Orbital launches | |
---|---|
First | 10 January |
Last | 28 December |
Total | 87 |
Successes | 82 |
Failures | 4 |
Partial failures | 1 |
Catalogued | 83 [lower-alpha 2] |
National firsts | |
Satellite | Turkmenistan Laos |
Space traveller | Denmark Kazakhstan |
Rockets | |
Maiden flights | |
Retirements | Dnepr-1 |
Crewed flights | |
Orbital | 4 |
Total travellers | 12 |
EVAs | 7 |
In 2015, the maiden spaceflights of the Chinese Long March 6 and Long March 11 launch vehicles took place.
A total of 87 orbital launches were attempted in 2015, of which 82 were successful, one was partially successful and four were failures. The year also saw seven EVAs by ISS astronauts. The majority of the year's orbital launches were conducted by Russia, the United States and China, with 27, 20 and 19 launches respectively.
In February 2015, the European Space Agency's experimental lifting body spacecraft, the Intermediate eXperimental Vehicle, successfully conducted its first test flight.
In March 2015, Ceres became the first dwarf planet to be visited by a spacecraft when Dawn entered orbit. In July 2015, New Horizons visited the Pluto-Charon system after a 9-year voyage, returning a trove of pictures and information about the former "ninth planet" (now classified as a dwarf planet). Meanwhile, the MESSENGER probe was deliberately crashed into Mercury after 4 years of in-orbit observations.
On 23 November 2015, the Blue Origin New Shepard suborbital rocket achieved its first powered soft landing near the launch site, paving the way for full reuse of its propulsion stage. On 21 December, the maiden flight of the SpaceX Falcon 9 Full Thrust took place, ending with a successful landing of its first stage.
Two old weather satellites, NOAA-16 and DMSP 5D-2/F13, broke up in 2015, creating several hundred pieces of space debris. In both cases, a battery explosion is suspected as the root cause.
Date and time (UTC) | Rocket | Flight number | Launch site | LSP | |||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Payload (⚀ = CubeSat) | Operator | Orbit | Function | Decay (UTC) | Outcome | ||
Remarks | |||||||
26 January 09:13 | Terrier-Improved Malemute | Poker Flat | NASA | ||||
M-TEX | Alaska | Suborbital | Auroral | 26 January | Successful | ||
Apogee: ~160 kilometres (99 mi)? | |||||||
26 January 09:14 | Terrier-Orion | Poker Flat | NASA | ||||
MIST | Clemson | Suborbital | Auroral | 26 January | Successful | ||
Apogee: ~130 kilometres (81 mi)? | |||||||
26 January 09:46 | Terrier-Improved Malemute | Poker Flat | NASA | ||||
M-TEX | Alaska | Suborbital | Auroral | 26 January | Successful | ||
Apogee: ~160 kilometres (99 mi)? | |||||||
26 January 09:47 | Terrier-Orion | Poker Flat | NASA | ||||
MIST | Clemson | Suborbital | Auroral | 26 January | Successful | ||
Apogee: ~130 kilometres (81 mi)? | |||||||
28 January 10:41 | Talos Terrier Oriole Nihka | Poker Flat | NASA | ||||
ASSP | USU | Suborbital | Auroral | 28 January | Successful | ||
Apogee: ~590 kilometres (370 mi)? | |||||||
31 January 02:36:00 [69] | Agni V | Integrated Test Range Launch Complex IV | DRDO | ||||
DRDO | Suborbital | Missile test | 31 January | Successful | |||
Apogee: ~800 kilometres (500 mi) | |||||||
19 February | Prithvi II | Integrated Test Range Launch Complex 3 | DRDO | ||||
DRDO | Suborbital | Missile test | 19 February | Successful | |||
Apogee: ~100 kilometres (62 mi) | |||||||
19 February 22:06 | VS-30/Improved Orion | Andøya | Andøya | ||||
ICI-4 (CanoRock 4) | Oslo/Andøya | Suborbital | Technology | 19 February | Successful | ||
Apogee: 365 kilometres (227 mi) | |||||||
22 February 07:52 | VSB-30 | Esrange | CNES | ||||
Cryofenix | CNES | Suborbital | Microgravity | 22 February | Successful | ||
Apogee: 265 kilometres (165 mi) | |||||||
22 February | UGM-133 Trident II D5 | Submarine, Pacific Ocean | US Navy | ||||
US Navy | Suborbital | Missile test | 22 February | Successful | |||
22 February | UGM-133 Trident II D5 | Submarine, Pacific Ocean | US Navy | ||||
US Navy | Suborbital | Missile test | 22 February | Successful | |||
24 February 07:30 | Terrier-Oriole | Wallops Island | TBD | ||||
DOD | Suborbital | Missile Defense Test | 24 February | Successful | |||
FTX-19 target, apogee: ~150 kilometres (93 mi)? | |||||||
24 February 07:30 | Terrier-Oriole | Wallops Island | TBD | ||||
DOD | Suborbital | Missile Defense Test | 24 February | Successful | |||
FTX-19 target, apogee: ~150 kilometres (93 mi)? | |||||||
24 February 07:30 | Terrier-Oriole | Wallops Island | TBD | ||||
DOD | Suborbital | Missile Defense Test | 24 February | Successful | |||
FTX-19 target, apogee: ~150 kilometres (93 mi)? | |||||||
25 February 12:26 | Black Brant IX | White Sands | NASA | ||||
