembers were launched to the space station aboard Soyuz TMA-02M on 7 June.
The final Space Shuttle mission, STS-135, began on 8 July with the launch of Space Shuttle Atlantis, carrying supplies for the ISS aboard the Raffaello Multi-Purpose Logistics Module (MPLM). After resupplying the space station, Atlantis returned to Earth, landing at Kennedy Space Center's Shuttle Landing Facility at 09:57 UTC on 21 July, and concluding thirty years of Space Shuttle operations. Two days before landing, Atlantis deployed PSSC-2, the last satellite to be launched from a Space Shuttle.
On 29 September, China launched its first space station module, Tiangong-1, which was placed into orbit by a Long March 2F/G carrier rocket flying from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Centre. Although no crewed missions to Tiangong-1 were conducted in 2011, the uncrewed Shenzhou 8 spacecraft, which was launched on 31 October, docked twice with the module to test its systems in preparation for a successful 2012 crewed docking.
ISS Expedition 28 ended, and Expedition 29 began, with the undocking of Soyuz TMA-21 on 16 September. The launch of Soyuz TMA-22 did not take place until 14 November, having been delayed by reliability concerns surrounding the Soyuz rocket after an uncrewed launch failure in August. A week later, Soyuz TMA-02M undocked, beginning Expedition 30, with the Soyuz spacecraft landing on 22 November. The final crewed launch of the year took place on 21 December, when Soyuz TMA-03M was launched to bring a further three crewmembers to the ISS.
Ten spacewalks were conducted in 2011, all of them by ISS or Space Shuttle astronauts. The final spacewalk by a Space Shuttle crew was conducted on 27 May, during the STS-134 mission.
Robotic exploration
Numerous scientific exploration missions were begun in 2011. In March 2011, the MESSENGER probe became the first artificial satellite of the planet Mercury. In July, the Dawn spacecraft became the first artificial satellite of the asteroid 4 Vesta. The Mars Science Laboratory – at the time, the largest Mars rover ever constructed – was launched in November, conducting a successful landing on Mars in August 2012.[2]
Launch failures
Six orbital launches failed in 2011, four of which failed to achieve orbit and the remaining two reached lower orbits than expected. The first failure occurred on 1 February, when a Rokot with a Briz-KM upper stage placed Kosmos 2470 into a useless orbit, from which it could not recover. The failure was later traced to a software problem on the Briz-KM.
The next failure occurred on 4 March, when the payload fairing of a Taurus-XL failed to separate, resulting in the rocket being too heavy to reach orbit. The Glory climate research satellite was lost in the failure, along with the KySat-1, Hermes and Explorer-1 [PRIME] CubeSats. The previous Taurus-XL launch, carrying the Orbiting Carbon Observatory in February 2009, also failed due to the fairing not separating.
No more launch failures occurred until mid-August when, over the space of a week, three consecutive orbital launches failed. On 17 August, a Proton-M/Briz-M launched from the Baikonur Cosmodrome, carrying the Ekspress-AM4 communications satellite. In the morning of 18 August, the rocket's upper stage failed to conduct the fourth of five planned burns due to an attitude control system malfunction, leaving the spacecraft in a parking orbit. Later that same day, a Long March 2C launched from Jiuquan carrying the Shijian XI-04 satellite. The second stage vernier engine's mounting suffered a structural failure, resulting in a loss of control, and the rocket failed to reach orbit. Finally, on 24 August, a Soyuz-U carrying the Progress M-12M cargo spacecraft to the International Space Station suffered a third-stage engine failure and also failed to attain orbit.
The final launch failure of 2011 occurred on 23 December, when a Soyuz-2-1b/Fregat carrying the Meridian 5 satellite failed to achieve orbit due to a third-stage malfunction. Debris fell over Novosibirsk Oblast, with one piece hitting a house; however, no casualties were reported.
In November 2011, Russia's Fobos-Grunt Martian sample return probe launched successfully, but experienced a malfunction post-launch and became stranded in orbit. The spacecraft, which was Russia's first attempt at an interplanetary mission since the 1996 Mars 96 mission, disintegrated over the Pacific Ocean on 15 January 2012.[3][4] China's first Mars probe, Yinghuo-1, which was being carried by the same rocket as Fobos-Grunt, was also lost in the incident.
