2013 in spaceflight

2013 in spaceflight

The first launch of the Antares rocket occurred on 21 April 2013.
Orbital launches
First	15 January
Last	28 December
Total	81
Successes	77
Failures	3
Partial failures	1
Catalogued	78
National firsts
Satellite	Azerbaijan  Austria  Ecuador  Estonia  Jersey  Qatar  Peru  Bolivia
Orbital launch	South Korea (with assistance from  Russia)
Rockets
Maiden flights	Antares 110 (April) Minotaur V (September) Epsilon (September) Kuaizhou (September) Falcon 9 v1.1 (September) Soyuz-2-1v (December)
Retirements	Naro-1 (January) Falcon 9 v1.0 (March) Antares 110 (April)
Crewed flights
Orbital	5
Total travellers	15
EVAs	11
v t e

In 2013, the maiden spaceflight of the Orbital Sciences' Antares launch vehicle, designated A-ONE, took place on 13 April.^[1] Orbital Science also launched its first spacecraft, Cygnus, that docked with the International Space Station in late September 2013.

A total of 81 orbital launches were attempted in 2013, of which 77 were successful, one was partially successful and three were failures. The year also saw eleven EVAs by ISS astronauts. The majority of the year's orbital launches were conducted by Russia, the United States and China, with 31, 19 and 15 launches respectively.

Overview[edit]

India's Indian Space Research Organisation launched its first mission to Mars with the Mars Orbiter Mission that successfully reached Mars orbit on 23 September 2014.^[2]

Numerous significant milestones in robotic spaceflight occurred in 2013, including the landing of China's Chang'e 3 lander at Moon's Mare Imbrium on 14 December; it is China's first attempt and first successful soft landing by its spacecraft on an extraterrestrial surface.

Five crewed orbital launches were conducted during 2013, all successfully, carrying a total of 15 astronauts into orbit. Four of these missions were flown with the Russian Soyuz spacecraft and one with the Chinese Shenzhou.

Orbital launches[edit]

Date and time (UTC)	Rocket		Flight number	Launch site		LSP
		Payload (⚀ = CubeSat)	Operator	Orbit	Function	Decay (UTC)	Outcome
		Remarks
January[edit]
15 January 16:24:59[3]	Rokot / Briz-KM			Plesetsk Site 133/3		VKO
		Kosmos 2482 (Strela-3M)	VKO	Low Earth	Communications	In orbit	Operational
		Kosmos 2483 (Strela-3M)	VKO	Low Earth	Communications	In orbit	Launch Failure
		Kosmos 2484 (Strela-3M)	VKO	Low Earth	Communications	In orbit	Operational
		Briz-KM failed around the time of spacecraft separation, resulting in the loss of one satellite.
27 January 04:40:00	H-IIA 202			Tanegashima LA-Y1		Mitsubishi
		IGS Radar 4	CSIC	Low Earth (SSO)	Reconnaissance	In orbit	Operational
		IGS Optical 5V	CSIC	Low Earth (SSO)	Technology demonstration	20 February 2019[4]	Successful
30 January 07:00:00	Naro-1			Naro LC-1		Khrunichev / KARI
		STSAT-2C	KARI	Low Earth	Technology demonstration	13 November 2019[5]	Successful
		First successful launch of Naro-1; first successful South Korean launch with Russian assistance; final flight of Naro-1.