MOSC 2 | AFRL | Suborbital | Ionospheric research | 25 February | Successful | ||
Apogee: 300 kilometres (190 mi)? | |||||||
26 February | UR-100NU | Yasniy | RVSN | ||||
RVSN | Suborbital | Missile test | 26 February | Launch failure [70] | |||
Yu-71 Hypersonic Vehicle Test | |||||||
5 March 01:44 | VS-30 | Andøya | DLR | ||||
WADIS-2 | DLR | Suborbital | Atmospheric | 5 March | Successful | ||
Apogee: 126 kilometres (78 mi), 13 Super Loki meteorological rockets were also launched | |||||||
9 March | Shaheen-III | Sonmiani | ASFC | ||||
ASFC | Suborbital | Missile test | 9 March | Successful | |||
Apogee: 500 kilometres (310 mi)? | |||||||
18 March | RS-26 Rubezh | Kapustin Yar | RVSN | ||||
RVSN | Suborbital | Missile test | 18 March | Successful | |||
23 March 10:36 | LGM-30G Minuteman III | Vandenberg LF-10 | US Air Force | ||||
US Air Force | Suborbital | Test flight | 23 March | Successful | |||
GT214GM, Apogee: ~1,300 kilometres (810 mi) ? | |||||||
27 March 10:54 | LGM-30G Minuteman III | Vandenberg LF-04 | US Air Force | ||||
US Air Force | Suborbital | Test flight | 27 March | Successful | |||
GT215GM, Apogee: ~1,300 kilometres (810 mi) ? | |||||||
30 March | VSB-30 | Andøya | DSTO | ||||
HiFire-7 | DSTO | Suborbital | Technology demonstration | 30 March | Successful | ||
9 April | Dhanush | Ship, Indian Ocean | DRDO | ||||
DRDO | Suborbital | Target | 9 April | Successful | |||
Apogee: ~100 kilometres (62 mi) | |||||||
15 April | Ghauri | Tilla | Army of Pakistan | ||||
Haft-5 | Army of Pakistan | Suborbital | Missile test | 15 April | Successful | ||
Apogee: 100 kilometres (62 mi) | |||||||
16 April 04:22 | Agni-III | ITR IC-4 | Indian Army | ||||
Indian Army | Suborbital | Missile test | 16 April | Successful | |||
Apogee: 350 kilometres (220 mi) | |||||||
18 April 11:01 | Terrier-Improved Malemute | Wallops Island | NASA | ||||
Rocksat-X | University of Colorado Boulder | Suborbital | Student Research | 18 April | Successful | ||
Apogee: ~174 kilometres (108 mi) | |||||||
23 April 07:35 | VSB-30 | Esrange | EuroLaunch | ||||
/ TEXUS-51 | DLR/ESA | Suborbital | Microgravity | 23 April | Successful | ||
Apogee: 261 kilometres (162 mi) | |||||||
27 April 04:55 | VSB-30 | Esrange | EuroLaunch | ||||
/ TEXUS-52 | DLR/ESA | Suborbital | Microgravity | 27 April | Successful | ||
Apogee: 255 kilometres (158 mi) | |||||||
2 May 08:30:01 | Black Brant IX | White Sands | NASA | ||||
OGRESS | University of Iowa | Suborbital | X-Ray Astronomy | 2 May | Successful | ||
Apogee: 272 kilometres (169 mi) | |||||||
20 May 10:37 | LGM-30G Minuteman III | Vandenberg LF-09 | US Air Force | ||||
US Air Force | Suborbital | Test flight | 20 May | Successful | |||
GT212GM, Apogee: ~1,300 kilometres (810 mi) ? | |||||||
21 May 19:15 | Black Brant IX | White Sands | NASA | ||||
EVE | CU Boulder | Suborbital | SDO calibration | 21 May | Launch failure | ||
Second stage failure, flight was terminated safety officials about four seconds into the second stage burn after data showed the vehicle was flying off-course. The payload carrying the experiment separated from the rocket and descended via parachute. | |||||||
6 June | SM-3-IIA | San Nicolas Island | US Navy | ||||
US Navy | Suborbital | ABM test | 6 June | Successful | |||
Maiden flight of SM-3 Block IIA Cooperative Development Controlled Test Vehicle-01 (SCD CTV-01) | |||||||
25 June 10:00 | Terrier-Improved Orion | Wallops Island | NASA | ||||
RockOn | CU Boulder | Suborbital | Student experiments | 25 June | Successful | ||
Apogee: 118 kilometres (73 mi) | |||||||
26 June | ARAV ? | Kauai | MDA | ||||
MDA | Suborbital | ABM target | 26 June | Launch failure | |||
Aegis radar target | |||||||
30 June 04:55 | VSB-30 | Esrange | EuroLaunch | ||||
MAPHEUS-5 | DLR | Suborbital | Technology demonstration | 30 June | Successful | ||
Apogee: 252 kilometres (157 mi) | |||||||
7 July 10:15 | Black Brant IX | Wallops Island | NASA | ||||
SOAREX-8 | NASA | Suborbital | Technology demonstration | 7 July | Successful | ||
Apogee: 350 kilometres (220 mi) | |||||||
29 July 08:30 | ARAV ? | MMW E1 | Kauai | MDA | |||
MDA | Suborbital | ABM target | 29 July | Successful | |||
Apogee: 100 kilometres (62 mi)?, Aegis MMW E1 target, successful intercept by SM-6 Dual I missile | |||||||
30 July 06:15 | ARAV ? | MMW E2 | Kauai | MDA | |||
MDA | Suborbital | ABM target | 30 July | Successful | |||
Apogee: 100 kilometres (62 mi)?, Aegis MMW E2 target, successful intercept by SM-2 Block IV missile | |||||||
12 August 10:14 | Terrier-Improved Malemute | Wallops Island | NASA | ||||
Rocksat-X | Various universities | Suborbital | Student Research | 12 August | Successful | ||
Apogee: ~156km (97 miles). [71] | |||||||