Launches
Date and time (UTC) | Rocket | Flight number | Launch site | LSP | ||
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Payload (⚀ = CubeSat) |
Operator | Orbit | Function | Decay (UTC) | Outcome | |
Remarks | ||||||
January | ||||||
20 January 12:29:01 |
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Roscosmos | Geostationary | Meteorology | In orbit | Operational[5] | |
Maiden flight of Zenit-3F. | ||||||
20 January 21:10[6] |
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NRO | Low Earth | Earth observation | In orbit | Operational | |
NRO Launch 49, first Delta IV Heavy launch from Vandenberg.[7] | ||||||
22 January 05:37:57[8] |
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JAXA | Low Earth (ISS) | ISS logistics | 30 March | Successful | |
28 January 01:31:41 |
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Roscosmos | Low Earth (ISS) | ISS logistics | 26 April 13:22:53 | Successful | |
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RKK Energia | Low Earth | Amateur radio | 4 January 2012[10] | Successful | |
February | ||||||
1 February 14:00 |
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VKS | Low Earth | Geodesy | 15 July 2013[12] | Launch failure | |
Upper stage malfunctioned due to problems with the flight software,[13] reached lower orbit than planned. | ||||||
6 February 12:26 |
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NRO | Low Earth | Technology demonstration | In orbit | Operational[14] | |
NRO Launch 66 | ||||||
16 February 21:50[15] |
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ESA | Low Earth (ISS) | ISS logistics | 21 June | Successful | |
24 February 21:53:24 |
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NASA | Low Earth (ISS) | ISS logistics | 9 March 16:57:17 | Successful | |
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ASI / NASA | Low Earth (ISS) | ISS assembly | In orbit | Operational | |
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NASA | Low Earth (ISS) | ISS logistics | In orbit | Operational | |
Crewed flight, final flight of Discovery. | ||||||
26 February 03:07 |
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VKS | Medium Earth | Navigation | In orbit | Successful | |
March | ||||||
4 March 10:09:43 |
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NASA | Intended: Low Earth (SSO) | Climatology | 4 March | Launch failure | |
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Kentucky Space | Intended: Low Earth | Technology demonstration | |||
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Colorado | Intended: Low Earth | Technology demonstration | |||
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Montana State | Intended: Low Earth | Radiation | |||
All payloads CubeSats except Glory, which would have been part of the A-train constellation. Fairing failed to separate. | ||||||
5 March 22:46 |
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U.S. Air Force | Low Earth | Technology demonstration | 16 June 2012 12:48[17][18] | Successful | |
11 March 23:38 |
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NRO | Geosynchronous | Communications | In orbit | Operational | |
NRO Launch 27 | ||||||
April | ||||||
4 April 22:18:20[19][20] |
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Roscosmos | Low Earth (ISS) | Expedition 27/28 | 16 September 03:59:39 | Successful | |
9 April 20:47:04 |
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CNSA | IGSO | Navigation | In orbit | Operational | |
14 April 04:24 |
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NRO | Low Earth | ELINT | In orbit | Operational | |
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NRO | Low Earth | ELINT | In orbit | Operational | |
NRO Launch 34 | ||||||
20 April 04:42[22][23][24] |
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ISRO | Low Earth (SSO) | Earth observation | In orbit | Operational | |
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ISRO / MGU | Low Earth (SSO) | Education | In orbit | Operational | |
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CREST | Low Earth (SSO) | Technology demonstration | In orbit | Operational | |
22 April 21:37[25][26][27] |
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Yahsat | Geosynchronous | Communications | In orbit | Operational | |
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Intelsat | Geosynchronous | Communications | In orbit | Partial spacecraft failure | |
New Dawn's C-Band antenna failed to deploy. | ||||||
27 April 13:05:21 |
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Roscosmos | Low Earth (ISS) | ISS logistics | 29 October 13:00:31 | Successful | |
May | ||||||
4 May 17:41:33[30] |
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VKS | Medium Earth | Communications | In orbit | Operational | |
7 May 18:10 |
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U.S. Air Force | Geosynchronous | Missile defense | In orbit | Operational | |
16 May 12:56 |
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NASA | Low Earth (ISS) | ISS logistics | 1 June 06:35 | Successful | |
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NASA | Low Earth (ISS) | Cosmic-ray observatory | In orbit | Operational | |
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NASA | Low Earth (ISS) | ISS logistics | In orbit | Operational | |
Crewed flight, final flight of Endeavour. | ||||||
20 May 19:15[31] |
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Telesat | Geosynchronous | Communications | In orbit | Partial spacecraft failure | |
Second solar panel failed to deploy due to tangled cable[32] | ||||||
20 May 20:38[33] |
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SingTel / Chunghwa | Geosynchronous | Communications | In orbit | Operational | |
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ISRO | Geosynchronous | Communications | In orbit | Operational | |
June | ||||||
7 June 20:12:45 |
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Roscosmos | Low Earth (ISS) | Expedition 28/29 | 22 November 02:26 | Successful | |
10 June 14:20 |
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CONAE / NASA | Low Earth (SSO) | Oceanography | In orbit | Operational | |
Final scheduled flight of Delta II 7300 series; spacecraft carrying NASA's Aquarius instrument. | ||||||
15 June 09:14[36] |
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ISA | Low Earth | Earth observation | 6 July 2011 | Successful | |
20 June 16:13[37] |
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China Satellite Communications | Geosynchronous | Communications | In orbit | Operational | |
21 June 14:38 |
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Roscosmos | Low Earth (ISS) | ISS logistics | 1 September 10:21:41 | Successful | |
27 June 16:00[38] |
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VKS | Low Earth | Reconnaissance | 24 October | Successful | |
30 June 03:09 |
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ORSO | Low Earth | Earth observation | 12 March 2018[40] | Successful | |
