2012 in spaceflight

2012 in spaceflight

The Dragon spacecraft (pictured) conducted the first COTS demonstration logistics flight in May 2012, becoming the first commercial spacecraft to rendezvous with the International Space Station.
Orbital launches
First	9 January
Last	19 December
Total	77
Successes	72
Failures	2
Partial failures	3
Catalogued	75
National firsts
Satellite	Hungary  Poland  Romania  Belarus  North Korea
Orbital launch	North Korea
Rockets
Maiden flights	Delta IV-M+ (5,2) Unha-3 Vega
Retirements	Long March 3B Long March 3C Proton-K
Crewed flights
Orbital	5
Total travellers	15
EVAs	5
v t e

The year 2012 saw a number of significant events in spaceflight. In May and October, the first Commercial Orbital Transportation Services resupply missions took place, during which the SpaceX Dragon became the first private spacecraft to dock with the International Space Station (ISS). In June, China launched the crewed Shenzhou 9 orbital mission, and North Korea achieved its first successful orbital launch in December. 2012 also saw China's first successful asteroid exploration mission, and the landing of NASA's Curiosity rover on Mars. The Vega and Unha-3 rockets made their maiden flights in 2012, while the Proton-K made its last.

A total of 77 orbital launches were attempted in 2012, of which 72 were successful, three were partially successful and two were failures. Five crewed orbital missions were conducted over the course of the year, all successfully, carrying a total of 15 individuals into orbit. The year also saw five EVAs by ISS astronauts. The majority of the year's orbital launches were conducted by Russia, China and the United States, with 29, 19 and 13 launches respectively. A total of 139 payloads were launched during the year, including communication and navigation satellites, logistics spacecraft and scientific probes. Additionally, a large number of suborbital sounding rockets and ballistic missiles were launched by scientific and military organisations.

Overview of orbital spaceflight[edit]

A total of 77 orbital launches were attempted in 2012, with 72 being reported as successful, and a total of 139 payloads launched.^[1] The three most prolific spacefaring nations were Russia, with 29 launches and 27 successes; China, with 19 launches, all of which succeeded; and the United States, with 13 launches, of which 12 succeeded and one was a partial failure.^[1] European nations conducted eight orbital launches, all successfully, while India and Japan conducted two each, also successfully. Iran and North Korea both achieved one successful orbital launch during 2012, but Iran also suffered one launch failures, while North Korea suffered one.^[2][3]

Crewed spaceflight[edit]

Five crewed orbital launches were conducted during 2012, all successfully, carrying a total of 15 astronauts into orbit. Four of these missions were flown using Russian Soyuz spacecraft, while the fifth was a Chinese Shenzhou launch.^[4] All of the year's crewed missions rendezvoused with space stations – the four Soyuz missions docked with the International Space Station (ISS), while China's Shenzhou 9 docked with the Tiangong-1 orbital laboratory. Five spacewalks were also undertaken in 2012, all by ISS crewmembers.^{[5][6][7][8][9]}

Robotic exploration[edit]

Numerous significant milestones in robotic spaceflight occurred in 2012, including the landing of NASA's Curiosity rover on Mars in August,^[10] and the first commercial resupply missions to the ISS in May and October.^[11][12] The latter also marked the first fully operational use of SpaceX's Dragon spacecraft. Elsewhere in the Solar System, NASA's Dawn spacecraft completed its mission to 4 Vesta in September 2012,^[13] while China achieved its first asteroid flyby in December.

Orbital launches[edit]

