.jpg.webp)   .jpg.webp) Highlights from spaceflight in 2015[lower-alpha 1] | |
| 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.
Overview
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.
Orbital launches
| Date and time (UTC) | Rocket | Flight number | Launch site | LSP | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Payload (⚀ = CubeSat) |
Operator | Orbit | Function | Decay (UTC) | Outcome | |||
| Remarks | ||||||||
January | ||||||||
| 10 January 09:47:10 |
 Falcon 9 v1.1 |
Cape Canaveral SLC-40 |
SpaceX | |||||
| SpaceX CRS-5 |
NASA | Low Earth (ISS) | ISS resupply | 11 February 2015 00:44 | Successful | |||
⚀  AESP-14 |
ITA | Low Earth | Ionospheric research | 11 May 2015 | Successful | |||
| ⚀ Flock-1d' 1 |
Planet Labs | Low Earth | Earth observation | 13 October 2015 | Successful | |||
| ⚀ Flock-1d' 2 |
Planet Labs | Low Earth | Earth observation | 27 December 2015 | Successful | |||
| SpaceX attempted to land the first stage on a platform in the Atlantic Ocean, but the first stage crash-landed on its landing platform.[1] The AESP-14 CubeSat was deployed from the space station on 5 February 2015,[2] while the Flock-1 CubeSats were deployed on 3 March 2015.[3] | ||||||||
| 21 January 01:04:00 |
Atlas V 551 |
Cape Canaveral SLC-41 |
United Launch Alliance | |||||
| MUOS-3 |
US Navy | Geosynchronous | Communications | In orbit | Operational | |||
| 31 January 14:22:00 |
Delta II 7320 |
Vandenberg SLC-2W |
United Launch Alliance | |||||
| SMAP |
NASA | Low Earth (SSO) | Earth observation | In orbit | Operational | |||
| ⚀ ExoCube |
Cal Poly | Low Earth (SSO) | Technology demonstration | In orbit | Operational | |||
| ⚀ FIREBIRD II A |
Montana State | Low Earth (SSO) | Technology demonstration | 2 August 2023[5] | Successful | |||
| ⚀ FIREBIRD II B |
Montana State | Low Earth (SSO) | Technology demonstration | 2 August 2023[7] | Successful | |||
| ⚀ GRIFEX |
NASA / JPL | Low Earth (SSO) | Technology demonstration | In orbit | Operational | |||
February | ||||||||
| 1 February 01:21:00 |
 H-IIA 202 |
Tanegashima LA-Y1 |
MHI | |||||
| IGS-Radar Spare |
CSICE | Low Earth (SSO) | Reconnaissance | In orbit | Operational | |||
| 1 February 12:31:00 |
 Proton-M/Briz-M |
Baikonur Site 200/39 |
International Launch Services | |||||
 Inmarsat 5-F2 |
Inmarsat | Geosynchronous | Communications | In orbit | Operational | |||
| 2 February 08:50 |
 Safir |
Semnan |
ISA | |||||
| Fajr |
ISA | Low Earth | Technology demonstration | 26 February 2015 | Successful | |||
| 11 February 13:40:00 |
 Vega |
 Kourou ELV |
Arianespace | |||||
| IXV |
ESA | Transatmospheric | Technology demonstration | 11 February 2015 15:19 | Successful | |||
| Vega's 4th stage briefly entered low Earth orbit before de-orbiting; thus it did not get a COSPAR ID. This marked the first flight of the IXV | ||||||||
| 11 February 23:03:32 |
Falcon 9 v1.1 |
Cape Canaveral SLC-40 |
SpaceX | |||||
| DSCOVR |
NOAA | Sun–Earth L1 | Earth observation / Heliophysics | In orbit | Operational | |||
| First SpaceX launch aimed beyond GTO. First stage soft landed on water. | ||||||||
| 17 February 11:00:17 |
Soyuz-U |
Baikonur Site 1/5 |
Roscosmos | |||||
| Progress M-26M / 58P |
Roscosmos | Low Earth (ISS) | ISS resupply | 14 August 2015 14:17 | Successful | |||
| 27 February 11:01:35 |
Soyuz-2.1a |
Plesetsk Site 43/4 |
RVSN RF | |||||
| Kosmos 2503 (Bars-M 1L) |
VKO | Low Earth (SSO) | Reconnaissance | In orbit | Operational | |||
March | ||||||||
| 2 March 03:50:00 |
Falcon 9 v1.1 |
Cape Canaveral SLC-40 |
SpaceX | |||||
| Eutelsat 115 West B |
Eutelsat | Geosynchronous | Communications | In orbit | Operational | |||
 ABS-3A |
ABS | Geosynchronous | Communications | In orbit | Operational | |||
| First communication satellites to use all-electric propulsion to reach intended orbits from GTO. | ||||||||
| 13 March 02:44:00 |
Atlas V 421 |
Cape Canaveral SLC-41 |
United Launch Alliance | |||||
| MMS-1 |
NASA | Elliptical High Earth | Magnetospheric research | In orbit | Operational | |||
| MMS-2 |
NASA | Elliptical High Earth | Magnetospheric research | In orbit | Operational | |||
| MMS-3 |
NASA | Elliptical High Earth | Magnetospheric research | In orbit | Operational | |||
| MMS-4 |
NASA | Elliptical High Earth | Magnetospheric research | In orbit | Operational | |||
| 18 March 22:05:00 |
Proton-M / Briz-M |
Baikonur Site 200/39 |
Khrunichev | |||||
| Ekspress AM7 |
RSCC | Geosynchronous | Communications | In orbit | Operational | |||
| 25 March 18:36:00 |
Delta IV M+(4,2) |
Cape Canaveral SLC-37B |
United Launch Alliance | |||||
| USA-260 (GPS IIF-9) |
US Air Force | Medium Earth | Navigation | In orbit | Operational | |||
| 25 March 22:08:53 |
 Dnepr |
Dombarovsky Site 13 |
ISC Kosmotras | |||||
 KOMPSat-3A |
KARI | Low Earth (SSO) | Earth observation | In orbit | Operational | |||
| Final flight of Dnepr-1 rocket, due to Russia-Ukraine conflict. | ||||||||
| 26 March 01:21:00 |
H-IIA 202 |
Tanegashima LA-Y1 |
MHI | |||||
| IGS-Optical 5 |
CSICE | Low Earth (SSO) | Reconnaissance | In orbit | Operational | |||
| 27 March 19:42:57 |
Soyuz-FG |
Baikonur Site 1/5 |
Roscosmos | |||||
| Soyuz TMA-16M |
Roscosmos | Low Earth (ISS) | Expedition 43/44/45/46 | 12 September 2015 00:51 | Successful | |||
| Crewed flight with three cosmonauts, including two on a year-long mission. | ||||||||
| 27 March 21:46:18 |
Soyuz-STB / Fregat |
Kourou ELS |
Arianespace | |||||
| Galileo FOC 3 |
ESA | Medium Earth | Navigation | In orbit | Operational | |||
| Galileo FOC 4 |
ESA | Medium Earth | Navigation | In orbit | Operational | |||
| 28 March 11:49:00 |
 PSLV-XL |
Satish Dhawan SLP |
ISRO | |||||
| IRNSS-1D |
ISRO | Geosynchronous | Navigation | In orbit | Operational | |||
| 30 March 13:52:30 |
 Long March 3C/E/YZ-1 |
Xichang LC-2 |
CASC | |||||
| BeiDou I1-S |
CNSA | Geosynchronous | Navigation | In orbit | Operational | |||
| 31 March 13:47:56 |
Rokot / Briz-KM |
Plesetsk Cosmodrome Site 133/3 |
VKO | |||||
| Gonets-M 11 |