July | ||||||
6 July 04:28[41] |
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CNSA | Low Earth (SSO) | Technology demonstration | In orbit | Operational | |
8 July 15:29 |
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NASA | Low Earth (ISS) | ISS logistics | 21 July 2011 09:57 | Successful | |
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NASA | Low Earth (ISS) | ISS logistics | Successful | ||
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U.S. Air Force | Low Earth | Technology demonstration | 8 December | Successful | |
Crewed flight, final flight of Atlantis and of Space Shuttle programme. | ||||||
11 July 15:41[42][43] |
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CNSA | Geosynchronous | Communications | In orbit | Operational | |
13 July 02:27[44][45] |
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Globalstar | Low Earth | Communications | In orbit | Operational | |
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Globalstar | Low Earth | Communications | In orbit | Operational | |
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Globalstar | Low Earth | Communications | In orbit | Operational | |
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Globalstar | Low Earth | Communications | In orbit | Operational | |
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Globalstar | Low Earth | Communications | In orbit | Operational | |
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Globalstar | Low Earth | Communications | In orbit | Operational | |
15 July 11:18 |
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ISRO | Geosynchronous | Communications | In orbit | Operational | |
15 July 23:16 |
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SES World Skies (July–September) SES S.A. (September—) |
Geosynchronous | Communications | In orbit | Operational | |
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JSC KazSat | Geosynchronous | Communications | In orbit | Operational | |
16 July 06:41 |
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U.S. Air Force | Medium Earth | Navigation | In orbit | Operational | |
18 July 02:31[46] |
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Roscosmos | High Earth | Radio astronomy | In orbit | Successful | |
26 July 21:44[47] |
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CNSA | IGSO | Navigation | In orbit | Operational | |
29 July 07:42[48] |
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CNSA | Low Earth (SSO) | Technology demonstration | In orbit | Operational | |
August | ||||||
5 August 16:25[49] |
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NASA | Jovicentric | Jupiter orbiter | In orbit | Operational | |
6 August 22:52[50] |
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SES Astra (August–September) SES S.A. (September—) |
Geosynchronous | Communications | In orbit | Operational | |
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BSAT / JSAT | Geosynchronous | Communications | In orbit | Operational | |
11 August 16:15[51] |
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SUPARCO | Geosynchronous | Communications | In orbit | Operational | |
15 August 22:57[52] |
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CAST | Low Earth (SSO) | Oceanography | In orbit | Operational | |
17 August 07:12[53] |
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NKAU | Low Earth (SSO) | Earth observation | In orbit | Operational | |
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NASRDA | Low Earth (SSO) | Earth observation | In orbit | Operational | |
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NASRDA | Low Earth (SSO) | Technology demonstration | In orbit | Operational | |
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TÜBİTAK | Low Earth (SSO) | Earth observation | In orbit | Operational | |
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GAUSS Srl | Low Earth (SSO) | Technology demonstration | In orbit | Operational | |
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exactEarth | Low Earth (SSO) | Communications | In orbit | Operational | |
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exactEarth | Low Earth (SSO) | Communications | In orbit | Operational | |
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Hartron-Arkos | Low Earth (SSO) | Technology demonstration | In orbit | Successful | |
17 August 21:25[54] |
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RSCC | Intended: Geosynchronous Achieved: GTO |
Communications | 25 March 2012 | Launch failure | |
Briz-M upper stage failed before the planned fourth burn. An insufficient time slot was allocated for re-setting the gyroscopes of the upper stage control system before launch, which led to loss of adequate attitude control in flight.[55] | ||||||
18 August 09:28[56] |
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CNSA | Intended: Low Earth (SSO) | Technology demonstration | 18 August | Launch failure | |
Failed to reach orbit. Second stage's vernier engine support structure failed in flight, led to loss of attitude control.[57] | ||||||
24 August 13:00[58] |
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Roscosmos | Intended: Low Earth (ISS) | ISS logistics | 24 August | Launch failure | |
Third stage engine failure 325 seconds after launch due to the gas generator fuel supply pipeline being blocked by contaminants.[59] | ||||||
September | ||||||
10 September 13:08:52[60] |
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NASA | Selenocentric | Lunar orbiter | 17 December 2012 22:28:51[61] | Successful | |
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NASA | Selenocentric | Lunar orbiter | 17 December 2012 22:29:21[61] | Successful | |
Final launch of Delta II Heavy, final Delta II launch from Cape Canaveral, and last launch from SLC-17. | ||||||
18 September 16:33[62] |
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China Satcom | Geosynchronous | Communications | In orbit | Operational | |
20 September 22:47 |
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VKS | Geosynchronous | Communications | In orbit | Operational | |
21 September 21:38 |
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Arabsat | Geosynchronous | Communications | In orbit | Operational | |
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SES S.A. | Geosynchronous | Communications | In orbit | Operational | |
23 September 04:36:50 |
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CSICE | Low Earth (SSO) | Reconnaissance | In orbit | Successful[63] | |
24 September 20:18 |
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Eutelsat | Geosynchronous | Communications | In orbit | Operational | |
27 September 15:49 |
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U.S. Air Force | Highly elliptical | Technology demonstration | In orbit | Operational | |
29 September 13:16:03[64] |
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CNSA | Low Earth | Space station | 2 April 2018 00:16[65] | Successful | |