31 January 01:48:00	Atlas V 401			Cape Canaveral SLC-41		United Launch Alliance
		TDRS-K (TDRS-11)	NASA	Geosynchronous	Communications	In orbit	Operational
← Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec → February[edit]
1 February 06:56:00	Zenit-3SL			Odyssey		Sea Launch
		Intelsat 27	Intelsat	Intended: Geosynchronous	Communications	+40 seconds	Launch failure
		First stage failure, impacted ocean at 40 seconds after launch. Accident caused by failure of the first stage hydraulic power supply unit pump at T+3.9s, which lead to loss of engine gimbal control.[6]
6 February 16:04:24	Soyuz-2.1a / Fregat			Baikonur Site 31/6		Starsem
		Globalstar M078	Globalstar	Low Earth	Communications	In orbit	Operational
		Globalstar M093	Globalstar	Low Earth	Communications	In orbit	Operational
		Globalstar M094	Globalstar	Low Earth	Communications	In orbit	Operational
		Globalstar M095	Globalstar	Low Earth	Communications	In orbit	Operational
		Globalstar M096	Globalstar	Low Earth	Communications	In orbit	Operational
		Globalstar M097	Globalstar	Low Earth	Communications	In orbit	Operational
7 February 21:36:07	Ariane 5 ECA			Kourou ELA-3		Arianespace
		Azerspace-1/Africasat-1a	AMAKA	Geosynchronous	Communications	In orbit	Operational
		Amazonas 3	Hispasat	Geosynchronous	Communications	In orbit	Operational
11 February 14:41:46	Soyuz-U			Baikonur Site 1/5		Roscosmos
		Progress M-18M / 50P	Roscosmos	Low Earth (ISS)	ISS logistics	26 July	Successful
11 February 18:02:00	Atlas V 401			Vandenberg SLC-3E		United Launch Alliance
		Landsat DCM	USGS	Low Earth (SSO)	Remote sensing	In orbit	Operational
25 February 12:31	PSLV-CA			Satish Dhawan FLP		ISRO
		SARAL	ISRO / CNES	Low Earth (SSO)	Oceanography	In orbit	Operational
		Sapphire	DND	Low Earth (SSO)	Space surveillance	In orbit	Operational
		NEOSSat	CSA	Low Earth (SSO)	Asteroid detection	In orbit	Operational
		UniBRITE-1	University of Vienna	Low Earth (SSO)	Optical astronomy	In orbit	Operational
		TUGSAT-1	TU Graz	Low Earth (SSO)	Optical astronomy	In orbit	Operational
		⚀ AAUSAT3	Aalborg	Low Earth (SSO)	Technology demonstration	In orbit	Operational
		⚀ STRaND-1	SSTL	Low Earth (SSO)	Technology demonstration	In orbit	Operational
		TUGSAT-1 is the first Austrian satellite.
← Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec → March[edit]
1 March 15:10:13	Falcon 9 v1.0			Cape Canaveral SLC-40		SpaceX
		SpaceX CRS-2	NASA	Low Earth (ISS)	ISS logistics	26 March 16:34	Successful
		Final flight of Falcon 9 v1.0
19 March 21:21:00	Atlas V 401			Cape Canaveral SLC-41		United Launch Alliance
		USA-241 (SBIRS-GEO 2)	US Air Force	Geosynchronous	Missile defense	In orbit	Operational
26 March 19:06:48	Proton-M / Briz-M			Baikonur Site 200/39		International Launch Services
		Satmex 8	Satmex	Geosynchronous	Communications	In orbit	Operational
28 March 20:43:20	Soyuz-FG			Baikonur Site 1/5		Roscosmos
		Soyuz TMA-08M	Roscosmos	Low Earth (ISS)	Expedition 35/36	11 September 02:58	Successful
		Crewed flight
← Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec → April[edit]
15 April 18:36:00	Proton-M / Briz-M			Baikonur Site 200/39		International Launch Services
		Anik G1	Telesat	Geosynchronous	Communications	In orbit	Operational
19 April 10:00:00	Soyuz-2.1a			Baikonur Site 31/6		Roscosmos
		Bion-M No.1	Roscosmos	Low Earth	Biological science	19 May 03:12	Successful
		AIST No.2	SSAU	Low Earth	Technology demonstration	In orbit	Operational
		⚀ Dove 2	Cosmogia	Low Earth	Technology demonstration	In orbit	Operational
		⚀ BeeSat 2	TU Berlin	Low Earth	Technology demonstration	In orbit	Operational
		⚀ BeeSat 3	TU Berlin	Low Earth	Technology demonstration	In orbit	Operational
		⚀ SOMP	TU Dresden	Low Earth	Technology demonstration	In orbit	Operational
		⚀ OSSI-1	OSSI	Low Earth	Amateur radio	8 July[7]	Successful
21 April 21:00:02	Antares 110			MARS LP-0A		Orbital Sciences
		Cygnus Mass Simulator	NASA	Low Earth	Test flight	10 May	Successful
		⚀ Alexander (PhoneSat-2.0)	NASA	Low Earth	Technology demonstration	27 April	Successful
		⚀ Graham (PhoneSat-1.0)	NASA	Low Earth	Technology demonstration	27 April	Successful
		⚀ Bell (PhoneSat-1.0)	NASA	Low Earth	Technology demonstration	27 April	Successful
		⚀ Dove 1	Cosmogia	Low Earth	Technology demonstration	27 April	Successful
		Maiden flight of Antares, COTS risk reduction flight.
24 April 10:12:16	Soyuz-U			Baikonur Site 1/5		Roscosmos
		Progress M-19M / 51P	Roscosmos	Low Earth (ISS)	ISS logistics	19 June	Successful
26 April 04:13:04	Long March 2D			Jiuquan SLS-2		SAST
		Gaofen 1	CNSA	Low Earth (SSO)	Earth observation	In orbit	Operational
		⚀ TurkSat-3USat	ITU	Low Earth (SSO)	Technology demonstration	In orbit	Operational
		⚀ NEE-01 Pegaso	EXA	Low Earth (SSO)	Technology demonstration	In orbit	Operational
		⚀ CubeBug-1	INVAP	Low Earth (SSO)]	Technology demonstration	In orbit	Operational
		NEE-01 Pegaso is the first Ecuadorian satellite.