19 August 10:03 | LGM-30G Minuteman III | Vandenberg LF-10 | US Air Force | ||||
US Air Force | Suborbital | Test flight | 19 August | Successful | |||
GT213GM, Apogee: ~1,300 kilometres (810 mi) ? | |||||||
22 August 15:13 | RS-12M Topol | Kapustin Yar | RVSN | ||||
RVSN | Suborbital | Missile test | 22 August | Successful | |||
27 August 17:45 | Black Brant IX | White Sands | NASA | ||||
MOSES-2 | MSU | Suborbital | Solar astronomy | 27 August | Successful | ||
Apogee: 185 miles (298 km) [72] | |||||||
3 September 17:01 | Black Brant IX | White Sands | NASA | ||||
CLASP | NASA / JAXA / IAC / IAS | Suborbital | Solar astronomy | 3 September | Successful | ||
Apogee: 167 miles (269 km) [73] | |||||||
11 September 11:00:00 | S-520 | Uchinoura | JAXA | ||||
HU/UT/TU/JAXA | Suborbital | Microgravity | 11 September | Successful | |||
Apogee: 312 km [74] | |||||||
16 September 19:06 | Black Brant XI | Andøya | NASA | ||||
CARE II | NRL | Suborbital | Aeronomy | 16 September | Successful | ||
Apogee: 299 kilometres (186 mi) | |||||||
30 September 08:28 | M51 | Landes | DGA/Marine nationale | ||||
DGA/Marine nationale | Suborbital | Test flight | 30 September | Successful | |||
Apogee: 500 kilometres (310 mi), apparently launched from the land test pad, rather than from a submarine. | |||||||
2 October 05:39:00 | / VSB-30/Improved Orion | Esrange | Swedish Space Corporation | ||||
O-STATES 1 | SNSB | Suborbital | Atmospheric Research | 2 October | Successful | ||
Apogee: 246 kilometres (153 mi) | |||||||
7 October 23:07:00 | Black Brant IX | Wallops Island | NASA | ||||
Technology Test Flight | NASA GSFC | Suborbital | Rocket motor test | 7 October | Successful | ||
LEO-1 | Orbital ATK | Suborbital | Materials Testing | 7 October | Successful | ||
NNS | NASA | Suborbital | Materials Testing | 7 October | Successful | ||
Apogee: 257.5 kilometers (160mi). [75] Test flight of the new Black Brant Mk4 sustainer motor. Other payloads included a cloud of barium and strontium, which was deployed to test the rocket's payload ejection system and was visible for miles along the East Coast of the United States. | |||||||
19 October 14:09:00 | / VSB-30/Improved Orion | Esrange | Swedish Space Corporation | ||||
O-STATES 2 | SNSB | Suborbital | Atmospheric Research | 19 October | Successful | ||
Apogee: 244 kilometres (152 mi) | |||||||
20 October | Terrier-Orion | ADS-15 E2 | South Uist, Hebrides | MDA | |||
DOD | Suborbital | Target | 20 October | Successful | |||
SM-3 Target, apogee: ~100 kilometres (62 mi)? | |||||||
20 October | SM-3 | ADS-15 E2 | USS Ross (DDG-71), Hebrides Range | US Navy | |||
US Navy | Suborbital | ABM test | 20 October | Successful | |||
First Aegis-Test in the North Atlantic, successful intercept, apogee: ~100 kilometres (62 mi)? | |||||||
21 October 12:45:00 | LGM-30G Minuteman III | Vandenberg LF-04 | US Air Force | ||||
US Air Force | Suborbital | Test flight | 21 October | Successful | |||
GT216GM, Apogee: ~1,300 kilometres (810 mi) ? | |||||||
28 October 11:30 | RS-24 Yars | Plesetsk | RVSN | ||||
RVSN | Suborbital | Missile test | 28 October | Successful | |||
30 October | RS-12M Topol | Plesetsk | RVSN | ||||
RVSN | Suborbital | Missile test | 30 October | Successful | |||
30 October | R-29RMU Sineva | K-117 Bryansk, Barents Sea | VMF | ||||
VMF | Suborbital | Missile test | 30 October | Successful | |||
30 October | R-29R Volna | K-223 Podolsk, Sea of Okhotsk | VMF | ||||
VMF | Suborbital | Missile test | 30 October | Successful | |||
31 October 23:00 ? | B-611 | Shuangchengzi | PLA | ||||
PLA | Suborbital | ABM target | 31 October | Successful | |||
Target | |||||||
31 October 23:00 ? | SC-19 | Korla | PLA | ||||
PLA | Suborbital | ABM test | 31 October | Successful | |||
Interceptor, successful intercept | |||||||
1 November 03:05 | SRALT | FTO-02 E2a | C-17, Pacific Ocean | MDA | |||
MDA | Suborbital | THAAD target | 1 November | Successful | |||
Apogee: 300 kilometres (190 mi), successful intercepted | |||||||
1 November 03:07 | THAAD | FTO-02 E2a | Wake Island | US Army | |||
US Army/MDA | Suborbital | ABM test | 1 November | Successful | |||
Intercepted target missile, apogee: 100 kilometres (62 mi) | |||||||
1 November 03:10 | eMRBM | FTO-02 E2a | C-17, Pacific Ocean | MDA | |||
MDA | Suborbital | THAAD target | 1 November | Successful | |||
Apogee: 300 kilometres (190 mi), successful intercepted | |||||||
1 November 03:12 | THAAD | FTO-02 E2a | Wake Island | US Army | |||
US Army/MDA | Suborbital | ABM test | 1 November | Successful | |||
Intercepted target missile, apogee: 100 kilometres (62 mi) | |||||||
6 November 15:01 | SpaceLoft XL | Spaceport America | UP Aerospace | ||||