Date and time (UTC)	Rocket		Flight number	Launch site		LSP
		Payload (⚀ = CubeSat)	Operator	Orbit	Function	Decay (UTC)	Outcome
		Remarks
January[edit]
9 January 03:17:09	Long March 4B			Taiyuan LC-9		SAST
		Ziyuan 3	MLR	Low Earth (SSO)	Earth observation	In orbit	Operational[14]
		VesselSat-2	Luxspace	Low Earth (SSO)	Communications	27 October 2016[15]	Successful
13 January 00:56:04	Long March 3A			Xichang LC-3		CALT
		Fengyun 2-07[16]	CMA	Geosynchronous	Meteorology	In orbit	Operational[17]
20 January 00:38:00	Delta IV-M+ (5,4)			Cape Canaveral SLC-37B		United Launch Alliance
		USA-233 (WGS-4)	U.S. Air Force	Geosynchronous	Communications	In orbit	Operational[18]
25 January 23:06:40	Soyuz-U			Baikonur Site 1/5		Roscosmos
		Progress M-14M / 46P	Roscosmos	Low Earth (ISS)	ISS logistics	28 April 13:46	Successful[19]
← Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec → February[edit]
3 February 00:04	Safir-1B			Semnan LP-1		ISA
		Navid	ISA	Low Earth	Earth observation	1 April[20]	Successful[21]
13 February 10:00:00	Vega			Kourou ELV		Arianespace
		LARES	ASI	Low Earth	Geodesy	In orbit	Operational[22]
		ALMASat-1[23]	Università di Bologna	Low Earth	Technology demonstration	In orbit	Operational[22]
		⚀ Xatcobeo[24]	Vigo/INTA	Low Earth	Technology demonstration	31 August 2014	Successful[22]
		⚀ UniCubeSat-GG[24]	Rome	Low Earth	Atmospheric science	16 February 2015[25]	Successful
		⚀ Robusta[24]	Montpellier	Low Earth	Technology demonstration	28 January 2015[26]	Partial spacecraft failure
		⚀ e-st@r[24]	Torino	Low Earth	Technology demonstration	16 January 2015[27]	Partial spacecraft failure
		⚀ Goliat[24]	Bucharest	Low Earth	Technology demonstration	31 December 2014	Partial spacecraft failure[22]
		⚀ PW-Sat[24]	Warsaw	Low Earth	Technology demonstration	28 October 2014	Successful[22]
		⚀ MaSat-1	BME	Low Earth	Technology demonstration	9 January 2015[28]	Successful
		Maiden flight of Vega rocket; all payloads CubeSats except LARES and ALMASat-1. First Hungarian, Romanian and Polish satellites.
14 February 19:36:37	Proton-M / Briz-M Enhanced			Baikonur Site 200/39		International Launch Services
		SES-4	SES World Skies	Geosynchronous	Communications	In orbit	Operational[29]
24 February 16:12:04	Long March 3C			Xichang LC-2		CALT
		Compass-G5	CNSA	Geosynchronous	Navigation	In orbit	Operational[30]
24 February 22:15:00	Atlas V 551			Cape Canaveral SLC-41		United Launch Alliance
		MUOS-1	U.S. Navy	Geosynchronous	Communications	In orbit	Operational[31]
← Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec → March[edit]
23 March 04:34:05	Ariane 5 ES			Kourou ELA-3		Arianespace
		Edoardo Amaldi ATV	ESA	Low Earth (ISS)	ISS logistics	3 October 01:23	Successful[32]
25 March 12:10:32	Proton-M / Briz-M Enhanced			Baikonur Site 200/39		International Launch Services
		Intelsat 22	Intelsat	Geosynchronous	Communications	In orbit	Operational[33]
30 March 05:49:32	Proton-K / DM-2			Baikonur Site 81/24		RVSN RF
		Kosmos 2479 (US-KMO)	VKO	Geosynchronous	Missile defense	In orbit	Operational[34]
		Final flight of Proton-K, final US-KMO satellite.
31 March 10:27:04	Long March 3B/E			Xichang LC-2		CALT
		Apstar-7	APT Satellite Holdings	Geosynchronous	Communication	In orbit	Operational[35]
← Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec → April[edit]
3 April 23:12:57	Delta IV-M+(5,2)			Vandenberg SLC-6		United Launch Alliance
		USA-234 (FIA-R)	NRO	Low Earth	Reconnaissance	In orbit	Operational[36]
		NRO Launch 25
12 April 22:38:55	Unha-3			Sohae		KCST
		Kwangmyŏngsŏng-3[37]	KCST	Intended: Low Earth	Technology demonstration	12 April	Launch failure[3]
		Probable first stage failure, disintegrated over the Yellow Sea.[3]
20 April 12:50:24	Soyuz-U			Baikonur Site 31/6		Roscosmos
		Progress M-15M / 47P	Roscosmos	Low Earth (ISS)	ISS logistics	20 August 2012	Successful[38]
23 April 22:18:13	Proton-M / Briz-M Enhanced			Baikonur Site 200/39		International Launch Services
		Yahsat 1B	Yahsat	Geosynchronous	Communications	In orbit	Operational[39]
26 April 00:17	PSLV-XL			Satish Dhawan Space Centre FLP		ISRO
		RISAT-1	ISRO	Low Earth (SSO)	Earth observation[40]	In orbit	Operational[41]
29 April 20:50:03[42]	Long March 3B			Xichang LC-2		CALT
		Compass-M3	CNSA	Medium Earth	Navigation	In orbit	Operational[42]
		Compass-M4	CNSA	Medium Earth	Navigation	In orbit	Operational[42]
← Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec → May[edit]
4 May 18:42:00	Atlas V 531			Cape Canaveral SLC-41		United Launch Alliance
		USA-235 (AEHF-2)	U.S. Air Force	Geosynchronous	Communications	In orbit	Operational[43]
6 May 07:10:04[44]	Long March 2D			Jiuquan SLS-2		SAST
		Tianhui 1B	CNSA	Low Earth (SSO)	Earth observation	In orbit	Operational[44]
10 May 07:06:04[45]	Long March 4B			Taiyuan LC-9		SAST
		Yaogan 14	CNSA	Low Earth (SSO)	Reconnaissance	In orbit	Operational[45]
		Tiantuo 1	NUDT	Low Earth (SSO)	Technology demonstration	3 November 2014	Successful
15 May 03:01:23	Soyuz-FG			Baikonur Site 1/5		Roscosmos
		Soyuz TMA-04M	Roscosmos	Low Earth (ISS)	Expedition 31/32	17 September 02:53	Successful[46]
		Crewed flight
15 May 22:13:07	Ariane 5 ECA			Kourou ELA-3		Arianespace
		JCSAT-13	SKY Perfect JSAT Group	Geosynchronous	Communications	In orbit	Operational[47]
		Vinasat-2	VNPT	Geosynchronous	Communications	In orbit	Operational[48]
17 May 14:05	Soyuz-U			Plesetsk Site 16/2		VKO
		Kosmos 2480 (Kobalt-M No.8)	VKO	Low Earth	Reconnaissance	24 September	Successful[49]
		Final Soyuz-U launch from Plesetsk.
17 May 16:39	H-IIA			Tanegashima LA-Y1		MHI
		GCOM-W1	JAXA / NASA	Low Earth (SSO)	Earth observation	In orbit	Operational[50]
		Arirang-3	KARI	Low Earth (SSO)	Earth observation	In orbit	Operational[50]
		SDS-4	JAXA	Low Earth (SSO)	Technology demonstration	In orbit	Successful
		Horyu-2	KIT	Low Earth (SSO)	Technology demonstration Amateur radio	In orbit	Successful[51]
17 May 19:12:14	Proton-M / Briz-M			Baikonur Site 81/24		International Launch Services
		Nimiq 6	Telesat	Geosynchronous	Communications	In orbit	Operational[52]
22 May 07:44:38[11]	Falcon 9 v1.0			Cape Canaveral SLC-40		SpaceX
		Dragon C2+	SpaceX / NASA	Low Earth (ISS)	Flight test ISS logistics	31 May 16:42	Successful[56]
		New Frontier	Celestis	Low Earth	Space burial	27 June	Successful
		COTS Demo 2+,[53] orbital test manoeuvres and ISS rendezvous, berthing and cargo delivery. First commercial spacecraft to visit the ISS.[54] Celestis payload, containing cremated remains of 308 people including Gordon Cooper and James Doohan, remained intentionally attached to the upper stage.[55]
