1974 in spaceflight

1974 in spaceflight
	Soyuz-U launch vehicle
Orbital launches
First	5 January
Last	2 December
	v ; t ; e ;

Last updated February 06, 2024

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

Launches


Date and time (UTC)	Rocket		Flight number	Launch site		LSP
		Payload (⚀ = CubeSat)	Operator	Orbit	Function	Decay (UTC)	Outcome
		Remarks
January
5 January 01:45^[1]	Aerobee 200A			White Sands		NASA

			NASA	Sub-orbital	Aeronomy/Ultraviolet astronomy	5 January 1974	Successful
8 January 01:40^[2]	Aerobee 200A			White Sands		NASA

			NASA/NRL	Sub-orbital	Aeronomy/Ultraviolet astronomy	8 January 1974	Successful
12 January 19:12^[3]	Skylark			El Arenosillo		NASA

		H-GR-58	DFVLR	Sub-orbital	Astronomy	12 Jan 1974	Successful
11 January 22:00^[4]	R-36			Baikonur (LC-162/36)		RVSN

		Dkh	RVSN	Sub-orbital	ICBM test	12 January 1974	Successful
15 January 20:00^[5]	Black Brant VC			White Sands (LC-36)		NASA

			NASA	Sub-orbital	Solar research	15 January 1974	Successful
16 January 02:00^[6]	Kappa 9M			Kagoshima (LC-36)		ISAS

			ISAS	Sub-orbital	Ionosphere & Solar research	16 January 1974	Successful
16 January 17:40^[2]	Nike Apache			Wallops Island		NASA

			NASA	Sub-orbital	Aeronomy	16 January 1974	Successful
16 January 18:13^[7]	Super Arcas			Wallops Island		NASA

			NASA	Sub-orbital	Ionosphere research	16 January 1974	Successful
16 January^[2] 01:40	Aerobee 200A			White Sands		NASA

			NASA	Sub-orbital	Solar research	16 January 1974	Successful
17 January 02:37^[2]	Nike Tomahawk			Poker Flat		NASA

			NASA/NRL	Sub-orbital	Plasma research	17 January 1974	Successful
17 January 10:07^[8]	Kosmos 3M			Plesetsk (LC-132/2)		VKS

		Kosmos 628 (Tsiklon)	MOM	LEO	Navigation	In orbit	Successful
19 January 01:39^[9]	Delta 2313			CCAFS (LC-17B)		UK Ministry of Defence

		Skynet 2A	UK MOD	Intended: GEO Achieved: LEO	Comms	25 January 1974	Failure
		Placed in incorrect orbit due to carrier rocket malfunction
19 January 11:34	Skua			El Arenosillo		RAE

			RAE	Sub-orbital	Ionosphere research	19 January 1974	Success
19 January	R-36M			LC-103, Baikonur		RVSN

		POR	RVSN	Sub-orbital	ICBM Test	20 January 1974	Success
21 January 02:39	Nike Tomahawk			Poker Flat		NASA

			NASA	Sub-orbital	Plasma research	21 January 1974	Success
21 January 11:30	Skua4			El Arenosillo		RAE

			RAE	Sub-orbital	Ionosphere research	21 January 1974	Success
22 January 02:41	Nike Tomahawk			Poker Flat		NASA

			NASA	Sub-orbital	Plasma research	22 January 1974	Success
22 January 11:00	Lambda 3H			Area 3L, Kagoshima		ISAS

			ISAS	Sub-orbital	X-ray astronomy	22 January 1974	Success
22 January 01:40	Aerobee 200A			White Sands		NASA

			NASA/NRL	Sub-orbital	Solar research	22 January 1974	Successful
22 January 01:40	Minuteman I			LF-06, Vandenberg AFB		USAF

			USAF	Sub-orbital	ICBM test	22 January 1974	Successful
23 January 11:30	Skua			El Arenosillo		RAE

			RAE	Sub-orbital	Ionosphere research	23 January 1974	Success
23 January 12:50	Black Brant VB			Churchill		NRC

			NRC	Sub-orbital	Aeronomy/Ionosphere/Aurora research	23 January 1974	Success
24 January 15:00	Voskhod			Plesetsk		MOM