Gonets Satellite System | Low Earth | Communications | In orbit | Operational | |||
| Gonets-M 12 |
Gonets Satellite System | Low Earth | Communications | In orbit | Operational | |||
| Gonets-M 13 |
Gonets Satellite System | Low Earth | Communications | In orbit | Operational | |||
| Kosmos 2504 |
VKO | Low Earth | Technology demonstration / Satellite inspection (?) | In orbit | Operational | |||
April | ||||||||
| 14 April 20:10:41 |
Falcon 9 v1.1 |
Cape Canaveral SLC-40 |
SpaceX | |||||
| SpaceX CRS-6 |
NASA | Low Earth (ISS) | ISS resupply | 21 May 2015 16:42 | Successful | |||
| Arkyd 3 Reflight |
Planetary Resources | Low Earth | Technology demonstration | 23 December 2015 | Successful | |||
| ⚀ Flock-1e × 14 |
Planet Labs | Low Earth | Earth observation | First: 8 February 2016 Last: 24 August 2016 | Successful | |||
| First stage recovery failed; the rocket stage landed on the target drone ship too fast, tipped over, and exploded.[8] All secondary payloads were deployed from an ISS airlock later. Arkyd 3 Reflight is a replacement for Arkyd 3, which was lost in the Cygnus CRS Orb-3 flight accident in 2014. | ||||||||
| 26 April 20:00:07 |
Ariane 5 ECA |
Kourou ELA-3 |
Arianespace | |||||
 Thor 7 |
Telenor | Geosynchronous | Communications | In orbit | Operational | |||
 SICRAL-2 |
MDD/DGA | Geosynchronous | Communications | In orbit | Operational | |||
| 27 April 23:03:00 |
Falcon 9 v1.1 |
Cape Canaveral SLC-40 |
SpaceX | |||||
| TürkmenÄlem 52°E / MonacoSAT |
Turkmen Telecom | Geosynchronous | Communications | In orbit | Operational | |||
| First Turkmen satellite. | ||||||||
| 28 April 07:09:50 |
Soyuz-2.1a |
Baikonur Site 31/6 |
Roscosmos | |||||
| Progress M-27M / 59P |
Roscosmos | Low Earth (ISS) | ISS resupply | 8 May 2015 | Failure | |||
| Spacecraft lost communications and attitude control soon after separation failure during launch.[9] International Space Station docking attempt cancelled.[10] Mission declared a total loss.[11] | ||||||||
May | ||||||||
| 16 May 05:47:39 |
Proton-M / Briz-M |
Baikonur Site 200/39 |
International Launch Services | |||||
 Mexsat-1 |
SCT | Geosynchronous | Communications | 16 May 2015 | Launch failure | |||
| Proton third stage vernier engine failed at T+497 seconds due to turbopump shaft coating degradation causing excess vibration.[12] | ||||||||
| 20 May 15:05:00 |
Atlas V 501 |
Cape Canaveral SLC-41 |
United Launch Alliance | |||||
| AFSPC-5 (X-37B OTV-4) |
U.S. Air Force | Low Earth | Technology demonstration | 7 May 2017 | Operational | |||
| ULTRASat |
NASA | Low Earth | CubeSat Deployment | In orbit | Operational | |||
| ⚀ Lightsail-A |
The Planetary Society | Low Earth | Technology demonstration | 14 June 2015 17:23 | Successful | |||
| ⚀ USS Langley |
U.S. Naval Academy | Low Earth | Technology demonstration | In orbit | Operational | |||
| ⚀ BRICSat-P |
U.S. Naval Academy / George Washington | Low Earth | Technology demonstration | In orbit | Operational | |||
| ⚀ ParkinsonSat |
U.S. Naval Academy | Low Earth | Technology demonstration | In orbit | Operational | |||
| ⚀ GEARRS-2 |
Taylor | Low Earth | Technology demonstration | In orbit | Operational | |||
| ⚀ AeroCube-8A |
The Aerospace Corporation | Low Earth | Technology demonstration | 11 October 2021[14] | Successful | |||
| ⚀ AeroCube-8B |
The Aerospace Corporation | Low Earth | Technology demonstration | 2 October 2021[16] | Successful | |||
| ⚀ OptiCube 1 |
CalPoly | Low Earth | Technology demonstration | In orbit | Operational | |||
| ⚀ OptiCube 2 |
CalPoly | Low Earth | Technology demonstration | In orbit | Operational | |||
| ⚀ OptiCube 3 |
CalPoly | Low Earth | Technology demonstration | In orbit | Operational | |||
| The X-37B spaceplane landed autonomously at Kennedy Space Center's Shuttle Landing Facility after spending a record-breaking 718 days in orbit.[17] | ||||||||
| 27 May 21:16:07 |
Ariane 5 ECA |
Kourou ELA-3 |
Arianespace | |||||
| DirecTV-15 |
DirecTV | Geosynchronous | Communications | In orbit | Operational | |||
| Sky Mexico 1 |
SKY Mexico | Geosynchronous | Communications | In orbit | Operational | |||
June | ||||||||
| 5 June 15:23:54 |
Soyuz-2.1a |
Plesetsk Site 43/4 |
RVSN RF | |||||
| Kosmos 2505 (Kobalt-M №10) |
VKO | Low Earth | Reconnaissance | 18 September 2015 | Successful | |||
| 23 June 01:51:58 |
Vega |
Kourou ELV |
Arianespace | |||||
| Sentinel-2A |
ESA | Low Earth (SSO) | Earth observation | In orbit | Operational | |||
| 23 June 16:44:00 |
Soyuz-2.1b |
Plesetsk Site 43/4 |
RVSN RF | |||||
| Kosmos 2506 (Persona №3) |
VKO | Low Earth (SSO) | Reconnaissance | In orbit | Operational | |||
| 26 June 06:22:04 |
Long March 4B |
Taiyuan LC-9 |
CASC | |||||
| Gaofen 8 |
CNSA | Low Earth (SSO) | Earth observation / Reconnaissance | In orbit | Operational | |||
| 28 June 14:21:11 |
Falcon 9 v1.1 |
Cape Canaveral SLC-40 |
SpaceX | |||||
| SpaceX CRS-7 |
NASA | Low Earth (ISS) | ISS resupply | 28 June 2015 | Launch Failure | |||
| ⚀ Flock-1f × 8[19] |
Planet Labs | Low Earth | Earth observation | 28 June 2015 | Launch Failure | |||
| Vehicle disintegrated at T+139 seconds after second stage helium tank support strut failure caused helium tank to break through second stage tanks.[20] Attempted to deliver the IDA-1 segment of the NASA Docking System. CubeSats were to be deployed from the International Space Station at a later date. Planned first stage landing test not achieved. | ||||||||
July | ||||||||
| 3 July 04:55:48 |
Soyuz-U |
Baikonur Site 1/5 |
Roscosmos | |||||
| Progress M-28M / 60P |
Roscosmos | Low Earth (ISS) | ISS resupply | 19 December 2015 | Successful | |||
| 10 July 16:28:00 |
PSLV-XL |
Satish Dhawan FLP |
ISRO | |||||
| UK-DMC-3A |
DMCii | Low Earth (SSO) | Earth observation | In orbit | Operational | |||
| UK-DMC-3B |
DMCii | Low Earth (SSO) | Earth observation | In orbit | Operational | |||
| UK-DMC-3C |
DMCii | Low Earth (SSO) | Earth observation | In orbit | Operational | |||
| CBNT-1 |
SSTL | Low Earth (SSO) | Technology demonstration | In orbit | Operational | |||
