List of human spaceflights, 1961–1970

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This is a detailed list of human spaceflights from 1961 to 1970, spanning the Soviet Vostok and Voskhod programs, the start of the Soviet Soyuz program, the American Mercury and Gemini programs, and the first lunar landings of the American Apollo program.

Contents

Flights between 50 miles and 100 kilometers

In addition to the above spaceflights, eleven flights of the North American X-15 reached a maximum altitude above 50 miles but below 100 kilometers, thus satisfying the U.S. definition of spaceflight but failing to surpass the Kármán line. Among the twelve X-15 pilots, only Neil Armstrong and Joe Engle would travel to space following their participation in the program. Eleven of the thirteen flights above 50 miles were made in the X-15-3, the program's third plane; only two were made in the X-15-1, its first.

In the below table, "spaceflight" and related phrases refer to the American convention.

#CrewLaunch
spacecraft
HabitationReturn
spacecraft
Brief mission summary
Flag of the United States.svg Robert M. White 17 July 1962
Flag of the United States.svg X-15 Flight 62
White's only spaceflight. First spaceflight of X-15 program.
Flag of the United States.svg Joseph A. Walker 17 January 1963
Flag of the United States.svg X-15 Flight 77
Walker's first spaceflight.
Flag of the United States.svg Robert A. Rushworth 27 June 1963
Flag of the United States.svg X-15 Flight 87
Rushworth's only spaceflight.
Flag of the United States.svg Joe Engle 29 June 1965
Flag of the United States.svg X-15 Flight 138
Engle's first spaceflight.
Flag of the United States.svg Joe Engle 10 August 1965
Flag of the United States.svg X-15 Flight 143
Engle's second spaceflight.
Flag of the United States.svg John B. McKay 18 September 1965
Flag of the United States.svg X-15 Flight 150
McKay's only spaceflight.
Flag of the United States.svg Joe Engle 14 October 1965
Flag of the United States.svg X-15 Flight 153
Engle's third and last spaceflight, and final flight with X-15 program. First spaceflight of the X-15-1.
Flag of the United States.svg William H. Dana 1 November 1966
Flag of the United States.svg X-15 Flight 174
Dana's first spaceflight.
Flag of the United States.svg William J. Knight 17 October 1967
Flag of the United States.svg X-15 Flight 190
Knight's only spaceflight. Last successful flight of the X-15-3.
Flag of the United States.svg Michael J. Adams 15 November 1967
Flag of the United States.svg X-15 Flight 191
Adams' only spaceflight. Fatal disaster, killing Adams and destroying the X-15-3.
Flag of the United States.svg William H. Dana 21 August 1968
Flag of the United States.svg X-15 Flight 197
Dana's second and last spaceflight. Third-to-last flight of X-15 program. Second and last spaceflight of the X-15-1.

See also

A chart showing U.S. astronaut assignments during the 1960s through the Apollo era. Astronaut Assignments Chart.png
A chart showing U.S. astronaut assignments during the 1960s through the Apollo era.

References

  1. Sparrow, Giles (2019). Spaceflight : the complete story, from Sputnik to Curiosity (Second [American] ed.). New York: Dorling Kindersley Limited. p. 82. ISBN   978-1465479655.
  2. Swenson, Loyd S. Jr.; Grimwood, James M.; Alexander, Charles C. (1966). This New Ocean: A History of Project Mercury. The NASA History Series. Washington, DC: National Aeronautics and Space Administration. OCLC   569889. NASA SP-4201. Archived from the original on June 17, 2010. Retrieved June 28, 2007.
  3. Williams, Matthew S. (28 April 2022). "Ad Astra: The past, present, and future of spacecraft". interestingengineering.com. Archived from the original on 2022-06-10. Retrieved 10 January 2023.
  4. "Vostok/Mercury". abyss.uoregon.edu. Archived from the original on 2022-08-05. Retrieved 10 January 2023.
  5. Burgess, Colin (2009). The first Soviet cosmonaut team : their lives, legacy, and historical impact. Berlin: Springer. p. xxiii. ISBN   978-0387848235.