2006 in spaceflight

2006 in spaceflight
	Launch of New Horizons, the first probe to Pluto, on the first Atlas V 551
Orbital launches
First	19 January
Last	27 December
Total	67
Successes	62
Failures	5
Partial failures	0
Catalogued	63
National firsts
Satellite	Kazakhstan
Space traveller	Brazil; Iran; Sweden
Rockets
Maiden flights	Atlas V 411; Atlas V 551; Long March 4B-II (4C); Falcon 1; H-IIA 204; Soyuz-2.1b
Retirements	Tsyklon-2; M-V
Crewed flights
Orbital	5
Total travellers	26
	v; t; e;

This article outlines notable events occurring in 2006 in spaceflight, including major launches and EVAs. 2006 saw Brazil, Iran, and Sweden all get a national into space for the first time.

First Falcon 1 launch[edit]

FalconSAT-2 was assigned as the payload for the maiden flight of the Falcon 1 rocket, which was launched from Omelek Island at 22:30 GMT on 24 March 2006.^[1] At launch, a corroded nut caused an engine fire, leading to the failure of the engine 25 seconds into the flight.^[2] The rocket fell into the Pacific Ocean close to the launch site. FalconSAT-2 was thrown clear of the rocket, and landed in a storage shed on Omelek Island, just a few feet from its own shipping container.^[3]

Launches[edit]

← Jan
Feb
Mar
Apr
May
Jun
Jul
Aug
Sep
Oct
Nov
Dec →


Date and time (UTC)	Rocket		Flight number	Launch site		LSP
		Payload (⚀ = CubeSat)	Operator	Orbit	Function	Decay (UTC)	Outcome
		Remarks
January[edit]
18 January 11:48^[4]	Sounding Rocket V			Jiu Peng Air Base		NSPO

			NSPO/NCU	Suborbital	Ionospheric research	11:57	Successful
		Apogee: 282 kilometres (175 mi)
19 January 19:00:00	Atlas V 551			Cape Canaveral SLC-41		International Launch Services

		New Horizons	NASA	Galactocentric	Pluto flyby	In orbit	Operational
		Maiden flight of Atlas V 551, first spacecraft to visit Pluto and explored the Kuiper belt. First spacecraft launched directly to Sun-escape velocity
22 January 04:00	S-310			Uchinoura		JAXA

		Furoshiki	JAXA	Suborbital	Technology	22 January	Successful
		Apogee: 130 kilometres (81 mi)
24 January 01:33	H-IIA 2022			Tanegashima LA-Y1		JAXA^[7]

		Daichi (ALOS)	JAXA	Sun-synchronous	Remote Sensing	In orbit	Partial spacecraft failure Operational
		Poor quality images returned due to attitude control and noise problems^[5] was resolved by software adjustment.^[6]
February[edit]
6 February	Dong Feng 21			Xichang		PLA

			PLA	Suborbital	ASAT	6 February	Spacecraft failure
		Apogee: 800 kilometres (500 mi), missed satellite
8 February 18:47	Black Brant IX			White Sands LC-36		NASA

		MOSES		Suborbital	Solar	8 February	Successful
		Apogee: 282 kilometres (175 mi)
15 February 23:34:55	Zenit-3SL			Ocean Odyssey		Sea Launch

		EchoStar X	EchoStar	Geosynchronous	Communications	In orbit	Operational
16 February 08:01	LGM-30G Minuteman III			Vandenberg LF-10		US Air Force

		SERV-3	US Air Force	Suborbital	Missile test	16 February	Successful
		Apogee: 1,300 kilometres (810 mi)
18 February 06:27	H-IIA 2024			Tanegashima LA-Y1		RSC^[8]^[9]

		MTSAT-2	MILT/JMA	Geosynchronous	ATC/Weather	In orbit	Operational
		Last launch conducted by RSC
21 February 21:28:00	M-V			Uchinoura		JAXA

		Akari (ASTRO-F)	JAXA	Sun-synchronous	IR astronomy	11 April 2023 04:44^[10]	Successful
		⚀ Cute-1.7+APD	TiTech	Low Earth	Amateur radio	24 October 2009^[11]	Successful
		Cute-1.7+APD is a 2U CubeSat
23 February 16:09	UGM-27 Polaris (STARS)			Kodiak		Sandia

		FT-03-1		Suborbital	Target	23 February	Successful
		Apogee: 1,000 kilometres (620 mi)
28 February 20:10:00	Proton-M/Briz-M			Baikonur Site 200/39		International Launch Services

		Arabsat 4A	Arabsat	Intended: Geosynchronous Achieved: Medium Earth	Communications	24 March^[12]	Launch failure
		Upper stage malfunction left payload in useless orbit, deorbited after attempts to raise orbit failed
March[edit]
8 March 08:45	RIM-161 Standard Missile 3			USS Lake Erie, PMRF		US Navy

		JCTV-1	US Navy/MDA/JMSDF	Suborbital	Missile test	8 March	Successful
		Apogee: 150 kilometres (93 mi)
11 March 22:33	Ariane 5ECA			Kourou ELA-3		Arianespace

		Spainsat	Hisdesat	Geosynchronous	Communications	In orbit	Operational
		Hot Bird 7A	Eutelsat	Geosynchronous	Communications	In orbit	Operational
22 March 14:03	Pegasus-XL			Stargazer, Vandenberg		Orbital Sciences