26 April 05:23:41	Soyuz-2.1b / Fregat			Plesetsk Site 43/4		RVSN RF
		Kosmos 2485 (GLONASS-M 747)	VKO	Medium Earth	Navigation	In orbit	Operational
← Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec → May[edit]
1 May 16:06:04	Long March 3B/E			Xichang LC-2		CALT
		ChinaSat 11	China Satcom	Geosynchronous	Communications	In orbit	Operational
7 May 02:06:31	Vega			Kourou ELV		Arianespace
		Proba-V	ESA	Low Earth (SSO)	Technology demonstration	In orbit	Operational
		VNREDSat 1A	VAST	Low Earth (SSO)	Earth observation	In orbit	Operational
		⚀ ESTCube-1	Tartu	Low Earth (SSO)	Technology demonstration	In orbit	Operational
		ESTCube-1 is the first Estonian satellite.
14 May 16:02:00	Proton-M / Briz-M			Baikonur Site 200/39		International Launch Services
		Eutelsat 3D	Eutelsat	Geosynchronous	Communications	In orbit	Operational
15 May 21:38:00	Atlas V 401			Cape Canaveral SLC-41		United Launch Alliance
		USA-242 (GPS IIF-4)	U.S. Air Force	Medium Earth	Navigation	In orbit	Operational
25 May 00:27:00	Delta IV-M+ (5,4)			Cape Canaveral SLC-37B		United Launch Alliance
		USA-243 (WGS-5)	U.S. Air Force	Geosynchronous	Communications	In orbit	Operational
28 May 20:31:24	Soyuz-FG			Baikonur Site 1/5		Roscosmos
		Soyuz TMA-09M	Roscosmos	Low Earth (ISS)	Expedition 36/37	11 November 02:49	Successful
		Crewed flight
← Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec → June[edit]
3 June 09:18:31	Proton-M / Briz-M			Baikonur Site 200/39		International Launch Services
		SES-6	SES S.A.	Geosynchronous	Communications	In orbit	Operational
5 June 21:52:11	Ariane 5 ES			Kourou ELA-3		Arianespace
		Albert Einstein ATV	ESA	Low Earth (ISS)	ISS logistics	28 October	Successful
7 June 18:37:59	Soyuz-2.1b			Plesetsk Site 43/4		VKO
		Kosmos 2486 (Persona №2)	VKO	Low Earth (SSO)	Optical reconnaissance	In orbit	Operational
11 June 09:38:02	Long March 2F		Y10	Jiuquan SLS-1		CALT
		Shenzhou 10	CMSA	Low Earth (Tiangong-1)	Technology demonstration	26 June 00:07	Successful
		China's fifth crewed spaceflight mission (2 men, 1 woman astronaut) to Tiangong-1 space lab.
25 June 17:28:48	Soyuz-2.1b			Baikonur Site 31/6		Roscosmos
		Resurs-P No.1	Roscosmos	Low Earth (SSO)	Remote sensing	In orbit	Successful[8]
25 June 19:27:03	Soyuz-STB / Fregat			Kourou ELS		Arianespace
		O3b PFM	O3b Networks	Medium Earth	Communications	In orbit	Operational
		O3b FM2	O3b Networks	Medium Earth	Communications	In orbit	Operational
		O3b FM4	O3b Networks	Medium Earth	Communications	In orbit	Operational
		O3b FM5	O3b Networks	Medium Earth	Communications	In orbit	Operational
27 June 16:53:00	Strela			Baikonur Site 175/59		Roscosmos
		ListKosmos 2487 (Kondor No.202)	Roscosmos	Low Earth	Radar imaging[10]	29 November 2022[9]	Successful
28 June 02:27:46	Pegasus-XL			Stargazer, Vandenberg		Orbital Sciences
		IRIS	NASA	Low Earth (SSO)	Heliophysics	In orbit	Operational
← Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec → July[edit]
1 July 18:11	PSLV-XL			Satish Dhawan FLP		ISRO
		IRNSS-1A	ISRO	Geosynchronous	Navigation	In orbit	Operational
2 July 02:38:22	Proton-M / DM-03 Enhanced			Baikonur Site 81/24		RVSN RF
		GLONASS-M 748	VKO	Intended: Medium Earth	Navigation	2 July	Launch failure
		GLONASS-M 749	VKO	Intended: Medium Earth	Navigation
		GLONASS-M 750	VKO	Intended: Medium Earth	Navigation
		First stage guidance failure due to angular velocity sensors installed upside down, rocket crashed near launch pad.[11]
15 July 09:27:03	Long March 2C			Jiuquan SLS-2		CALT
		Shijian 11-05	CNSA	Low Earth (SSO)	Technology demonstration	In orbit	Operational
19 July 13:00:00	Atlas V 551			Cape Canaveral SLC-41		United Launch Alliance
		MUOS-2	U.S. Navy	Geosynchronous	Communications	In orbit	Operational
19 July 23:37:55	Long March 4C			Taiyuan LC-9		SAST
		Shijian 15	CNSA	Low Earth (SSO)	Technology demonstration	In orbit	Operational
		Shiyan 7	CNSA	Low Earth (SSO)	Technology demonstration	In orbit	Operational
		Chuang Xin 3	CNSA	Low Earth (SSO)	Technology demonstration	In orbit	Operational
25 July 19:54:07	Ariane 5 ECA			Kourou ELA-3		Arianespace
		Alphasat I-XL (Inmarsat-XL)	ESA / Inmarsat	Geosynchronous	Technology demonstration / Communications	In orbit	Operational
		INSAT-3D	ISRO	Geosynchronous	Meteorology	In orbit	Operational
		First Alphabus satellite.