| ⚀ DeOrbitSail |
Surrey Space Centre | Low Earth (SSO) | Technology demonstration | In orbit | Operational | |||
| 15 July 15:36:00 |
Atlas V 401 |
Cape Canaveral SLC-41 |
United Launch Alliance | |||||
| USA-262 (GPS IIF-10) |
U.S. Air Force | Medium Earth | Navigation | In orbit | Operational | |||
| 15 July 21:42:07 |
Ariane 5 ECA |
Kourou ELA-3 |
Arianespace | |||||
| Star One C4 |
Star One | Geosynchronous | Communications | In orbit | Operational | |||
| MSG-4 |
EUMETSAT | Geosynchronous | Meteorology | In orbit | Operational | |||
| 22 July 21:02:44 |
Soyuz-FG |
Baikonur Site 1/5 |
Roscosmos | |||||
| Soyuz TMA-17M |
Roscosmos | Low Earth (ISS) | Expedition 44/45 | 11 December 2015 13:10 | Successful | |||
| Crewed flight with three cosmonauts. | ||||||||
| 24 July 00:07:00 |
Delta IV M+(5,4) |
Cape Canaveral SLC-37B |
United Launch Alliance | |||||
| USA-263 (WGS-7) |
U.S. Air Force | Geosynchronous | Communications | In orbit | Operational | |||
| 25 July 12:29:04 |
Long March 3B/YZ-1 |
Xichang LA-2 |
CASC | |||||
| BeiDou M1-S |
CNSA | Medium Earth | Navigation | In orbit | Operational | |||
| BeiDou M2-S |
CNSA | Medium Earth | Navigation | In orbit | Operational | |||
August | ||||||||
| 19 August 11:50:49 |
H-IIB |
Tanegashima LA-Y2 |
MHI | |||||
| HTV-5 |
JAXA | Low Earth (ISS) | ISS resupply | 29 September 2015 | Successful | |||
| ⚀ AAUSAT5 |
Aalborg | Low Earth | Technology demonstration | 15 March 2016 | Successful | |||
| ⚀ Flock-2b × 14[22] |
Planet Labs | Low Earth | Earth observation | First: 22 May 2016 Last: 17 October 2016 | Successful (12 deployed) | |||
| ⚀ GOMX-3 |
GomSpace | Low Earth | Technology demonstration | 19 October 2016[24] | Successful | |||
| ⚀ S-CUBE |
Chiba Institute of Technology | Low Earth | Meteor observation | 23 November 2016[26] | ||||
| ⚀ SERPENS |
University of Brasília / Brazilian Space Agency | Low Earth | Technology demonstration | 27 March 2016 | Successful | |||
| CubeSats to be deployed from the International Space Station at a later date. SERPENS and S-CUBE were deployed on 17 September. AAUSAT5, GOMX-3, and Dove Flocks were deployed on 5–7 October, but two out of the fourteen Dove Flocks failed to be deployed due to a malfunction of the deployer.[27] | ||||||||
| 20 August 20:34:08 |
Ariane 5 ECA |
Kourou ELA-3 |
Arianespace | |||||
| Eutelsat 8 West B |
Eutelsat | Geosynchronous | Communications | In orbit | Operational | |||
| Intelsat 34 |
Intelsat | Geosynchronous | Communications | In orbit | Operational | |||
| 27 August 02:31:35 |
Long March 4C |
Taiyuan LC-9 |
CASC | |||||
| Yaogan 27 |
CNSA | Low Earth (SSO) | Reconnaissance | In orbit | Operational | |||
| 27 August 11:22:00 |
GSLV Mk II |
Satish Dhawan SLP |
ISRO | |||||
| GSAT-6 |
Indian Armed Forces/ISRO | Geosynchronous | Communications | In orbit | Operational | |||
| 28 August 11:44:00 |
Proton-M / Briz-M |
Baikonur Site 200/39 |
International Launch Services | |||||
| Inmarsat 5-F3 |
Inmarsat | Geosynchronous | Communications | In orbit | Operational | |||
September | ||||||||
| 2 September 04:37:43 |
Soyuz-FG |
Baikonur Site 1/5 |
Roscosmos | |||||
| Soyuz TMA-18M |
Roscosmos | Low Earth (ISS) | Expedition 45/46/iriss[28] | 2 March 2016 04:26 | Successful | |||
| Crewed flight with three cosmonauts: including ESA astronaut Andreas Mogensen, the first Dane in space, and Aidyn Aimbetov, the first cosmonaut from an independent Kazakhstan. Sarah Brightman was intended to fly this mission as a spaceflight participant, but withdrew from training on 13 May 2015 for personal reasons.[29] Japanese space tourist Satoshi Takamatsu was believed to be taking Brightman's place, but he declined and Roscosmos chose Aimbetov as an alternative instead.[30] Landed with the Year in Space crew of Scott Kelly and Mikhail Korniyenko | ||||||||
| 2 September 10:18:00 |
Atlas V 551 |
Cape Canaveral SLC-41 |
United Launch Alliance | |||||
| MUOS-4 |
U.S. Navy | Geosynchronous | Communications | In orbit | Operational | |||
| 11 September 02:08:10 |
Soyuz-STB / Fregat |
Kourou ELS |
Arianespace | |||||
| Galileo FOC 5 |
ESA | Medium Earth | Navigation | In orbit | Operational | |||
| Galileo FOC 6 |
ESA | Medium Earth | Navigation | In orbit | Operational | |||
| 12 September 15:42:04 |
Long March 3B/E |
Xichang LC-2 |
CASC | |||||
| TJS-1 |
CNSA | Geosynchronous | Communications | In orbit | Operational | |||
| 14 September 04:42 |
Long March 2D |
Jiuquan SLS-2 |
CASC | |||||
| Gaofen 9 |
CNSA | Low Earth (SSO) | Earth observation / Reconnaissance | In orbit | Operational | |||
| 14 September 19:00:00 |
Proton-M / Blok DM-03 |
Baikonur Site 81/24 |
Khrunichev | |||||
| Ekspress AM8 |
RSCC | Geosynchronous | Communications | In orbit | Operational | |||
| 19 September 23:01:14 |
Long March 6 |
Taiyuan LC-16 |
CASC | |||||
| ZDPS-2A |
ZJU | Low Earth (SSO) | Technology demonstration | In orbit | Operational | |||
| ZDPS-2B |
ZJU | Low Earth (SSO) | Technology demonstration | In orbit | Operational | |||
| Xiwang-2A |
CAMSAT | Low Earth (SSO) | Amateur radio | In orbit | Operational | |||
| Xiwang-2B |
CAMSAT | Low Earth (SSO) | Amateur radio | In orbit | Operational | |||
| Xiwang-2C |
CAMSAT | Low Earth (SSO) | Amateur radio | In orbit | Operational | |||
| Xiwang-2D |
CAMSAT | Low Earth (SSO) | Amateur radio | In orbit | Operational | |||
| Xiwang-2E |
CAMSAT | Low Earth (SSO) | Amateur radio | In orbit | Operational | |||
| Xiwang-2F |
CAMSAT | Low Earth (SSO) | Amateur radio | In orbit | Operational | |||
| XY-2 |
CASC | Low Earth (SSO) | Technology demonstration | In orbit | Operational | |||
| ⚀ DCBB |
CAMSAT | Low Earth (SSO) | Education | In orbit | Operational | |||
| LilacSat-2 |
HIT | Low Earth (SSO) | Technology demonstration | In orbit | Operational | |||
| Tiantuo-3 |
NUDT | Low Earth (SSO) | Technology demonstration | In orbit | Operational | |||
| NUDT-PhoneSat |
NUDT | Low Earth (SSO) | Technology demonstration | 29 March 2023[32] | Successful | |||