		ST-5A	NASA	Low Earth	Technology	In orbit	Successful
		ST-5B	NASA	Low Earth	Technology	In orbit	Successful
		ST-5C	NASA	Low Earth	Technology	In orbit	Successful
		All three satellites deactivated on 30 June
24 March 22:30	Falcon 1			Omelek		SpaceX

		FalconSat 2	USAF Academy	Intended: Low Earth	Plasma research	T+60 seconds	Launch failure
		Maiden flight of Falcon 1, rocket lost power shortly after launch due to engine fire caused by corrosion of a nut on a fuel line.
25 March 03:15	Terrier-Orion			Woomera LA-2		Queensland

		Hyshot-3	Queensland	Suborbital	Hypersonic research	03:25	Successful
		Apogee: 325 kilometres (202 mi)
30 March 02:30:20	Soyuz-FG			Baikonur Site 1/5		Roskosmos

		Soyuz TMA-8	Roskosmos	Low Earth (ISS)	ISS Expedition 13	29 September 01:13	Successful
		Crewed orbital flight with 3 cosmonauts, first Brazilian in space
30 March 02:40	Terrier-Orion			Woomera LA-2		Queensland

		Hyshot-4	Queensland/JAXA	Suborbital	Hypersonic research	30 March	Launch failure
		Apogee: 290 kilometres (180 mi), nosecone failed to separate
April[edit]
7 April 13:00	LGM-30G Minuteman III			Vandenberg LF-26		US Air Force

		GT-190GM	US Air Force	Suborbital	Missile test	7 April	Successful
		Long-range test, aimed at Guam, apogee: 1,300 kilometres (810 mi)
12 April 18:10	Black Brant IX			White Sands LC-36		NASA

		EUNIS	NASA	Suborbital	Solar	12 April	Successful
		Apogee: 318 kilometres (198 mi)
12 April 23:29:59	Zenit-3SL			Ocean Odyssey		Sea Launch

		JCSAT-5A (JCSAT-9, N-STAR d)	JCSAT	Geosynchronous	Communications	In orbit	Operational
13 April	SR19-SR19			PMRF		Sandia

		FTC-02B	MDA	Suborbital	Target	13 April	Successful
		Apogee: 200 kilometres (120 mi)
15 April 01:40:00	Minotaur I			Vandenberg SLC-8		Orbital Sciences

		COSMIC-FM1 (FORMOSAT-3A)	NASA / NSPO	Low Earth	Meteorology	In orbit	Successful
		COSMIC-FM2 (FORMOSAT-3B)	NASA / NSPO	Low Earth	Meteorology	In orbit	Partial spacecraft failure Successful
		COSMIC-FM3 (FORMOSAT-3C)	NASA / NSPO	Low Earth	Meteorology	In orbit	Partial spacecraft failure Successful
		COSMIC-FM4 (FORMOSAT-3D)	NASA / NSPO	Low Earth	Meteorology	In orbit	Successful
		COSMIC-FM5 (FORMOSAT-3E)	NASA / NSPO	Low Earth	Meteorology	In orbit	Successful
		COSMIC-FM6 (FORMOSAT-3F)	NASA / NSPO	Low Earth	Meteorology	In orbit	Successful
		Power system and solar panel malfunctions on FM2 and FM3, control issues with FM6 during 2007. Constellation deactivated on 1 May 2020 after 14 years in operation.
20 April 20:27:00	Atlas V 411			Cape Canaveral SLC-41		International Launch Services

		Astra 1KR	SES Astra	Geosynchronous	Communications	In orbit	Operational
		Maiden flight of Atlas V 411, final ILS Atlas launch
22 April 16:40	Kosmos-3MR			Kapustin Yar Site 107/1		RVSN

		PBS-2	RVSN	Suborbital	REV test	22 April	Successful
		Apogee: 675 kilometres (419 mi)
24 April 16:03:25	Soyuz-U			Baikonur Site 1/5		Roskosmos

		Progress M-56	Roskosmos	Low Earth (ISS)	Logistics	18 September	Successful
		ISS flight 21P
25 April 16:47:16	Start-1			Svobodny Site 5		United Start

		EROS B	ImageSat	Low Earth (polar)	Imaging	In orbit	Operational
		Final launch from Svobodny Cosmodrome
26 April 22:48	Long March 4B-II (4C)			Taiyuan LC-1		CNSA

		Yaogan 1	CAST	Low Earth	Imaging	In orbit	Operational
		Maiden flight of Long March 4B-II, redesignated Long March 4C by November 2007
28 April 10:02:16	Delta II 7420-10C			Vandenberg SLC-2W		Boeing IDS

		CALIPSO	NASA/CNES	Sun-synchronous	Climatology	In orbit	Operational
		CloudSat	NASA	Sun-synchronous	Climatology	In orbit	Operational
		Both satellites part of the A-train constellation, spacecraft study aerosols and clouds respectively
28 April	SR19-SR19			PMRF		Sandia

		FTC-02	MDA	Suborbital	Target	28 April	Successful
		Apogee: 200 kilometres (120 mi)
29 April	Shaheen-II			Sonmiani		Army of Pakistan

			Army of Pakistan	Suborbital	Target	29 April	Successful
		Apogee: 300 kilometres (190 mi)
May[edit]
2 May 06:16	Maxus (Castor 4B)			Esrange		EuroLaunch

