SpaceX COTS Demo Flight 1

SpaceX Demo Flight 1
	Dragon capsule after recovery from ocean landing
Mission type	Test flight
Operator	SpaceX
COSPAR ID	2010-066A
SATCAT no.	37244
Mission duration	3 hours, 19 minutes
Spacecraft properties
Spacecraft	Dragon C101
Spacecraft type	Dragon CRS
Manufacturer	SpaceX
Launch mass	Falcon 9: 333,400 kg (735,000 lb)
Start of mission
Launch date	8 December 2010, 15:43 UTC
Rocket	Falcon 9 v1.0
Launch site	Cape Canaveral SLC-40
Contractor	SpaceX
End of mission
Landing date	8 December 2010, 19:02 UTC
Landing site	Pacific Ocean, approx. 800 km (500 mi) west of Baja, Mexico
Orbital parameters
Reference system	Geocentric
Regime	Low Earth
Perigee altitude	288 km (179 mi)
Apogee altitude	301 km (187 mi)
Inclination	34.53°
Epoch	8 December 2010
	Commercial Resupply Services Dragon C2+ → Cargo Dragon ← Dragon Boilerplate Flight Dragon C2+ →

Last updated October 06, 2023

SpaceX COTS Demo Flight 1 was the first orbital spaceflight of the Dragon cargo spacecraft, and the second overall flight of the Falcon 9 rocket manufactured by SpaceX. It was also the first demonstration flight for NASA's Commercial Orbital Transportation Services (COTS) program.^[4] The primary mission objectives were to test the orbital maneuvering and reentry of the Dragon capsule. The mission also aimed to test fixes to the Falcon 9 rocket, particularly the unplanned roll of the first stage that occurred during flight 1. Liftoff occurred on 8 December 2010 at 15:43 UTC.^[1]

The success of the mission allowed SpaceX to advance its vehicle testing plan. With two back-to-back "near-perfect" Falcon 9 launches and satisfactory tests of the first Dragon capsule, SpaceX "asked NASA to combine objectives laid out for the remaining two COTS missions... and permit a berthing at the ISS during its next flight".^[5] This combined test mission was completed in May 2012, and achieved its objectives, opening the path to regular cargo deliveries by Dragon to the International Space Station (ISS) under the Commercial Resupply Services (CRS) contract. Commercial flights started in October 2012 with CRS-1.

COTS contract

On 18 August 2006, NASA announced that SpaceX had won a NASA Commercial Orbital Transportation Services (COTS) contract to demonstrate cargo delivery to the International Space Station with a possible option for crew transport.^[6] This contract, designed by NASA to provide "seed money" for development of new boosters, paid SpaceX $278 million to develop the Falcon 9 launch vehicle, with incentive payments paid at milestones culminating in three demonstration launches.^[7] COTS Demo Flight 1 was the first of the launches under this contract. The original agreement with NASA called for the COTS Demo Flight 1 to occur in the second quarter of 2008; this flight was delayed several times, actually occurring in December 2010.^[4]

Separately from the NASA COTS contract, SpaceX was also awarded a NASA contract for commercial resupply services (CRS) to the ISS. The firm contracted value is $1.6 billion, and NASA could elect to order additional missions for a total contract value of up to $3.1 billion.^[8]

Preparations

Video of launch

The two stages and Dragon capsule for the second Falcon 9 were built at SpaceX's manufacturing facility at Hawthorne, California, and were delivered to SpaceX's facilities at Cape Canaveral in July and August 2010.^[9]

The target launch date was rescheduled from its original 2008 date to the end of 2010, with COTS Demo 2 and 3 being rescheduled to 2011.^[9]

A full wet dress rehearsal was conducted on 15 September 2010, and the launch was targeted for no earlier than 7 December 2010.^[10]

On 22 November 2010, SpaceX announced that it had received a license for spacecraft re-entry from the Federal Aviation Administration's Office of Commercial Space Transportation for the flight. It is the first such license issued to a private enterprise.^[11]