| Xingchen 1 |
NUDT | Low Earth (SSO) | Technology demonstration | In orbit | Operational | |||
| Xingchen 2 |
NUDT | Low Earth (SSO) | Technology demonstration | In orbit | Operational | |||
| Xingchen 3 |
NUDT | Low Earth (SSO) | Technology demonstration | In orbit | Operational | |||
| Xingchen 4 |
NUDT | Low Earth (SSO) | Technology demonstration | In orbit | Operational | |||
| NS-2 |
Tsinghua University | Low Earth (SSO) | Technology demonstration | In orbit | Operational | |||
| ZJ-1 |
Tsinghua University | Low Earth (SSO) | Technology demonstration | In orbit | Operational | |||
| ZJ-2 |
Tsinghua / Xidian | Low Earth (SSO) | Technology demonstration | In orbit | Operational | |||
| Maiden flight of the Long March 6 vehicle. | ||||||||
| 23 September 21:59:38 |
Rokot / Briz-KM |
Plesetsk Site 133/3 |
VKO | |||||
| Kosmos 2507 (Strela-3M) |
VKO | Low Earth | Communications | In orbit | Operational | |||
| Kosmos 2508 (Strela-3M) |
VKO | Low Earth | Communications | In orbit | Operational | |||
| Kosmos 2509 (Strela-3M) |
VKO | Low Earth | Communications | In orbit | Operational | |||
| 25 September 01:41:40 |
Long March 11 |
Jiuquan LS-95A |
CASC | |||||
| Pujiang-1 |
SAST | Low Earth (SSO) | Technology demonstration | In orbit | Operational | |||
| ⚀ Tianwang 1A (Shankeda 2) |
ShanghaiTech | Low Earth (SSO) | Technology demonstration | 30 December 2022[34] | Successful | |||
| ⚀ Tianwang 1B (NJUST 2) |
NJUST | Low Earth (SSO) | Technology demonstration | 31 March 2021[36] | Successful | |||
| ⚀ Tianwang 1C (NJFA 1) |
ShanghaiTech | Low Earth (SSO) | Technology demonstration | 27 February 2021[38] | Successful | |||
| Maiden flight of the Long March 11 vehicle. | ||||||||
| 28 September 04:30:00 |
PSLV-XL |
Satish Dhawan FLP |
ISRO | |||||
| Astrosat |
ISRO | Low Earth | X-ray astronomy | In orbit | Operational | |||
 LAPAN-A2 |
LAPAN | Low Earth | Earth observation | In orbit | Operational | |||
.svg.png.webp){kind=small} ExactView 9 |
exactEarth | Low Earth | Maritime observation | In orbit | Operational | |||
| ⚀ Lemur-2 1 |
NanoSatisfi | Low Earth | Earth observation | In orbit | Operational | |||
| ⚀ Lemur-2 2 |
NanoSatisfi | Low Earth | Earth observation | In orbit | Operational | |||
| ⚀ Lemur-2 3 |
NanoSatisfi | Low Earth | Earth observation | In orbit | Operational | |||
| ⚀ Lemur-2 4 |
NanoSatisfi | Low Earth | Earth observation | In orbit | Operational | |||
| 29 September 23:13:04 |
Long March 3B/E |
Xichang LA-3 |
CASC | |||||
| BeiDou I2-S |
CNSA | Geosynchronous | Navigation | In orbit | Operational | |||
| 30 September 20:30:07 |
Ariane 5 ECA |
Kourou ELA-3 |
Arianespace | |||||
.svg.png.webp){kind=small} NBN-Co 1A (Sky Muster) |
NBN Co | Geosynchronous | Communications | In orbit | Operational | |||
 ARSAT-2 |
ARSAT | Geosynchronous | Communications | In orbit | Operational | |||
October | ||||||||
| 1 October 16:49:40 |
Soyuz-U |
Baikonur Site 1/5 |
Roscosmos | |||||
| Progress M-29M / 61P |
Roscosmos | Low Earth (ISS) | ISS resupply | 8 April 2016 | Successful | |||
| 2 October 10:28:00 |
Atlas V 421 |
Cape Canaveral SLC-41 |
United Launch Alliance | |||||
| Mexsat-2 |
SCT | Geosynchronous | Communications | In orbit | Operational | |||
| 7 October 04:13:04 |
Long March 2D |
Jiuquan SLS-2 |
CASC | |||||
| Jilin-1 Smart Verification Satellite[40] |
Chang Guang Satellite Technology | Low Earth (SSO) | Earth observation | In orbit | Operational | |||
| Jilin-1 Optical-A[42] |
Chang Guang Satellite Technology | Low Earth (SSO) | Earth observation | In orbit | Operational | |||
| Jilin-1 Video-01 (Lingqiao 1-01)[43] |
Chang Guang Satellite Technology | Low Earth (SSO) | Earth observation | In orbit | Operational | |||
| Jilin-1 Video-02 (Lingqiao 1-02)[43] |
Chang Guang Satellite Technology | Low Earth (SSO) | Earth observation | In orbit | Operational | |||
| 8 October 12:49:30 |
Atlas V 401 |
Vandenberg SLC-3E |
United Launch Alliance | |||||
| USA-264 (NOSS) |
NRO | Low Earth | ELINT | In orbit | Operational | |||
| USA-264 (NOSS) |
NRO | Low Earth | ELINT | In orbit | Operational | |||
| ⚀ Aerocube-5c |
The Aerospace Corporation | Low Earth | Technology demonstration | In orbit | Operational | |||
| ⚀ Aerocube-7 |
The Aerospace Corporation | Low Earth | Technology demonstration | In orbit | Operational | |||
| ⚀ AMSAT Fox-1 |
AMSAT | Low Earth | Amateur radio / Technology demonstration | In orbit | Operational | |||
| ⚀ ARC-1 |
UAF | Low Earth | Technology demonstration | In orbit | Operational | |||
| ⚀ BisonSat |
SKC | Low Earth | Earth observation | In orbit | Operational | |||
| ⚀ LMRST-Sat |
NASA / JPL | Low Earth | Technology demonstration | In orbit | Operational | |||
| ⚀ PropCube x 2 |
Tyvak Nano-Satellite Systems | Low Earth | Technology demonstration | In orbit | Operational | |||
| ⚀ SINOD-D x 2 |
SRI International | Low Earth | Technology demonstration | In orbit | Operational | |||
| ⚀ SNaP-3 x 3 |
U.S. Army SMDC | Low Earth | Technology demonstration | In orbit | Operational | |||
| NRO Launch 55 | ||||||||
| 16 October 16:16:04 |
Long March 3B/E |
Xichang LC-2 |
CASC | |||||
 APStar-9 |
APT Satellite Holdings | Geosynchronous | Communications | In orbit | Operational | |||
| 16 October 20:40:11 |
Proton-M / Briz-M |
Baikonur Site 200/39 |
International Launch Services | |||||
 Türksat 4B |
Türksat | Geosynchronous | Communications | In orbit | Operational | |||
| 26 October 07:10:04 |
Long March 2D |
Jiuquan SLS-2 |
CASC | |||||
| Tianhui 1C |
CNSA | Low Earth (SSO) | Earth observation (Cartography) | In orbit | Operational | |||
| 31 October 16:13:00 |
Atlas V 401 |
Cape Canaveral SLC-41 |
United Launch Alliance | |||||
| USA-265 (GPS IIF-11) |
U.S. Air Force | Medium Earth | Navigation | In orbit | Operational | |||
November | ||||||||
| 3 November 16:25:04 |
Long March 3B/E |
Xichang LC-3 |
CASC | |||||
| ChinaSat 2C |
CNSA | Geosynchronous | Communications | In orbit | Operational | |||
| 4 November 03:45:00 |
SPARK |