		MAXUS 9	ESA/SSC	Suborbital	Microgravity	2 May	Successful
		Apogee: 702 kilometres (436 mi)
3 May 17:38	Soyuz-U			Plesetsk Site 16/2		RVSN

		Kosmos 2420 (Kobal't-M)	VKS	Low Earth	Optical imaging	In orbit	Operational
10 May 08:12	VSB-30			Esrange		EuroLaunch

		TEXUS-43	DLR/SSC	Suborbital	Microgravity	10 May	Successful
		Apogee: 237 kilometres (147 mi)
11 May	THAAD			White Sands		US Army

		FTT-02	MDA	Suborbital	ABM test	11 May	Successful
		Apogee: 100 kilometres (62 mi), simulated intercept
22 May 09:30	Terrier-Orion			White Sands		NASA

		ACS	NASA	Suborbital	Test	22 May	Successful
		Apogee: 150 kilometres (93 mi)
22 May	Shahab-3			Shahrood		IRG

			IRG	Suborbital	Missile test	22 May	Successful
		Apogee: 150 kilometres (93 mi)
24 May 22:11:00	Delta IV-M+ (4,2)			Cape Canaveral SLC-37B		Boeing IDS

		GOES 13 (GOES-N)	NASA / NOAA / U.S. Space Force	Geosynchronous	Meteorology	In orbit	Operational
		Decommissioned in 2018; reactivated in September 2020 to serve as the Electro-Optical Infrared Weather System – Geostationary (EWS-G1) satellite for the U.S. Space Force.^[13]
26 May 18:50	Shtil'			K-84 Ekaterinburg, Barents Sea		VMF

		Kompass 2	Roskosmos	Low Earth	Earthquake detection	28 December 2011	Partial spacecraft failure
		Control and power problems made satellite unusable. Written off on 29 May 2006. Problems cleared by November, and satellite re-activated.^[14]
27 May 21:09	Ariane 5 ECA			Kourou ELA-3		Arianespace

		Satmex 6	Satmex	Geosynchronous	Communications	In orbit	Successful
		Thaicom 5	Shin Satellite	Geosynchronous	Communications	26 February 2020 09:52^[15]	Successful
		Record for heaviest dual-payload to geosynchronous transfer orbit, stood until May 2007.
June[edit]
5 June 16:05	Terrier-Orion			White Sands		NASA

			NAWC	Suborbital	Target	5 June	Successful
		Apogee: 130 kilometres (81 mi)
7 June 22:00	Terrier-Orion			PMRF		NASA

			NAWC	Suborbital	Target	7 June	Successful
		Apogee: 130 kilometres (81 mi)
8 June 16:00	Terrier-Orion			White Sands		NASA

		DUNDEE	NAWC	Suborbital	Target	8 June	Successful
		Apogee: 130 kilometres (81 mi)
14 June 08:22	LGM-30G Minuteman III			Vandenberg LF-04		US Air Force

		GT-191GM	US Air Force	Suborbital	Missile test	14 June	Successful
		Carried three Mk. 21 re-entry vehicles, Apogee: 1,300 kilometres (810 mi)
15 June 08:00:00	Soyuz-U			Baikonur Site 1/5		Roskosmos

		Resurs-DK-1	Roskosmos	Low Earth	Remote sensing	In orbit	Operational
17 June 22:44:05	Proton-K/DM-3			Baikonur Site 200/39		Khrunichev

		KazSat-1	JSC KazSat	Geosynchronous	Communications	In orbit	Spacecraft failure
		First Kazakh satellite, satellite suffered control problems and was unusable by October 2008
18 June 07:50	Zenit-3SL			Ocean Odyssey		Sea Launch

		Galaxy 16	Intelsat	Geosynchronous	Communications	In orbit	Operational
		Launched for PanAmSat, transferred to Intelsat before entry into service due to merger
21 June 22:15	Delta II 7925			Cape Canaveral SLC-17A		Boeing IDS

		USA-187 (MiTEx-A)	US Air Force/DARPA	Geostationary	Technology	In orbit	Operational
		USA-188 (MiTEx-B)	US Air Force/DARPA	Geostationary	Technology	In orbit	Operational
		USA-189 (MiTEx Carrier)	NRL/DARPA	Geostationary	Technology	In orbit	Operational
22 June 22:00	MRT (Castor 4B)			PMRT		US Navy

		FTM-10 Target	US Navy/MDA	Suborbital	Target	22 June	Successful
		Intercepted by SM-3, apogee: 150 kilometres (93 mi)
22 June 22:04	RIM-161 Standard Missile 3			USS Shiloh, PMRF		US Navy

		FTM-10	US Navy/MDA	Suborbital	ABM test	22 June	Successful
		Intercepted MRT, apogee: 150 kilometres (93 mi)
23 June 23:02	Terrier-Orion			PMRF		NASA

		TRACKEX	NAWC/MDA	Suborbital	Target	23 June	Successful
		Apogee: 130 kilometres (81 mi)
24 June 15:08:18	Soyuz-U			Baikonur Site 1/5		Roskosmos

		Progress M-57	Roskosmos	Low Earth (ISS)	Logistics	17 January 2007	Successful
		ISS flight 22P
25 June 04:00	Tsyklon-2			Baikonur Site 90/20		VKS

