2008 in spaceflight
The year 2008 contained several significant events in spaceflight, including the first flyby of Mercury by a spacecraft since 1975, the discovery of water ice on Mars by the Phoenix spacecraft, which landed in May, the first Chinese spacewalk in September, the launch of the first Indian Lunar probe in October, and the first successful flight of a privately developed orbital launch vehicle by SpaceX's Falcon 1.
Orbital launches | |
---|---|
First | 15 January |
Last | 25 December |
Total | 69 |
Successes | 66 |
Failures | 2 |
Partial failures | 1 |
Catalogued | 67 |
National firsts | |
Satellite | Venezuela Vietnam |
Space traveller | South Korea |
Rockets | |
Maiden flights | Ariane 5ES Long March 3C PSLV-XL Safir Zenit-3SLB |
Retirements | H-IIA 2024 |
Crewed flights | |
Orbital | 7 |
Total travellers | 37 |
Overview
The internationally accepted definition of a spaceflight is any flight which crosses the Kármán line, 100 kilometres above sea level. The first recorded spaceflight launch of the year occurred on 11 January, when a Black Brant was launched on a suborbital trajectory from White Sands, with the LIDOS ultraviolet astronomy payload.[1] This was followed by the first orbital launch of the year on 15 January, by a Sea Launch Zenit-3SL, with the Thuraya 3 communications satellite.[2] The launch marked the return to flight for Sea Launch following the explosion of a Zenit-3SL on the launch pad the previous January during an attempt to launch the NSS-8 satellite.
Five carrier rockets made their maiden flights in 2008; the Ariane 5ES, Long March 3C, Zenit-3SLB, PSLV-XL, and the operational version of the Falcon 1, with an uprated Merlin-1C engine.[3] These were all derived from existing systems. The Blue Sparrow and Sejjil missiles also conducted their maiden flights, and the ATK Launch Vehicle made its only flight, but was destroyed by range safety after it went off course. In November, the baseline Proton-M was retired in favour of the Enhanced variant, first launched in 2007.
The first Vietnamese and Venezuelan satellites, Vinasat-1 and Venesat-1 respectively, were launched in 2008, while a failed Iranian launch was reported to have been that country's first indigenous orbital launch attempt. In September, SpaceX conducted the first successful orbital launch of a privately developed and funded liquid-fuelled carrier rocket, when the fourth Falcon 1 launched RatSat, following previous failures in 2006, 2007, and August.
Space exploration
India launched its first Lunar probe, Chandraayan-1, on 22 October, with the spacecraft entering selenocentric orbit on 8 November. On 16 November, the Moon Impact Probe was released, and crashed into the Lunar surface. Although no other spacecraft were launched beyond geocentric orbit in 2008, several significant events occurred in interplanetary flights which had been launched in previous years. MESSENGER conducted flybys of Mercury in January and October, the first spacecraft to do so since Mariner 10 in 1975. Cassini continued to make flybys of the moons of Saturn, including several close passes of Enceladus, one at a distance of 25 kilometres.[4] In September Rosetta flew past the asteroid 2867 Šteins. On 25 May, the Phoenix spacecraft landed in the Green Valley on Mars, where it discovered water ice.[5] Phoenix exceeded its design life of 90 days, finally failing on 10 November. The Ulysses spacecraft, launched in 1990, was also retired in 2008.[6]
Crewed spaceflight
Seven crewed flights were launched in 2008, one by China, two by Russia and four by the United States. In April, Yi So-yeon became the first South Korean to fly in space, aboard Soyuz TMA-12. On the same flight, Sergey Volkov became the first second-generation cosmonaut. Yi returned to Earth aboard Soyuz TMA-11, which nearly ended in disaster following a separation failure between the descent and service modules, resulting in a ballistic reentry.[7] In September, China conducted its third crewed mission, Shenzhou 7, from which Zhai Zhigang and Liu Boming conducted the first Chinese spacewalk.[8] Soyuz TMA-13, launched in October, was the hundredth flight of the Soyuz programme to carry a crew at some point in its mission.[9]
Assembly of the International Space Station continued, with the delivery of the Columbus module by Space Shuttle Atlantis on mission STS-122 in February. March saw the launch of the Jules Verne Automated Transfer Vehicle, an uncrewed European spacecraft which was used to resupply the space station. Also in March, Space Shuttle Endeavour launched on STS-123 with the first component of the Japanese Experiment Module, the Experiment Logistics Module. STS-123 marked the final flight of the Spacelab programme, with a SpaceLab pallet used to carry the Canadian-built Dextre RMS extension. The second JEM component, the main pressurised module, was launched by STS-124, flown by Discovery in May. In November, Endeavour launched on the STS-126 logistics flight, with the Leonardo MPLM.
Launch failures
On 14 March, a Proton-M with a Briz-M upper stage launched AMC-14. Several hours later, on 15 March, the Briz-M engine cut off prematurely during a burn,[10] leaving the satellite in a medium Earth orbit. Following a small legal dispute,[11] the satellite was sold, and raised to a geosynchronous orbit by its manoeuvring thrusters, at the expense of a large amount of its fuel and hence operational life.
On 3 August, SpaceX launched the third Falcon 1. Due to residual thrust caused by the upgraded Merlin-1C engine which was being flown for the first time, the first stage recontacted the second during staging, resulting in the rocket failing to reach orbit. The Trailblazer, PreSat and NanoSail-D satellites were lost in the failure, as was a space burial capsule, containing the remains of several hundred people, including astronaut Gordon Cooper, actor James Doohan, writer and director John Meredyth Lucas and Apollo mission planner Mareta West.[12]
On 16 August, Iran launched a Safir, which though officially successful, was reported to have failed due to a second stage malfunction. The purpose of this launch is in doubt, as before the launch it was claimed that it would place the Omid into orbit, whilst following the launch, it was reported that a boilerplate payload had been launched.[13] Other reports indicated that the launch was only a suborbital test of the rocket.[14] If this was an orbital launch attempt, it was the first Iranian attempt to launch a satellite.
On 22 August, the inaugural launch of the Alliant Techsystems ALV X-1 was terminated 27 seconds after launch from Wallops Flight Facility when it veered off course. Both hypersonic physics experiments on board were destroyed.[15]
Summary of launches
In total, sixty nine orbital launches were made in 2008, with sixty seven reaching orbit, and two outright failures if the Iranian launch in August is counted.[3] This is an increase of one orbital launch attempt on 2007, with two more launches reaching orbit, which continues a trend of increasing launch rates seen since 2006. The final launch of the year was conducted on 25 December, by a Proton-M with three GLONASS navigation satellites for the Russian government.
Suborbital spaceflight in 2008 saw a number of sounding rocket and missile launches. On 21 February, a RIM-161 Standard Missile 3 was used as an anti-satellite weapon to destroy the USA-193 satellite. USA-193 was a US spy satellite which had failed immediately after launch in 2006.[16][17]
By country
China conducted twelve orbital launches of a planned fifteen. Europe had intended to conduct seven launches of Ariane 5 rockets, and the maiden flight of the Vega rocket, however payload delays pushed one of the Arianes into 2009, and the Vega was delayed due to development issues. India had originally scheduled five to seven launches, however only three of these were conducted, mostly due to delays with the launch of Chandraayan-1. Japan scheduled three launches for 2008, of which one was launched; an H-IIA with WINDS in February. Russia and the former Soviet Union conducted twenty six launches, not including the international Sea and Land launch programmes, which conducted six. Fourteen launches were conducted by the United States, which had originally announced plans to launch many more, however technical issues with several rockets, particularly the Atlas V, Delta II and Falcon 1, caused a number of delays. The Atlas problems, combined with a series of delays to the launch of NRO L-26 on a Delta IV, resulted in just two of ten planned EELV launches being conducted.[3][18] Two of six planned Space Shuttle launches were also delayed to 2009, one due to problems with External Tank delivery, and another due to a major systems failure on the Hubble Space Telescope, which it was to have serviced. Israel was not reported to have scheduled, or conducted an orbital launch attempt.