Pacific Missile Range Facility LP-41 |
ORS | |||||
| HiakaSat |
ORS | Low Earth | Technology demonstration | 4 November 2015 | Launch failure | |||
| ⚀ EDSN x 8 |
NASA | Low Earth | Technology demonstration | 4 November 2015 | Launch failure | |||
| ⚀ PrintSat |
Montana State University | Low Earth | Technology demonstration | 4 November 2015 | Launch failure | |||
| ⚀ Argus |
St. Louis University and Vanderbilt University | Low Earth | Technology demonstration | 4 November 2015 | Launch failure | |||
| ⚀ STACEM |
Utah State University | Low Earth | Technology demonstration | 4 November 2015 | Launch failure | |||
| ⚀ Supernova-Beta |
Pumpkin, Inc. | Low Earth | Technology demonstration | 4 November 2015 | Launch failure | |||
| Maiden flight of the SPARK/Super Strypi launch vehicle. Vehicle lost attitude control at T+1 minute. | ||||||||
| 8 November 07:06:04 |
Long March 4B |
Taiyuan LC-9 |
CASC | |||||
| Yaogan 28 |
CNSA | Low Earth (SSO) | Reconnaissance | In orbit | Operational | |||
| 10 November 21:34:07 |
Ariane 5 ECA |
Kourou ELA-3 |
Arianespace | |||||
 Arabsat 6B |
Arabsat | Geosynchronous | Communications | In orbit | Operational | |||
| GSAT-15 |
ISRO | Geosynchronous | Communications | In orbit | Operational | |||
| 17 November 06:33:41 |
Soyuz-2.1b / Fregat |
Plesetsk Site 43/4 |
RVSN RF | |||||
| Kosmos 2510 (EKS (Tundra)) |
VKO | Molniya[44] | Early warning | In orbit | Operational[45] | |||
| First space component for Russia's new unified missile early warning network.[46] | ||||||||
| 20 November 16:07:04 |
Long March 3B/E |
Xichang LC-2 |
CASC | |||||
| LaoSat-1 |
Laos National Authority for Science and Technology | Geosynchronous | Communications | In orbit | Operational | |||
| First Laotian satellite[47] | ||||||||
| 24 November 06:50:00 |
H-IIA 204 |
Tanegashima LA-Y1 |
MHI | |||||
| Telstar 12V |
Telesat | Geosynchronous | Communications | In orbit | Operational | |||
| 26 November 21:24:04 |
Long March 4C |
Taiyuan LC-9 |
CASC | |||||
| Yaogan 29 |
CNSA | Low Earth (SSO) | Reconnaissance | In orbit | Operational | |||
December | ||||||||
| 3 December 04:04:00 |
Vega |
Kourou ELV |
Arianespace | |||||
| LISA Pathfinder |
ESA / NASA | Sun–Earth L1 | Technology demonstration | In orbit | Operational | |||
| 5 December 14:08:33 |
Soyuz-2-1v / Volga |
Plesetsk Site 43/4 |
RVSN RF | |||||
| Kosmos 2511 (Kanopus-ST) |
VKO | Low Earth (SSO) | Earth observation | 8 December 2015 05:43 | Launch failure | |||
| Kosmos 2512 (KYuA-1) |
Almaz-Antey | Low Earth (SSO) | Radar calibration | In orbit | Operational | |||
| Kanopus-ST failed to separate from the Volga upper stage.[48][49] | ||||||||
| 6 December 21:44:57 |
Atlas V 401 |
Cape Canaveral SLC-41 |
United Launch Alliance | |||||
| Cygnus CRS OA-4 S.S. Deke Slayton II |
Orbital ATK / NASA | Low Earth (ISS) | ISS resupply | 20 February 2016 | Successful | |||
| SIMPL |
NovaWurks | Low Earth | Technology demonstration | 26 July 2022[51] | Successful | |||
| ⚀ Flock-2e x 12 |
Planet Labs | Low Earth | Earth observation | First: 25 July 2017[54] Last: 14 August 2018[55] | Successful | |||
| ⚀ CADRE |
University of Michigan | Low Earth | Technology demonstration | 3 January 2017[57] | Successful | |||
| ⚀ MinXSS 1 |
University of Colorado Boulder | Low Earth | Solar physics, Space weather | 5 May 2017[59] | Successful | |||
| ⚀ Nodes x 2 |
NASA | Low Earth | Technology demonstration | 23 September 2017[61] | Successful | |||
| ⚀ STMSat 1 |
St. Thomas More Cathedral School | Low Earth | Education | 21 April 2017[63] | Successful | |||
| Flight moved from Antares 130 rocket following launch failure of Cygnus CRS Orb-3. Originally scheduled for 1 April 2015.[64] MinXSS was deployed into orbit from ISS on 16 May 2016.[65] | ||||||||
| 9 December 16:46:04 |
Long March 3B/E |
Xichang LC-3 |
CASC | |||||
| ChinaSat 1C |
CNSA | Geosynchronous | Communications | In orbit | Operational | |||
| 11 December 13:45:33 |
Zenit-3F |
Baikonur Site 45/1 |
Roscosmos | |||||
| Elektro-L No.2 |
Roscosmos | Geosynchronous | Meteorology | In orbit | Operational | |||
| 13 December 00:19:00 |
Proton-M / Briz-M |
Baikonur Site 81/24 |
Khrunichev | |||||
| Kosmos 2513 (Garpun No. 12L) |
VKO | Geosynchronous | Communications | In orbit | Operational | |||
| 15 December 11:03:09 |
Soyuz-FG |
Baikonur Site 1/5 |
Roscosmos | |||||
| Soyuz TMA-19M |
Roscosmos | Low Earth (ISS) | Expedition 46/47 | 18 June 2016 09:15 | Successful | |||
| Crewed flight with three cosmonauts. | ||||||||
| 16 December 12:30:00 |
PSLV-CA |
Satish Dhawan FLP |
ISRO | |||||
 TeLEOS-1 |
AgilSpace | Low Earth | Earth observation | In orbit | Operational | |||
| VELOX C1 |
NTU | Low Earth | Atmospheric science | In orbit | Operational | |||
| ⚀ VELOX 2 |
NTU | Low Earth | Technology demonstration | In orbit | Operational | |||
| Kent Ridge 1 |
NUS | Low Earth | Earth observation | In orbit | Operational | |||
| ⚀ Galassia |
NUS | Low Earth | Atmospheric science | In orbit | Operational | |||
| ⚀ Athenoxat-1 |
NTU | Low Earth | Earth observation | In orbit | Operational | |||
| 17 December 00:12:04 |
Long March 2D |
Jiuquan SLS-2 |
CASC | |||||
| DAMPE |
CAS | Low Earth (SSO) | High-energy astronomy | In orbit | Operational | |||
| 17 December 11:51:56 |
Soyuz ST-B / Fregat |
Kourou ELS |
Arianespace | |||||
| Galileo FOC 8 |
ESA | Medium Earth | Navigation | In orbit | Operational | |||
| Galileo FOC 9 |
ESA | Medium Earth | Navigation | In orbit | Operational | |||
| 21 December 08:44:39 |
Soyuz-2.1a |
Baikonur Site 31/6 |
Roscosmos | |||||
| Progress MS-01 / 62P |
Roscosmos | Low Earth (ISS) | ISS resupply | 3 July 2016 07:50 | Operational | |||
| First launch of the new Progress-MS variant. | ||||||||
| 22 December 01:29:00 |
Falcon 9 Full Thrust |
Cape Canaveral SLC-40 |
SpaceX | |||||
| Orbcomm-2 F2 |
Orbcomm | Low Earth | Communications | In orbit | Operational | |||
| Orbcomm-2 F5 |
Orbcomm | Low Earth | Communications | In orbit | Operational | |||
| Orbcomm-2 F8 |