27 July 20:45:08	Soyuz-U			Baikonur Site 31/6		Roscosmos
		Progress M-20M / 52P	Roscosmos	Low Earth (ISS)	ISS logistics	11 February 2014	Successful
← Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec → August[edit]
3 August 19:48:46	H-IIB			Tanegashima LA-Y2		MHI
		Kounotori 4	JAXA	Low Earth (ISS)	ISS logistics	7 September	Successful
		⚀ TechEdSat-3p	NASA Ames	Low Earth	Technology demonstration	16 January 2014	Successful
		⚀ PicoDragon	VNSC	Low Earth	Technology demonstration	28 February 2014	Successful
		⚀ ArduSat-1	NanoSatisfi	Low Earth	Technology demonstration	16 April 2014	Successful
		⚀ ArduSat-X	NanoSatisfi	Low Earth	Technology demonstration	15 April 2014	Successful
8 August 00:29:00	Delta IV-M+ (5,4)			Cape Canaveral SLC-37B		United Launch Alliance
		USA-244 (WGS-6)	U.S. Air Force	Geosynchronous	Communications	In orbit	Operational
22 August 14:39:13	Dnepr			Dombarovsky Site 13		ISC Kosmotras
		KOMPSat-5 (Arirang-5)	KARI	Low Earth (SSO)	Remote sensing	In orbit	Operational
28 August 18:03:00	Delta IV Heavy			Vandenberg SLC-6		United Launch Alliance
		USA-245 (KH-11)	NRO	Low Earth (SSO)	Optical Imaging[12]	In orbit	Operational
		NRO Launch 65; final KH-11 satellite.
29 August 20:30:07	Ariane 5 ECA			Kourou ELA-3		Arianespace
		Eutelsat 25B/Es'hail 1	Eutelsat / Es'hailSat	Geosynchronous	Communications	In orbit	Operational
		GSAT-7	ISRO	Geosynchronous	Communications	In orbit	Operational
31 August 20:05:00	Zenit-3SLB			Baikonur Site 45/1		SIS
		Amos-4	SCL	Geosynchronous	Communications	In orbit	Operational
← Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec → September[edit]
1 September 19:16	Long March 4C			Jiuquan SLS-2		SAST
		Yaogan 17A	CNSA	Low Earth	ELINT	In orbit	Operational
		Yaogan 17B	CNSA	Low Earth	ELINT	In orbit	Operational
		Yaogan 17C	CNSA	Low Earth	ELINT	In orbit	Operational
7 September 03:27:00	Minotaur V			MARS LP-0B		Orbital Sciences
		LADEE	NASA	Selenocentric	Lunar orbiter	18 April 2014 04:30	Successful
		Maiden flight of Minotaur V, first Lunar launch from MARS.
11 September 23:23:04	Rokot / Briz-KM			Plesetsk Site 133/3		VKO
		Gonets-M 5	Gonets Satellite System	Low Earth	Communications	In orbit	Operational
		Gonets-M 6	Gonets Satellite System	Low Earth	Communications	In orbit	Operational
		Gonets-M 7	Gonets Satellite System	Low Earth	Communications	In orbit	Operational
14 September 05:00:00	Epsilon		Epsilon-1[13]	Uchinoura		JAXA
		Hisaki (SPRINT-A)	JAXA	Low Earth	Ultraviolet astronomy	In orbit	Successful[14]
		Maiden flight of the Epsilon rocket.