		Kosmos 2421 (US-PU)	VMF	Low Earth	ELINT	20 March 2008	Partial spacecraft failure
		Final flight of Tsyklon-2 rocket. One of satellite's solar panels failed to deploy,^[16] ceased operations in February or March 2008 and destroyed in orbit on 20 March. Spacecraft carried KONUS-A gamma-ray astronomy experiment for Roskosmos
28 June 03:30:00	Delta IV-M+ (4,2)			Vandenberg SLC-6		Boeing IDS

		USA-184 (Improved Trumpet)	NRO	Molniya	ELINT	In orbit	Operational
		First EELV launch from Vandenberg, carried SBIRS-HEO-1 and TWINS-A instruments for the US Air Force and NASA respectively, NRO Launch 22
30 June 06:25	R-29RMU Sineva			K-84 Ekaterinburg, Barents Sea		VMF

			VMF	Suborbital	Missile test	30 June	Successful
		Apogee: 1,000 kilometres (620 mi)
July[edit]
1 July 06:39	Terrier-Orion			Andøya		Andøya/NASA

		/SPIRIT-III	ESPRIT	Suborbital	Ionospheric Plasma research	1 July	Successful
		Apogee: 200 kilometres (120 mi)
1 July 06:39	Terrier-Orion			Andøya		Andøya

		HotPay-1	Andøya	Suborbital	Aeronomy	1 July	Launch failure
		Apogee: 40 kilometres (25 mi)
4 July 18:32	Hwasong-6			Kittaeryong		KPA

			KPA	Suborbital	Missile test	4 July	Successful
		Apogee: 150 kilometres (93 mi), first of seven North Korean launches in fourteen hours
4 July 18:37:55	Space Shuttle Discovery			Kennedy LC-39B		United Space Alliance

		STS-121	NASA	Low Earth (ISS)	ISS assembly	17 July 13:14	Successful
		Leonardo MPLM	ASI/NASA	Low Earth (ISS)	Logistics	17 July 13:14	Successful
		Crewed flight with 7 astronauts, second Return to Flight mission after Columbia accident
4 July 19:04	Rodong-1			Kittaeryong		KPA

			KPA	Suborbital	Missile test	4 July	Successful
		Apogee: 150 kilometres (93 mi), second of seven North Korean launches in fourteen hours
4 July 20:01	Taepodong-2			Musudan-ri		KPA

		Kwangmyŏngsŏng-2	KPA	Intended: Low Earth (unconfirmed)	Weather/Communication	+42 seconds	Launch failure
		Maiden flight of Taepodong-2, rocket failed shortly after launch, reaching an apogee of 4 kilometres (2.5 mi), intended as an orbital launch attempt,^[17] but later North Korea claimed for a suborbital missile self-destruct test and destruction success (not launch failure),^[18] third of seven North Korean launches in fourteen hours
4 July 22:31	Rodong-1			Kittaeryong		KPA

			KPA	Suborbital	Missile test	4 July	Successful
		Apogee: 150 kilometres (93 mi), fourth of seven North Korean launches in fourteen hours
4 July 22:12	Hwasong-6			Kittaeryong		KPA

			KPA	Suborbital	Missile test	4 July	Successful
		Apogee: 150 kilometres (93 mi), fifth of seven North Korean launches in fourteen hours
4 July 23:20	Rodong-1			Kittaeryong		KPA

			KPA	Suborbital	Missile test	4 July	Successful
		Apogee: 150 kilometres (93 mi), sixth of seven North Korean launches in fourteen hours
5 July 08:20	Rodong-1			Kittaeryong		KPA

			KPA	Suborbital	Missile test	5 July	Successful
		Apogee: 150 kilometres (93 mi), last of seven North Korean launches in fourteen hours
9 July 05:33	Agni III			Integrated Test Range LC-4		DRDO

			DRDO	Suborbital	Missile test	9 July	Successful
		Apogee: 100 kilometres (62 mi)
10 July 12:08	GSLV			Satish Dhawan SLP		ISRO

		INSAT 4C	ISRO	Intended: Geostationary	Communications	T+60 seconds	Launch failure
		Loss of control due to LRB engine failure, self-destructed 60 seconds into flight
12 July 11:17	Hera			White Sands		US Army

		FFT-4 Target	US Army/MDA	Suborbital	Target	12 July	Successful
		Apogee: 300 kilometres (190 mi), Intercepted after reentry by endoatmospheric THAAD launched at 11:20
12 July 14:53:36	Dnepr			Dombarovskiy		ISC Kosmotras

		Genesis I	Bigelow	Low Earth	Technology	In orbit	Operational
		First uncrewed prototype of a commercial space station module
21 July 10:14	LGM-30G Minuteman III			Vandenberg LF-09		US Air Force

		GT-192GM	US Air Force	Suborbital	Missile test	21 July	Successful
		Carried three Mk.21 reentry vehicles, apogee: 1,300 kilometres (810 mi)
21 July 04:20:03	Molniya-M			Plesetsk Site 16/2		VKS

		Kosmos 2422 (Oko)	VKS	Molniya	Missile defense	22 November 2019 20:15^[19]	Successful
26 July 19:43:05	Dnepr			Baikonur Site 109/95		ISC Kosmotras