A successful static test fire was performed by SpaceX on 4 December 2010. This was the third attempt to do so, as the first two attempts were automatically aborted. The first attempt was on 3 December 2010, but the test was automatically aborted one second before ignition due to a high-pressure reading.^{[ citation needed ]}

The flight was to proceed on 7 December 2010. However, several cracks were noted on the outer portions of the niobium extension of the second stage Merlin vacuum nozzle. The decision was made to trim the un-needed six inches off the nozzle, since the resulting performance loss was not critical.^[12]^[13]

Launch events

The launch was ultimately scheduled for 8 December 2010, with launch windows available from 14:00 to 14:06, 15:38 to 15:43, and 17:16 to 17:24 UTC based on the availability of the NASA tracking and data relay satellite (TDRS) network used to track and communicate with the spacecraft. The first attempt was originally scheduled for the middle of the first launch window, at 14:03 UTC, but was moved to the end of the window at 14:06 UTC. This attempt was aborted at T-02:48 on the countdown clock because of false telemetry data.

The launch was re-targeted for 15:43 UTC, and was successful.^[14] First stage engines cut off at T+02:56, nose cone separated at T+03:47, second stage engines cut off at T+08:56, all as planned. The Dragon vehicle separated at T+09:30 and achieved a near circular orbit, with a perigee of 288 km (179 mi), an apogee of 301 km (187 mi) and an inclination of 34.53°.^[3] These were close to targeted marks of a 300 km (190 mi) circular orbit at an inclination of 34.5°.

Attempt	Planned	Result	Turnaround	Reason	Decision point	Weather go (%)	Notes
1	8 Dec 2010, 9:06:00 am	Aborted	—	Automated abort on fault detected in ordnance interrupter^{[ citation needed ]}	8 Dec 2010, 9:03 am (T–2:48^[3])	80 %^[15]
2	8 Dec 2010, 10:43:00 am	Successful	0 days, 1 hour, 37 minutes			80 %^[15]

Additional payloads

The Falcon 9 carried a small number of nanosatellites to orbit as well. Included were a total of eight cubesats^[16] including the first U.S. Army nanosatellite, Space and Missile Defense Command — Operational Nanosatellite Effect, or SMDC-ONE, for a 30-day mission,^[17]^[18]^[19] and two 3U buses, the CubeSat Experiment (QbX), provided by the U.S. National Reconnaissance Office, also expected to remain in orbit for only 30 days.^[20]

One of the weight ballasts inside the Dragon spacecraft was a metal barrel containing a wheel of French Le Brouère cheese. This cheese is produced in Bulgnéville, Vosges. It was packed as a joke, and references the Cheese Shop sketch from Monty Python's Flying Circus . The barrel's lid was pasted with an image from the poster for the 1984 spoof film Top Secret! .^[21] SpaceX's CEO did not reveal the identity of the cargo during the post-splashdown news conference, for fear of the joke overshadowing the company's accomplishments.^[22]

Orbit and landing

Dragon

While in orbit, a battery of automated tests were performed including thermal control and attitude control to maintain uninterrupted TDRS data links. At 16:15 UTC, SpaceX announced that it had achieved contact with the Dragon module through the TDRS system. After the two planned orbits, the spacecraft was manually commanded to begin a deorbit burn, resulting in it splashing down in the Pacific Ocean at 19:02 UTC approximately 800 km (500 mi) west of Baja California after all three parachutes successfully deployed.^[3] SpaceX reported that all test objectives were completed, and the recovery craft arrived to retrieve the spacecraft within 20 minutes of splashdown. The craft landed within 800 m (2,600 ft) of the targeted location, well within the 60-by-20-kilometer (37 by 12 mi) recovery zone.^[3]^[23] From launch to splashdown, the demonstration flight lasted for 3 hours, 19 minutes, 52 seconds.^[23]

Second stage

The second stage engine was reignited in orbit after separation from the Dragon capsule. This allowed SpaceX to work on a secondary mission objective of expanding the launch capability envelope by testing in-space engine reignition and ability of the vehicle to achieve a beyond-LEO (Low Earth Orbit). Even though the nozzle of the Merlin Vacuum second-stage engine had been substantially trimmed—due to two cracks discovered only a few days before the scheduled launch—the second stage reached an altitude of 11,000 kilometers (6,800 mi).^[5]

Related Research Articles

Commercial Orbital Transportation Services (COTS) was a NASA program to coordinate the development of vehicles for the delivery of crew and cargo to the International Space Station by private companies. The program was announced on January 18, 2006 and successfully flew all cargo demonstration flights by September 2013, when the program ended.