18 September 08:10:00	Atlas V 531			Cape Canaveral SLC-41		United Launch Alliance
		USA-246 (AEHF-3)	U.S. Air Force	Geosynchronous	Communications	In orbit	Operational
18 September 14:58:02	Antares 110			MARS LP-0A		Orbital Sciences
		Cygnus 1 S.S. G. David Low	NASA	Low Earth (ISS)	ISS logistics / Test flight	23 October 18:16	Successful
		Maiden flight of Cygnus; COTS demonstration flight; final flight of Antares 110.
23 September 03:07:11	Long March 4C			Taiyuan LC-9		SAST
		Fengyun 3C	CMA	Low Earth (SSO)	Meteorology	In orbit	Operational
25 September 04:37[15]	Kuaizhou			Jiuquan LS-95A		CASIC
		Kuaizhou-1	CAS	Low Earth (SSO)	Optical imaging	1 September 2015[16]	Successful
		Maiden flight of Kuaizhou.
25 September 20:58:50	Soyuz-FG			Baikonur Site 1/5		Roscosmos
		Soyuz TMA-10M	Roscosmos	Low Earth (ISS)	Expedition 37/38	11 March 2014 03:24	Successful
		Crewed flight
29 September 16:00:00	Falcon 9 v1.1			Vandenberg SLC-4E		SpaceX
		CASSIOPE	MDA Corporation	Low Earth	Communications/science[17]	In orbit	Operational
		CUSat[18]	Cornell	Low Earth	Technology demonstration	In orbit	Operational
		DANDE[18]	CU-Boulder	Low Earth	Technology demonstration	In orbit	Operational
		⚀ POPACS-1[18]	Drexel	Low Earth	Atmospheric research	In orbit	Operational
		⚀ POPACS-2[18]	Drexel	Low Earth	Atmospheric research	In orbit	Operational
		⚀ POPACS-3[18]	Drexel	Low Earth	Atmospheric research	In orbit	Operational
		Maiden flight of Falcon 9 v1.1.
29 September 21:38:10	Proton-M / Briz-M			Baikonur Site 200/39		International Launch Services
		Astra 2E	SES S.A.	Geosynchronous	Communications	In orbit	Operational
← Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec → October[edit]
25 October 03:50:03	Long March 4B			Jiuquan SLS-2		SAST
		Shijian 16-01	CNSA	Low Earth	Technology demonstration	In orbit	Operational
25 October 18:08:54	Proton-M / Briz-M			Baikonur Site 200/39		International Launch Services
		Sirius FM-6	Sirius Satellite Radio	Geosynchronous	Communications	In orbit	Operational
29 October 02:50:04	Long March 2C			Taiyuan LC-9		CALT
		Yaogan 18	CNSA	Low Earth (SSO)	Reconnaissance	7 April 2021 00:35[19]	Successful
← Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec → November[edit]
5 November 09:08[20]	PSLV-XL			Satish Dhawan FLP		ISRO
		Mars Orbiter Mission (Mangalyaan)	ISRO	Areocentric	Mars orbiter	In orbit	Successful
		India's first interplanetary mission. Last contact with orbiter in April 2022.
7 November 04:14:15	Soyuz-FG			Baikonur Site 1/5		Roscosmos
		Soyuz TMA-11M	Roscosmos	Low Earth (ISS)	Expedition 38/39	14 May 2014 01:58	Successful
		Crewed flight
11 November 23:46:00	Proton-M / Briz-M			Baikonur Site 81/24		RVSN RF
		Raduga-1M 3	VKO	Geosynchronous	Communications	In orbit	Operational
18 November 18:28:00	Atlas V 401			Cape Canaveral SLC-41		United Launch Alliance
		MAVEN	NASA	Areocentric	Martian atmospheric research	In orbit	Operational
		NASA space probe to study the Martian atmosphere.[21]
20 November 01:15:00[22]	Minotaur I			MARS LP-0B		Orbital Sciences
		ORS-3	ORS	Low Earth	Technology demonstration	25 December 2015[23]	Successful
		STPSat 3	USAF STP	Low Earth	Technology demonstration	11 March 2023[24]	Successful
		⚀ ORSES	ORS	Low Earth	Technology demonstration	3 January 2016[25]	Successful
		⚀ ORS Tech 1	ORS	Low Earth	Technology demonstration	23 March 2015[26]	Successful
		⚀ ORS Tech 2	ORS	Low Earth	Technology demonstration	3 April 2015[27]	Successful
		⚀ Prometheus 1A	SOCOM	Low Earth	Technology demonstration	12 December 2015[28]	Successful
		⚀ Prometheus 1B	SOCOM	Low Earth	Technology demonstration	10 December 2015[29]	Successful
		⚀ Prometheus 2A	SOCOM	Low Earth	Technology demonstration	8 December 2015[30]	Successful
