1959 in spaceflight

1959 in spaceflight

Orbital launches
First	2 January
Last	26 November
Total	23
Successes	10
Failures	11
Partial failures	2
Catalogued	14
Rockets
Maiden flights	Thor-Agena Atlas-Able Atlas D (suborbital test)
Retirements	Vanguard
v t e

Luna 1 was the first spacecraft to leave the gravitational influence of Earth. Also in 1959, Luna 2 was the first spacecraft to reach the surface of another celestial body, impacting the Moon, and Luna 3 returned the first images of the far side of the Moon. ^[1]

1959 in spaceflight

Timeline of spaceflight ←  1958 1960  →

Orbital and suborbital launches

Main articles: 1959 in spaceflight (January–June) and 1959 in spaceflight (July–December)

Deep Space Rendezvous

Date (GMT)	Spacecraft	Event	Remarks
4 January	Luna 1	First Lunar flyby	Failed impactor, closest approach: 6,000 kilometres (3,700 mi)
4 March	Pioneer 4	Lunar flyby	Closest approach: 60,200 kilometres (37,400 mi)
14 September	Luna 2	First Lunar impact	Landed in Mare Imbrium , first spacecraft to reach the surface of a celestial body
6 October	Luna 3	Lunar flyby	First Circumlunar flight, returned 29 pictures including first images of the far side of the Moon; closest approach 6,200 kilometres (3,900 mi)

Orbital launch statistics

By country

Country		Launches	Successes	Failures	Partial failures
	Soviet Union	4	2	1	1
	United States	19	9	9	1
World		23	11	10	2

By rocket

Rocket	Country	Launches	Successes	Failures	Partial failures	Remarks
Atlas-Able	United States	1	0	1	0	Maiden flight
Juno II	United States	4	1	2	1
Luna 8K72	Soviet Union	4	2	1	1
Thor DM-18 Agena-A	United States	8	5	3	0	Maiden flight
Thor DM-18 Able-II	United States	1	0	1	0
Thor DM-18 Able-III	United States	1	1	0	0
Vanguard	United States	4	2	2	0	Final flight

By orbit

Orbital regime	Launches	Successes	Failures	Accidentally Achieved	Remarks
Low Earth	12	7	5	0
Medium Earth	4	1	3	0
High Earth	2	2	0	0	Including Highly elliptical orbits
Heliocentric	5	3	2	0

See also

• Timeline of spaceflight

References

• Bergin, Chris. "NASASpaceFlight.com".
• Clark, Stephen. "Spaceflight Now".
• Kelso, T.S. "Satellite Catalog (SATCAT)". CelesTrak.
• Krebs, Gunter. "Chronology of Space Launches".
• Kyle, Ed. "Space Launch Report". Archived from the original on 5 October 2009. Retrieved 13 August 2022.
• McDowell, Jonathan. "GCAT Orbital Launch Log".
• Pietrobon, Steven. "Steven Pietrobon's Space Archive".
• Wade, Mark. "Encyclopedia Astronautica".
• Webb, Brian. "Southwest Space Archive".
• Zak, Anatoly. "Russian Space Web".
• "ISS Calendar". Spaceflight 101.
• "NSSDCA Master Catalog". NASA Space Science Data Coordinated Archive. NASA Goddard Space Flight Center.
• "Хроника освоения космоса" [Chronicle of space exploration]. CosmoWorld (in Russian).
• "Rocket Launch Manifest". Next Spaceflight.
• "Space Launch Plans". Novosti Kosmonavtiki.

Generic references:

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Spaceflightportal

Footnotes

1. "Orbital Launches of 1959". space.skyrocket.de. Retrieved 31 August 2025.