		Kosmos 629 (Zenit-2M)	MOM	LEO	Recon	5 February 1974	Success
25 January 11:30	Skua			El Arenosillo		RAE

			RAE	Sub-orbital	Ionosphere research	25 January 1974	Success
25 January	UR-100N			Baikonur Cosmodrome		RVSN

			RVSN	Sub-orbital	ICBM test	25 January 1974	Success
26 January	Minuteman III			LF-25, Vandenberg AFB		USAF

		GT-24GB-1	USAF	Sub-orbital	ICBM test	26 January 1974	Success
26 January	UR-100N			Baikonur Cosmodrome		RVSN

		GT-24GB-1	RVSN	Sub-orbital	ICBM test	26 January 1974	Success
27 January 19:08	Nike Tomahawk			Andøya		NASA

		Ferdinand 35 (Polar 3)	NDRE	Sub-orbital	Aurora research	27 January 1974	Success
30 January 11:00	Voskhod			Plesetsk		MOM

		Kosmos 630 (Zenit-4MK)	MOM	LEO	Aurora research	13 February 1974	Success
30 January	SSBS			BLB, Biscarosse		DMA

			DMA	Sub-orbital	Aurora research	30 January 1974	Success
February
1 February 06:30	JCR			Area T, Tanegashima		NADSA

		Kosmos 547 (Zenit 2M)	NASDA	Sub-orbital	Test flight	1 February 1974	Successful
4 February 14:40	Skylark 6AC			LA-2SL, Woomera		BAC

			BAC	Sub-orbital	Astronomy	4 February 1974	Successful
4 February	MR-UR-100			LC-177, Baikonur		RVSN

			RVSN	Sub-orbital	ICBM test	4 February 1974	Successful
6 February 00:34	Kosmos-3M			LC-132/2, Plesetsk		VKS

		Kosmos 631 (Tselina-O)	VKS	LEO	ELINT	3 October 1980	Successful
6 February 22:48	Black Brant IVB			Andoya		DLR

			DLR	Sub-orbital	Aurora research (DLR A-BB4-63 Auroral mission)	6 February 1974	Successful
6 February	Polaris A3			Submarine, WTR		US Navy

			US Navy	Sub-orbital	SLBM test	6 February 1974	Successful
6 February	Polaris A3			Submarine, WTR		US Navy

			US Navy	Sub-orbital	SLBM test	6 February 1974	Successful
9 February 02:10	Aerobee 200A			White Sands		NASA

			NASA	Sub-orbital	Astronomy	9 February 1974	Successful
9 February 06:30	LS-C			Area T, Tanegashima		NASDA

			NASDA	Sub-orbital	Test flight	9 February 1974	Successful
11 February 13:48	Titan IIIE/Centaur			LC-41, CCAFS		NASA

		Boilerplate	NASA	Intended: GSO	Test carrier rocket	12 February 1974	Failure
		Sphinx	NASA	Intended: GSO	Plasma research	12 February 1974	Failure
		Upper stage turbopump malfunction
18 February	Scout D-1			San Marco mobile range, Kenya		CRS

		San Marco 4	CRS / NASA	Low Earth	Atmospheric	In orbit	Successful
March
April
May
June
July
3 July	Soyuz (11A511)			LC-1/5, Baikonur

		Soyuz 14		LEO, docked to Salyut 3	Crewed orbital flight	19 July 1974	Successful
16 July	Scout			Western Space and Missile Center at Vandenberg AFB		NASA

		Aeros 2	NASA
August
28 August 10:08	Soyuz (11A511)			LC-1/5, Baikonur

		Soyuz 15		LEO Plan: Dock to Salyut 3	Crewed orbital flight	28 August 1974	Failure
		Failed to dock with Salyut 3
September
October
15 October 07:47	Scout B-1			San Marco mobile range, Kenya		CRS

		Ariel 5	SERC / NASA	Low Earth	X-ray astronomy	14 March 1980	Successful
November
December
2 December 15:00	Soyuz-U (11A511U)			LC-1/5, Baikonur

		Soyuz 16		LEO	Crewed orbital flight	8 December 1974	Successful
		First successful crewed use of Soyuz-U launch vehicle
10 December 07:11:01	Titan IIIE/Star-37			Cape Canaveral SLC-41		NASA

		Helios-A	NASA / DFVLR	Heliocentric	Solar probe	In orbit	Successful
		Achieved a closest approach to the Sun of 46.5 million km (0.31 AU) in February 1975, the closest approach achieved by an artificial satellite at that point; it was succeeded later by Helios-B.