FOP-4 | NASA | Suborbital | Four technology demonstration experiments | 6 November | Successful | ||
Mission SL-10, Apogee: 120.7 kilometers (74.98 miles). First private suborbital rocket to demonstrate ejection of recoverable payloads. [76] | |||||||
8 November 02:00 | UGM-133 Trident II D5 | USS Kentucky, Pacific Ocean | US Navy | ||||
US Navy | Suborbital | Missile test | 8 November | Successful | |||
Demonstration and Shakedown Operation 26 (DASO-26) | |||||||
9 November 04:15 | Agni-IV | Integrated Test Range | DRDO | ||||
DRDO | Suborbital | Missile Test | 9 November | Successful | |||
Apogee: ~850 kilometres (530 mi)? | |||||||
9 November 20:00 | UGM-133 Trident II D5 | USS Kentucky, Pacific Ocean | US Navy | ||||
US Navy | Suborbital | Missile test | 9 November | Successful | |||
Demonstration and Shakedown Operation 26 (DASO-26) | |||||||
14 November | RSM-56 Bulava | K-551 Vladimir Monomakh, White Sea | VMF | ||||
VMF | Suborbital | Missile test | 14 November | Successful | |||
14 November | RSM-56 Bulava | K-551 Vladimir Monomakh, White Sea | VMF | ||||
VMF | Suborbital | Missile test | 14 November | Successful | |||
Missile did not hit its targets at the Kura test site. The warheads did reach the Kamchatka region, but the miss was fairly large, but that was still not significant enough to abort the flight | |||||||
17 November 12:12 | RS-12M Topol | Kapustin Yar | RVSN | ||||
RVSN | Suborbital | Missile test | 17 November | Successful | |||
21 November | Ghadr-1 | Semnan ? | IRGC | ||||
IGRC | Suborbital | Missile test | 21 November | Successful | |||
apogee: 150 kilometres (93 mi) | |||||||
23 November 17:21 | New Shepard | Corn Ranch | Blue Origin | ||||
New Shepard | Blue Origin | Suborbital | Test flight | 23 November | Successful | ||
Apogee: 100.5 kilometres (62.4 mi). Second test flight of the New Shepard launch system, first to cross the Kármán line, and first to achieve a powered landing of its propulsion stage. | |||||||
25 November 04:17 | Black Brant IX | White Sands | NASA | ||||
PICTURE-B | UMass | Suborbital | Astronomy | 25 November | Successful | ||
apogee: 217 kilometres (135 mi) | |||||||
30 November 07:25 | Talos Terrier Oriole Nihka | Andøya | NASA | ||||
CAPER | Dartmouth College | Suborbital | Auroral research | 30 November | Launch failure | ||
Third stage failure, payload recovered | |||||||
1 December 05:00 | VSB-30 | Esrange | EuroLaunch | ||||
MASER-13 | SSC | Suborbital | Microgravity | 1 December | Successful | ||
apogee: 270 kilometres (170 mi) | |||||||
5 December 04:45 | Black Brant IX | White Sands | NASA | ||||
DXL-2 | U of M | Suborbital | Astronomy | 5 December | Successful | ||
apogee: 224 kilometres (139 mi) | |||||||
8 December | SM-3-IIA | San Nicolas Island | US Navy | ||||
US Navy | Suborbital | ABM test | 8 December | Successful | |||
Second flight of SM-3 Block IIA Cooperative Development Controlled Test Vehicle-02 (SCD CTV-02) | |||||||
10 December 06:12 | Silver Sparrow | F-15 Eagle, Israel | IAF | ||||
IAI/IDF | Suborbital | ABM target | 10 December | Successful | |||
Arrow-3 target, successfully intercepted, apogee: ~150 kilometres (93 mi) | |||||||
10 December 06:15 | Arrow III | Negev | IAF | ||||
IAI/IDF | Suborbital | ABM Test | 10 December | Successful | |||
First test of the Arrow-III against a target, successful intercept over the Mediterranean | |||||||
10 December | SRALT | FTO-02 E1a | C-17, Pacific Ocean | MDA | |||
MDA | Suborbital | SM-3-IB target | 10 December | Successful | |||
Apogee: 300 kilometres (190 mi), successful intercepted | |||||||
10 December | SM-3-IB | FTO-02 E1a | Kauai | US Navy | |||
US Navy | Suborbital | ABM test | 10 December | Successful | |||
First intercept flight test of a land-based Aegis Ballistic Missile Defense (BMD) weapon system | |||||||
10 December 13:55 | Juno | Fort Wingate LC-96 | US Army | ||||
US Army | Suborbital | Target | 10 December | Successful | |||
Target for MIM-104 Patriot PAC-3 MSE test, successfully intercepted | |||||||
11 December | Shaheen-III | Sonmiani | ASFC | ||||
ASFC | Suborbital | Missile test | 11 December | Successful | |||
Apogee: 500 kilometres (310 mi)? | |||||||
12 December | R-29RMU Sineva | K-51 Verkhoturye, Barents Sea | VMF | ||||
VMF | Suborbital | Missile test | 12 December | Successful | |||
13 December 04:32 | Black Brant XIIA | Andøya | NASA | ||||
RENU 2 | New Hampshire | Suborbital | Geospace | 13 December | Successful | ||
Apogee: 447 kilometres (278 mi) | |||||||
15 December | Shaheen-IA | Sonmiani | ASFC | ||||
ASFC | Suborbital | Missile test | 15 December | Successful | |||
18 December 06:52 | Black Brant IX | White Sands | NASA | ||||
FORTIS | JHU | Suborbital | UV Astronomy | 18 December | Successful | ||
apogee: 282 kilometres (175 mi) | |||||||