American private space transportation company SpaceX has developed and produced several spacecraft named Dragon. The first family member, now referred to as Dragon 1, flew 23 cargo missions to the ISS between 2010 and 2020 before retiring. With this first version not designed for carrying astronauts, it was funded by NASA with $396 million awarded through the Commercial Orbital Transportation Services (COTS) program, with SpaceX being announced as a winner of the first round of funding on August 18, 2006.

Cygnus is an expendable American cargo spacecraft developed by Orbital Sciences Corporation but manufactured and launched by Northrop Grumman Space Systems as part of NASA's Commercial Resupply Services (CRS) program. It is usually launched by Northrop Grumman's Antares rocket, although three flights were on ULA's Atlas V and three are planned for SpaceX's Falcon 9. It transports supplies to the International Space Station (ISS) following the retirement of the American Space Shuttle. Since August 2000, ISS resupply missions have been regularly flown by the Russian Progress spacecraft, as well as by the European Automated Transfer Vehicle, and the Japanese H-II Transfer Vehicle. With the Cygnus spacecraft and the SpaceX Dragon, NASA seeks to increase its partnerships with domestic commercial aviation and aeronautics industry.

Commercial Resupply Services (CRS) are a series of flights awarded by NASA for the delivery of cargo and supplies to the International Space Station (ISS) on commercially operated spacecraft. The first CRS contracts were signed in 2008 and awarded $1.6 billion to SpaceX for twelve cargo Dragon and $1.9 billion to Orbital Sciences for eight Cygnus flights, covering deliveries to 2016. The Falcon 9 and Antares rockets were also developed under the CRS program to deliver cargo spacecraft to the ISS.

Development of the Commercial Crew Program began in the second round of the Commercial Crew Development (CCDev) program, which was rescoped from a technology development program for human spaceflight to a competitive development program that would produce the spacecraft to be used in the Commercial Crew Program to provide crew transportation services to and from the International Space Station (ISS). To implement the program NASA awarded a series of competitive fixed-price contracts to private vendors starting in 2011. Operational contracts to fly astronauts were awarded in September 2014 to SpaceX and Boeing, and NASA expected each company to complete development and achieve crew rating in 2017. Each company performed an uncrewed orbital test flight in 2019. SpaceX operational flights started in November 2020.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">SpaceX COTS Demo Flight 2</span> 2012 American test spaceflight to the ISS

SpaceX COTS Demo Flight 2, also known as Dragon C2+, was the second test-flight for SpaceX's uncrewed Cargo Dragon spacecraft. It launched in May 2012 on the third flight of the company's two-stage Falcon 9 launch vehicle. The flight was performed under a funded agreement from NASA as the second Dragon demonstration mission in the Commercial Orbital Transportation Services (COTS) program. The purpose of the COTS program is to develop and demonstrate commercial sources for cargo re-supply of the International Space Station (ISS). The Dragon C2+ spacecraft was the first American vehicle to visit the ISS since the end of the Space Shuttle program. It was also the first commercial spacecraft to rendezvous and berth with another spacecraft.

SpaceX CRS-1, also known as SpX-1, was SpaceX's first operational cargo mission to the International Space Station, under their Commercial Resupply Services (CRS-1) contract with NASA. It was the third flight for the uncrewed Dragon cargo spacecraft, and the fourth overall flight for the company's two-stage Falcon 9 launch vehicle. The launch occurred on 8 October 2012 at 00:34:07 UTC.