		⚀ Prometheus 2B	SOCOM	Low Earth	Technology demonstration	13 December 2015[31]	Successful
		⚀ Prometheus 3A	SOCOM	Low Earth	Technology demonstration	29 November 2015[32]	Successful
		⚀ Prometheus 3B	SOCOM	Low Earth	Technology demonstration	10 December 2015[33]	Successful
		⚀ Prometheus 4A	SOCOM	Low Earth	Technology demonstration	5 December 2015[34]	Successful
		⚀ Prometheus 4B	SOCOM	Low Earth	Technology demonstration	1 December 2015[35]	Successful
		⚀ SENSE-1	USAF SMC	Low Earth	Technology demonstration	21 March 2015[36]	Successful
		⚀ SENSE-2	USAF SMC	Low Earth	Technology demonstration	28 October 2019[37]	Successful
		⚀ Firefly	NASA / NRO	Low Earth	Atmospheric science	1 November 2017[38]	Successful
		⚀ Horus (STARE-B)	LLNL	Low Earth	Technology demonstration	26 April 2018[39]	Successful
		⚀ Black Knight	West Point	Low Earth	Technology demonstration	16 July 2015[40]	Successful
		⚀ NPS-SCAT	NPS	Low Earth	Technology demonstration	28 October 2015[41]	Successful
		⚀ DragonSat-1	Drexel	Low Earth	Technology demonstration	31 August 2016[42]	Successful
		⚀ COPPER	St. Louis	Low Earth	Technology demonstration	4 February 2016[43]	Successful
		⚀ ChargerSat-1	UAH	Low Earth	Technology demonstration	19 March 2016[44]	Successful
		⚀ TJ3Sat	TJHSST	Low Earth	Technology demonstration	17 September 2015[45]	Successful
		⚀ Trailblazer 1	UNM	Low Earth	Technology demonstration	22 May 2016[46]	Successful
		⚀ Vermont Lunar CubeSat	Vermont	Low Earth	Technology demonstration	21 November 2015[47]	Successful
		⚀ SwampSat	UFL	Low Earth	Technology demonstration	13 December 2015[48]	Successful
		⚀ CAPE-2	ULL	Low Earth	Technology demonstration	23 October 2014[49]	Successful
		⚀ Ho'oponopono 2	UH	Low Earth	Technology demonstration	26 August 2021[50]	Successful
		⚀ KySat-2	Kentucky/Morehead	Low Earth	Technology demonstration	12 February 2015[51]	Successful
		⚀ PhoneSat-2.4	NASA Ames	Low Earth	Technology demonstration	31 January 2017[52]	Successful
		Largest number of satellites launched on a single rocket (31). ORS-3 will remain attached to upper stage.
20 November 03:31:04	Long March 4C			Taiyuan LC-9		SAST
		Yaogan 19	CNSA	Low Earth	Reconnaissance	In orbit	Operational
21 November 07:10:16[53]	Dnepr			Dombarovsky Site 370/13		ISC Kosmotras
		DubaiSat-2	EIAST	Low Earth (SSO)	Technology demonstration	In orbit	Operational
		STSAT-3	KARI	Low Earth (SSO)	Technology demonstration	In orbit	Operational
		SkySat-1	Skybox Imaging	Low Earth (SSO)	Earth observation	In orbit	Operational
		⚀ WNISAT-1	Weather News Inc.	Low Earth (SSO)	Meteorology	In orbit	Operational
		⚀ Lem (BRITE-PL)	PAS	Low Earth (SSO)	Photometric astrometry	In orbit	Operational
		AprizeSat-7	AprizeSat	Low Earth (SSO)	Communications	In orbit	Operational
		AprizeSat-8	AprizeSat	Low Earth (SSO)	Communications	In orbit	Operational
		UniSat-5	La Sapienza	Low Earth (SSO)	Technology demonstration	In orbit	Operational
		⚀ Delfi-n3Xt	TU-Delft	Low Earth (SSO)	Technology demonstration	In orbit	Operational
		⚀ Dove 3	Planet Labs	Low Earth (SSO)	Technology demonstration	In orbit	Operational
		⚀ Dove 4	Planet Labs	Low Earth (SSO)	Technology demonstration	In orbit	Operational
		⚀ Triton 1	ISIS-BV	Low Earth (SSO)	Technology demonstration	In orbit	Operational
		⚀ KHUSat-1 (CINEMA-2)	KHU	Low Earth (SSO)	Space weather	In orbit	Operational
		⚀ KHUSat-2 (CINEMA-3)	KHU	Low Earth (SSO)	Space weather	In orbit	Operational
		⚀ CubeBug-2	INVAP	Low Earth (SSO)	Technology demonstration	In orbit	Operational
		⚀ GOMX-1	GOMSpace	Low Earth (SSO)	Technology demonstration	In orbit	Operational
		⚀ NEE-02 Krysaor	EXA	Low Earth (SSO)	Technology demonstration	In orbit	Operational