24 December 17:55 | RS-12M Topol | Kapustin Yar | RVSN | ||||
RVSN | Suborbital | Missile test | 24 December | Successful |
Date (GMT) | Spacecraft | Event | Remarks |
---|---|---|---|
10 January | Chang'e 5-T1 | Injection into Selenocentric orbit | Departed from Earth–Moon L2 on 4 January. |
11 January [77] | Cassini | 109th flyby of Titan | Closest approach: 970 kilometres (603 mi). |
12 February | Cassini | 110th flyby of Titan | Closest approach: 1,200 kilometres (746 mi). |
6 March [78] | Dawn | Enters orbit of Ceres | 1st visit to a dwarf planet. |
16 March | Cassini | 111th flyby of Titan | Closest approach: 2,275 kilometres (1,413 mi). |
30 April | MESSENGER | Impact to Mercury [79] | The crash occurred on the side of the planet not visible from Earth. |
7 May | Cassini | 112th flyby of Titan | Closest approach: 2,722 kilometres (1,691 mi). |
16 June | Cassini | 4th flyby of Dione | Closest approach: 516 kilometres (321 mi). |
7 July | Cassini | 113th flyby of Titan | Closest approach: 10,953 kilometres (6,806 mi). |
14 July | New Horizons | First flyby of Pluto and Charon | 2nd visit to a dwarf planet. Closest approach: 12,500 km (7,800 mi). |
17 August | Cassini | 5th flyby of Dione | Closest approach: 474 kilometres (295 mi). |
28 September | Cassini | 114th flyby of Titan | Closest approach: 1,036 kilometres (643 mi). |
14 October | Cassini | Flyby of Enceladus | Closest approach: 1,839 kilometres (1,142 mi). |
28 October | Cassini | Flyby of Enceladus | Closest approach: 49 kilometres (30 mi). |
12 November | Cassini | 115th flyby of Titan | Closest approach: 11,920 kilometres (7,407 mi). |
3 December [80] | Hayabusa2 | Flyby of Earth | Gravity assist |
3 December [81] | PROCYON | Flyby of Earth | Gravity assist en route to cancelled asteroid flyby. |
4 December [82] | Shin'en 2 | Flyby of Earth | Gravity assist |
7 December [83] | Akatsuki | Venus orbit insertion | Akatsuki's 2nd flyby of Venus and 2nd (successful) attempt at orbit insertion. |
19 December | Cassini | Flyby of Enceladus | Closest approach: 4,999 kilometres (3,106 mi). |
Start Date/Time | Duration | End Time | Spacecraft | Crew | Remarks |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
21 February 12:45 | 6 hours 41 minutes | 19:26 | Expedition 42/43 | Barry E. Wilmore | Rigged and routed power and data cables at the forward end of the Harmony module as part of preparations for the installation of the International Docking Adapter at PMA-2. [84] |
25 February 11:51 | 6 hours 43 minutes | 18:34 | Expedition 42/43 | Barry E. Wilmore | Completed power and data cable routing at the forward end of the Harmony module. Removed launch locks from forward and aft berthing ports of Tranquility to prepare for relocation of the Permanent Multipurpose Module and the installation of the Bigelow Expandable Activity Module. Lubricated end effector of Canadarm2. [85] [86] |
1 March 11:52 | 5 hours 38 minutes | 17:30 | Expedition 42/43 | Terry W. Virts | Finished cable routing, antenna and retro-reflector installation on both sides of the ISS truss and on other modules in preparation for the installation of the International Docking Adapter at PMA-2 and 3. [87] [88] |
10 August 14:20 | 5 hours 31 minutes | 19:51 | Expedition 44/45 | Gennady Padalka | Installed gap spanners on the hull of the station for facilitating movement of crew members on future spacewalks, cleaned windows of the Zvezda Service Module, install fasteners on communications antennas, replaced an aging docking antenna, photographed various locations and hardware on Zvezda and nearby modules, and retrieved a space environment experiment. [89] [90] |
28 October 12:03 | 7 hours 16 minutes | 19:19 | Expedition 45 | Scott Kelly | Prepared a Main Bus Switching Unit for repair, installed a thermal cover on the Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer, lubricated elements of the Space Station Remote Manipulator System, and routed data and power cables to prepare for the installation of the International Docking Adaptor at PMA-2 and 3. [91] |
6 November 11:22 | 7 hours 48 minutes | 19:10 | Expedition 45 | Scott Kelly | Worked to restore a portion of the ISS's cooling system to its primary configuration, returning ammonia coolant levels to normal in the primary and backup radiator arrays. [92] |
21 December 13:45 | 3 hours 16 minutes | 16:01 | Expedition 46 | Scott Kelly | Released a brake on the Mobile Servicing System to allow it to be properly stowed prior to the arrival of a visiting Progress vehicle. Routed cables in preparation for the installation of the Nauka module and the International Docking Adapter, and retrieved tools from a toolbox. [93] |