23 May[2]	Safir-1B			Semnan		ISA
		Fajr	ISA	Planned: Low Earth[2]	Earth observation	23 May	Launch failure
		Probable launch failure;[2] identity of launch attempt, rocket, satellite and launch time not confirmed.
26 May 15:56:04	Long March 3B/E			Xichang LC-2		CALT
		Chinasat-2A	China Satcom	Geosynchronous	Communications	In orbit	Operational[57]
29 May 07:31:05	Long March 4C			Taiyuan LC-9		SAST
		Yaogan 15	CNSA	Low Earth (SSO)	Reconnaissance	In orbit	Operational[58]
← Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec → June[edit]
1 June 05:22:59	Zenit-3SL			Ocean Odyssey		Sea Launch
		Intelsat 19	Intelsat	Geosynchronous	Communications	In orbit	Partial spacecraft failure
		Second solar panel initially failed to deploy after launch.[59] It eventually deployed, but was damaged.
13 June 16:00:37	Pegasus-XL			Stargazer, Kwajalein Atoll		Orbital Sciences
		NuSTAR	NASA	Low Earth	X-ray astronomy	In orbit	Operational[60]
16 June 10:37:24[63]	Long March 2F		Y9	Jiuquan LA-4/SLS-1		CALT
		Shenzhou 9	CMSA	Low Earth (Tiangong-1)	Technology demonstration	29 June 02:01[64]	Successful[4]
		Shenzhou-9-GC (Orbital Module)[65]	CMSA	Low Earth (Tiangong-1)	Space rendezvous	2 December	Successful
		Crewed flight; first Chinese woman in space,[61][62] and first crewed mission to Tiangong-1.
20 June 12:28	Atlas V 401			Cape Canaveral SLC-41		United Launch Alliance
		USA-236 / SDS-3	NRO	Geosynchronous	Communications	In orbit	Operational[66]
		NROL-38 mission.
29 June 13:15	Delta IV Heavy			Cape Canaveral SLC-37B		United Launch Alliance
		USA-237 / Orion 8	NRO	Geosynchronous	ELINT	In orbit	Operational[67]
		NROL-15 mission. First flight of Delta IV with RS-68A engines.
← Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec → July[edit]
5 July 21:36:07[68]	Ariane 5 ECA			Kourou ELA-3		Arianespace
		Echostar XVII	Hughes Network Systems	Geosynchronous	Communications	In orbit	Operational
		MSG 3	EUMETSAT	Geosynchronous	Meteorology	In orbit	Operational
9 July 18:38:30	Proton-M / Briz-M Enhanced			Baikonur Site 81/24		International Launch Services
		SES-5	SES	Geosynchronous	Communications	In orbit	Operational[69]
15 July 02:40:03	Soyuz-FG			Baikonur Site 1/5		Roscosmos
		Soyuz TMA-05M	Roscosmos	Low Earth (ISS)	Expedition 32/33	19 November 01:56	Successful[70]
		Crewed flight
21 July 02:06:18[71]	H-IIB			Tanegashima LA-Y2		JAXA[72][73]
		Kounotori 3	JAXA	Low Earth (ISS)	ISS logistics	14 September	Successful[74]
		⚀ Raiko	Wakayama/Tohuku	Low Earth	Technology demonstration	6 August 2013[75]	Successful
		⚀ FITSAT-1 (Niwaka)	FIT	Low Earth	Technology demonstration	4 July 2013[76]	Successful
		⚀ We-Wish	Meisei Electric	Low Earth	Technology demonstration	11 March 2013[77]	Successful
		⚀ F-1	FPT	Low Earth	Technology demonstration	May 2013[78]	Successfully deployed, but no signal was received.[79]
		⚀ TechEdSat	San Jose	Low Earth	Technology demonstration	5 May 2013[80]	Successful
		All payloads CubeSats other than Kounotori 3. CubeSats carried aboard Kounotori and deployed from the ISS.
22 July 06:41:39	Soyuz-FG / Fregat			Baikonur Site 31/6		Roscosmos