		⚀ FUNCube-1	AMSAT-UK/NL	Low Earth (SSO)	Technology demonstration	In orbit	Operational
		⚀ HiNCube	Narvik	Low Earth (SSO)	Technology demonstration	In orbit	Operational
		⚀ ZACUBE-1	CPUT	Low Earth (SSO)	Technology demonstration	In orbit	Operational
		⚀ ICube-1	PIST	Low Earth (SSO)	Technology demonstration	In orbit	Operational
		⚀ HumSat-D	Vigo	Low Earth (SSO)	Technology demonstration	In orbit	Operational
		⚀ PUCPSat-1	PUCP	Low Earth (SSO)	Technology demonstration	In orbit	Operational
		Pocket-PUCP	PUCP	Low Earth (SSO)	Technology demonstration	In orbit	Operational
		⚀ UWE-3	Würzburg	Low Earth (SSO)	Technology demonstration	In orbit	Operational
		▫  BeakerSat-1	Morehead	Low Earth (SSO)	Technology demonstration	13 February 2019[54]	Successful
		▫  QubeScout-1	UMBC	Low Earth (SSO)	Technology demonstration	In orbit	Operational
		▫  WREN	STADOKO UG	Low Earth (SSO)	Technology demonstration	In orbit	Operational
		▫  $50SAT	Morehead	Low Earth (SSO)	Technology demonstration	19 May 2018[55]	Successful
		⚀ First-MOVE	TU-Munich	Low Earth (SSO)	Technology demonstration	In orbit	Operational
		⚀ Velox-P2	NTU	Low Earth (SSO)	Technology demonstration	In orbit	Operational
		⚀ OPTOS	INTA	Low Earth (SSO)	Technology demonstration	In orbit	Operational
		BPA-3	Hartron-Arkos	Low Earth (SSO)	Technology demonstration	In orbit	Operational
		Largest number of satellites launched on a single rocket (32).
22 November 12:02:29	Rokot / Briz-KM			Plesetsk Site 133/3		Eurockot
		Swarm A	ESA	Low Earth	Magnetospheric	In orbit	Operational
		Swarm B	ESA	Low Earth	Magnetospheric	In orbit	Operational
		Swarm C	ESA	Low Earth	Magnetospheric	In orbit	Operational
25 November 02:12:04	Long March 2D			Jiuquan SLS-2		SAST
		Shiyan 5	CNSA	Low Earth (SSO)	Technology demonstration	In orbit	Operational
25 November 20:53:06	Soyuz-U			Baikonur Site 31/6		Roscosmos
		Progress M-21M / 53P	Roscosmos	Low Earth (ISS)	ISS logistics	9 June 2014	Successful
← Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec → December[edit]
1 December 17:30:00 [57]	Long March 3B			Xichang LC-2		CALT
		Chang'e 3	CNSA	Selenocentric	Lunar lander	14 December 13:12	Operational
		Yutu	CNSA	Selenocentric	Lunar rover		Operational
		China's first lunar rover, and the first spacecraft to make a soft landing on the Moon since the Soviet Luna 24 mission in 1976.[56]
3 December 22:41:00	Falcon 9 v1.1			Cape Canaveral SLC-40		SpaceX
		SES-8	SES World Skies	Geosynchronous	Communications	In orbit	Operational
		First launch of Falcon 9 v1.1 from CCAFS; first SpaceX launch targeting GEO.
6 December 07:14:30	Atlas V 501			Vandenberg SLC-3E		United Launch Alliance
		USA-247 (Topaz)	NRO	Low Earth	Reconnaissance	In orbit	Operational
		⚀ AeroCube-5A	The Aerospace Corporation	Low Earth	Technology demonstration	19 April 2023[58]	Successful
		⚀ AeroCube-5B	The Aerospace Corporation	Low Earth	Technology demonstration	23 November 2022[59]	Successful
		⚀ ALICE	AFIT	Low Earth	Technology demonstration	In orbit	Operational
		⚀ CUNYSAT 1	CUNY	Low Earth	Technology demonstration	In orbit	Operational
		⚀ FIREBIRD A	Montana State	Low Earth	Technology demonstration	In orbit	Operational
		⚀ FIREBIRD B	Montana State	Low Earth	Technology demonstration	In orbit	Operational
		⚀ IPEX	NASA JPL	Low Earth	Technology demonstration	In orbit	Operational
		⚀ M-Cubed 2	Michigan	Low Earth	Technology demonstration	In orbit	Operational
		⚀ SMDC-ONE 2.3	U.S. Army	Low Earth	Technology demonstration	In orbit	Operational
		⚀ SMDC-ONE 2.4	U.S. Army	Low Earth	Technology demonstration	In orbit	Operational
		⚀ SNaP	U.S. Army	Low Earth	Technology demonstration	In orbit	Operational
		⚀ TacSat-6	ORS	Low Earth	Technology demonstration	In orbit	Operational
		NROL-39 mission.