List of launches
Date and time (UTC) | Rocket | Flight number | Launch site | LSP | |||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Payload (⚀ = CubeSat) |
Operator | Orbit | Function | Decay (UTC) | Outcome | ||
Remarks | |||||||
January | |||||||
11 January 05:32[1] |
Black Brant IX | White Sands LC-36 | NASA | ||||
LIDOS | JHU | Suborbital | UV Astronomy | 05:42 | Successful | ||
Apogee: 315 kilometres (196 mi) | |||||||
15 January 11:49[2] |
Zenit-3SL | Ocean Odyssey | Sea Launch | ||||
Thuraya 3 | Thuraya | Geosynchronous | Communications | In orbit | Operational | ||
17 January[19] | Jericho III | Palmachim | Israeli Air Force | ||||
Israeli Air Force | Suborbital | Missile test | 17 January | Successful | |||
18 January 07:30[20] |
Black Brant XII | Andøya | NASA | ||||
SCIFER-2 | Cornell/Dartmouth | Suborbital | Ionospheric research | 18 January | Successful | ||
Apogee: 1,460 kilometres (910 mi) | |||||||
21 January 03:45[2] |
PSLV-CA | Satish Dhawan FLP | ISRO | ||||
TecSAR (Polaris) | IAI | Low Earth | Reconnaissance | In orbit | Operational | ||
25 January[21] | Shaheen-I | Sonmiani | Pakistan Army | ||||
Pakistan Army | Suborbital | Missile test | 25 January | Successful | |||
28 January 00:18[2] |
Proton-M / Briz-M | Baikonur Site 200/39 | Roskosmos | ||||
Ekspress AM-33 | RSCC | Geosynchronous | Communications | In orbit | Operational | ||
31 January 19:14[22] |
VS-30-Orion | Andøya | DLR/Andøya | ||||
HotPay-2 | University of Leeds | Suborbital | Ionospheric research | 31 January | Successful | ||
Apogee: 380.6 kilometres (236.5 mi) | |||||||
February | |||||||
4 February[23] | Safir | Semnan | ISA | ||||
Kavoshgar-1 | ISA | Suborbital | Test flight | 4 February | Successful | ||
5 February 13:02:54[2] |
Soyuz-U | Baikonur Site 1/5 | Roscosmos | ||||
Progress M-63 | Roscosmos | Low Earth (ISS) | ISS logistics | 7 April 11:50[24] | Successful | ||
ISS flight 28P | |||||||
6 February 09:14:40[25] |
S-310 | Uchinoura | JAXA | ||||
JAXA | Suborbital | Ionospheric research | 6 February | Successful | |||
7 February 11:30[26] |
VSB-30 | Esrange | DLR / ESA | ||||
TEXUS-44 | DLR / ESA | Suborbital | Microgravity | 7 February | Successful | ||
Apogee: 264 kilometres (164 mi) | |||||||
7 February 19:45:30[2] |
Space Shuttle Atlantis | Kennedy LC-39A | United Space Alliance | ||||
STS-122 | NASA | Low Earth (ISS) | ISS assembly | 20 February 14:07:10[27] | Successful | ||
Columbus | ESA | Low Earth (ISS) | ISS assembly | In orbit | Operational | ||
Crewed flight with seven astronauts | |||||||
11 February 11:34[2] |
Proton-M / Briz-M | Baikonur Site 200/39 | International Launch Services | ||||
Thor-5 | Telenor | Geosynchronous | Communications | In orbit | Operational | ||
21 February 03:26[28] |
RIM-161 Standard Missile 3 | USS Lake Erie | U.S. Navy / MDA | ||||
ASAT | MDA | Suborbital | Satellite intercept | 03:29[28] | Successful | ||
Destroyed USA-193 satellite[16] | |||||||
21 February 06:15[26] |
VSB-30 | Esrange | DLR / ESA | ||||
TEXUS-45 | DLR / ESA | Suborbital | Microgravity | 21 February | Successful | ||
23 February 08:55[2] |
H-IIA 2024 | Tanegashima LA-Y | Mitsubishi | ||||
WINDS (Kizuna) | JAXA / NICT | Geosynchronous | Communications Technology | In orbit | Successful[29] | ||
26 February 07:28[30] |
K-15 Sagarika | INS Kalinga | Indian Navy | ||||
Indian Navy | Suborbital | Missile test | 26 February | Successful | |||
March | |||||||
9 March 04:03:07[2] |
Ariane 5ES | Kourou ELA-3 | Arianespace | ||||
Jules Verne ATV | ESA | Low Earth (ISS) | ISS logistics | 29 September 13:31 | Successful | ||
Maiden flight of Ariane 5ES and ATV | |||||||
11 March 06:28:14[2] |
Space Shuttle Endeavour | Kennedy LC-39A | United Space Alliance | ||||
STS-123 | NASA | Low Earth (ISS) | ISS assembly | 27 March 00:39:08[31] | Successful | ||
Spacelab MD002[32] | NASA | Low Earth (STS/ISS) | ISS logistics | Successful | |||
JEM ELM-PF | JAXA | Low Earth (ISS) | ISS assembly | In orbit | Operational | ||
Dextre (SPDM) | MDA Corporation | Low Earth (ISS) | ISS assembly | In orbit | Operational | ||
Crewed flight with seven astronauts Final flight of Spacelab programme, pallet used to transport Dextre[32] | |||||||
13 March 10:02[2] |
Atlas V 411 | Vandenberg SLC-3E | United Launch Alliance | ||||
USA-200 (Improved Trumpet)[33] | NRO | Molniya[33] | ELINT[33] | In orbit | Operational | ||
NRO Launch 28, first Atlas V launch from Vandenberg | |||||||
14 March 23:18:55[2][34] |
Proton-M / Briz-M | Baikonur Site 200/39 | International Launch Services | ||||
AMC-14 | SES Americom | Geosynchronous | Communications | In orbit | Operational Partial launch failure[3] | ||
Upper stage malfunction during second burn left spacecraft in wrong orbit[10][35] Initial recovery attempted but abandoned due to legal issues.[11][36] Later sold and recovery efforts restarted.[37] | |||||||
15 March 06:10[38] |
Delta II 7925-9.5 | Cape Canaveral SLC-17A | United Launch Alliance | ||||
USA-201 (GPS IIR-19/M6)[39] | US Air Force | Medium Earth | Navigation | In orbit | Operational | ||
80th consecutive successful Delta II launch.[38] | |||||||
19 March 22:47:59[40] |
Zenit-3SL | Ocean Odyssey | Sea Launch | ||||
DirecTV-11 | DirecTV | Geosynchronous | Communications | In orbit | Operational | ||
23 March 04:45[41] |
Agni 1 | Integrated Test Range LC-4[41] | Indian Army | ||||
SFC / DRDO | Suborbital | Missile test | 23 March | Successful | |||
27 March 17:15[42] |
Kosmos-3M | Plesetsk Site 132/1 | COSMOS International | ||||
SAR-Lupe 4 | Bundeswehr | Low Earth (SSO) | Reconnaissance | In orbit | Operational | ||
28 March | VSB-30 | Andøya | Andøya | ||||
Mini-DUSTY 14 | Andøya | Suborbital | Ionospheric research | 28 March | Successful | ||
April | |||||||
2 April 08:01[43] |
LGM-30G Minuteman III | Vandenberg LF-09 | U.S. Air Force | ||||
GT-196GM | U.S. Air Force | Suborbital | Missile test | 2 April | Successful | ||
Travelled 6,759 kilometres (4,200 mi) downrange[43] | |||||||
8 April 11:16:39[24][44] |
Soyuz-FG | Baikonur Site 1/5 | Roscosmos | ||||
Soyuz TMA-12 | Roscosmos | Low Earth (ISS) | ISS Expedition 17[44] | 24 October 03:37[45] | Successful | ||
Crewed flight with three cosmonauts, including first South Korean in space[24] and first second-generation cosmonaut[46] Docked on 10 April at 12:57 GMT[44] | |||||||
14 April 16:58[47] |
Black Brant IX | White Sands LC-36 | NASA | ||||
SEE | UCB LASP | Suborbital | UV Astronomy[48] | 17:08[47] | Successful | ||
14 April 20:12:00[49] |
Atlas V 421 | Cape Canaveral SLC-41 | United Launch Alliance | ||||
ICO G1 | ICO | Geosynchronous | Communications | In orbit | Operational | ||
Heaviest single commercial satellite to be placed in GSO. Heaviest satellite to be launched by an Atlas rocket.[49] | |||||||
15 April | Blue Sparrow | F-15 Eagle, Israel | Israeli Air Force | ||||
Israeli Air Force | Suborbital | Test flight | 15 April | Successful | |||