		BelKA	NAS	Intended: Low Earth	Observation	T+74 seconds	Launch failure
		Unisat-4	Sapienza	Intended: Low Earth	Technology
		Baumanets	Roskosmos	Intended: Low Earth	Technology
		PicPot	PoliTo	Intended: Low Earth	Technology
		SACRED	Arizona Montpelier Alcatel	Intended: Low Earth	Radiation
		ION	Illinois	Intended: Low Earth	Technology Ionospheric
		Rincon 1	Arizona	Intended: Low Earth	Technology
		ICECube-1	Cornell	Intended: Low Earth	Technology
		KUTESat Pathfinder	Kansas	Intended: Low Earth	Technology
		SEEDS	Nichidai	Intended: Low Earth	Amateur radio
		nCube-1	NSSP	Intended: Low Earth	Technology
		HAUSAT-1	HAU	Intended: Low Earth	Technology
		MEROPE	Montana	Intended: Low Earth	Technology
		CP2	CalPoly	Intended: Low Earth	Technology
		AeroCube-1	Aerospace	Intended: Low Earth	Technology
		CP1	CalPoly	Intended: Low Earth	Technology
		Mea Huaka'i (Voyager)	Hawaii	Intended: Low Earth	Technology
		ICECube-2	Cornell	Intended: Low Earth	Technology
		First-stage engine hydraulic pump failure, thrust termination system activated
28 July 07:05:43	Rokot/Briz-KM			Plesetsk Site 133/3		Eurockot

		Arirang-2 (KOMPSAT-2)	KARI	Low Earth	Earth Observation	In orbit	Operational
August[edit]
3 August 10:38	RT-2PM Topol (RS-12M)			Plesetsk		RVSN

			RVSN	Suborbital	Missile test	11:04	Successful
		Apogee: 1,000 kilometres (620 mi), impacted Kura Test Range
4 August 21:48:00	Proton-M/Briz-M			Baikonur Site 200/39		International Launch Services

		Hot Bird 8	Eutelsat	Geosynchronous	Communications	In orbit	Operational
11 August 22:15	Ariane 5ECA			Kourou ELA-3		Arianespace

		JCSat 10	JSAT	Geosynchronous	Communications	In orbit	Operational
		Syracuse 3B	DGA	Geosynchronous	Communications	In orbit	Operational
21 August 14:30	Black Brant IX			White Sands LC-36		NASA

			MDA	Suborbital	Target	21 August	Successful
		Apogee: 380 kilometres (240 mi)
22 August 03:27:01	Zenit-3SL			Ocean Odyssey		Sea Launch

		Koreasat 5	KT/ADD	Geosynchronous	Communications	In orbit	Operational
25 August 14:30	Black Brant IX			White Sands LC-36		NASA

			MDA	Suborbital	Target	21 August	Successful
		Apogee: 382 kilometres (237 mi), THAAD target
September[edit]
1 September 17:22	UGM-27 Polaris (STARS)			Kodiak		Sandia

		GMD FTG-02 target	MDA	Suborbital	Target	1 September	Successful
		Apogee: 1,000 kilometres (620 mi), intercepted by GBI
1 September 17:39	Orbital Boost Vehicle			Vandenberg LF-23		Orbital Sciences/MDA

		GMD FTG-02	MDA	Suborbital	ABM test	1 September	Successful
		Apogee: 1,000 kilometres (620 mi), intercepted STARS
4 September	Dong Feng 31			Taiyuan		PLA

			PLA	Suborbital	Missile test	4 September	Successful
		Apogee: 1,000 kilometres (620 mi)
7 September 15:50	RSM-56 Bulava (R-30)			RFS Dmitriy Donskoy, White Sea		VMF

			VMF	Suborbital	Missile test	7 September	Launch failure
		Apogee: 1 kilometre (0.62 mi), first stage malfunction
9 September 07:00	Long March 2C			Jiuquan LA-4/SLS-2		CNSA

		Shijian 8	CASC	Low Earth	Biological	24 September 02:43	Successful
		Investigated exposure of seeds to microgravity and radiation, spacecraft recovered after reentry
9 September 11:20	R-29RMU Sineva			K-84 Ekaterinburg, North Pole		VMF

			VMF	Suborbital	Missile test	9 September	Successful
		Apogee: 1,000 kilometres (620 mi)
9 September 15:14:55	Space Shuttle Atlantis			Kennedy LC-39B		United Space Alliance

		STS-115	NASA	Low Earth (ISS)	ISS assembly	21 September 10:21	Successful
		ITS P3/4 Truss	NASA	Low Earth (ISS)	ISS component	In orbit	Operational
		Crewed orbital flight with 6 astronauts, first ISS assembly mission since 2002
9 September 22:17:00	Nike-Orion			Andøya		Andøya

		ECOMA-1	Andøya/DLR	Suborbital	Atmospheric	9 September	Successful
		Apogee: 130 kilometres (81 mi)
10 September 14:50	R-29R Volna			K-433 Svyaity Georgiy, Simushir		VMF

			VMF	Suborbital	Missile test	10 September	Successful
		Apogee: 1,000 kilometres (620 mi)
11 September 04:35	H-IIA 202			Tanegashima LA-Y1		JAXA

		IGS-3A	CSICE	Low Earth	Optical imaging	29 October 2016
12 September 16:02	Long March 3A			Taiyuan LC-1		CNSC