SpaceX CRS-3, also known as SpX-3, was a Commercial Resupply Service mission to the International Space Station (ISS), contracted to NASA, which was launched on 18 April 2014. It was the fifth flight for SpaceX's uncrewed Dragon cargo spacecraft and the third SpaceX operational mission contracted to NASA under a Commercial Resupply Services (CRS-1) contract.

SpaceX CRS-8, also known as SpX-8, was a Commercial Resupply Service mission to the International Space Station (ISS) which was launched on April 8, 2016, at 20:43 UTC. It was the 23rd flight of a Falcon 9 rocket, the tenth flight of a Dragon cargo spacecraft and the eighth operational mission contracted to SpaceX by NASA under the Commercial Resupply Services program. The capsule carried over 3,100 kilograms (6,800 lb) of cargo to the ISS including the Bigelow Expandable Activity Module (BEAM), a prototype inflatable space habitat delivered in the vehicle's trunk, which was attached to the station and, as of May 2022, is expected to remain so for five more full years of in-orbit viability tests.

Dragon 2 is a class of partially reusable spacecraft developed and manufactured by American aerospace manufacturer SpaceX, primarily for flights to the International Space Station (ISS). SpaceX also launches private missions, such as Inspiration4 and Axiom Mission 1. There are two variants of the Dragon spacecraft: Crew Dragon, a spacecraft capable of ferrying four crewmembers, and Cargo Dragon, an updated replacement for the original Dragon 1 used to carry freight to and from space. The spacecraft consists of a reusable space capsule and an expendable trunk module. The spacecraft launches atop a Falcon 9 Block 5 rocket and the capsule returns to Earth through splashdown.

SpaceX CRS-9, also known as SpX-9, is a Commercial Resupply Service mission to the International Space Station which launched on 18 July 2016. The mission was contracted by NASA and is operated by SpaceX using a Dragon capsule.

SpaceX CRS-10, also known as SpX-10, was a Dragon Commercial Resupply Service mission to the International Space Station (ISS) which launched on 19 February 2017. The mission was contracted by NASA as part of its Commercial Resupply Services program and was launched by SpaceX aboard the 30th flight of the Falcon 9 rocket. The mission ended on 19 March 2017 when the Dragon spacecraft left the ISS and safely returned to Earth.

SpaceX CRS-12, also known as SpX-12, was a Commercial Resupply Services mission to the International Space Station launched on 14 August 2017. The mission was contracted by NASA and was flown by SpaceX using a new Dragon capsule. The Falcon 9 rocket's reusable first stage performed a controlled landing on Landing Zone 1 (LZ1) at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station. After delivering more than 2,900 kilograms (6,400 lb) of cargo, the Dragon spacecraft returned to Earth on 17 September 2017.

Crew Dragon Demo-1 was the first orbital test of the Dragon 2 spacecraft. The mission launched on 2 March 2019 at 07:49:03 UTC, and arrived at the International Space Station on 3 March 2019, a little over 24 hours after the launch. The mission ended following a successful splashdown on 8 March 2019 at 13:45:08 UTC.

Crew Dragon Demo-2 was the first crewed test flight of the Crew Dragon spacecraft. The spacecraft, named Endeavour, launched on 30 May 2020 on a Falcon 9 booster, and carried NASA astronauts Douglas Hurley and Robert Behnken to the International Space Station in the first crewed orbital spaceflight launched from the United States since the final Space Shuttle mission in 2011, and the first ever operated by a commercial provider. Demo-2 was also the first two-person orbital spaceflight launched from the United States since STS-4 in 1982. Demo-2 completed the validation of crewed spaceflight operations using SpaceX hardware and received human-rating certification for the spacecraft, including astronaut testing of Crew Dragon capabilities on orbit.

SpaceX CRS-13, also known as SpX-13, was a Commercial Resupply Service mission to the International Space Station launched on 15 December 2017. The mission was contracted by NASA and is flown by SpaceX. It was the second mission to successfully reuse a Dragon capsule, previously flown on CRS-6. The first stage of the Falcon 9 Full Thrust rocket was the previously flown, "flight-proven" core from CRS-11. The first stage returned to land at Cape Canaveral's Landing Zone 1 after separation of the first and second stage.