Maiden flight of Long March 2F/G, first Chinese space station. | ||||||
29 September 18:32[66] |
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SES Satellite Leasing | Geosynchronous | Communications | In orbit | Operational | |
Intended for lease to QuetzSat. | ||||||
October | ||||||
2 October 20:15 |
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VKS | Medium Earth | Navigation | In orbit | Operational | |
5 October 21:00 |
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Intelsat | Geosynchronous | Communications | In orbit | Operational | |
7 October 08:21 |
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Eutelsat | Geosynchronous | Communications | In orbit | Operational | |
12 October 05:31 |
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ISRO / CNES | Low Earth | Climatology | In orbit | Operational | |
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SRM | Low Earth | Climatology | In orbit | Operational | |
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IITK | Low Earth | Earth observation | In orbit | Operational | |
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Luxspace | Low Earth | Communications | In orbit | Operational | |
19 October 18:48 |
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ViaSat-IOM / ManSat | Geosynchronous | Communications | In orbit | Operational | |
21 October[68][69] 10:30 |
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ESA | Medium Earth | Navigation / Technology demonstration | In orbit | Operational | |
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ESA | Medium Earth | Navigation / Technology demonstration | In orbit | Operational | |
First Soyuz launch from Kourou. | ||||||
28 October 09:48:01 |
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NASA / NOAA | Low Earth | Meteorology | In orbit | Operational | |
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Montana State | Low Earth | Radiation | In orbit | Operational | |
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University of Michigan | Low Earth | Auroral | In orbit | Operational | |
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University of Michigan | Low Earth | Technology demonstration | In orbit | Operational | |
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Space Dynamics Laboratory | Low Earth | Magnetospheric research | In orbit | Operational | |
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Space Dynamics Laboratory | Low Earth | Magnetospheric research | In orbit | Operational | |
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Auburn University | Low Earth | Technology demonstration | In orbit | Operational | |
30 October 10:11 |
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Roscosmos | Low Earth (ISS) | ISS logistics | 25 January 2012 | Successful | |
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IKI | Low Earth | Ionospheric research | 15 October 2014 | Successful | |
31 October 21:58:10 |
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CNSA | Low Earth (Tiangong-1) | Technology demonstration | 17 November 11:36 | Successful | |
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CNSA | Low Earth (Tiangong-1) | Technology demonstration | 2 April 2012 | Successful | |
Uncrewed flight, first Chinese orbital docking. | ||||||
November | ||||||
4 November 12:51:41[70] |
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VKS | Medium Earth | Navigation | In orbit | Operational | |
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VKS | Medium Earth | Navigation | In orbit | Operational | |
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VKS | Medium Earth | Navigation | In orbit | Operational | |
8 November 20:16 |
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Roscosmos | Intended: Areocentric Achieved: Low Earth |
Phobos sample return | 15 January 2012 | Spacecraft failure | |
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CNSA | Intended: Areocentric Achieved: Low Earth |
Mars orbiter | |||
First Russian attempt at an interplanetary mission since 1996.[71] First Chinese Mars probe Spacecraft stranded in low Earth orbit, as telemetry was lost soon after launch and the two trans-Martian injection burns by the payload did not take place[72] | ||||||
9 November 03:21[73] |
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CNSA | Low Earth (SSO) | Reconnaissance | In orbit | Operational | |
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Nanjing University of Aeronautics and Astronautics | Low Earth (SSO) | Technology demonstration | 7 February 2016[75] | Successful | |
14 November 04:14[76] |
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Roscosmos | Low Earth (ISS) | Expedition 29/30 | 27 April 2012 | Successful | |
20 November 00:15[77] |
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CNSA | Low Earth (SSO) | Technology demonstration | In orbit | Operational | |
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CNSA | Low Earth (SSO) | Technology demonstration | In orbit | Operational | |
25 November 19:10:34 |
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AsiaSat | Geosynchronous | Communications | In orbit | Operational | |
26 November 15:02 |
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NASA | TMI to Martian Surface | Mars rover | 6 August 2012 05:18 | Successful[2] | |
Maiden flight of Atlas V 541, largest Mars rover yet launched. | ||||||
28 November 08:25:57 |
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VKS | Medium Earth | Navigation | In orbit | Operational | |
29 November 18:50[78] |
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CNSA | Low Earth (SSO) | Reconnaissance | In orbit | Operational | |
December | ||||||
1 December 21:07[79] |
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CNSA | IGSO | Navigation | In orbit | Operational | |
11 December 11:17 |
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Gonets Satellite System | Geosynchronous | Communications | In orbit | Operational | |
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SCL | Geosynchronous | Communications | In orbit | Operational | |
12 December 01:21 |
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CSICE | Low Earth (SSO) | Reconnaissance (radar) | In orbit | Operational | |
17 December 02:03:08 |
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CNES | Low Earth (SSO) | Earth observation | In orbit | Operational | |
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MDN | Low Earth (SSO) | Earth observation | In orbit | Operational | |
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CNES / DGA | Low Earth (SSO) | ELINT | In orbit | Operational | |
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CNES / DGA | Low Earth (SSO) | ELINT | In orbit | Operational | |
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CNES / DGA | Low Earth (SSO) | ELINT | In orbit | Operational | |
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CNES / DGA | Low Earth (SSO) | ELINT | In orbit | Operational | |