Maiden flight of Blue Sparrow. | |||||||
16 April 17:01[50] |
Pegasus-XL | Stargazer, Kwajalein Atoll | Orbital Sciences | ||||
C/NOFS | STP/NASA | Low Earth | Electrodynamics | 28 November 2015 | Successful | ||
18 April 22:17[51] |
Ariane 5 ECA | Kourou ELA-3 | Arianespace | ||||
Vinasat-1 | VNPT | Geosynchronous | Communications | In orbit | Operational | ||
Star One C2 | Star One | Geosynchronous | Communications | In orbit | Operational | ||
First Vietnamese satellite | |||||||
19 April[52][53] | Shaheen-II | Sonmiani | Pakistan Army[54] | ||||
Pakistan Army[54] | Suborbital | Missile test | 19 April | Successful | |||
21 April[55] | Shaheen-II | Sonmiani | Pakistan Army | ||||
Pakistan Army | Suborbital | Missile test | 21 April | Successful | |||
25 April 15:35[56] |
Long March 3C | Xichang LA-2 | CNSA | ||||
Tianlian I-01 | CNSA | Geosynchronous | Communications | In orbit | Operational | ||
Maiden flight of Long March 3C | |||||||
26 April 22:16:02[57] |
Soyuz-FG / Fregat | Baikonur Site 31/6 | Starsem | ||||
GIOVE-B | ESA | Medium Earth | Navigation Technology demonstration | In orbit | Operational | ||
28 April 03:53:51[58][59] |
PSLV-C | Satish Dhawan SLP | ISRO | ||||
Cartosat-2A[60] | ISRO | Low Earth | Earth observation | In orbit | Operational | ||
TWSAT[60] | ISRO | Low Earth | Earth observation | In orbit | Operational | ||
CanX-2[61] | UTIAS | Low Earth | Technology demonstration[61] | In orbit | Operational | ||
Cute-1.7+APD II[62] | Tokodai | Low Earth | Technology demonstration | In orbit | Operational | ||
Delfi-C3[63] | Delft | Low Earth | Technology demonstration | In orbit | Operational | ||
AAUSAT-II[64] | Aalborg | Low Earth | Radiation[64] | In orbit | Operational | ||
COMPASS-1[65] | Aachen | Low Earth | Earth observation Technology demonstration | In orbit | Operational | ||
SEEDS-2[66] | Nihon | Low Earth | Technology demonstration | In orbit | Operational | ||
CanX-6[67] | UTIAS/COM DEV | Low Earth | Technology demonstration | In orbit | Operational | ||
RUBIN-8[68] | OHB System | Low Earth | Technology demonstration | In orbit | Operational | ||
All payloads except CartoSat, TWSAT and RUBIN were CubeSats, launched under designation NSL-4, except CanX-6 which was NSL-5.[69] RUBIN-8 intentionally remained attached to upper stage | |||||||
28 April 05:00[70] |
Zenit-3SLB | Baikonur Site 45/1 | Land Launch | ||||
AMOS-3 (AMOS-60) | SCL | Geosynchronous | Communications | In orbit | Operational | ||
First Land Launch flight and maiden flight of Zenit-3SLB. Reached incorrect orbit due to carrier rocket underperformance.[71] Corrected by satellite through use of spare fuel, without affecting operational life. | |||||||
May | |||||||
1 May 05:30[72][73] |
Black Brant IX | White Sands LC-36 | NASA | ||||
JHU | Suborbital | UV Astronomy | 05:40 | Successful | |||
7 May 04:26[74][75] |
Agni-III | Integrated Test Range LC-4 | Indian Army | ||||
SFC/DRDO | Suborbital | Missile test | 04:41 | Successful | |||
8 May | UGM-133 Trident II | USS Nebraska | U.S. Navy | ||||
U.S. Navy | Suborbital | Missile test | 8 May | Successful | |||
8 May | UGM-133 Trident II | USS Nebraska | U.S. Navy | ||||
U.S. Navy | Suborbital | Missile test | 8 May | Successful | |||
14 May 20:22:54[76][77] |
Soyuz-U | Baikonur Site 1/5 | Roscosmos | ||||
Progress M-64 | Roscosmos | Low Earth (ISS) | ISS logistics | 8 September[78] | Successful | ||
ISS flight 29P | |||||||
15 May 04:00[79][80][81] |
VSB-30 | Esrange | SSC/DLR | ||||
MASER-11 | SSC/ESA | Suborbital | Microgravity | 15 May | Successful[81] | ||
Apogee: 252 kilometres (157 mi)[81] | |||||||
21 May 09:43[82] |
Zenit-3SL | Ocean Odyssey | Sea Launch | ||||
Galaxy 18 | Intelsat | Geosynchronous | Communications | In orbit | Operational | ||
22 May 10:04[83][84] |
LGM-30G Minuteman III | Vandenberg LF-10 | U.S. Air Force | ||||
GT-197GM | U.S. Air Force/NNSA[83] | Suborbital | Missile test | 22 May | Successful | ||
Long range test[85] | |||||||
23 May 05:00[86] |
Prithvi | Integrated Test Range | Indian Army | ||||
Indian Army[86] | Suborbital | Missile test | 23 May | Successful | |||
User test[86] | |||||||
23 May 15:20:09[87] |
Rokot / Briz-KM | Plesetsk Site 133/3[70] | RVSN RF | ||||
Kosmos 2437 (Rodnik)[88] | VKS | Low Earth | Communications | In orbit | Operational | ||
Kosmos 2438 (Rodnik)[88] | VKS | Low Earth | Communications | In orbit | Operational | ||
Kosmos 2439 (Rodnik)[88] | VKS | Low Earth | Communications | In orbit | Operational | ||
Yubeleiny | NPO PM[89] | Low Earth | Technology demonstration | In orbit | Operational | ||
27 May 03:02[90] |
Long March 4C | Taiyuan LC-1 | CASC | ||||
Fengyun 3A | CMA | Sun-synchronous | Weather[91] | In orbit | Operational | ||
29 May | Tszyuylan-2 | P629 Submarine, Yellow Sea | PLAN | ||||
PLAN | Suborbital | Missile test | 29 May | Successful | |||
31 May 21:02:12[92][93] |
Space Shuttle Discovery | Kennedy LC-39A | United Space Alliance | ||||
STS-124 | NASA | Low Earth (ISS) | ISS assembly | 14 June 15:15[94] | Successful | ||
JEM-PM | JAXA | Low Earth (ISS) | ISS assembly | In orbit | Operational | ||
Crewed flight with seven astronauts | |||||||
June | |||||||
5 June 18:13 |
TR-SRBM | USS Tripoli, Kauai | U.S. Navy / MDA | ||||
MDA | Suborbital | AEGIS target | 5 June | Successful | |||
Destroyed after re-entry by endoatmospheric SM-2 missile launch | |||||||
9 June 12:15[95] |
Long March 3B[96] | Xichang LC-2 | CASC | ||||
Chinasat 9[98] | CNPT | Geosynchronous | Communications | In orbit | Operational | ||
11 June 16:05[99] |
Delta II 7920H-10C | Cape Canaveral SLC-17B | United Launch Alliance | ||||
FGST[100] (GLAST)[102] | NASA | Low Earth | Gamma-ray astronomy | In orbit | Operational | ||
12 June 22:05:02[103] |
Ariane 5 ECA | Kourou ELA-3 | Arianespace | ||||
Skynet 5C | MoD | Geosynchronous | Communications | In orbit | Operational | ||
Turksat 3A | Türksat | Geosynchronous | Communications | In orbit | Operational | ||
13 June | MRT | Barking Sands | U.S. Navy / MDA | ||||
MDA | Suborbital | AEGIS target | 13 June | Successful | |||
Used for simulated test, not intercepted | |||||||
13 June | MRT | Barking Sands | U.S. Navy / MDA | ||||
MDA | Suborbital | AEGIS target | 13 June | Successful | |||
Used for simulated test, not intercepted | |||||||
19 June 06:36 [104][105] |
Kosmos-3M | Kapustin Yar Site 107 | COSMOS International | ||||
Orbcomm CDS-3 | Orbcomm | Low Earth | Communications | In orbit | Spacecraft failure | ||
Orbcomm QL-1 | Orbcomm | Low Earth | Communications | In orbit | Operational[106] | ||
Orbcomm QL-2 | Orbcomm | Low Earth | Communications | In orbit | Spacecraft failure | ||
Orbcomm QL-3 | Orbcomm | Low Earth | Communications | In orbit | Operational[106] | ||
Orbcomm QL-4 | Orbcomm | Low Earth | Communications | In orbit | Spacecraft failure | ||
Orbcomm QL-5 | Orbcomm | Low Earth | Communications | In orbit | Spacecraft failure | ||