Orbcomm | Low Earth | Communications | In orbit | Operational | |||
| Orbcomm-2 F10 |
Orbcomm | Low Earth | Communications | In orbit | Operational | |||
| Orbcomm-2 F12 |
Orbcomm | Low Earth | Communications | In orbit | Operational | |||
| Orbcomm-2 F13 |
Orbcomm | Low Earth | Communications | In orbit | Operational | |||
| Orbcomm-2 F14 |
Orbcomm | Low Earth | Communications | In orbit | Operational | |||
| Orbcomm-2 F15 |
Orbcomm | Low Earth | Communications | In orbit | Operational | |||
| Orbcomm-2 F16 |
Orbcomm | Low Earth | Communications | In orbit | Operational | |||
| Orbcomm-2 F17 |
Orbcomm | Low Earth | Communications | In orbit | Operational | |||
| Orbcomm-2 F18 |
Orbcomm | Low Earth | Communications | In orbit | Operational | |||
| First flight of the upgraded "full thrust" version of Falcon 9, first Falcon 9 flight after launch failure in June. First successful return to launch site and vertical landing of a first stage, demonstrated as part of a controlled descent test. | ||||||||
| 24 December 21:31:19 |
Proton-M / Briz-M |
Baikonur Site 200/39 |
Khrunichev | |||||
| Ekspress AMU1 |
RSCC | Geosynchronous | Communications | In orbit | Operational | |||
| 28 December 16:04:04 |
Long March 3B/E |
Xichang LC-2 |
CASC | |||||
| Gaofen 4 |
CNSA | Geosynchronous | Earth observation | In orbit | Operational | |||
Suborbital flights
| 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[66] |
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[67] | |||
| 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).[68] | |||||||
| 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)[69] | |||||||
| 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)[70] | |||||||
| 11 September 11:00:00 |
S-520 |
Uchinoura |
JAXA | ||||
|
HU/UT/TU/JAXA | Suborbital | Microgravity | 11 September | Successful | ||
| Apogee: 312 km[71] | |||||||
| 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).[72] 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.[73] | |||||||
| 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 | |||
Deep space rendezvous
| 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[74] | 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[75] | 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[76] | 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[77] | Hayabusa2 | Flyby of Earth | Gravity assist |
| 3 December[78] | PROCYON | Flyby of Earth | Gravity assist en route to cancelled asteroid flyby. |
| 4 December[79] | Shin'en 2 | Flyby of Earth | Gravity assist |
| 7 December[80] | 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). |
Extra-Vehicular Activities (EVAs)
| 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.[81] |
| 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.[82][83] |
| 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.[84][85] |
| 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.[86][87] |
| 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.[88] |
| 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.[89] |
| 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.[90] |
Space debris events
| Date/Time (UTC) | Source object | Event type | Pieces tracked | Remarks |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3 February 17:40[91] | DMSP 5D-2/F13 (USA-109) | Satellite breakup | 159[92] | The breakup was most likely caused by a battery explosion.[91][93] This satellite had been launched in 1995. Another satellite from the same series, DMSP 5D-2/F11, had broken up in 2004.[91] Debris are expected to remain in orbit for decades.[94] |
| 25 November 7:20[95] | NOAA-16 | Satellite breakup | 275[96] | 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).[97] |
| 22 December 16:00[98] | Briz-M upper stage | Booster explosion | 9[98] | 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.[98] Three other Briz-M upper stages had exploded earlier in 2007, 2010 and 2012.[99] |
Orbital launch statistics
By country
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 | ||
By rocket
By family
| 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 |
By type
| 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 |
By configuration
By spaceport
5
10
15
20
China
France
India
Iran
Japan
Kazakhstan
Russia
United States
| 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 | ||
By orbit
10
20
30
40
50
- Transatmospheric
- Low Earth
- Low Earth (ISS)
- Low Earth (SSO)
- Low Earth (retrograde)
- Geosychronous
(transfer) - Medium Earth
- High Earth
- Heliocentric
| 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 |
Gallery
.jpg.webp)
Soyuz TMA-16M launches carrying ISS year long mission crew members Scott Kelly and Mikhail Korniyenko and Soyuz commander Gennady Padalka.
Photo of Ceres taken by the Dawn spacecraft at a distance of 13,600 km (8,500 mi)..jpg.webp)
First stage of the Falcon 9 Flight 20 rocket immediately before touching down at Landing Zone 1._Scott_Kelly.jpg.webp)
Scott Kelly working outside of the International Space Station
Notes
- ↑ Clockwise from top:
- The first ever vertical landing of an orbital-class launch vehicle, during the Falcon 9's twentieth flight in December. The vehicle landed at Cape Canaveral LZ-1.
- A close-up view of one of many high albedo regions on the dwarf planet Ceres spotted by the Dawn spacecraft upon its arrival in March. Ceres was the second world to be visited by Dawn after the main belt asteroid 4 Vesta.
- Commander Scott Kelly is pulled from the Soyuz TMA-M Eridan following its landing in Kazakhstan in March. The landing signalled the conclusion of Kelly's and Mikhail Kornienko's year in space.
- A true colour view of Pluto, photographed by the New Horizons spacecraft during its historic flyby in July. Launched in 2006, the spacecraft traversed a distance of nearly 5 billion kilometres (3.1 billion miles) before performing the first ever reconnaissance of a Kuiper belt object (KBO).
- ↑ The European experimental spaceplane IXV was briefly in orbit but did not receive a COSPAR catalog number.