19 December 16:41[80] |
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NIGCOMSAT / NASRDA | Geosynchronous | Communications | In orbit | Operational | |
21 December 13:16 |
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Roscosmos | Low Earth (ISS) | Expedition 30/31 | 1 July 2012 08:14[81] | Successful | |
22 December 03:26 |
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CNSA | Low Earth (SSO) | Earth observation | In orbit | Operational | |
23 December 12:08 |
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VKO | Intended: Molniya | Communications | 23 December | Launch failure | |
Third stage engine malfunctioned 421 seconds after launch, failed to reach orbit; first launch conducted by the Russian Aerospace Defence Forces | ||||||
28 December 17:09 |
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Globalstar | Low Earth | Communications | In orbit | Operational | |
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Globalstar | Low Earth | Communications | In orbit | Operational | |
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Globalstar | Low Earth | Communications | In orbit | Operational | |
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Globalstar | Low Earth | Communications | In orbit | Operational | |
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Globalstar | Low Earth | Communications | In orbit | Operational | |
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Globalstar | Low Earth | Communications | In orbit | Operational | |
Suborbital flights
Date and time (UTC) | Rocket | Flight number | Launch site | LSP | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Payload (⚀ = CubeSat) |
Operator | Orbit | Function | Decay (UTC) | Outcome | |
Remarks | ||||||
22 January 06:10[82] |
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MDA | Suborbital | Radar target | 22 January | Successful | |
Aegis Radar target, not intercepted, Apogee: 100 kilometres (62 mi) | ||||||
28 January 10:46:00[83] |
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Colorado | Suborbital | Astronomy | 28 January | Spacecraft failure[83] | |
5 February 08:11:11[83] |
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VPI | Suborbital | Geospace | 5 February | Spacecraft failure[83] | |
February[82] | ![]() |
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IGRC | Suborbital | Missile test | February | Successful | ||
Two missiles with a range of 1,900 kilometres were fired into the Indian Ocean prior to 19 February | ||||||
February[82] | ![]() |
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IGRC | Suborbital | Missile test | February | Successful | ||
Two missiles with a range of 1,900 kilometres were fired into the Indian Ocean prior to 19 February | ||||||
1 March 21:00[82] |
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US Navy | Suborbital | Missile test | 1 March | Successful | ||
Demonstration and Shakedown Operation 22 (DASO-22) | ||||||
2 March 13:40[82] |
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U.S. Army | Suborbital | Target | 2 March | Successful | ||
Target for MIM-104 Patriot PAC-3 MSE test, successfully intercepted | ||||||
9 March[82] | ![]() |
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MDA | Suborbital | Radar target | 9 March | Successful | |
Tracked by STSS satellites | ||||||
11 March | ![]() |
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DRDO | Suborbital | Target | 11 March | Successful | ||
Apogee: 100 kilometres (62 mi) | ||||||
11 March | ![]() |
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DRDO | Suborbital | Missile test | 11 March | Successful | ||
Apogee: 100 kilometres (62 mi) | ||||||
15 March[82] | ![]() |
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ISA | Suborbital | Biological | 15 March | Successful | |
Apogee: 120 kilometres (75 mi) | ||||||
16 March[82] | ![]() |
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MDA | Suborbital | Radar target | 16 March | Successful | |
Tracked by both STSS Demo satellites | ||||||
23 March 18:50:00[83] |
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CU Boulder | Suborbital | SDO calibration | 23 March | Successful[83] | |
29 March 04:01[84] |
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DLR/ESA | Suborbital | Microgravity | 29 March | Successful | |
Apogee: 268 kilometres (167 mi) | ||||||
15 April 06:52[82] |
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MDA | Suborbital | ABM target | 15 April | Successful | ||
15 April 07:03[82] |
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US Navy | Suborbital | ABM test | 15 April | Successful | |
First intercept of an IRBM by an SM-3 (FTM-15 Stellar Charon) | ||||||
26 April[82] | ![]() |
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VMF | Suborbital | Missile test | 26 April | Successful | ||
27 April 08:00:00[83] |
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WFF | Suborbital | Test flight | 27 April | Successful[83] | |
6 May[86] 23:02[87] |
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CSSAR | Suborbital | Environment monitoring | 23:09 | Successful | |
Apogee: 196.6 kilometres (122.2 mi). | ||||||
11 May 18:00[82] |
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INPE | Suborbital | Microgravity | 11 May | Successful | ||
20 May 13:21[88] |
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Suborbital | Technology demonstration | 20 May | Successful | |||
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Celestis | Suborbital | Space burial | Successful | ||
Apogee: 118.3 kilometres (73.5 mi), successfully recovered. | ||||||
20 May 14:50[82] |
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VMF | Suborbital | Missile test | 20 May | Successful | ||
Maiden flight of Layner missile | ||||||
10 June 11:11:16[83] |
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GSFC | Suborbital | Technology demonstration | 10 June | Successful[83] | |
22 June 13:35 |
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U.S. Air Force | Suborbital | Test flight | 22 June | Successful | ||
23 June 10:18:00[83] |
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Colorado | Suborbital | Student experiments | 23 June | Successful[83] | |
28 June 11:55[82] |
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VMF | Suborbital | Missile test | 28 June | Successful | ||
28 June[82] | ![]() |
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IGRC | Suborbital | Missile test | 28 June | Successful | ||
Part of an exercise with 14 missile launches, apogee: 100 kilometres (62 mi) | ||||||
28 June[82] | ![]() |
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IRGC | Suborbital | Missile test | 28 June | Successful | ||
Part of an exercise with 14 missile launches, apogee: 100 kilometres (62 mi) | ||||||
28 June[82] | ![]() |
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IRGC | Suborbital | Missile test | 28 June | Successful | ||
Part of an exercise with 14 missile launches, apogee: 100 kilometres (62 mi) | ||||||