Spacecraft affected by communications problems, four had failed by December 2009.[107] | |||||||
20 June 07:46:25[104] |
Delta II 7320 | Vandenberg SLC-2W | United Launch Alliance | ||||
Jason-2 (OSTM) | NASA | Low Earth | Oceanography | In orbit | Operational | ||
26 June 02:16[108] |
TRBM | C-17, Pacific Ocean | U.S. Air Force | ||||
MDA | Suborbital | THAAD Target | 26 June | Successful | |||
Intercepted after re-entry by THAAD launched from KMR at 02:22 GMT.[108][109][110] | |||||||
26 June 19:57[111][112] |
Black Brant XI | Wallops Island | NASA | ||||
MDA[112] | Suborbital | Technology demonstration | 26 June | Successful | |||
26 June 23:59[113] |
Proton-K / DM-2[114] (?? DM-3[37]) | Baikonur Site 81/24 | RVSN RF | ||||
Kosmos 2440 (Prognoz)[37] | VKS | Geosynchronous | Missile defence[37] | In orbit | Operational | ||
30 June[115] | Nike-Orion | Andøya | Andøya | ||||
ECOMA 2008-1 | Andøya / DLR | Suborbital | Aeronomy | 30 June | Successful | ||
July | |||||||
7 July 21:30[115] |
Nike-Orion | Andøya | Andøya | ||||
ECOMA 2008-2 | Andøya / DLR | Suborbital | Aeronomy | 7 July | Successful | ||
Apogee: 125 kilometres (78 mi) | |||||||
7 July 21:47[116] |
Ariane 5 ECA | Kourou ELA-3 | Arianespace | ||||
Badr-6 | Arabsat | Geosynchronous | Communications | In orbit | Operational | ||
ProtoStar-1[118] | ProtoStar | Geosynchronous | Communications | In orbit | Operational | ||
9 July[119] | Shahab-3[120] | Strait of Hormuz[119] | IRGC | ||||
IRGC | Suborbital | Missile test | 9 July | Successful | |||
Part of Great Prophet III exercise.[120] | |||||||
9 July[119] | Shahab-2[121] | Strait of Hormuz[119] | IRGC | ||||
IRGC | Suborbital | Missile test | 9 July | Successful | |||
Part of Great Prophet III exercise,[120] missile type not confirmed. | |||||||
9 July[119] | Shahab-1[121] | Strait of Hormuz[119] | IRGC | ||||
IRGC | Suborbital | Missile test | 9 July | Successful | |||
Part of Great Prophet III exercise,[120] missile type not confirmed. | |||||||
10 July[122] | Shahab-3 | Strait of Hormuz | IRGC | ||||
IRGC | Suborbital | Missile test | 10 July | Successful | |||
Part of Great Prophet III exercise, missile type not confirmed. | |||||||
12 July 10:46[115] |
Nike-Orion | Andøya[115] | Andøya | ||||
ECOMA 2008-3 | Andøya / DLR | Suborbital | Aeronomy[115] | 12 July | Successful | ||
Apogee: 123 kilometres (76 mi)[115] | |||||||
14 July 10:10[123] |
Terrier-Orion[124] | Wallops Island LP-1 | NASA | ||||
SubTEC-II | NASA / Wallops | Suborbital | Technology demonstration | 14 July | Successful | ||
16 July 05:20:59 [125][126] |
Zenit-3SL | Ocean Odyssey | Sea Launch | ||||
Echostar 11 | Echostar | Geosynchronous | Communications | In orbit | Operational | ||
18 July 22:47[127] |
UGM-27 Polaris (STARS | Kodiak Island | U.S. Air Force | ||||
FTX-03 | MDA | Suborbital | Target | 18 July | Successful[128] | ||
Radar targeting test only, missile not intercepted | |||||||
22 July 02:40:09 [129][130][131] |
Kosmos-3M | Plesetsk Site 132/1 | COSMOS International[129] | ||||
SAR-Lupe 5 | Bundeswehr | Low Earth (SSO) | Reconnaissance | In orbit | Operational | ||
26 July 18:31[132] |
Soyuz-2.1b | Plesetsk Site 43/4 | RVSN RF | ||||
Kosmos 2441 (Persona)[132] | VKS | Low Earth (SSO) | Reconnaissance | In orbit | Spacecraft failure | ||
Spacecraft lost due to electrical malfunction[133] | |||||||
August | |||||||
1 August[134] | R-29 | RFS Ryazan, Barents Sea[134] | VMF | ||||
VMF | Suborbital | Missile test | 1 August | Successful[134] | |||
2 August 08:30[135][136] |
S-520 | Uchinoura | JAXA | ||||
JAXA/Teikyo | Suborbital | Microgravity | 2 August | Successful | |||
Apogee: 293 kilometres (182 mi) | |||||||
3 August 03:34[137][138] |
Falcon 1 | Omelek | SpaceX | ||||
Trailblazer | ORS / MDA | Intended: Low Earth | Technology demonstration | ~T+140 seconds[139] | Launch failure[139] | ||
⚀ PreSat[140] | Santa Clara / NASA[140][141] | Intended: Low Earth | Biological | ||||
⚀ NanoSail-D[140] | Santa Clara / NASA[140][142] | Intended: Low Earth | Solar sail | ||||
Explorers[143] | Celestis | Intended: Low Earth | Space burial | ||||
First and second stage recontact due to residual thrust.[137] PreSAT and NanoSail-D CubeSats, Celestis burial payload included remains of astronaut Gordon Cooper,[144] actor James Doohan,[145] writer and director John Meredyth Lucas,[146] and Apollo mission planner Mareta West[147] | |||||||
13 August 08:01[148] |
LGM-30G Minuteman III | Vandenberg | U.S. Air Force | ||||
GT-195GM | U.S. Air Force | Suborbital | Missile test | 13 August | Successful[148] | ||
Travelled about 6,790 kilometres (4,220 mi) downrange.[149] | |||||||
14 August 20:44[104] |
Ariane 5 ECA | Kourou ELA-3 | Arianespace | ||||
Superbird 7 | SCC | Geosynchronous | Communications | In orbit | Operational | ||
AMC-21 | SES Americom | Geosynchronous | Communications | In orbit | Operational | ||
16 August 19:32[150] |
Safir[151] | Semnan | ISA | ||||
DemoSat[152] | ISA | Intended: Low Earth[150] | Test flight | 16 August | Launch failure[150] | ||
Reported to have been first Iranian orbital launch attempt. Officially successful, however no objects were left in orbit.[150] Unofficial reports of a second stage malfunction.[150] Also reported to have been a suborbital test, or an attempt to launch the Omid satellite, instead of an orbital test launch. | |||||||
18 August 22:43[153][154][155] |
Proton-M / Briz-M Enhanced | Baikonur Site 200/39[155] | International Launch Services | ||||
Inmarsat-4 F3[157] | Inmarsat | Geosynchronous | Communications | In orbit | Operational | ||
22 August 09:10[158] |
ALV | MARS LP-0B | Alliant Techsystems | ||||
SOAREX-VI | NASA | Suborbital | Technology demonstration | T+27 seconds[158] | Launch failure | ||
Hy-BoLT | NASA | Suborbital | Aerodynamics | ||||
Only flight of ALV, veered off course to the South and destroyed by RSO[159] | |||||||
25 August[160] | UGM-133 Trident II | USS Louisiana, Pacific Ocean | U.S. Navy | ||||
U.S. Navy | Suborbital | Missile test | 25 August | Successful | |||
25 August[160] | UGM-133 Trident II | USS Louisiana, Pacific Ocean | U.S. Navy | ||||
U.S. Navy | Suborbital | Missile test | 25 August | Successful | |||
28 August[161] | RT-2PM Topol (RS-12M) | Plesetsk | RVSN RF | ||||
RVSN RF | Suborbital | Missile test | 28 August | Successful | |||
29 August 07:15:58[162] |
Dnepr | Baikonur Site 109/95 | ISC Kosmotras | ||||
Tachys (RapidEye-1)[163] | RapidEye / Planet Labs | Low Earth (SSO) | Earth observation | In orbit | Successful[164] | ||
Mati (RapidEye-2)[163] | RapidEye / Planet Labs | Low Earth (SSO) | Earth observation | In orbit | Successful[164] | ||
Choma (RapidEye-3)[163] | RapidEye / Planet Labs | Low Earth (SSO) | Earth observation | In orbit | Successful[164] | ||
Choros (RapidEye-4)[163] | RapidEye / Planet Labs | Low Earth (SSO) | Earth observation | In orbit | Successful[164] | ||