References
- ↑ @elonmusk (10 January 2015). "Rocket made it to drone spaceport ship, but landed hard. Close, but no cigar this time. Bodes well for the future tho" (Tweet). Retrieved 4 April 2015 – via Twitter.
- ↑ "Brazilian AESP-14 CubeSat was deployed from Kibo". JAXA. 5 February 2015. Retrieved 17 September 2015.
- ↑ "Flock-1, -1b, -1c, -1d, -1d', -1e, -1f, -2, -2b, -2c, -2d, -2e". space.skyrocket.de. Retrieved 17 September 2015.
- "FIREBIRD 3". N2YO.com. 2 August 2023. Retrieved 2 December 2023.
- ↑ "FIREBIRD 3". N2YO.com. 2 August 2023. Retrieved 2 December 2023.
- "FIREBIRD 4". N2YO.com. 2 August 2023. Retrieved 2 December 2023.
- ↑ "FIREBIRD 4". N2YO.com. 2 August 2023. Retrieved 2 December 2023.
- ↑ Elon Musk at Twitter: "Ascent successful. Dragon enroute to Space Station. Rocket landed on droneship, but too hard for survival."
- ↑ "РОСКОСМОС: "ПРОГРЕСС М-27М" - ОПРЕДЕЛЕНА ПРИЧИНА АВАРИИ (ROSCOSMOS: "Progress M-27M" - cause of accident determined)" (in Russian). Roscosmos. 1 June 2015. Archived from the original on 11 June 2015. Retrieved 1 June 2015.
- ↑ Hout, Dan (30 April 2015). "Progress 59 Update Apr. 30, 2015". NASA Blogs: Space Station. NASA. Archived from the original on 16 May 2021. Retrieved 16 May 2021.
- ↑ "Russian spacecraft Progress M-27M 'out of control'". BBC News. British Broadcasting Company. 29 April 2015. Retrieved 30 April 2015.
- ↑ "РОСКОСМОС: НАЗВАНА ПРИЧИНА АВАРИИ РН "ПРОТОН-М" (ROSCOSMOS: Named cause of the accident "Proton-M")" (in Russian). Roscosmos. 29 May 2015. Archived from the original on 30 May 2015. Retrieved 30 May 2015.
- "AEROCUBE 8A". N2YO.com. Retrieved 27 October 2021.
- ↑ "AEROCUBE 8A". N2YO.com. Retrieved 27 October 2021.
- "AEROCUBE 8B - Norad 40660U". Satview. Retrieved 8 October 2021.
- ↑ "AEROCUBE 8B - Norad 40660U". Satview. Retrieved 8 October 2021.
- ↑ Ray, Justin (7 May 2017). "X-37B spaceplane returns to Earth and makes autopilot landing in Florida". Spaceflight Now. Retrieved 7 May 2017.
- @planet4589 (27 June 2015). "Dragon also will carry eight @planetlabs Flock-1f imaging cubesats which will be stored on ISS for later deployment" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
- ↑ @planet4589 (27 June 2015). "Dragon also will carry eight @planetlabs Flock-1f imaging cubesats which will be stored on ISS for later deployment" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
- ↑ "CRS-7 INVESTIGATION UPDATE". SpaceX. 20 July 2015. Archived from the original on 26 March 2017. Retrieved 28 July 2015.
- "Stork Set to Make Special Space Station Delivery". NASA. 14 August 2015.
- ↑ "Stork Set to Make Special Space Station Delivery". NASA. 14 August 2015.
- "GomSpace - GOMX-3 mission completed and de-orbited according to plan" (PDF). 21 October 2016. Archived from the original (PDF) on 20 December 2016. Retrieved 8 December 2016.
- ↑ "GomSpace - GOMX-3 mission completed and de-orbited according to plan" (PDF). 21 October 2016. Archived from the original (PDF) on 20 December 2016. Retrieved 8 December 2016.
- 千葉工業大学 惑星探査研究センター (in Japanese). 24 November 2016. Retrieved 8 December 2016.
- ↑ 千葉工業大学 惑星探査研究センター (in Japanese). 24 November 2016. Retrieved 8 December 2016.
- ↑ "ISS Daily Summary Report – 10/7/15". NASA. 7 October 2015. Retrieved 26 October 2015.
- ↑ ESA. "Andreas Mogensen's mission name links cosmos and Earth". Retrieved 22 June 2015.
- ↑ "Brightman steps down from station flight". spaceflightnow.com. 13 May 2015.
- ↑ Jeff Foust (22 June 2015). "Kazakh Cosmonaut To Take Brightman's Place On Soyuz Flight". SpaceNews.com.
- "NUDT-PHONESAT". N2YO.com. 29 March 2023. Retrieved 31 March 2023.
- ↑ "NUDT-PHONESAT". N2YO.com. 29 March 2023. Retrieved 31 March 2023.
- "TIANWANG 1A (TW-1A)". N2YO.com. 30 December 2022. Retrieved 9 January 2023.
- ↑ "TIANWANG 1A (TW-1A)". N2YO.com. 30 December 2022. Retrieved 9 January 2023.
- "TIANWANG 1B (TW-1B)". N2YO.com. 31 March 2021. Retrieved 27 October 2021.
- ↑ "TIANWANG 1B (TW-1B)". N2YO.com. 31 March 2021. Retrieved 27 October 2021.
- "TIANWANG 1C (TW-1C)". N2YO.com. 27 February 2021. Retrieved 27 October 2021.
- ↑ "TIANWANG 1C (TW-1C)". N2YO.com. 27 February 2021. Retrieved 27 October 2021.
- Krebs, Gunter. "Jilin-1 Smart Verfication [sic] Satellite". Gunter's Space Page. Retrieved 10 January 2019.
- ↑ Krebs, Gunter. "Jilin-1 Smart Verfication [sic] Satellite". Gunter's Space Page. Retrieved 10 January 2019.
- Krebs, Gunter. "Jilin-1 Optical-A, B". Gunter's Space Page. Retrieved 10 January 2019.
- ↑ Krebs, Gunter. "Jilin-1 Optical-A, B". Gunter's Space Page. Retrieved 10 January 2019.
- 1 2 Krebs, Gunter. "Jilin-1 Video-01, 02 (Lingqiao 1-01, 02)". Gunter's Space Page. Retrieved 10 January 2019.
- ↑ "Russia's 1st EKS Missile Warning Satellite enters surprising Orbit". 18 November 2015. Retrieved 20 November 2015.
- ↑ "Новейший спутник Минобороны РФ вышел на связь и работает нормально РИА Новости". 17 November 2015. Retrieved 17 November 2015.
- ↑ Bergin, Chris; Graham, William (17 November 2015). "Soyuz 2-1B launches EKS-1 to upgrade Russian Early Warning System". NASASpaceflight.com. Archived from the original on 16 May 2021. Retrieved 16 May 2021.
- ↑ Clark, Stephen. "China launches first satellite for Laos". Spaceflight Now. Retrieved 27 November 2015.
- ↑ "Russian Military Satellite Suffers Launch Failure, Will Crash Soon". Space.com. 7 December 2015.
- ↑ "Russian Soyuz-2.1v launch a partial failure - SpaceFlight Insider". www.spaceflightinsider.com. 7 December 2015.
- "SIMPL". N2YO.com. 26 July 2022. Retrieved 18 August 2022.