28 June[82] | ![]() |
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IRGC | Suborbital | Missile test | 28 June | Successful | ||
Part of an exercise with 14 missile launches, apogee: 100 kilometres (62 mi) | ||||||
28 June[82] | ![]() |
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IRGC | Suborbital | Missile test | 28 June | Successful | ||
Part of an exercise with 14 missile launches, apogee: 500 kilometres (310 mi) | ||||||
9 July 02:04[82] |
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MDA | Suborbital | Radar target | 9 July | Successful | |
Tracked by STSS Demo satellites | ||||||
9 July 09:00:00[83] |
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NASA | Suborbital | Geospace | 9 July | Successful[83] | |
9 July 09:00:15[83] |
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NASA | Suborbital | Geospace | 9 July | Successful[83] | |
11 July 15:35[82] |
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CITEFA | Suborbital | Test flight | 11 July | Successful | ||
Apogee: 100 kilometres (62 mi) | ||||||
21 July 07:00[89] |
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Stockholm/SSC | Suborbital | Atmospheric | 21 July | Successful | |
21 July 11:58:00[83] |
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Wallops Flight Facility | Suborbital | Student experiments | 21 July | Successful[83] | |
27 July 10:01[82] |
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U.S. Air Force | Suborbital | Test flight | 27 July | Launch failure | ||
An anomaly was detected five minutes after launch and the flight was terminated. | ||||||
27 July[82] | ![]() |
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VMF | Suborbital | Missile test | 27 July | Successful | ||
11 August 14:45[82] |
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U.S. Air Force | Suborbital | Technology demonstration | 11 August | Spacecraft failure | |
Second flight of the HTV-2, loss of contact approximately 20 minutes after launch at Mach 20. | ||||||
27 August 03:20[82] |
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VMF | Suborbital | Missile test | 27 August | Successful | ||
1 September 13:53[82] |
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MDA | Suborbital | ABM target | 1 September | Successful | ||
SM-3 Block 1B target | ||||||
1 September 13:54[82] |
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US Navy | Suborbital | ABM test | 1 September | Spacecraft failure | ||
First launch of SM-3 Block 1B, intercept failed | ||||||
3 September 09:46[82] |
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RVSN | Suborbital | Missile test | 3 September | Successful | ||
15 September[90] | ![]() |
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ISA | Suborbital | Biological | 15 September | Launch failure | |
First Iranian attempt to launch a monkey into space; failed to reach orbit | ||||||
26 September[91] 03:20[82] |
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DRDO | Suborbital | Missile test | 27 September | Successful | ||
27 September 07:08[90] |
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RVSN | Suborbital | Missile test | 27 September | Launch failure | ||
29 September[92] | ![]() |
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VMF | Suborbital | Missile test | 30 September | Successful | ||
30 September 04:02[93] |
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Indian Army | Suborbital | Missile test | 30 September | Successful | ||
Travelled 2,500 kilometres (1,600 mi) downrange | ||||||
5 October 05:56[82] |
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U.S. Army / MDA | Suborbital | ABM target | 5 October | Successful | ||
Intercepted by THAAD missile | ||||||
5 October 05:56[82] |
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U.S. Army / MDA | Suborbital | ABM target | 5 October | Successful | ||
Intercepted by THAAD missile | ||||||
5 October 06:00[82] |
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U.S. Army / MDA | Suborbital | ABM test | 5 October | Successful | |
Intercepted target missile | ||||||
5 October 06:00[82] |
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U.S. Army / MDA | Suborbital | ABM test | 5 October | Successful | |
Intercepted target missile | ||||||
8 October 10:25:01[83] |
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Boston | Suborbital | Astronomy | 8 October | Spacecraft failure[83] | |
11 October 21:15:00[83] |
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Colorado | Suborbital | Geospace | 11 October | Successful[83] | |
13 October 13:50:00[83] |
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Colorado | Suborbital | Geospace | 13 October[83] | Successful | |
28 October 03:40[82] |
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VMF | Suborbital | Missile test | 28 October | Successful | ||
2 November 07:50[82] |
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Israeli Air Force | Suborbital | Missile test | 2 November | Successful | ||
3 November 06:45[82] |
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RVSN | Suborbital | Missile test | 3 November | Successful | ||
6 November 07:00[83] |
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XQC F5 | Wisconsin | Suborbital | Astronomy | 6 November | Successful[83] | |
15 November 03:30[94] |
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Indian Army | Suborbital | Missile test | 15 November | Successful | ||
17 November 11:30 |
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U.S. Army | Suborbital | Technology demonstration | 17 November | Successful | |
25 November 23:00[82] |
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INPE | Suborbital | Microgravity | 25 November | Successful | ||
27 November 09:10[95] |
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DLR/ESA | Suborbital | Microgravity | 27 November | Successful | |
2 December 22:00[82] |
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INPE | Suborbital | Microgravity | 2 December | Successful | |
3 December 07:21:31[82] |
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Oslo/Andøya | Suborbital | Atmospheric | 3 December | Successful[96] | |
10 December 10:30:00[97] |
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Colorado | Suborbital | Astronomy | 10 December | Successful | ||
19 December 14:48[98] |
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JAXA/TPU/TU | Suborbital | Ionospheric | 19 December | Successful | ||
19 December | ![]() |
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Rosgidromet | Suborbital | Meteorology Test flight | 19 December | Successful | |
Maiden flight of MN-300 | ||||||
23 December | ![]() |
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VMF | Suborbital | Missile test | 23 December | Successful | ||
23 December | ![]() |
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VMF | Suborbital | Missile test | 23 December | Successful | ||
27 December 12:00 |
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RVSN | Suborbital | Missile test | 27 December | Successful | ||