Trochia (RapidEye-5)[163] | RapidEye / Planet Labs | Low Earth (SSO) | Earth observation | In orbit | Successful[164] | ||
September | |||||||
6 September 03:25[165] |
Long March 2C | Taiyuan LC-1 | CASC | ||||
Huan Jing 1A | CNSA | Low Earth (SSO) | Earth observation | In orbit | Operational | ||
Huan Jing 1B | CNSA | Low Earth (SSO) | Earth observation | In orbit | Operational | ||
6 September 18:50:57[166] |
Delta II 7420 | Vandenberg SLC-2W | United Launch Alliance | ||||
GeoEye 1 (Orbview 5) | GeoEye | Low Earth (SSO) | Earth observation | In orbit | Operational | ||
10 September 19:50:02[78] |
Soyuz-U | Baikonur Site 1/5 | Roscosmos | ||||
Progress M-65 | Roscosmos | Low Earth (ISS) | ISS logistics | 7 December 08:48:47[167] | Successful | ||
ISS flight 30P | |||||||
18 September 02:05[168] |
Kauai | MDA | |||||
MDA | Suborbital | Target | 18 September | Launch failure[168] | |||
Two THAAD intercept launches cancelled.[168] | |||||||
18 September 14:45[169] |
RSM-56 Bulava (R-30) | RFS Dmitri Donskoi, White Sea[170] | VMF | ||||
VMF | Suborbital | Missile test | 15:05[171] | Successful | |||
19 September 21:48[163][172] |
Proton-M / Briz-M | Baikonur Site 200/39 | International Launch Services | ||||
Nimiq-4[173] | Telesat Canada | Geosynchronous | Communications | In orbit | Operational | ||
24 September 06:57[174] |
Chimera[174] (Minuteman/Minotaur II) | Vandenberg LF-06 | Orbital Sciences | ||||
NFIRE 2b | MDA | Suborbital | Target | 24 September | Successful | ||
Tracked by NFIRE satellite | |||||||
24 September 09:27:59[175] |
Zenit-3SL | Ocean Odyssey | Sea Launch | ||||
Galaxy 19 | Intelsat | Geosynchronous | Communications | In orbit | Operational | ||
25 September 08:49:37 [163][176] |
Proton-M / DM-2[177] | Baikonur Site 81/24 | RVSN RF | ||||
Kosmos 2442 (GLONASS)[163][178] | VKS | Medium Earth | Navigation[179] | In orbit | Operational | ||
Kosmos 2443 (GLONASS)[163][178] | VKS | Medium Earth | Navigation[179] | In orbit | Operational | ||
Kosmos 2444 (GLONASS)[163][178] | VKS | Medium Earth | Navigation[179] | In orbit | Operational | ||
25 September 13:10[163][180] |
Long March 2F | Jiuquan LA-4/SLS-1 | CASC | ||||
Shenzhou 7 | CNSA | Low Earth | Crewed flight | 28 September 09:37:40[181] | Successful | ||
Ban Xing[181] | CNSA | Low Earth | Technology demonstration | 30 October 2009[183] | Successful | ||
Shenzhou 7-GC[181] | CNSA | Low Earth | Technology demonstration | 4 January 2010[185] | Successful | ||
Crewed flight with three yǔhángyuán, crew conducted first Chinese EVA Ban Xing deployed from Shenzhou on 27 September at 11:27 GMT, GC separated on 28 September at 08:48 to begin independent mission[181] | |||||||
28 September 23:15[186] |
Falcon 1 | Omelek | SpaceX | ||||
RatSat[181] | SpaceX | Low Earth | Boilerplate | In orbit | Successful[186][187] | ||
Launched boilerplate payload. First privately funded and developed liquid fuelled rocket to reach orbit.[187] | |||||||
October | |||||||
1 October 06:37:16 |
Dnepr | Dombarovskiy | ISC Kosmotras | ||||
THEOS | GISTDA | Low Earth | Earth observation | In orbit | Operational | ||
11 October[188] | R-29RMU Sineva | RFS Tula, Barents Sea | VMF | ||||
VMF | Suborbital | Missile test | 11 October | Successful | |||
Long-range test[188] | |||||||
12 October 07:01[189] |
Soyuz-FG | Baikonur Site 1/5 | Roscosmos | ||||
Soyuz TMA-13[191] | Roscosmos | Low Earth (ISS) | ISS Expedition 18 | 8 April 2009 07:16 | Successful | ||
Crewed flight with three cosmonauts, including a space tourist. 100th flight of the Soyuz programme to be crewed at some point in its mission[9] | |||||||
12 October 07:24[192] |
RT-2PM Topol (RS-12M) | Plesetsk | RVSN RF | ||||
RVSN RF | Suborbital | Missile test | 07:50[192] | Successful | |||
12 October[193] | R-29R Vysota | RFS Zelenograd, Sea of Okhotsk[193] | VMF | ||||
VMF | Suborbital | Missile test | 12 October | Successful | |||
12 October[193] | R-29RM Shtil | RFS Yekaterinburg, Barents Sea[193] | VMF | ||||
VMF | Suborbital | Missile test | 12 October | Successful | |||
19 October 17:47:23[194] |
Pegasus-XL/Star-27 | Stargazer, Kwajalein Atoll | Orbital Sciences | ||||
IBEX | NASA | High Earth | Solar | In orbit | Operational | ||
20 October 08:39[195] |
Black Brant IX | White Sands LC-36 | NASA | ||||
NRL | Suborbital | UV Astronomy[196] | 08:49[195] | Successful | |||
22 October 00:52:11[197] |
PSLV-XL | Satish Dhawan SLP | ISRO | ||||
Chandrayaan-1[198] | ISRO | Selenocentric | Lunar orbiter | In orbit | Partial spacecraft failure | ||
MIP | ISRO | Selenocentric | Lunar impactor | 14 November | Successful | ||
First Indian lunar spacecraft,[199] failed on 28 August 2009 after less than half of planned mission duration, maiden flight of PSLV-XL | |||||||
22 October 09:10[200] |
RS-18 UR-100N | Baikonur | RVSN RF | ||||
RVSN RF | Suborbital | Missile test | 22 October | Successful | |||
22 October 12:30[201] |
Nike-Orion | Esrange | EuroLaunch | ||||
REXUS-4 | SSC / DLR | Suborbital | Student research | 22 October | Successful | ||
Apogee: 175 kilometres (109 mi) | |||||||
25 October 01:15[202] |
Long March 4B | Taiyuan LC-2[203] | CASC | ||||
Shijian 6E | CNSA | Low Earth | Technology demonstration | In orbit | Operational | ||
Shijian 6F | CNSA | Low Earth | Technology demonstration | In orbit | Operational | ||
First launch from Taiyuan LC-2[203] | |||||||
25 October 02:28[204] |
Delta II 7420-10 | Vandenberg SLC-2W | United Launch Alliance | ||||
COSMO-3 | ASI[205] | Low Earth (SSO) | Earth observation | In orbit | Operational | ||
29 October 16:53:53[206] |
Long March 3B/E | Xichang LC-2 | CASC | ||||
VeneSat-1 (Simón Bolívar) | VMoST | Geosynchronous | Communications | In orbit | Successful; Partial spacecraft failure | ||
First Venezuelan satellite.[206] Lost in March 2020 due to the failure of both solar array drives.[207] | |||||||
November | |||||||
1 November[208] | Barking Sands | U.S. Navy | |||||
U.S. Navy | Suborbital | Target | 1 November | Successful | |||
Intercepted by SM-3 missile, part of Pacific Blitz exercise[208] | |||||||
1 November[208] | RIM-161 Standard Missile 3 | USS Paul Hamilton, Pacific Ocean[208] | U.S. Navy | ||||
U.S. Navy[208] | Suborbital | Intercept test | 1 November | Successful | |||
Intercepted target missile, part of Pacific Blitz exercise[208] | |||||||
1 November[208] | Barking Sands | U.S. Navy | |||||
U.S. Navy | Suborbital | Target | 1 November | Successful | |||
Intercept by SM-3 missile failed. Part of Pacific Blitz exercise[208] | |||||||
1 November[208] | RIM-161 Standard Missile 3 | USS Hopper, Pacific Ocean[208] | U.S. Navy | ||||
U.S. Navy[208] | Suborbital | Intercept test | 1 November | Spacecraft failure | |||
Sensor fault resulted in failure to intercept target missile.[208] Part of Pacific Blitz exercise[208] | |||||||
5 November 00:15[209] |
Long March 2D[210] | Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center SLS-2[211] | CASC | ||||