		ChinaSat 22A	ChinaSat	Geosynchronous	Communications	In orbit	Operational
13 September 10:30	Hera			White Sands		US Army

		FFT-5 Target	US Army/MDA	Suborbital	Target	13 September	Successful
		Apogee: 300 kilometres (190 mi), THAAD target
14 September 13:41:00	Soyuz-U			Baikonur Site 31/6		VKS

		Kosmos 2423 (Don)	VKS	Low Earth	Optical imaging	17 November	Successful
		Ceased operations on 14 November, self-destructed 3 days later
17 September 21:06:46	Nike-Orion			Andøya		Andøya

		ECOMA-2	Andøya/DLR	Suborbital	Atmospheric	17 September	Successful
		Apogee: 129 kilometres (80 mi)
18 September 04:08:42	Soyuz-FG			Baikonur Site 1/5		Roskosmos

		Soyuz TMA-9	Roskosmos	Low Earth (ISS)	ISS Expedition 14	21 April 2007 12:31	Successful
		Crewed orbital flight with 3 cosmonauts including the first female space tourist and Iranian-born space traveller
22 September 21:36:00	M-V			Uchinoura		JAXA

		Hinode (SOLAR-B)	JAXA	Sun-synchronous	Solar	In orbit	Operational
		HIT-SAT	HIT	Low Earth	Technology	18 June 2008 08:48	Successful
		SSSAT	JAXA		Solar sail	26 September	Spacecraft failure
		Final flight of M-V rocket and Mu family, SSSat failed to establish communications with ground^[20]
23 September 15:17:54	Black Brant XI			Wallops Island		NASA

			NASA	Suborbital	Test	23 September	Successful
		Apogee: 300 kilometres (190 mi)
25 September 18:50	Delta II 7925			Cape Canaveral SLC-17A		Boeing IDS

		USA-190 (GPS IIR-15/M2)	US Air Force	Medium Earth	Navigation	In orbit	Operational
25 September 20:14	SpaceLoft XL			Spaceport America		UP Aerospace

			Various	Suborbital	Various	T+60 seconds	Launch failure
		Maiden flight of SpaceLoft XL sounding rocket, first flight from Spaceport America, rocket went out of control and failed to reach space, apogee: 12 kilometres (7.5 mi)
October[edit]
13 October 20:56	Ariane 5ECA			Kourou ELA-3		Arianespace

		DirecTV-9S	DirecTV	Geosynchronous	Communications	In orbit	Operational
		Optus D1	Optus	Geosynchronous	Communications	In orbit	Operational
		LDREX-2	JAXA	Geosynchronous transfer	Technology	30 September 2010 02:23^[21]	Successful
19 October 16:28:13	Soyuz-2.1a/Fregat			Baikonur Site 31/6		Starsem

		MetOp-A	EUMETSAT	Sun-synchronous	Weather	In orbit	Operational
		Maiden flight of Soyuz-2.1a/Fregat
23 October 13:40:36	Soyuz-U			Baikonur Site 1/5		Roskosmos

		Progress M-58	Roskosmos	Low Earth (ISS)	Logistics	27 March 2007 22:44	Successful
		ISS flight 23P, antenna stowage issues on 26 October initially prevented full mechanical docking, second attempt was successful.
23 October 23:34	Long March 4B			Taiyuan LC-1		CNSA

		Shijian 6-02A	CASC	Low Earth	Environmental	In orbit	Operational
		Shijian 6-02B	CASC	Low Earth	Environmental	In orbit	Operational
25 October 13:05	RSM-56 Bulava (R-30)			RFS Dmitriy Donskoy, Beloye More		VMF

			VMF	Suborbital	Missile test	25 October	Launch failure
		Apogee: 100 kilometres (62 mi), first stage malfunction
26 October 00:52:00	Delta II 7925			Cape Canaveral SLC-17B		Boeing IDS

		STEREO-A	NASA	Heliocentric	Solar	In orbit	Operational
		STEREO-B	NASA	Heliocentric	Solar	In orbit	Operational
28 October 16:20	Long March 3B			Xichang LA-2		CASC

		Sinosat-2	Sinosat	Intended: Geosynchronous Achieved: Subsynchronous	Communications	In orbit	Spacecraft failure
		Solar panels and communications antenna failed to deploy
28 October 17:58:00	Black Brant IX			White Sands LC-36		NASA

		LASP		Suborbital	Solar	28 October	Successful
		Apogee: 300 kilometres (190 mi)
30 October 23:48:59	Zenit-3SL			Ocean Odyssey		Sea Launch

		XM-4 "Blues"	XM Satellite Radio	Geosynchronous	Communications	In orbit	Operational
November[edit]
2 November	Shahab-3			Shahrood		IRG

			IRG	Suborbital	Missile test	2 November	Successful
		Apogee: 150 kilometres (93 mi)
4 November 13:53	Delta IV-M			Vandenberg SLC-6		Boeing IDS

		USA-191 (DMSP F17)	US Air Force/NOAA	Sun-synchronous	Weather	In orbit	Operational
7 November 19:30	Black Brant IX			White Sands LC-36		NASA

		USC-7		Suborbital	Solar	7 November	Successful
		Apogee: 300 kilometres (190 mi)
8 November 20:01:00	Proton-M/Briz-M			Baikonur Site 200/39		International Launch Services

