1976 in spaceflight

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1976 in spaceflight
Viking2lander1.jpg
Viking 2 on the surface of Mars
Orbital launches
First6 January
Last28 December
Total131
Catalogued 128
National firsts
Satellite Flag of Indonesia.svg  Indonesia
Rockets
Maiden flights Thor DSV-2U
Retirements Voskhod
Scout B-1
Soyuz
Soyuz-M
Thor-Burner
Crewed flights
Orbital3
Total travellers6

The following is an outline of 1976 in spaceflight.

Contents

Launches

Date and time (UTC) Rocket Flight number Launch site LSP
Payload
(⚀ = CubeSat)
Operator Orbit Function Decay (UTC)Outcome
Remarks
15 January
05:34:00
Flag of the United States.svg Titan IIIE/Star-37 Flag of the United States.svg Cape Canaveral SLC-41 Flag of the United States.svg NASA
Flag of the United States.svg Flag of Germany.svg Helios-B NASA / DFVLR Heliocentric Solar probe In orbitSuccessful
Achieved a closest approach to the Sun of 43.432 million km (0.29 AU) on 17 April 1976, the closest approach achieved by an artificial satellite; it was succeeded by the Parker Solar Probe in 2018.
29 February
03:30:00
Flag of Japan.svg N-I Flag of Japan.svg Tanegashima LA-N Flag of Japan.svg
Flag of Japan.svg Ionospheric Sounding Satellite (ISS) Ume Low Earth IonosphericIn orbitSuccessful
First launch completed on February 29
15 March
01:25:40 [1]
Flag of the United States.svg Titan III(23)C Flag of the United States.svg Cape Canaveral SLC-40 Flag of the United States.svg NASA
Flag of the United States.svg LES-8 MIT Lincoln Laboratory Geosynchronous Technology demonstration In orbitSuccessful
Flag of the United States.svg LES-9 MIT Lincoln Laboratory Geosynchronous Technology demonstration In orbitSuccessful
Flag of the United States.svg SOLRAD 11A NRL Geosynchronous Heliophysics In orbitSuccessful
Flag of the United States.svg SOLRAD 11B NRL Geosynchronous Heliophysics In orbitSuccessful
LES-8 was decommissioned in 2004; LES-9, the last Lincoln Experimental Satellite, continued functioning for 44 years and was finally decommissioned in 2020. [2]
22 June
18:04:00
Flag of the Soviet Union.svg Proton-K Flag of the Soviet Union.svg Baikonur Site 81/23 Flag of the Soviet Union.svg
Flag of the Soviet Union.svg Salyut 5 (Almaz OPS-3) Low Earth Space station 8 August 1977Successful
Visited by three crews, one of which failed to dock
6 July
12:08:45
Flag of the Soviet Union.svg Soyuz Flag of the Soviet Union.svg Baikonur Site 1/5 Flag of the Soviet Union.svg
Flag of the Soviet Union.svg Soyuz 21 Low Earth (Salyut 5)Salyut expedition24 August
18:32:17
Partial mission failure
Crewed flight with two cosmonauts, final flight of Soyuz 11A511, returned early due to crew illness
9 August
12:08:45
Flag of the Soviet Union.svg Proton-K/D Flag of the Soviet Union.svg Baikonur 81/23 Flag of the Soviet Union.svg
Luna 24 SelenocentricLunar lander22 AugustSuccessful
Third uncrewed lunar sample return, Third Soviet lunar sample return
15 September
09:48:30
Flag of the Soviet Union.svg Soyuz-U Flag of the Soviet Union.svg Baikonur Site 1/5 Flag of the Soviet Union.svg
Flag of the Soviet Union.svg Soyuz 22 Low EarthSalyut expedition23 September
07:40:47
Successful
Crewed flight with two cosmonauts
14 October
17:39:18
Flag of the Soviet Union.svg Soyuz-U Flag of the Soviet Union.svg Baikonur Site 1/5 Flag of the Soviet Union.svg
Flag of the Soviet Union.svg Soyuz 23 Low Earth (Intended: Salyut 5)Salyut expedition16 October
17:45:53
Spacecraft failure
Crewed flight with two cosmonauts, failed to dock with Salyut 5

Launches from the Moon

Date and time (UTC) Rocket Flight number Launch site LSP
Payload
(⚀ = CubeSat)
Operator Orbit Function Decay (UTC)Outcome
Remarks
19 August
5:25
Flag of the Soviet Union.svg Luna 24 Ascent stage Mare Crisium ( Luna )
Flag of the Soviet Union.svg Luna 24 Return capsule Flag of the Soviet Union.svg Highly ellipticalSample return22 August 1976Successful
Third uncrewed lunar sample return mission

Deep space rendezvous

DateSpacecraftEventRemarks
19 June Viking 1 Areocentric orbit insertion
20 JulyViking 1 Landerlanded in Chryse Planitia
7 August Viking 2 Areocentric orbit insertion
18 August Luna 24 landed in Mare Crisium sample return mission
19 AugustLuna 24lift-off from Mare Crisium170 grams (6.0 oz)
3 SeptemberViking 2 Landerlanded in Utopia Planitia

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This is a list of spaceflights launched between January and March 1964. For launches in the rest of the year, see 1964 in spaceflight (April–June), 1964 in spaceflight (July–September) 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 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 March 1965. For launches in the rest of the year, see 1965 in spaceflight (April–June), 1965 in spaceflight (July–September) and 1965 in spaceflight (October–December). For an overview of the whole year, see 1965 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 is a list of spaceflights launched between October and December 1964. For launches in the rest of the year, see 1964 in spaceflight (January–March), 1964 in spaceflight (April–June) and 1964 in spaceflight (July–September). For an overview of the whole year, see 1964 in spaceflight.

References

Generic references:
RocketSunIcon.svg  Spaceflightportal

Footnotes

  1. McDowell, Jonathan. "Launch Log". Jonathan's Space Report. Archived from the original on 16 November 2021. Retrieved 6 December 2020.
  2. Ryan, Dorothy (27 May 2020). "Lincoln Laboratory decommissions Lincoln Experimental Satellite–9". MIT . Archived from the original on 2 February 2023. Retrieved 6 December 2020.