Chuang Xin 1B | CNSA | Low Earth | Weather | In orbit | Operational | ||
Shiyan Weixing 3[211] | CNSA | Low Earth | Technology demonstration | In orbit | Operational | ||
5 November 09:00[212] |
LGM-30G Minuteman III | Vandenberg | U.S. Air Force | ||||
GT-198GM | U.S. Air Force | Suborbital | Missile test | 5 November | Successful | ||
Travelled 6,740 kilometres (4,190 mi) downrange[212] | |||||||
5 November 20:44 |
Proton-M / Briz-M | Baikonur Site 200/39 | International Launch Services | ||||
Astra 1M | SES Astra | Geosynchronous | Communications | In orbit | Operational | ||
Final flight of standard Proton-M | |||||||
12 November 05:56[213] |
Shaurya[214] | Integrated Test Range LC-3[215] | DRDO | ||||
Indian Army | Suborbital | Missile test | 12 November | Successful | |||
12 November[216] | Sejjil | Iran | IRGC AF | ||||
IRGC AF | Suborbital | Missile test | 12 November | Successful | |||
Maiden flight of Sejjil missile | |||||||
13 November 09:06[217] |
M51 | CEL | FOST | ||||
FOST | Suborbital | Missile test | 13 November | Successful | |||
14 November 15:50[218] |
Soyuz-U | Plesetsk Site 16/2 | RVSN RF | ||||
Kosmos 2445 (Kobalt-M) | VKS | Low Earth | Optical imaging | 23 February 2009[220] 16:15[221] | Successful | ||
14 November | Black Brant IX | White Sands LC-36 | NASA | ||||
NRL[222] | Suborbital | Solar[222] | 14 November | Successful | |||
15 November 00:55:39[223] |
Space Shuttle Endeavour[224] | Kennedy LC-39A | United Space Alliance | ||||
STS-126[226] | NASA | Low Earth (ISS) | ISS assembly | 30 November 21:25:06[227] | Successful | ||
Leonardo MPLM | ASI / NASA | Low Earth (ISS) | ISS logistics | Successful | |||
PSSC | U.S. Air Force | Low Earth | Technology demonstration | 17 February 2010 17:31[228] | Successful | ||
Crewed flight with seven astronauts, PSSC deployed from Shuttle at 20:33 GMT on 29 November and operated for 110 days.[229] | |||||||
19 November 02:18[230][231] |
Barking Sands | U.S. Navy | |||||
U.S. Navy / JMSDF | Suborbital | Target | 19 November | Successful | |||
Intercept by SM-3 missile failed | |||||||
19 November 02:21[231] |
RIM-161 Standard Missile 3 | JDS Chōkai, Pacific Ocean | JMSDF | ||||
JMSDF | Suborbital | Interceptor | 19 November | Spacecraft failure | |||
Infrared sensor fault, failed to intercept target[232] | |||||||
26 November 12:38:27[233] |
Soyuz-U | Baikonur Site 1/5 | Roscosmos | ||||
Progress M-01M | Roscosmos | Low Earth (ISS) | ISS logistics | 8 February 2009 08:20[234] | Successful | ||
First flight of modernised Progress spacecraft, Kurs anomaly necessitated manual docking. ISS flight 31P | |||||||
26 November 13:24[235] |
RS-24 Yars | Plesetsk | RVSN RF | ||||
RVSN RF | Suborbital | Missile test | 26 November | Successful | |||
26 November[236] | Kavoshgar-2 | Semnan | ISA | ||||
Kavoshgar-2 | ISA | Suborbital | Test flight | 26 November | Successful | ||
Payload recovered by parachute | |||||||
28 November[237] | RSM-56 Bulava (R-30) | RFS Dmitri Donskoi, White Sea[238] | VMF | ||||
VMF | Suborbital | Missile test | 28 November | Successful | |||
December | |||||||
1 December 04:42[239] |
Long March 2D | Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center SLS-2 | CASC | ||||
Yaogan-4 | CNSA | Low Earth (SSO) | Earth observation | In orbit | Operational | ||
2 December 05:00[240] |
Molniya-M/2BL[241] | Plesetsk Site 16/2 | RVSN RF | ||||
Kosmos 2446 (Oko) | VKS | Molniya | Missile defence | In orbit | Operational | ||
5 December 10:35:10[242] |
VS-30-Orion | SvalRak | Andøya | ||||
ICI-2[244] | Oslo | Suborbital | Auroral | 10:45[242] | Successful | ||
Apogee: 330 kilometres (210 mi)[242] | |||||||
5 December 20:04[245] |
UGM-27 Polaris (STARS) | Kodiak Island | U.S. Air Force | ||||
FTG-05 | MDA | Suborbital | Target | 20:29[246] | Partial spacecraft failure | ||
Decoy target failed to deploy,[247] intercepted by GBI | |||||||
5 December 20:21[245] |
Ground Based Interceptor | Vandenberg | U.S. Air Force | ||||
FTG-05 | MDA | Suborbital | Target | 20:29[246] | Successful | ||
Intercepted Polaris | |||||||
10 December 13:43:00[248] |
Proton-M / Briz-M Enhanced | Baikonur Site 200/39 | International Launch Services | ||||
Ciel-2[104] | Ciel[249] | Geosynchronous | Communications | In orbit | Operational | ||
15 December 03:22[250] |
Long March 4B | Taiyuan LC-2 | CASC | ||||
Yaogan-5 | CNSA | Low Earth (SSO) | Earth observation | 2 September 2014 | Successful | ||
20 December 22:35[251] |
Ariane 5 ECA | Kourou ELA-3 | Arianespace | ||||
Hot Bird 9[104] | Eutelsat | Geosynchronous | Communications | In orbit | Operational | ||
Eutelsat W2M[104] | Eutelsat | Geosynchronous | Communications | In orbit | Spacecraft failure[252] | ||
23 December 00:54[253] |
Long March 3A | Xichang LC-2 | CASC | ||||
Fengyun 2E | CMA | Geosynchronous | Meteorology | In orbit | Operational | ||
23 December 03:00[254] |
RSM-56 Bulava[255] | RFS Dmitry Donskoi[256] | VMF | ||||
VMF | Suborbital | Missile test | 23 December | Launch failure | |||
Self-destruct system activated after missile went off course.[256] | |||||||
25 December 10:43[257] |
Proton-M / DM-2 Enhanced | Baikonur Site 81/24 | RVSN RF | ||||
Kosmos 2447 (GLONASS) | VKS | Medium Earth | Navigation | In orbit | Operational | ||
Kosmos 2448 (GLONASS) | VKS | Medium Earth | Navigation | In orbit | Operational | ||
Kosmos 2449 (GLONASS) | VKS | Medium Earth | Navigation | In orbit | Operational | ||
First flight of Proton-M Enhanced with DM-2 upper stage, last orbital launch from Baikonur to be conducted by the Russian military | |||||||
Deep Space Rendezvous
Date (GMT) | Spacecraft | Event | Remarks |
---|---|---|---|
5 January | Cassini | 40th flyby of Titan | Closest approach: 1,010 kilometres (630 mi) |
14 January | MESSENGER | 1st flyby of Mercury | Closest approach: 200 kilometres (120 mi) at 19:04 GMT[258] |
22 February | Cassini | 41st flyby of Titan | Closest approach: 1,000 kilometres (620 mi) |
12 March | Cassini | 3rd flyby of Enceladus | Closest approach: 52 kilometres (32 mi) |
25 March | Cassini | 42nd flyby of Titan | Closest approach: 1,000 kilometres (620 mi) |
12 May | Cassini | 43rd flyby of Titan | Closest approach: 1,000 kilometres (620 mi) |
25 May | Phoenix | Landing on Mars | Region D, Arctic area - Green Valley, near the Heimdal crater: 68°N, 236°E. Touchdown at 23:38 GMT. Successful[259] |
28 May | Cassini | 44th flyby of Titan | Closest approach: 1,400 kilometres (870 mi) |
31 July | Cassini | 45th flyby of Titan | Closest approach: 1,613 kilometres (1,002 mi) |
11 August | Cassini | 4th flyby of Enceladus | Closest approach: 54 kilometres (34 mi) |
5 September | Rosetta | Flyby of 2867 Šteins |
Closest approach: 800 kilometres (500 mi) |
6 October | MESSENGER | 2nd flyby of Mercury | |
9 October | Cassini | 5th flyby of Enceladus | Closest approach: 25 kilometres (16 mi) |
31 October | Cassini | 6th flyby of Enceladus | Closest approach: 200 kilometres (120 mi) |