		Kanopus V-1	Roscosmos	Low Earth (SSO)	Earth observation	In orbit	Operational[81]
		BelKA-2	NASRB	Low Earth (SSO)	Earth observation	In orbit	Operational[81]
		Zond-PP	Roscosmos	Low Earth (SSO)	Technology demonstration Earth observation	In orbit	Spacecraft failure[82]
		TET-1	DLR	Low Earth (SSO)	Technology demonstration	18 November 2022[83]	Successful
		exactView 1	exactEarth	Low Earth (SSO)	AIS ship tracking	In orbit	Operational[81]
		First Belarusian satellite.
25 July 15:43:04	Long March 3C			Xichang LC-2		CALT
		Tianlian I-03	CNSA	Geosynchronous	Communications	In orbit	Operational[84]
28 July 01:35:34[85]	Rokot / Briz-KM			Plesetsk Site 133/3		VKO
		Gonets M-3	Gonets Satellite System	Low Earth	Communications	In orbit	Operational
		Gonets M-4	Gonets Satellite System	Low Earth	Communications	In orbit	Operational
		Kosmos 2481 (Strela-3M)	VKO	Low Earth	Communications	In orbit	Operational
		MiR (Yubileiny 2)	NPO PM	Low Earth	Amateur radio Technology demonstration	In orbit	Operational
← Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec → August[edit]
1 August 19:35:13	Soyuz-U			Baikonur Site 1/5		Roscosmos
		Progress M-16M / 48P	Roscosmos	Low Earth (ISS)	ISS logistics	9 February 2013	Successful[87]
		Sfera-53	Roscosmos	Low Earth	Atmospheric density	24 November[88]	Successful[89]
		Fast rendezvous test;[86] Sfera-53 deployed from ISS at 18:29 UTC on 20 August during a spacewalk.
2 August 20:54	Ariane 5 ECA			Kourou ELA-3		Arianespace
		Intelsat 20	Intelsat	Geosynchronous	Communications	In orbit	Operational[90]
		HYLAS-2	Avanti	Geosynchronous	Communications	In orbit	Operational[90]
6 August 19:31:00 [92]	Proton-M / Briz-M Enhanced			Baikonur Site 81/24		Khrunichev
		Telkom-3	PT Telkom	Planned: Geosynchronous Achieved: Medium Earth	Communications	5 February 2021 [93]	Launch failure[94]
		Ekspress-MD2	RSCC	Planned: Geosynchronous Achieved: Medium Earth	Communications	In orbit
		Briz-M stage failure 7 seconds into its third burn.[91] Stage exploded on 16 October, generating over 500 pieces of orbital debris.
19 August 06:54:59	Zenit-3SL			Ocean Odyssey		Sea Launch
		Intelsat 21	Intelsat	Geosynchronous	Communications	In orbit	Operational[95]
30 August 08:05:27[98]	Atlas V 401			Cape Canaveral SLC-41		United Launch Alliance
		Van Allen Probe A (RBSP-A)	NASA	Highly elliptical	Magnetospheric research	In orbit	Successful
		Van Allen Probe B (RBSP-B)	NASA	Highly elliptical	Magnetospheric research	In orbit	Successful
		Launch of the two Van Allen Probes, formerly known as the Radiation Belt Storm Probes. Van Allen Probe B ceased operations on 19 July 2019;[96] Van Allen Probe A was deactivated on 18 October 2019.[97]
← Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec → September[edit]
9 September 04:23	PSLV-CA			Satish Dhawan FLP		ISRO
		SPOT 6	CNES	Low Earth (SSO)	Earth observation	In orbit	Operational[99]
		PROITERES	Osaka Institute of Technology	Low Earth (SSO)	Amateur radio Technology demonstration	In orbit	Operational[99]
13 September 21:39:00[100]	Atlas V 401			Vandenberg SLC-3E		United Launch Alliance
		USA-238 (NOSS)	NRO	Low Earth	ELINT	In orbit	Operational