SpaceX CRS-14, also known as SpX-14, was a Commercial Resupply Service mission to the International Space Station launched on 2 April 2018. The mission was contracted by NASA and was flown by SpaceX. This mission reused the Falcon 9 first stage booster previously flown on CRS-12 and the Dragon capsule flown on CRS-8.

Dragon, also known as Dragon 1 or Cargo Dragon, was a class of fourteen partially reusable cargo spacecraft developed by SpaceX, an American private space transportation company. The spacecraft flew 23 missions between 2010 and 2020. Dragon was launched into orbit by the company's Falcon 9 launch vehicle to resupply the International Space Station (ISS).

SpaceX CRS-21, also known as SpX-21, was a Commercial Resupply Service mission to the International Space Station which launched on 6 December 2020. The mission was contracted by NASA and was flown by SpaceX using a Cargo Dragon 2. This was the first flight for SpaceX under NASA's CRS Phase 2 contract awarded in January 2016. This was also the first Cargo Dragon of the new Dragon 2 variant, as well as the first Cargo Dragon flight that was docked at the same time as a Crew Dragon spacecraft. This mission used Booster B1058.4, becoming the first NASA mission to reuse a booster previously used on a non-NASA mission. This was also first time SpaceX launched a NASA payload on a booster with more than one previous flight.

References

1 2 "COTS Demo Flight 1 Press Kit" (PDF). SpaceX. 6 December 2010.
1 2 Clark, Stephen (9 December 2010). "Musk 'optimistic' next Dragon flight will visit space station". Spaceflight Now. Retrieved 1 July 2017.
1 2 3 4 5 "COTS Demo Flight 1 status". Spaceflight Now.
1 2 "Space Act Agreement Between National Aeronautics and Space Administration and Space Exploration Technologies Corp. for Commercial Orbital Transportation Services Demonstration (COTS)" (PDF). NASA. 30 May 2006.
1 2 Klotz, Irene (13 December 2010). "SpaceX Looks To Station Docking In 2011". Aviation Week . Retrieved 8 February 2011. The second stage went up to 11,000 km.—and that's with the shortie skirt
↑ Brown, Mary Beth (18 August 2006). "SpaceX Wins NASA COTS Contract to Demonstrate Cargo Delivery to Space Station" (Press release). SpaceX.
↑ Frankel, David J. (2010). Commercial Space Committee of the NASA Advisory Council. 26 April 2010. Houston, Texas (PDF). pp. 6–7.
↑ Shanklin, Emily (23 December 2008). "NASA Selects SpaceX's Falcon 9 Booster and Dragon Spacecraft for Cargo Resupply" (Press release). SpaceX.
1 2 Clark, Stephen. "SpaceX: Dragon testing will determine launch schedule". Spaceflight Now. Retrieved 20 August 2010.
↑ "World Wide Launch Schedule". Spaceflight Now. Retrieved 14 November 2010.
↑ Brost, Kirstin (22 November 2010). "FAA Awards SpaceX First Ever Commercial License to Re-Enter Spacecraft from Orbit" (Press release). SpaceX.
↑ Mohney, Doug (10 December 2010). "Cheese in Space, and Other Tasty Tales of the SpaceX Dragon Launch". TMCnet.com.
↑ "Forget Dragon, the Falcon 9 rocket is the secret sauce of SpaceX's success". ArsTechnica. 3 June 2020. Retrieved 3 June 2020.
↑ "A space-age first: A commercial craft returns from low-Earth orbit". CNN. 8 December 2010.
1 2 "Launch Operations Forecast — Falcon 9 Dragon COTS Demo 1" (PDF). United States Air Force.
↑ Krebs, Gunter D. "Dragon C1". Gunter's Space Page. Retrieved 7 August 2022.
↑ Cummings, John (8 December 2010). "Army nanosatellite on first flight". United States Army.
↑ Boyle, Alan (8 December 2010). "Dragon could visit space station next". Cosmic Log. NBC News. Archived from the original on 1 May 2012.
↑ "In Space". CubeSat Kit. Retrieved 25 May 2012.
↑ Parry, Daniel (17 December 2010). "NRL Launches Nano-Satellite Experimental Platforms" (Press release). U.S. Naval Research Laboratory. Archived from the original on 1 December 2017. Retrieved 2 July 2017.
↑ Malik, Tariq (9 December 2010). "Wheel of Cheese Launched Into Space On Private Spacecraft". Space.com .
↑ Hennigan, W. J. (9 December 2010). "SpaceX's 'secret' payload? A wheel of cheese". Los Angeles Times . Archived from the original on 10 January 2012. Retrieved 12 December 2010.
1 2 Atkinson, Nancy (8 December 2015). "The Future is Now: SpaceX Flight 100% Successful". Universe Today . Archived from the original on 15 December 2010.