Date/Time (UTC) | Source object | Event type | Pieces tracked | Remarks |
---|---|---|---|---|
3 February 17:40 [94] | DMSP 5D-2/F13 (USA-109) | Satellite breakup | 159 [95] | The breakup was most likely caused by a battery explosion. [94] [96] This satellite had been launched in 1995. Another satellite from the same series, DMSP 5D-2/F11, had broken up in 2004. [94] Debris are expected to remain in orbit for decades. [97] |
25 November 7:20 [98] | NOAA-16 | Satellite breakup | 275 [99] | As this weather satellite, launched in 2000, had a similar construction to the DMSP satellite which broke up in February 2015, the same cause is suspected (battery overheating and explosion). [100] |
22 December 16:00 [101] | Briz-M upper stage | Booster explosion | 9 [101] | A Briz-M upper-stage booster, having subsisted in geosynchronous transfer orbit since launching the Canadian Nimiq 6 commsat in 2012, was seen to have broken up into 9 pieces as of 26 January 2016. Orbital analysis of the debris allowed to time the explosion within one minute of 16:00 UTC on 22 December 2015. [101] Three other Briz-M upper stages had exploded earlier in 2007, 2010 and 2012. [102] |
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 | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
China | 19 | 19 | 0 | 0 | ||
Europe | 9 | 9 | 0 | 0 | ||
India | 5 | 5 | 0 | 0 | ||
Iran | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | ||
Japan | 4 | 4 | 0 | 0 | ||
Russia | 27 | 24 | 2 | 1 | Includes three European Soyuz launches from Kourou, French Guiana by Arianespace | |
Ukraine | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | Zenit and Dnepr rockets were launched from Russia and/or Kazakhstan | |
United States | 20 | 18 | 2 | 0 | ||
World | 87 | 82 | 4 | 1 |
Family | Country | Launches | Successes | Failures | Partial failures | Remarks |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Ariane | Europe | 6 | 6 | 0 | 0 | |
Atlas | United States | 9 | 9 | 0 | 0 | |
Delta | United States | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | |
Falcon | United States | 7 | 6 | 1 | 0 | |
GSLV | India | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | |
H-II | Japan | 4 | 4 | 0 | 0 | |
Long March | China | 19 | 19 | 0 | 0 | |
PSLV | India | 4 | 4 | 0 | 0 | |
R-7 | Russia | 17 | 15 | 1 | 1 | |
R-36 | Ukraine | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | |
Safir | Iran | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | |
Strypi | United States | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | |
Universal Rocket | Russia | 10 | 9 | 1 | 0 | |
Vega | Europe | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | |
Zenit | Ukraine | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
Rocket | Country | Family | Launches | Successes | Failures | Partial failures | Remarks |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Ariane 5 | Europe | Ariane | 6 | 6 | 0 | 0 | |
Atlas V | United States | Atlas | 9 | 9 | 0 | 0 | |
Delta II | United States | Delta | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | |
Delta IV | United States | Delta | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | |
Dnepr | Ukraine | R-36 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | Final flight |
Falcon 9 | United States | Falcon | 7 | 6 | 1 | 0 | |
GSLV | India | GSLV | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | |
H-IIA | Japan | H-II | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | |
H-IIB | Japan | H-II | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | |
Long March 2 | China | Long March | 4 | 4 | 0 | 0 | |
Long March 3 | China | Long March | 9 | 9 | 0 | 0 | |
Long March 4 | China | Long March | 4 | 4 | 0 | 0 | |
Long March 6 | China | Long March | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | Maiden flight |
Long March 11 | China | Long March | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | Maiden flight |
Proton | Russia | Universal Rocket | 8 | 7 | 1 | 0 | |
PSLV | India | PSLV | 4 | 4 | 0 | 0 | |
Safir | Iran | Safir | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | |
Soyuz | Russia | R-7 | 7 | 7 | 0 | 0 | |
Soyuz-2 | Russia | R-7 | 10 | 8 | 1 | 1 | |
Super Strypi | United States | Strypi | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | Maiden flight |
UR-100 | Russia | Universal Rocket | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | |
Vega | Europe | Vega | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | |
Zenit | Ukraine | Zenit | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
Rocket | Country | Type | Launches | Successes | Failures | Partial failures | Remarks |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Ariane 5 ECA | Europe | Ariane 5 | 6 | 6 | 0 | 0 | |