3 November | Cassini | 46th flyby of Titan | Closest approach: 1,100 kilometres (680 mi) |
8 November | Chandrayaan-1 | Injection into Selenocentric orbit | Periselene: 504 kilometres (313 mi), Aposelene: 7,502 kilometres (4,662 mi)[260] |
14 November | MIP | Landing on the Moon | Lunar Impactor |
19 November | Cassini | 47th flyby of Titan | Closest approach: 1,023 kilometres (636 mi) |
5 December | Cassini | 48th flyby of Titan | Closest approach: 960 kilometres (600 mi) |
21 December | Cassini | 49th flyby of Titan | Closest approach: 970 kilometres (600 mi) |
EVAs
Start Date/Time | Duration | End Time | Spacecraft | Crew | Function | Remarks |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
30 January 09:56[261] |
7 hours 10 minutes |
17:06[262] | Expedition 16 (ISS Quest) |
Peggy Whitson Daniel M. Tani |
Replace motor and bearing in solar array joint | |
11 February 14:13[263] |
7 hours 58 minutes |
22:11[263] | STS-122 (ISS Quest) |
Rex J. Walheim Stanley G. Love |
Install Power Data Grapple Fixture on Columbus | Originally to have been conducted by Walheim and Hans Schlegel, Love replaced Schlegel on medical grounds.[264] |
13 February 14:27[265] |
6 hours 45 minutes |
21:12[265] | STS-122 (ISS Quest) |
Rex J. Walheim Hans Schlegel |
Replace depleted nitrogen tank | |
15 February 12:07[265] |
7 hours 25 minutes |
20:32[265] | STS-122 (ISS Quest) |
Rex J. Walheim Stanley G. Love |
Install experiments on Columbus, load failed gyroscope onto Shuttle for return to Earth | |
14 March 01:18[266] |
7 hours 1 minute |
08:19[266] | STS-123 (ISS Quest) |
Richard M. Linnehan Garrett Reisman |
Install Kibo ELM-PS and start Dextre assembly | |
15 March 23:49[267] |
7 hours 8 minutes |
16 March 06:57[267] |
STS-123 (ISS Quest) |
Richard M. Linnehan Michael Foreman |
Dextre assembly | |
17 March 22:52[267] |
6 hours 53 minutes |
18 March 05:44[267] |
STS-123 (ISS Quest) |
Richard M. Linnehan Robert L. Behnken |
Dextre assembly, install MISSE-6 experiment, and store spare parts outside the ISS | MISSE installation failed[267] |
20 March 22:04[267] |
6 hours 24 minutes |
21 March 04:08[267] |
STS-123 (ISS Quest) |
Robert L. Behnken Michael Foreman |
Test heat shield repair techniques | |
22 March 20:34[267] |
6 hours 2 minutes |
23 March 02:36[267] |
STS-123 (ISS Quest) |
Robert L. Behnken Michael Foreman |
Store OBSS on ISS, retry MISSE-6 installation[268] | |
3 June 16:22[269] |
6 hours 48 minutes[93] |
23:10[93] | STS-124 (ISS Quest) |
Mike Fossum Ron Garan |
Install JEM Pressurised Module, Inspect SARJ, retrieve OBSS.[269] | |
5 June 15:04[93] |
7 hours 11 minutes[93] |
22:15[93] | STS-124 (ISS Quest) |
Mike Fossum Ron Garan |
Adjust covers on JEM, Inspect SARJ.[270] | |
8 June 13:55[93] |
6 hours 33 minutes[93] |
20:28[93] | STS-124 (ISS Quest) |
Mike Fossum Ron Garan |
Replace nitrogen tank, inspect SARJ.[271] | |
10 July 18:48[272] |
6 hours 18 minutes[272] |
11 July 01:06[272] |
Expedition 17 (ISS Pirs)[272] |
Sergei Volkov Oleg Kononenko |
Remove pyrotechnic bolt from Soyuz TMA-12 for inspection.[273] | |
15 July 17:08[272] |
5 hours 54 minutes[272] |
23:02[272] | Expedition 17 (ISS Pirs)[272] |
Sergei Volkov Oleg Kononenko |
Install docking targeting equipment, rotate exposed experiments[274] | |
27 September 08:38 |
22 minutes | 09:00 | Shenzhou 7 | Zhai Zhigang (full) Liu Boming (stand-up) |
Test spacesuit, collect experiment | First Chinese EVA |
18 November 18:09 |
6 hours 52 minutes |
19 November 01:01 |
STS-126 (ISS Quest) |
Heidemarie Stefanyshyn-Piper Stephen G. Bowen |
Transferred an empty nitrogen tank assembly from ESP3 to the shuttle's cargo bay, transferred a new flex hose rotary coupler to ESP3 for future use, removed an insulation cover on the Kibo Exposed Facility berthing mechanism, began cleaning and lubrication of the starboard SARJ, and replacement of its 11 trundle bearing assemblies.[275][276] | |
20 November 17:58 |
6 hours 45 minutes |
21 November 00:43 |
STS-126 (ISS Quest) |
Heidemarie Stefanyshyn-Piper Robert S. Kimbrough |
Relocated the two CETA carts from the starboard side of the Mobile Transporter to the port side, lubricated the station robotic arm's latching end effector A snare bearings, continued cleaning and lubrication of the starboard SARJ[277][278][279] | Conducted on tenth anniversary of the launch of the ISS[277] |
22 November 18:01 |
6 hours 57 minutes |
23 November 00:58 |
STS-126 (ISS Quest) |
Heidemarie Stefanyshyn-Piper Stephen G. Bowen |
Completed cleaning and lubrication of all but one of the trundle bearing assemblies (TBA) on the starboard SARJ.[280][281] | |
24 November 18:24 |
6 hours 7 minutes |
25 November 00:31 |
STS-126 (ISS Quest) |
Stephen G. Bowen Robert S. Kimbrough |
Completed replacement of trundle bearing assemblies on starboard SARJ, lubricated the port SARJ, installed a video camera, re‐installed insulation covers on the Kibo External Facility berthing mechanism, performed Kibo robotic arm grounding tab maintenance, installed spacewalk handrails on Kibo, installed Global Positioning Satellite (GPS) antennae on Kibo, photographed radiators, and photographed trailing umbilical system cables.[282] | |
23 December 00:51 |
5 hours 38 minutes |
06:29 | Expedition 18 (ISS Pirs) |
Michael Fincke Yuri Lonchakov |
Install Langmuir probe, EXPOSE-R and IPI-SM experiments.[283] | EXPOSE-R installation failed[283] |
Orbital launch statistics
By country
Country | Launches | Successes | Failures | Partial failures |
Remarks | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
China | 11 | 11 | 0 | 0 | ||
Europe | 6 | 6 | 0 | 0 | ||
India | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | ||
Iran | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | First orbital launch attempt[150] | |
Japan | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | ||
Russia | 24 | 23 | 0 | 1 | ||
Ukraine | 8 | 8 | 0 | 0 | ||
United States | 15 | 14 | 1 | 0 | ||
World | 69 | 66 | 2 | 1 |
By rocket
By family
Family | Country | Launches | Successes | Failures | Partial failures | Remarks |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Ariane | Europe | 6 | 6 | 0 | 0 | |
Atlas | United States | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | |
Delta | United States | 5 | 5 | 0 | 0 | |
Falcon | United States | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | |
H-II | Japan | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | |
Long March | China | 11 | 11 | 0 | 0 | |
Pegasus | United States | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | |
R-7 | Russia | 10 | 10 | 0 | 0 | |
R-14 | Russia | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | |
R-36 | Ukraine | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | |
Safir | Iran | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | Maiden flight |
Space Shuttle | United States | 4 | 4 | 0 | 0 | |