? | ![]() |
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US Navy | Suborbital | Missile test | ? | Successful | ||
Follow-on Commander's Evaluation Test 44 | ||||||
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US Navy | Suborbital | Missile test | ? | Launch failure | ||
Follow-on Commander's Evaluation Test 44 ? | ||||||
Deep space rendezvous
Date (UTC) | Spacecraft | Event | Remarks |
---|---|---|---|
9 January | Mars Express | Flyby of Phobos | Closest approach: 100 kilometres (62 mi). Mars Express made a total of 8 flybys of Phobos at a distance of less than 1,400 kilometres (870 mi) between 20 December and 16 January. |
9 January | Artemis P1 | Spacecraft left LL2 orbit and joined Artemis P2 in LL1 orbit | |
11 January | Cassini | 3rd flyby of Rhea | Closest approach: 76 kilometres (47 mi)[99] |
15 February | Stardust (NExT) | Flyby of Tempel 1 | Closest approach: 181 kilometres (112 mi). Observed changes since Deep Impact flyby and imaged crater created by Deep Impact impactor, as well as new terrain. |
18 February | Cassini | 74th flyby of Titan | Closest approach: 3,651 kilometres (2,269 mi) |
18 March | MESSENGER | Hermocentric orbit injection | First artificial satellite of Mercury; elliptical orbit with a periapsis of 200 kilometers (120 mi) and an apoapsis of 15,000 km (9,300 mi).[100] |
19 April | Cassini | 75th flyby of Titan | Closest approach: 10,053 kilometres (6,247 mi) |
8 May | Cassini | 76th flyby of Titan | Closest approach: 1,873 kilometres (1,164 mi) |
8 June | Chang'e 2 | Departed lunar orbit | Travelled to L2 Lagrangian point, which it reached in August 2011.[101] |
20 June | Cassini | 77th flyby of Titan | Closest approach: 1,359 kilometres (844 mi) |
27 June | Artemis P1 | Lunar orbit insertion | Initial orbital parameters were: apogee 3,543 kilometres (2,202 mi), perigee 27,000 kilometres (17,000 mi). Over the following three months, the orbit was lowered to an apogee of 97 kilometres (60 mi) and a perigee of 18,000 kilometres (11,000 mi), with an inclination of 20 degrees; retrograde orbit. |
16 July | Dawn | Vestiocentric orbit injection | First artificial satellite of 4 Vesta.[102] Initial orbit was 16,000 kilometres (9,900 mi) high and was reduced to 2,700 kilometres (1,700 mi) until 11 August. |
17 July | Artemis P2 | Lunar orbit insertion | Initial orbital parameters were similar to Artemis P1. Over the following three months the orbit was lowered to an apogee of 97 kilometres (60 mi) and a perigee of 18,000 kilometres (11,000 mi), with an inclination of 20 degrees; prograde orbit. |
25 August | Cassini | Second-closest flyby of Hyperion[103] | Closest approach: 25,000 kilometres (16,000 mi) |
12 September | Cassini | 78th flyby of Titan | Closest approach: 5,821 kilometres (3,617 mi) |
16 September | Cassini | Flyby of Hyperion | Closest approach: 58,000 kilometres (36,000 mi) |
1 October | Cassini | 14th flyby of Enceladus | Closest approach: 99 kilometres (62 mi) |
19 October | Cassini | 15th flyby of Enceladus | Closest approach: 1,231 kilometres (765 mi) |
6 November | Cassini | 16th flyby of Enceladus | Closest approach: 496 kilometres (308 mi) |
12 December | Cassini | 3rd flyby of Dione | Closest approach: 99 kilometres (62 mi) |
13 December | Cassini | 79th flyby of Titan | Closest approach: 3,586 kilometres (2,228 mi) |
31 December | GRAIL-A | Lunar orbit insertion | Twin satellite Grail-B's insertion occurred a day later, on 1 January 2012. |
EVAs
Start Date/Time | Duration | End Time | Spacecraft | Crew | Remarks | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
21 January 10:05 |
5 hours 23 minutes |
15:49 | Expedition 26 ISS Pirs |
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Prepared the ISS Poisk module for future dockings.[104] | |
16 February 13:15 |
6 hours 23 minutes |
18:15 | Expedition 26 ISS Pirs |
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Installed a radio antenna, deployed a nanosatellite, installed two experiments and retrieved two exposure panels on a third experiment. | |
28 February 15:46 |
6 hours 34 minutes |
22:20 | STS-133 ISS Quest |
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Removed a failed coolant pump and routed a power extension cable. | |
2 March 15:41 |
6 hours 14 minutes |
21:55 | STS-133 ISS Quest |
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Removed or repaired thermal insulation, swapped out an attachment bracket on the Columbus module, installed a camera assembly on Dextre and installed a light on a cargo cart. | |
20 May 07:10 |
6 hours 19 minutes |
13:29 | STS-134 ISS Quest |
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Completed installation of a new set of MISSE experiments, started installing a new wireless video system, installed an ammonia jumper, a new light on the CETA cart on the S3 truss segment, and a cover on the starboard SARJ. | |
22 May 06:05 |
8 hours 07 minutes |
14:12 | STS-134 ISS Quest |
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Hooked up a jumper to transfer ammonia to the Port 6 PVTCS, lubricated the SARJ and one of the "hands" on Dextre, and installed a stowage beam on the S1 truss. | |
25 May 05:43 |
6 hours 54 minutes |
12:37 | STS-134 ISS Quest |
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Installed PDGF (except for data cable), routed power cables from Unity to Zarya, finished installation of wireless video system, took pictures of Zarya's thrusters and captured infrared video of an experiment in ELC 3. | |
27 May 04:15 |
7 hours 24 minutes |
11:39 | STS-134 ISS Quest |
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Installed OBSS on S1 truss, removed the EFGF and replaced it with a spare PDGF, and released some torque on the bolts that were holding the spare arm for Dextre down against ELC 3. Final shuttle spacewalk.[105] | |
12 July 13:22 |
6 hours 31 minutes |
19:53 | Expedition 28 ISS Quest |
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Moved a failed cooling pump from the station to the shuttle Atlantis, transferred a robotic refuelling apparatus from the shuttle to the ISS, installed a materials science experiment on the station's truss, serviced a robot arm attachment fitting, installed a thermal cover over the unused docking port PMA-3, and fixed a protruding wire on a grapple fixture on the Zarya module. | |
3 August 14:51 |
6 hours 22 minutes |
21:22 | Expedition 28 ISS Pirs |
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Launched Kedr satellite, installed BIORISK experiment outside Pirs, and installed laser communication equipment to transmit scientific data from the Russian Orbital Segment. |
Orbital launch statistics
By country
For the purposes of this section, the yearly tally of orbital launches by country assigns each flight to the country of origin of the rocket, not to the launch services provider or the spaceport. For example, Soyuz launches by Arianespace in Kourou are counted under Russia because Soyuz-2 is a Russian rocket.