Deep Space Rendezvous

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

EVAs

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

Related Research Articles

This is the timeline of known spaceflights, both crewed and uncrewed, sorted chronologically by launch date. Owing to its large size, the timeline is split into smaller articles, one for each year since 1951. There is a separate list for all flights that occurred before 1951.

The year 1966 saw the peak and the end of the Gemini program. The program proved that docking in space and human EVA's could be done safely. It saw the first launch of the Saturn IB rocket, an important step in the Apollo program, and the launch of Luna 9, the first spacecraft to make a soft landing on a celestial object.

The year 1967 in spaceflight saw the most orbital launches of the 20th century and more than any other year until 2021, including that of the first Australian satellite, WRESAT, which was launched from the Woomera Test Range atop an American Sparta rocket. The United States National Space Science Data Center catalogued 172 spacecraft placed into orbit by launches which occurred in 1967.

Japan and China each launched their first satellites in 1970, bringing the total number of nations with independent launch capability to five.

The first orbital flight of an artificial satellite, Sputnik 1, was launched in October 1957, by the Soviet Union. In November, the second orbital flight took place. The Soviet Union launched the first animal to orbit the Earth, a dog, Laika, who died in orbit a few hours after launch.

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.

This article outlines notable events occurring in 2000 in spaceflight, including major launches and EVAs.

The following is an outline of 1983 in spaceflight.

This is a list of spaceflight related events which occurred in 1956.

The following is an outline of 1993 in spaceflight.

The following is an outline of 1992 in spaceflight.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1975 in spaceflight</span>

In 1975 several notable events happened in spaceflight such as the launch and arrival at Venus of Venera 9 and 10, the launch to Mars of the Viking orbiter/landers missions, the joint Apollo–Soyuz Test Project, and the launch of satellite Aryabhatta.

1978 saw the launch of the Pioneer Venus missions launched by the United States, on 20 May and 8 August. The Pioneer Venus Multiprobe landed four spacecraft on the planet, one of which transmitted data for 67 minutes before being destroyed by atmospheric pressure. ISEE-C, which was launched on 8 December, flew past comet 21P/Giacobini–Zinner in 1985, and Halley's Comet in 1986.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1976 in spaceflight</span>

The following is an outline of 1976 in spaceflight.

This is a list of spaceflights launched between July and September 1964. For launches in the rest of the year, see 1964 in spaceflight (January–March), 1964 in spaceflight (April–June) and 1964 in spaceflight (October–December). For an overview of the whole year, see 1964 in spaceflight.

This is a list of spaceflights launched between January and June 1961. For launches between July and December, see 1961 in spaceflight (July–December). For an overview of the whole year, see 1961 in spaceflight.

This is a list of spaceflights launched between July and December 1961. For launches between January and June, see 1961 in spaceflight (January–June). For an overview of the whole year, see 1961 in spaceflight.

This article documents expected notable spaceflight events during the 2020s.

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. "Jonathan's Space Report".
Pietrobon, Steven. "Steven Pietrobon's Space Archive".
Wade, Mark. "Encyclopedia Astronautica".
Webb, Brian. "Southwest Space Archive".
Zak, Anatoly. "Russian Space Web".
"ISS Calendar". Spaceflight 101.
"NSSDCA Master Catalog". NASA Space Science Data Coordinated Archive. NASA Goddard Space Flight Center.
"Space Calendar". NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory.
"Space Information Center". JAXA.
"Хроника освоения космоса" [Chronicle of space exploration]. CosmoWorld (in Russian).