External links

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[presskit-1] 1 2 "COTS Demo Flight 1 Press Kit" (PDF). SpaceX. 6 December 2010.

[sfnow20101209-2] 1 2 Clark, Stephen (9 December 2010). "Musk 'optimistic' next Dragon flight will visit space station". Spaceflight Now. Retrieved 1 July 2017.

[SFN_Status-3] 1 2 3 4 5 "COTS Demo Flight 1 status". Spaceflight Now.

[COTS-4] 1 2 "Space Act Agreement Between National Aeronautics and Space Administration and Space Exploration Technologies Corp. for Commercial Orbital Transportation Services Demonstration (COTS)" (PDF). NASA. 30 May 2006.

[aw20101213-5] 1 2 Klotz, Irene (13 December 2010). "SpaceX Looks To Station Docking In 2011". Aviation Week . Retrieved 8 February 2011. The second stage went up to 11,000 km.—and that's with the shortie skirt

[SpaceX_August_18,_2006-6] Brown, Mary Beth (18 August 2006). "SpaceX Wins NASA COTS Contract to Demonstrate Cargo Delivery to Space Station" (Press release). SpaceX.

[Lindenmoyer_remarks-7] Frankel, David J. (2010). Commercial Space Committee of the NASA Advisory Council. 26 April 2010. Houston, Texas (PDF). pp. 6–7.

[SpaceX_December_23,_2008-8] Shanklin, Emily (23 December 2008). "NASA Selects SpaceX's Falcon 9 Booster and Dragon Spacecraft for Cargo Resupply" (Press release). SpaceX.

[Spaceflight_Now-9] 1 2 Clark, Stephen. "SpaceX: Dragon testing will determine launch schedule". Spaceflight Now. Retrieved 20 August 2010.

[Space_Flight_Now-10] "World Wide Launch Schedule". Spaceflight Now. Retrieved 14 November 2010.

[FAA_blessing-11] Brost, Kirstin (22 November 2010). "FAA Awards SpaceX First Ever Commercial License to Re-Enter Spacecraft from Orbit" (Press release). SpaceX.

[SpaceX_cheese-12] Mohney, Doug (10 December 2010). "Cheese in Space, and Other Tasty Tales of the SpaceX Dragon Launch". TMCnet.com.

[arstech20200603-13] "Forget Dragon, the Falcon 9 rocket is the secret sauce of SpaceX's success". ArsTechnica. 3 June 2020. Retrieved 3 June 2020.

[CNN_2010-12-08/-14] "A space-age first: A commercial craft returns from low-Earth orbit". CNN. 8 December 2010.

[weatherday1-15] 1 2 "Launch Operations Forecast — Falcon 9 Dragon COTS Demo 1" (PDF). United States Air Force.

[16] Krebs, Gunter D. "Dragon C1". Gunter's Space Page. Retrieved 7 August 2022.

[sd20101210-17] Cummings, John (8 December 2010). "Army nanosatellite on first flight". United States Army.

[cosmiclog20101208-18] Boyle, Alan (8 December 2010). "Dragon could visit space station next". Cosmic Log. NBC News. Archived from the original on 1 May 2012.

[cubesatkit-19] "In Space". CubeSat Kit. Retrieved 25 May 2012.