Country | Launches | Successes | Failures | Partial failures |
Remarks | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
![]() | 19 | 18 | 1 | 0 | ||
![]() | 5 | 5 | 0 | 0 | ||
![]() | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | ||
![]() | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | ||
![]() | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | ||
![]() | 29 | 25 | 4 | 0 | Includes 2 Soyuz launches from Kourou. Fobos-Grunt launched successfully, but failed while on its parking orbit.[106] | |
![]() | 6 | 6 | 0 | 0 | Includes 1 Zenit from Sea Launch and 1 from Land Launch. | |
![]() | 18 | 17 | 1 | 0 | ||
World | 84 | 78 | 6 | 0 |
By rocket
By family
Family | Country | Launches | Successes | Failures | Partial failures | Remarks |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Ariane | ![]() | 5 | 5 | 0 | 0 | |
Atlas | ![]() | 5 | 5 | 0 | 0 | |
Delta | ![]() | 6 | 6 | 0 | 0 | |
H-II | ![]() | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | |
Long March | ![]() | 19 | 18 | 1 | 0 | |
Minotaur | ![]() | 4 | 3 | 1 | 0 | |
R-7 | ![]() | 19 | 17 | 2 | 0 | |
R-36 | ![]() | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | |
Safir | ![]() | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | |
SLV | ![]() | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | |
Space Shuttle | ![]() | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | Final flight |
Universal Rocket | ![]() | 10 | 8 | 2 | 0 | |
Zenit | ![]() | 5 | 5 | 0 | 0 |
By type
Rocket | Country | Family | Launches | Successes | Failures | Partial failures | Remarks |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Ariane 5 | ![]() | Ariane | 5 | 5 | 0 | 0 | |
Atlas V | ![]() | Atlas | 5 | 5 | 0 | 0 | |
Delta II | ![]() | Delta | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | |
Delta IV | ![]() | Delta | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | |
Dnepr | ![]() | R-36 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | |
H-IIA | ![]() | H-II | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | |
H-IIB | ![]() | H-II | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | |
Long March 2 | ![]() | Long March | 7 | 6 | 1 | 0 | |
Long March 3 | ![]() | Long March | 9 | 9 | 0 | 0 | |
Long March 4 | ![]() | Long March | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | |
Minotaur I | ![]() | Minotaur | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | |
Minotaur IV | ![]() | Minotaur | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | |
PSLV | ![]() | SLV | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | |
Proton | ![]() | Universal Rocket | 9 | 8 | 1 | 0 | |
Safir | ![]() | Safir | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | |
Soyuz | ![]() | R-7 | 10 | 9 | 1 | 0 | |
Soyuz-2 | ![]() | R-7 | 9 | 8 | 1 | 0 | |
Space Shuttle | ![]() | Space Shuttle | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | Final flight |
UR-100 | ![]() | Universal Rocket | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | |
Taurus | ![]() | Minotaur | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | |
Zenit | ![]() | Zenit | 5 | 5 | 0 | 0 |
By configuration
By spaceport
Site | Country | Launches | Successes | Failures | Partial failures | Remarks |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Baikonur | ![]() | 25 | 23 | 2 | 0 | |
Cape Canaveral | ![]() | 7 | 7 | 0 | 0 | |
Dombarovsky | ![]() | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | |
Kourou | ![]() | 7 | 7 | 0 | 0 | |
Jiuquan | ![]() | 6 | 5 | 1 | 0 | |
Kennedy Space Center | ![]() | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | |
Kodiak | ![]() | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | |
MARS | ![]() | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | |
Ocean Odyssey | ![]() | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | |
Plesetsk | ![]() | 6 | 4 | 2 | 0 | |
Satish Dhawan | ![]() | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | |
Semnan | ![]() | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | |
Tanegashima | ![]() | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | |
Taiyuan | ![]() | 4 | 4 | 0 | 0 | |
Vandenberg | ![]() | 6 | 5 | 1 | 0 | |
Xichang | ![]() | 9 | 9 | 0 | 0 | |
Total | 84 | 78 | 6 | 0 |
By orbit
- Transatmospheric
- Low Earth
- Low Earth (ISS)
- Low Earth (SSO)
- Low Earth (retrograde)
- Medium Earth
- Geosychronous
(transfer) - Inclined GSO
- High Earth
- Heliocentric
Orbital regime | Launches | Successes | Failures | Accidentally achieved |
Remarks |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Transatmospheric | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
Low Earth | 44 | 40 | 4 | 0 | 14 to ISS, 1 to Tiangong-1 |
Medium Earth / Molniya | 8 | 7 | 1 | 0 | |
Geosynchronous / GTO | 27 | 26 | 1 | 1 | |
High Earth / Lunar transfer | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | |
Heliocentric / Planetary transfer | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | |
Total | 84 | 78 | 6 | 1 |
See also
- 2011 in science
- List of human spaceflights, 2011–2020
- Timeline of spaceflight
References
![](../I/m/RocketSunIcon.svg.png)
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