Generic references:

Spaceflightportal

Footnotes

↑ "Scientits See Comet From Plane". The Daily Mail . Baltimore. Associated Press. 5 January 1974. Retrieved 4 April 2023– via Newspapers.com.
1 2 3 4 McDowell, Jonathan C. "Launch list by family: Nike". GCAT: General Catalog of Artificial Space Objects. Archived from the original on 2 February 2023. Retrieved 4 April 2023.
↑ McDowell, Jonathan C. "Launch list by family: Raven". GCAT: General Catalog of Artificial Space Objects. Archived from the original on 2 February 2023. Retrieved 4 April 2023.
↑ McDowell, Jonathan C. "Launch list by family: R-36". GCAT: General Catalog of Artificial Space Objects. Archived from the original on 10 December 2022. Retrieved 4 April 2023.
↑ McDowell, Jonathan C. "Launch list by family: BB5". GCAT: General Catalog of Artificial Space Objects. Archived from the original on 10 December 2022. Retrieved 4 April 2023.
↑ McDowell, Jonathan C. "Launch list by family: K420". GCAT: General Catalog of Artificial Space Objects. Archived from the original on 10 December 2022. Retrieved 4 April 2023.
↑ McDowell, Jonathan C. "Launch list by family: Arcas". GCAT: General Catalog of Artificial Space Objects. Archived from the original on 10 December 2022. Retrieved 4 April 2023.
↑ McDowell, Jonathan C. "Launch list by family: R-14". GCAT: General Catalog of Artificial Space Objects. Archived from the original on 10 December 2022. Retrieved 4 April 2023.
↑ "British Satellite Launched". The News-Press . Associated Press. 19 January 1974. Retrieved 4 April 2023– via Newspapers.com.

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[ap-19740105-1] "Scientits See Comet From Plane". The Daily Mail . Baltimore. Associated Press. 5 January 1974. Retrieved 4 April 2023– via Newspapers.com.

[gcat-nike-2] 1 2 3 4 McDowell, Jonathan C. "Launch list by family: Nike". GCAT: General Catalog of Artificial Space Objects. Archived from the original on 2 February 2023. Retrieved 4 April 2023.

[gcat-raven-3] McDowell, Jonathan C. "Launch list by family: Raven". GCAT: General Catalog of Artificial Space Objects. Archived from the original on 2 February 2023. Retrieved 4 April 2023.

[gcat-r36-4] McDowell, Jonathan C. "Launch list by family: R-36". GCAT: General Catalog of Artificial Space Objects. Archived from the original on 10 December 2022. Retrieved 4 April 2023.

[gcat-bb5-5] McDowell, Jonathan C. "Launch list by family: BB5". GCAT: General Catalog of Artificial Space Objects. Archived from the original on 10 December 2022. Retrieved 4 April 2023.

[gcat-k420-6] McDowell, Jonathan C. "Launch list by family: K420". GCAT: General Catalog of Artificial Space Objects. Archived from the original on 10 December 2022. Retrieved 4 April 2023.

[gcat-arcas-7] McDowell, Jonathan C. "Launch list by family: Arcas". GCAT: General Catalog of Artificial Space Objects. Archived from the original on 10 December 2022. Retrieved 4 April 2023.

[gcat-r14-8] McDowell, Jonathan C. "Launch list by family: R-14". GCAT: General Catalog of Artificial Space Objects. Archived from the original on 10 December 2022. Retrieved 4 April 2023.

[ap-19740119-9] "British Satellite Launched". The News-Press . Associated Press. 19 January 1974. Retrieved 4 April 2023– via Newspapers.com.

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v t e Timeline of spaceflight
Spaceflight before 1951
1950s	1950 1951 1952 1953 1954 1955 1956 1957 1958 1959
1960s	1960 1961 1962 1963 1964 1965 1966 1967 1968 1969
1970s	1970 1971 1972 1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979
1980s	1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989
1990s	1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999
2000s	2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009
2010s	2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019
2020s	2020 2021 2022 2023 2024 2025 2026 2027 2028 2029
Future

v t e Timeline of spaceflight
Spaceflight before 1951
1950s	1950 1951 1952 1953 1954 1955 1956 1957 1958 1959
1960s	1960 1961 1962 1963 1964 1965 1966 1967 1968 1969
1970s	1970 1971 1972 1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979
1980s	1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989
1990s	1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999
2000s	2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009
2010s	2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019
2020s	2020 2021 2022 2023 2024 2025 2026 2027 2028 2029
Future

1974 in spaceflight

Contents

Launches

January

February

March

April

May

June

July

August

September

October

November

December

Deep Space Rendezvous

EVAs

Related Research Articles

References

Footnotes