[phys20101217-20] Parry, Daniel (17 December 2010). "NRL Launches Nano-Satellite Experimental Platforms" (Press release). U.S. Naval Research Laboratory. Archived from the original on 1 December 2017. Retrieved 2 July 2017.

[yahoo_2010-11-02-21] Malik, Tariq (9 December 2010). "Wheel of Cheese Launched Into Space On Private Spacecraft". Space.com .

[latimesblogs_2010-12-09-22] Hennigan, W. J. (9 December 2010). "SpaceX's 'secret' payload? A wheel of cheese". Los Angeles Times . Archived from the original on 10 January 2012. Retrieved 12 December 2010.

[unitoday20101208-23] 1 2 Atkinson, Nancy (8 December 2015). "The Future is Now: SpaceX Flight 100% Successful". Universe Today . Archived from the original on 15 December 2010.

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v t e ← 2009 · Orbital launches in 2010 · 2011 →
January	Compass-G1 Globus-1M No.12L
February	Progress M-04M STS-130 (Tranquility, Cupola) SDO Intelsat 16
March	Kosmos 2459 / GLONASS-M 731, Kosmos 2460 / GLONASS-M 732, Kosmos 2461 / GLONASS-M 735 GOES-15 / EWS-G2 Yaogan 9A, Yaogan 9B, Yaogan 9C EchoStar XIV
April	Soyuz TMA-18 STS-131 (Leonardo MPLM) CryoSat-2 GSAT-4 Kosmos 2462 USA-212 SES-1 Kosmos 2463 Progress M-05M
May	STS-132 (Rassvet, ICC-VLD) Akatsuki, IKAROS (DCAM-1, DCAM-2), Shin'en, Waseda-SAT2, Hayato, Negai ☆'' Astra 3B, COMSATBw-2 USA-213
June	SERVIS-2 Compass-G3 Badr-5 Dragon Spacecraft Qualification Unit STSAT-2B Shijian XII Prisma, Picard, BPA-1 Soyuz TMA-19 TanDEM-X Ofek-9 Arabsat-5A, Chollian Progress M-06M
July	EchoStar XV Cartosat-2B, AlSat-2A, StudSat, AISSat-1, TIsat-1 Compass-IGSO1
August	Nilesat 201, RASCOM-QAF 1R Yaogan 10 USA-214 Tian Hui 1
September	Kosmos 2464, Kosmos 2465, Kosmos 2466 Chinasat-6A Gonets-M No.2, Kosmos 2467, Kosmos 2468 Progress M-07M Michibiki USA-215 Yaogan 11, Zheda Pixing 1B, Zheda Pixing 1C USA-216 Kosmos 2469
October	Chang'e 2 Shijian 6G, Shijian 6H Soyuz TMA-01M XM-5 Globalstar 73, Globalstar 74, Globalstar 75, Globalstar 76, Globalstar 77, Globalstar 79 Progress M-08M Eutelsat W3B, BSat 3B Compass-G4
November	Meridian 3 Fengyun 3B COSMO-4 SkyTerra-1 STPSat-2, USA-220 / FASTSAT ( NanoSail-D2 ), USA-221 / FalconSat-5, USA-222 / FASTRAC-1, USA-222 / FASTRAC-2, USA-218 / RAX , USA-219 / O/OREOS USA-223 / Orion 7 Chinasat 20A Intelsat 17, HYLAS-1
December	Glonass-M No.39, Glonass-M No.40, Glonass-M No.41 SpaceX COTS Demo Flight 1, Mayflower, SMDC-ONE 1, QbX-1, QbX-2, Perseus 000, Perseus 001, Perseus 002, Perseus 003 Soyuz TMA-20 Compass-IGSO2 GSAT-5P KA-SAT
Launches are separated by dots ( • ), payloads by commas ( , ), multiple names for the same satellite by slashes ( / ). Cubesats are smaller. Crewed flights are underlined. Launch failures are marked with the † sign. Payloads deployed from other spacecraft are (enclosed in parentheses).