		Badr-4 (ARABSAT 4B)	ARABSAT	Geosynchronous	Communications	In orbit	Operational
9 November 08:51	M51			Biscarosse		French Navy

			French Navy	Suborbital	Missile test	9 November	Successful
		Apogee: 1,000 kilometres (620 mi)
9 November 11:35	UR-100NU			Baikonur Site 175/2		RVSN

			RVSN	Suborbital	Missile test	9 November	Successful
		Apogee: 1,000 kilometres (620 mi)
16 November	Terrier-Orion			PMRF		US Navy

		ARAV-B	US Navy	Suborbital	Target	16 November	Successful
		Apogee: 150 kilometres (93 mi)
16 November	Ghauri			Tilla		Army of Pakistan

		Haft-5	Army of Pakistan	Suborbital	Missile test	16 November	Successful
		Apogee: 100 kilometres (62 mi)
17 November 19:12:00	Delta II 7925			Cape Canaveral SLC-17A		Boeing IDS

		USA-192 (GPS IIR-16/M3)	US Air Force	Medium Earth	Navigation	In orbit	Operational
21 November 02:00	Black Brant IX			White Sands LC-36		NASA

		CyXESS		Suborbital	XR Astronomy	21 November	Successful
		Apogee: 300 kilometres (190 mi)
21 November	UGM-133 Trident II (D5)			USS Maryland, ETR		US Navy

			US Navy	Suborbital	Missile test	21 November	Successful
		Apogee: 1,000 kilometres (620 mi)
21 November	UGM-133 Trident II (D5)			USS Maryland, ETR		US Navy

			US Navy	Suborbital	Missile test	21 November	Successful
		Apogee: 1,000 kilometres (620 mi)
26 November	Prithvi			Integrated Test Range LC-3		DRDO

			DRDO	Suborbital	Missile test	26 November	Successful
		Apogee: 100 kilometres (62 mi)
27 November 04:45	Prithvi			Integrated Test Range LC-3		DRDO

			DRDO	Suborbital	Target	27 November	Successful
		Apogee: 100 kilometres (62 mi), intercepted by another Prithvi
27 November 04:46	Prithvi			Integrated Test Range LC-4		DRDO

			DRDO	Suborbital	ABM test	27 November	Successful
		Apogee: 100 kilometres (62 mi), intercepted another Prithvi
29 November	Shaheen-I			Sonmiani		Army of Pakistan

		Haft-4	Army of Pakistan	Suborbital	Target	29 November	Successful
		Apogee: 100 kilometres (62 mi)
December[edit]
7 December	Aries			PMRF		U.S. Navy

		FTM-11 Target	U.S. Navy / MDA	Suborbital	Target	7 December	Successful
		Apogee: 300 kilometres (190 mi), AEGIS target
8 December 00:53	Long March 3A		3A-Y11	Xichang LC-2		CASC

		Fengyun 2D	CMA	Geosynchronous	Meteorology	In orbit	Operational
8 December 22:08	Ariane 5 ECA			Kourou ELA-3		Arianespace

		WildBlue 1	WildBlue	Geosynchronous	Communications	In orbit	Operational
		AMC-18	SES Americom	Geosynchronous	Communications	In orbit	Operational
10 December 01:47:35	Space Shuttle Discovery			Kennedy LC-39B		United Space Alliance

		STS-116	NASA	Low Earth (ISS)	ISS assembly	22 December 22:32	Successful
		Spacehab LSM	NASA	Low Earth (STS)	Logistics	22 December 22:32	Successful
		ITS P5 Truss	NASA	Low Earth (ISS)	ISS component	In orbit	Operational
		ANDE-MAA	US Naval Academy	Low Earth	Technology demonstration	9 February 2007	Partial spacecraft failure
		ANDE-FACL	US Naval Academy	Low Earth	Technology demonstration	9 February 2007	Successful
		RAFT1	US Naval Academy	Low Earth	Calibration	In orbit	Operational
		MARScom (NMARS)	US Naval Academy	Low Earth	Calibration	In orbit	Operational
		MEPSI-2	DARPA	Low Earth	Technology demonstration	8 March 2007	Successful
		Crewed orbital flight with 7 astronauts, including the first Swedish space traveller; ISS crew exchange. ANDE-MAA failed to deploy after becoming stuck in launch canister, but still transmitted data; RAFT1, MARScom, and MEPSI-2 were cubesats.
11 December 23:28:43	Proton-M / Briz-M			Baikonur Site 200/39		International Launch Services

		MEASAT-3	MEASAT	Geosynchronous	Communications	In orbit	Operational
14 December 21:00:00	Delta II 7920-10			Vandenberg SLC-2W		United Launch Alliance

		USA-193	NRO	Low Earth	Reconnaissance Technology demonstration	21 February 2008 03:29	Spacecraft failure
		NRO Launch 21, first launch to be conducted by United Launch Alliance. Satellite failed to contact ground, destroyed by SM-3 ASAT on 21 February 2008.
16 December 12:00:00	Minotaur I			MARS LP-0B		Orbital Sciences