- ↑ "SIMPL". N2YO.com. 26 July 2022. Retrieved 18 August 2022.
- "FLOCK 2E-8". N2YO.com. 25 July 2017. Retrieved 20 October 2023.
- "FLOCK 2E-8". N2YO.com. 14 August 2018. Retrieved 20 October 2023.
- ↑ "FLOCK 2E-8". N2YO.com. 25 July 2017. Retrieved 20 October 2023.
- ↑ "FLOCK 2E-8". N2YO.com. 14 August 2018. Retrieved 20 October 2023.
- "CADRE". N2YO.com. Retrieved 19 August 2019.
- ↑ "CADRE". N2YO.com. Retrieved 19 August 2019.
- "MINXSS". N2YO.com. Retrieved 19 August 2019.
- ↑ "MINXSS". N2YO.com. Retrieved 19 August 2019.
- "NODES 2". N2YO.com. Retrieved 19 August 2019.
- ↑ "NODES 2". N2YO.com. Retrieved 19 August 2019.
- "STMSAT 1". N2YO.com. Retrieved 19 August 2019.
- ↑ "STMSAT 1". N2YO.com. Retrieved 19 August 2019.
- ↑ "Private Cargo Spacecraft Gets New Rocket Ride After Accident". Space.com. 9 December 2014. Retrieved 4 April 2015.
- ↑ "The Miniature X-ray Solar Spectrometer (MinXSS)". University of Colorado Boulder. Retrieved 19 April 2018.
- ↑ "Agni-V's maiden canister trial successful | Zee News". Zeenews.india.com. 31 January 2015. Retrieved 4 April 2015.
- ↑ Podvig, Pavel (26 February 2015). "Flight test of a Project 4202 vehicle". Russian Strategic Nuclear Forces.
- ↑ Black, Patrick (12 August 2015). "NASA Launches Student Experiments from Wallops". NASA.
- ↑ Frazier, Sarah (28 August 2015). "NASA-Funded MOSES-2 Sounding Rocket to Investigate Coronal Heating / Update". NASA. Retrieved 18 September 2015.
- ↑ "NASA's 'CLASP' Mission Set to Gauge Upper Solar Chromosphere's Magnetic Field / Update - Sept. 4, 2015". 4 September 2015. Retrieved 18 September 2015.
- ↑ 観測ロケットS-520-30号機 打上げ結果について (in Japanese). JAXA. 16 September 2015. Retrieved 18 September 2015.
- ↑ Latrell, Joe (8 October 2015). "NASA Launches Student Experiments from Wallops". Spaceflight Insider.
- ↑ "Spaceport America's 24th Launch – an UP Aerospace SpaceLoft Rocket Demonstrated the Capability to Eject Separate Payloads Requiring Independent Re-entry". Spaceport America. 6 November 2015. Archived from the original on 16 January 2016. Retrieved 14 November 2015.
- ↑ "Cassini Solstice Mission: Saturn Tour Dates: 2015". Cassini Solstice Mission. Archived from the original on 18 May 2015.
- ↑ "Dawn Spacecraft Begins Approach to Dwarf Planet Ceres". NASA. 29 December 2014.
- ↑ "From Mercury orbit, MESSENGER watches a lunar eclipse". Planetary Society. 10 October 2014.
- ↑ "Asteroid Explorer "Hayabusa2" Topics". JAXA. 2 November 2015.
- ↑ Emily Lakdawalla (13 April 2015). "PROCYON update: Asteroid 2000 DP107 target selected, ion engine stopped". The Planetary Society.
- ↑ "Keiichi Okuyama-Lab". Kyushu Institute of Technology.
- ↑ "Crippled space probe bound for second chance at Venus". Spaceflight Now. Retrieved 21 November 2011.
- ↑ "First of Three Spacewalks Complete | Space Station". Blogs.nasa.gov. 21 February 2015. Retrieved 4 April 2015.
- ↑ "Wilmore and Virts Begin Their Second Spacewalk". NASA. 25 February 2015. Retrieved 25 February 2015.
- ↑ Pete Harding (25 February 2015). "EVA-30 concluded latest ISS commercial crew preparations". NASASpaceflight.com. Retrieved 25 February 2015.
- ↑ "Spacewalkers Install C2V2 Cables". NASA. 1 March 2015. Retrieved 1 March 2015.
- ↑ Chris Bergin (1 March 2015). "Spacewalkers install new comms system for future vehicles". NASASpaceflight.com. Retrieved 1 March 2015.
- ↑ "Cosmonauts Complete Russian Spacewalk". NASA. 10 August 2015. Archived from the original on 23 April 2019. Retrieved 11 August 2015.
- ↑ David Štula (10 August 2015). "RS-41: Cosmonaut duo complete the only Russian spacewalk of 2015". NASASpaceflight.com. Retrieved 11 August 2015.
- ↑ "NASA Astronauts Complete Their First Spacewalk – Space Station". blogs.nasa.gov. Archived from the original on 2 June 2020. Retrieved 29 October 2015.
- ↑ "Pair of NASA Astronauts Wrap Up Second Spacewalk – Space Station". blogs.nasa.gov. Archived from the original on 2 June 2020. Retrieved 10 November 2015.
- ↑ "Astronauts Make Quick Work of Short Spacewalk – Space Station". blogs.nasa.gov. Archived from the original on 19 October 2019. Retrieved 21 December 2015.
- 1 2 3 "Recent Breakup of a DMSP Satellite" (PDF). Orbital Debris Quarterly News. NASA. 19 (2). April 2015. Archived from the original (PDF) on 3 May 2015. Retrieved 8 February 2016.
- ↑ T.S. Kelso, CelesTrak (11 June 2015). "We have TLEs for 10 more pieces of debris from DMSP 5D-2 F13, which brings the total to 159 so far". Retrieved 8 February 2016.
- ↑ Berger, Brian; Gruss, Mike (27 February 2015). "20-year-old Military Weather Satellite Apparently Exploded in Orbit". Space News. Retrieved 28 February 2015.
- ↑ Gruss, Mike (6 May 2015). "DMSP-F13 Debris To Stay On Orbit for Decades". Space News. Retrieved 7 May 2015.
- ↑ T.S. Kelso [@TSKelso] (5 December 2015). "Preliminary analysis of initial TLEs for NOAA 16 debris suggests an event time of 2015 Nov 25 @ ~0720 UTC" (Tweet). Retrieved 8 February 2016 – via Twitter.
- ↑ T.S. Kelso, CelesTrak [@TSKelso] (26 March 2016). "That brings the total so far for the NOAA 16 debris event to 275 pieces, with none having decayed from orbit" (Tweet). Retrieved 28 March 2016 – via Twitter.
- ↑ "NOAA Weather Satellite suffers in-orbit Breakup". 25 November 2015. Retrieved 8 February 2016.
- 1 2 3 Joint Space Operations Center [@JSpOC] (26 January 2016). "JSpOC confirms breakup of BREEZE-M R/B (#38343). Analysis shows it occurred Dec 22, 2015, 1600Z +/-1 min. 9 associated pieces. #38343Breakup" (Tweet). Retrieved 28 March 2016 – via Twitter.
- ↑ Clark, Stephen (24 October 2012). "Rocket explosion raises worries over space debris". Spaceflight Now. Retrieved 28 March 2016.
External links
- 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).
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