SLV | India | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | |
Universal Rocket | Russia | 11 | 10 | 0 | 1 | |
Zenit | Ukraine | 6 | 6 | 0 | 0 |
By type
Rocket | Country | Family | Launches | Successes | Failures | Partial failures | Remarks |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Ariane 5 | Europe | Ariane | 6 | 6 | 0 | 0 | |
Atlas V | United States | Atlas | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | |
Delta II | United States | Delta | 5 | 5 | 0 | 0 | |
Dnepr | Ukraine | R-36 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | |
H-IIA | Japan | H-II | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | |
Falcon 1 | United States | Falcon | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | |
Kosmos | Russia | R-12/R-14 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | |
Long March 2 | China | Long March | 4 | 4 | 0 | 0 | |
Long March 3 | China | Long March | 4 | 4 | 0 | 0 | |
Long March 4 | China | Long March | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | |
Molniya | Russia | R-7 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | |
Pegasus | United States | Pegasus | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | |
PSLV | India | SLV | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | |
Proton | Russia | Universal Rocket | 10 | 9 | 0 | 1 | |
Safir | Iran | Safir | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | Maiden flight |
Soyuz | Russia | R-7 | 8 | 8 | 0 | 0 | |
Soyuz-2 | Russia | R-7 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | |
Space Shuttle | United States | Space Shuttle | 4 | 4 | 0 | 0 | |
UR-100 | Russia | Universal Rocket | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | |
Zenit | Ukraine | Zenit | 6 | 6 | 0 | 0 |
By configuration
Rocket | Country | Type | Launches | Successes | Failures | Partial failures | Remarks |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Ariane 5 ES | Europe | Ariane 5 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | Maiden flight |
Ariane 5 ECA | Europe | Ariane 5 | 5 | 5 | 0 | 0 | |
Atlas V 411 | United States | Atlas V | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | |
Atlas V 421 | United States | Atlas V | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | |
Delta II 7320 | United States | Delta II | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | |
Delta II 7420 | United States | Delta II | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | |
Delta II 7920H | United States | Delta II | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | |
Delta II 7925 | United States | Delta II | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | |
Dnepr | Ukraine | Dnepr | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | |
H-IIA 2024 | Japan | H-IIA | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | |
Falcon 1 | United States | Falcon 1 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | First successful launch[284] |
Kosmos-3M | Russia | Kosmos | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | |
Long March 2C | China | Long March 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | |
Long March 2D | China | Long March 2 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | |
Long March 2F | China | Long March 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | |
Long March 3A | China | Long March 3 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | |
Long March 3B | China | Long March 3 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | |
Long March 3B/E | China | Long March 3 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | |
Long March 3C | China | Long March 3 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | Maiden flight |
Long March 4B | China | Long March 4 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | |
Long March 4C | China | Long March 4 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | |
Molniya-M / 2BL | Russia | Molniya | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | |
Pegasus-XL | United States | Pegasus | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | |
Proton-K / DM-2 | Russia | Proton | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | |
Proton-M / DM-2 | Russia | Proton | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | |
Proton-M / Briz-M | Russia | Proton | 7 | 6 | 0 | 1 | |
PSLV-CA | India | PSLV | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | |
PSLV-XL | India | PSLV | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | Maiden flight |
Rokot / Briz-KM | Russia | UR-100 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | |
Safir | Iran | Safir | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | Maiden flight |
Soyuz-2.1b | Russia | Soyuz-2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | |
Soyuz-FG | Russia | Soyuz | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | |
Soyuz-FG / Fregat | Russia | Soyuz | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | |
Soyuz-U | Russia | Soyuz | 5 | 5 | 0 | 0 | |
Space Shuttle | United States | Space Shuttle | 4 | 4 | 0 | 0 | |
Zenit-3SL | Ukraine | Zenit | 5 | 5 | 0 | 0 | |
Zenit-3SLB | Ukraine | Zenit | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | Maiden flight |
By launch site
Site | Country | Launches | Successes | Failures | Partial failures | Remarks |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Baikonur | Kazakhstan | 19 | 18 | 0 | 1 | |
Cape Canaveral | United States | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | |
Dombarovsky | Russia | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | |
Jiuquan | China | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | |
Kapustin Yar | Russia | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | |
Kennedy | United States | 4 | 4 | 0 | 0 | |
Kwajalein | Marshall Islands | 4 | 3 | 1 | 0 | Two launches used Stargazer aircraft |
Kourou | France | 6 | 6 | 0 | 0 | |
Ocean Odyssey | International | 5 | 5 | 0 | 0 | |
Plesetsk | Russia | 6 | 6 | 0 | 0 | |
Satish Dhawan | India | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | |
Semnan | Iran | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | First orbital launch attempt |
Taiyuan | China | 4 | 4 | 0 | 0 | |
Tanegashima | Japan | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | |
Vandenberg | United States | 4 | 4 | 0 | 0 | |
Xichang | China | 4 | 4 | 0 | 0 | |
Total | 69 | 66 | 2 | 1 |
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 | 36 | 34 | 2 | 0 | 11 to ISS |
Medium Earth / Molniya | 6 | 6 | 0 | 0 | |
Geosynchronous / GTO | 25 | 25 | 0 | 0 | |
High Earth / Lunar transfer | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | |
Heliocentric / Planetary transfer | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
Total | 69 | 67 | 2 | 0 |
See also
- List of human spaceflights, 2000-present
- Suborbital spaceflight in 2008
- Timeline of spaceflight
References
Spaceflight portal
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