Atlas V 401 | United States | Atlas V | 4 | 4 | 0 | 0 | |
Atlas V 421 | United States | Atlas V | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | |
Atlas V 501 | United States | Atlas V | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | |
Atlas V 551 | United States | Atlas V | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | |
Delta II 7320 | United States | Delta II | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | |
Delta IV Medium+ (4,2) | United States | Delta IV | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | |
Delta IV Medium+ (5,4) | United States | Delta IV | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | |
Dnepr | Ukraine | R-36 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | Final flight |
Falcon 9 v1.1 | United States | Falcon 9 | 6 | 5 | 1 | 0 | |
Falcon 9 Full Thrust | United States | Falcon 9 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | Maiden flight |
GSLV Mk II | India | GSLV | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | |
H-IIA 202 | Japan | H-IIA | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | |
H-IIA 204 | Japan | H-IIA | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | |
H-IIB | Japan | H-IIB | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | |
Long March 2D | China | Long March 2 | 4 | 4 | 0 | 0 | |
Long March 3B/E | China | Long March 3 | 7 | 7 | 0 | 0 | |
Long March 3B / YZ-1 | China | Long March 3 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | Maiden flight |
Long March 3C/E / YZ-1 | 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 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | |
Long March 6 | China | Long March 5 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | Maiden flight |
Long March 11 | China | Long March 11 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | Maiden flight |
Proton-M / Blok DM-03 | Russia | Proton | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | |
Proton-M / Briz-M | Russia | Proton | 7 | 6 | 1 | 0 | |
PSLV-CA | India | PSLV | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | |
PSLV-XL | India | PSLV | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | |
Rokot / Briz-KM | Russia | UR-100 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | |
Safir-1B | Iran | Safir | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | |
Soyuz-2.1a | Russia | Soyuz-2 | 4 | 3 | 1 | 0 | |
Soyuz-2.1b | Russia | Soyuz-2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | |
Soyuz-2.1b / Fregat-M | Russia | Soyuz-2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | |
Soyuz ST-B / Fregat-MT | Russia | Soyuz-2 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | |
Soyuz-2-1v / Volga | Russia | Soyuz-2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | |
Soyuz-FG | Russia | Soyuz | 4 | 4 | 0 | 0 | |
Soyuz-U | Russia | Soyuz | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | |
Super Strypi | United States | Strypi | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | Maiden flight |
Vega | Europe | Vega | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | |
Zenit-3F | Ukraine | Zenit | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
Site | Country | Launches | Successes | Failures | Partial failures | Remarks |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Baikonur | Kazakhstan | 18 | 16 | 2 | 0 | |
Barking Sands | United States | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | |
Cape Canaveral | United States | 17 | 16 | 1 | 0 | |
Dombarovsky | Russia | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | |
Kourou | France | 12 | 12 | 0 | 0 | |
Jiuquan | China | 5 | 5 | 0 | 0 | |
Plesetsk | Russia | 7 | 6 | 0 | 1 | |
Satish Dhawan | India | 5 | 5 | 0 | 0 | |
Semnan | Iran | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | |
Taiyuan | China | 5 | 5 | 0 | 0 | |
Tanegashima | Japan | 4 | 4 | 0 | 0 | |
Vandenberg | United States | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | |
Xichang | China | 9 | 9 | 0 | 0 | |
Total | 87 | 82 | 4 | 1 |
Orbital regime | Launches | Achieved | Not achieved | Accidentally achieved | Remarks |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Transatmospheric | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | |
Low Earth | 45 | 42 | 2 | 1 | 14 to ISS (1 launch failure, 1 failure post-separation) |
Geosynchronous/transfer | 32 | 31 | 1 | 0 | |
Medium Earth | 7 | 7 | 0 | 0 | |
High Earth | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | |
Total | 87 | 83 | 3 | 1 |
The year 2007 contained several significant events in spaceflight, including a Chinese ASAT test, the launches of the US Phoenix and Dawn missions to study Mars and Asteroid belt respectively, Japan's Kaguya Lunar orbiter, and the first Chinese Lunar probe, Chang'e 1.