8 December 12:12:00	Proton-M / Briz-M			Baikonur Site 200/39		International Launch Services
		Inmarsat 5-F1	Inmarsat	Geosynchronous	Communications	In orbit	Operational
9 December 03:26	Long March 4B			Taiyuan LC-9		SAST
		CBERS-3	CASC/INPE	Intended: Low Earth (SSO)	Remote sensing	9 December	Launch failure
		Third stage shutdown 11 seconds too early.
19 December 09:12:19	Soyuz ST-B / Fregat-MT			Kourou ELS		Arianespace
		Gaia	ESA	Sun–Earth L2	Astrometric observatory	In orbit	Operational
20 December 16:42:04	Long March 3B/E			Xichang LC-2		CALT
		Túpac Katari 1	Agencia Boliviana Espacial	Geosynchronous	Communications	In orbit	Operational
25 December 00:31:55	Rokot / Briz-KM			Plesetsk Site 133/3		VKO
		Kosmos 2488 (Strela-3M 7)	VKO	Low Earth	Communications	In orbit	Operational
		Kosmos 2489 (Strela-3M 8)	VKO	Low Earth	Communications	In orbit	Operational
		Kosmos 2490 (Strela-3M 9)	VKO	Low Earth	Communications	In orbit	Operational
		Kosmos 2491	VKO	Low Earth	Technology demonstration/Satellite inspection (?)	In orbit	Destroyed
		Kosmos 2491 broke up in orbit on 23 December 2019.[60][61]
26 December 10:49:56	Proton-M / Briz-M			Baikonur Site 81/24		Khrunichev
		Ekspress AM5	RSCC	Geosynchronous	Communications	In orbit	Operational
28 December 12:30:00	Soyuz-2-1v / Volga			Plesetsk Site 43/4		RVSN RF
		Aist 1	SSAU	Low Earth	Technology demonstration	In orbit	Operational
		Kosmos 2492 (SKRL-756-1)	RVSN RF	Low Earth	Radar calibration	In orbit	Operational
		Kosmos 2493 (SKRL-756-2)	RVSN RF	Low Earth	Radar calibration	In orbit	Operational
		Maiden flight of Soyuz-2-1v.

Suborbital flights[edit]

Date and time (UTC)	Rocket		Flight number	Launch site		LSP
		Payload (⚀ = CubeSat)	Operator	Orbit	Function	Decay (UTC)	Outcome
		Remarks
26 January 22:00	Ground Based Interceptor			Vandenberg LF-23		Missile Defense Agency
		EKV	MDA	Suborbital	Anti-ballistic missile test	26 January	Successful
		Non-intercept flight test.
27 January ~12:10	B-611			Shuangchengzi		PLA
			PLA	Suborbital	ABM target	11 January	Successful
		Target
27 January ~12:10	SC-19			Korla		PLA
			PLA	Suborbital	ABM test	11 January	Successful
		Interceptor, successful intercept
28 January	Kavoshgar			Semnan		ISA
		Pishgam	ISA	Suborbital	Biological	28 January	Successful[62]
		Apogee: 116 kilometres (72 miles), carried a rhesus monkey
29 January 22:50	Terrier Improved Orion			Wallops Island		NASA
		Lithium Release Experiments	NASA GSFC	Suborbital	Atmospheric experiments	29 January	Successful
		Apogee: ~130 kilometres (81 mi)
7 February 08:21	Talos Terrier Oriole Nihka			Poker Flat		NASA
		VISIONS	NASA GSFC	Suborbital	Auroral research	7 February	Successful
13 February 09:10	MRBTM		FTM-20	Kauai		MDA
			MDA	Suborbital	ABM target	13 February	Successful
		SM-3 Block 1A target
13 February 09:15	RIM-161C SM-3 Block 1A		FTM-20	USS Lake Erie, Pacific Ocean		US Navy
			US Navy	Suborbital	ABM test	13 February	Successful
		MRBTM interceptor, successful intercept
15 February 16:34	Terrier Improved Orion			White Sands		NASA
		Technology Experiments	NASA GSFC/WFF	Suborbital	Technology demonstration	15 February	Successful
		Apogee: ~130 kilometres (81 mi) ?
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