		TacSat-2	NRL	Low Earth	Optical imaging Technology demonstration	5 February 2011	Successful
		⚀ GeneSat-1	NASA	Low Earth	Biological science	4 August 2010 20:43^[22]	Successful
		First launch from Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport. Little or no imagery returned by TacSat due to political dispute. TacSat lost contact with ground in January 2008.
18 December 06:32	H-IIA 204			Tanegashima LA-Y1		JAXA

		Kiku-8 (ETS-VIII)	JAXA	Geosynchronous	Technology demonstration	In orbit	Successful
		Maiden flight of H-IIA 204, full spacecraft antenna deployment one day late.^[23]
19 December 14:00:19	Kosmos-3M			Plesetsk Site 132/1		COSMOS International

		SAR-Lupe 1	Bundeswehr	Low Earth (SSO)	Earth observation	In orbit	Operational
24 December 08:34:44	Soyuz-2.1a / Fregat			Plesetsk Site 43/4		VKS

		Meridian 1 (11L)	VKS	Molniya	Communications	6 July 2021 12:20^[24]^[25]	Successful
24 December	RSM-56 Bulava (R-30)			RFS Dmitriy Donskoy, Beloye More		VMF

			VMF	Suborbital	Missile test	24 December	Launch failure
		Apogee: 1 kilometre (0.62 mi), first stage malfunction.
25 December 20:18:12	Proton-K / DM-2			Baikonur Site 81/24		VKS

		Kosmos 2424 (GLONASS-M)	KNITs	Medium Earth	Navigation	In orbit	Operational
		Kosmos 2425 (GLONASS-M)	KNITs	Medium Earth	Navigation	In orbit	Operational
		Kosmos 2426 (GLONASS-M)	KNITs	Medium Earth	Navigation	In orbit	Operational
27 December 14:23:38	Soyuz-2.1b / Fregat			Baikonur Site 31/6		Starsem

		CoRoT	CNES	Low Earth (Polar)	Exoplanetology Asteroseismology	In orbit	Successful
		Maiden flight of Soyuz-2.1b/Fregat.
Unknown	UGM-133 Trident II (D5)			Submarine, WTR		U.S. Navy

			U.S. Navy	Suborbital	Missile test		Successful
		Apogee: 1,000 kilometres (620 mi)
Unknown	UGM-133 Trident II (D5)			Submarine, WTR		U.S. Navy

			U.S. Navy	Suborbital	Missile test		Successful
		Apogee: 1,000 kilometres (620 mi)

← Jan
Feb
Mar
Apr
May
Jun
Jul
Aug
Sep
Oct
Nov
Dec →

Deep Space Rendezvous in 2006[edit]

Date (GMT)	Spacecraft	Event	Remarks
15 January	Stardust	First sample return mission from comet	space capsule landing on Earth with cometary samples
15 January	Cassini	10th flyby of Titan	Closest approach: 2,042 kilometres (1,269 mi)
27 February	Cassini	11th flyby of Titan	Closest approach: 1,812 kilometres (1,126 mi)
10 March	Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter	Areocentric orbit injection
18 March	Cassini	12th flyby of Titan	Closest approach: 1,947 kilometres (1,210 mi)
11 April	Venus Express	Cytherean orbit injection
30 April	Cassini	13th flyby of Titan	Closest approach: 1,853 kilometres (1,151 mi)
20 May	Cassini	14th flyby of Titan	Closest approach: 1,879 kilometres (1,168 mi)
2 July	Cassini	15th flyby of Titan	Closest approach: 1,911 kilometres (1,187 mi)
22 July	Cassini	16th flyby of Titan	Closest approach: 950 kilometres (590 mi)
4 September	SMART-1	Lunar impact
7 September	Cassini	17th flyby of Titan	Closest approach: 950 kilometres (590 mi)
23 September	Cassini	18th flyby of Titan	Closest approach: 950 kilometres (590 mi)
9 October	Cassini	19th flyby of Titan	Closest approach: 950 kilometres (590 mi)
23 October	MESSENGER	1st flyby of Venus	Gravity assist
25 October	Cassini	20th flyby of Titan	Closest approach: 950 kilometres (590 mi)
12 December	Cassini

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v t e Timeline of spaceflight
Spaceflight before 1951
1950s	1950 1951 1952 1953 1954 1955 1956 1957 1958 1959
1960s	1960 1961 1962 1963 1964 1965 1966 1967 1968 1969
1970s	1970 1971 1972 1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979
1980s	1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989
1990s	1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999
2000s	2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009
2010s	2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019
2020s	2020 2021 2022 2023 2024 2025 2026 2027 2028 2029
Future

Orbital launches
Launch of New Horizons, the first probe to Pluto, on the first Atlas V 551
First	19 January
Last	27 December
Total	67
Successes	62
Failures	5
Partial failures	0
Catalogued	63^[a]
National firsts
Satellite	Kazakhstan
Space traveller	Brazil Iran Sweden
Rockets
Maiden flights	Atlas V 411 Atlas V 551 Long March 4B-II (4C) Falcon 1 H-IIA 204 Soyuz-2.1b
Retirements	Tsyklon-2 M-V
Crewed flights
Orbital	5
Total travellers	26
v t e

2006 in spaceflight

First Falcon 1 launch[edit]

Launches[edit]

January[edit]

February[edit]

March[edit]

April[edit]

May[edit]

June[edit]

July[edit]

August[edit]

September[edit]

October[edit]

November[edit]

December[edit]

Deep Space Rendezvous in 2006[edit]

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