Soyuz 2 is a modernized expendable medium-lift launch vehicle and the seventh major version of the Soyuz rocket family. It includes key enhancements over its predecessors including improved engines along with digital flight control and telemetry systems, enabling launches from fixed platforms and the use of large payload fairings.
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.
Several significant events in spaceflight occurred in 2009, including Iran conducting its first indigenous orbital launch, the first Swiss satellite being launched and New Zealand launching its first sounding rocket. The H-IIB and Naro-1 rockets conducted maiden flights, whilst the Tsyklon-3, Falcon 1 and Ariane 5GS were retired from service. The permanent crew of the International Space Station increased from three to six in May, and in the last few months of the year, Japan's first resupply mission to the outpost, HTV-1, was conducted successfully.
The year 2010 saw a number of notable events in worldwide spaceflight activities. These included the first test flight of the SpaceX Dragon commercial resupply spacecraft, which is intended to resupply the International Space Station (ISS), and the maiden flights of the Falcon 9 and Minotaur IV rockets. In June 2010, South Korea conducted a second Naro-1 launch, after the failure of the rocket's maiden flight in 2009; however, the second attempt also failed. The Kosmos-3M was retired from service, making its final flight in April. The Molniya-M was also retired from service, making its final flight in September.
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. 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.
The year 2012 saw a number of significant events in spaceflight. In May and October, the first Commercial Orbital Transportation Services resupply missions took place, during which the SpaceX Dragon became the first private spacecraft to dock with the International Space Station (ISS). In June, China launched the crewed Shenzhou 9 orbital mission, and North Korea achieved its first successful orbital launch in December. 2012 also saw China's first successful asteroid exploration mission, and the landing of NASA's Curiosity rover on Mars. The Vega and Unha-3 rockets made their maiden flights in 2012, while the Proton-K made its last.
In 2014, the maiden flight of the Angara A5, Antares 120 and Antares 130 took place.
Several new rockets and spaceports began operations in 2016.
In 2013, the maiden spaceflight of the Orbital Sciences' Antares launch vehicle, designated A-ONE, took place on 13 April. Orbital Science also launched its first spacecraft, Cygnus, that docked with the International Space Station in late September 2013.
This article documents notable spaceflight events during the year 2019.
Notable spaceflight activities in 2017 included the maiden orbital flight of India's Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle Mark III on 5 June and the first suborbital test of Rocket Lab's Electron rocket, inaugurating the Mahia spaceport in New Zealand. The rocket is named for its innovative Rutherford engine which feeds propellants via battery-powered electric motors instead of the usual gas generator and turbopumps.
This article documents notable spaceflight events during the year 2018. For the first time since 1990, more than 100 orbital launches were performed globally.
Progress M-27M, identified by NASA as Progress 59P, was a Progress spacecraft used by Roscosmos in an unsuccessful attempt to resupply the International Space Station (ISS) in 2015.
Progress MS-05, identified by NASA as Progress 66P, was a Progress spaceflight operated by Roscosmos to resupply the International Space Station (ISS).
The year 2021 broke the record for the most orbital launch attempts till then (146) and most humans in space concurrently (19) despite the effects of COVID-19 pandemic.
The year 2022 witnessed the number of launches of SpaceX's Falcon rocket family surpassing the CNSA's Long March rocket family, making the United States the country with the highest number of launches in 2022 instead of China. This year also featured the first successful launch of Long March 6A, Nuri, Angara 1.2, Vega C, Kinetica-1, and Jielong-3. National space agencies' activities in this year is also marred by the Russian invasion of Ukraine, leading to tension between Roscosmos and Western space agencies, threats of ending collaboration on the International Space Station (ISS), and delays on space missions.
The year 2023 saw rapid growth and significant technical achievements in spaceflight. For the third year in a row, new world records were set for both orbital launch attempts (223) and successful orbital launches (211). The growth in orbital launch cadence can in large part be attributed to SpaceX, as they increased their number of launches from 61 in 2022 to 98 in 2023. The deployment of the Starlink satellite megaconstellation was a major contributing factor to this increase over previous years. This year also featured numerous maiden launches of new launch vehicles. In particular, SSLV, Qaem 100, Tianlong-2, Chollima-1,and Zhuque-2 performed their first successful orbital launch, while SpaceX's Starship – the world's largest rocket – launched two times during its development stage: IFT-1 and IFT-2.
Progress MS-18, Russian production No. 447, identified by NASA as Progress 79P, was a Progress spaceflight operated by Roscosmos to resupply the International Space Station (ISS). This was the 170th flight of a Progress spacecraft.
Progress MS-21, Russian production No.451, identified by NASA as Progress 82P, was a Progress spaceflight launched by Roscosmos to resupply the International Space Station (ISS). It was the 174th flight of a Progress spacecraft.