		USA-238 (NOSS)	NRO	Low Earth	ELINT	In orbit	Operational
		⚀ CINEMA 1	UCB	Low Earth	Magnetospheric research	In orbit	Operational
		⚀ CXBN	Morehead	Low Earth	X-ray astronomy	In orbit	Operational
		⚀ CP 5	CalPoly	Low Earth	Technology demonstration	In orbit	Operational
		⚀ CSSWE	CU-Boulder	Low Earth	Magnetospheric research	In orbit	Operational
		⚀ Aeneas	USC / NRO	Low Earth	Technology demonstration	In orbit	Operational
		⚀ STARE A	Lawrence Livermore	Low Earth	Technology demonstration	In orbit	Operational
		⚀ SMDC-ONE 2.1	U.S. Army	Low Earth	Technology demonstration	In orbit	Operational
		⚀ SMDC-ONE 2.2	U.S. Army	Low Earth	Technology demonstration	In orbit	Operational
		⚀ AeroCube 4	The Aerospace Corporation	Low Earth	Technology demonstration	In orbit	Operational
		⚀ AeroCube 4.5A	The Aerospace Corporation	Low Earth	Technology demonstration	In orbit	Operational
		⚀ AeroCube 4.5B	The Aerospace Corporation	Low Earth	Technology demonstration	In orbit	Operational
		NRO Launch 36
17 September 16:28:40	Soyuz-2.1a / Fregat			Baikonur Site 31/6		Starsem
		MetOp-B	EUMETSAT	Low Earth (SSO)	Meteorology	In orbit	Operational[101]
18 September 19:10:04	Long March 3B/E			Xichang LC-2		CALT
		Compass-M5	CNSA	Medium Earth	Navigation	In orbit	Operational[102]
		Compass-M6	CNSA	Medium Earth	Navigation	In orbit	Operational[102]
28 September 21:18:07	Ariane 5 ECA			Kourou ELA-3		Arianespace
		Astra 2F	SES	Geosynchronous	Communications	In orbit	Operational[103]
		GSAT-10	ISRO	Geosynchronous	Communications	In orbit	Operational[104]
29 September[105] 04:12:04	Long March 2D			Jiuquan SLS-2		SAST
		VRSS-1	MPPCTII	Low Earth (SSO)	Earth observation	In orbit	Operational[106]
← Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec → October[edit]
4 October 12:10:00	Delta IV M+(4,2)			Cape Canaveral SLC-37B		United Launch Alliance
		USA-239 (GPS IIF-3)	U.S. Air Force	Medium Earth	Navigation	In orbit	Operational[107]
8 October 00:35:07[109]	Falcon 9 v1.0			Cape Canaveral SLC-40		SpaceX
		SpaceX CRS-1	NASA	Low Earth (ISS)	ISS logistics	28 October 19:22[12]	Successful[12]
		Orbcomm-2 F1	Orbcomm	Low Earth	Communications	10 October	Launch failure[110][111]
		First flight of Commercial Resupply Services programme.[108] First stage engine failure resulted in a too-low orbit for Orbcomm payload; CRS-1 nonetheless placed into correct orbit.
12 October 18:15:01	Soyuz ST-B / Fregat-MT			Kourou ELS		Arianespace
		Galileo IOV 3	ESA	Medium Earth	Navigation	In orbit	Operational[112]
		Galileo IOV 4	ESA	Medium Earth	Navigation	In orbit	Operational[112]
14 October 03:25:05	Long March 2C/SMA			Taiyuan LC-9		CALT
		Shijian 9A	CNSA	Low Earth (SSO)	Technology demonstration	In orbit	Operational[113]
		Shijian 9B	CNSA	Low Earth (SSO)	Technology demonstration	In orbit	Operational[113]
14 October 08:37:00	Proton-M / Briz-M Enhanced			Baikonur Site 81/24		International Launch Services
		Intelsat 23	Intelsat	Geosynchronous	Communications	In orbit	Operational[114]
23 October 10:51:11[115]	Soyuz-FG			Baikonur Site 31/6		Roscosmos
		Soyuz TMA-06M	Roscosmos	Low Earth (ISS)[116]	Expedition 33/34	16 March 2013 03:06	Successful[117]
		Crewed flight
25 October 15:33:04	Long March 3C			Xichang LC-2		CALT
		Compass-G6	CNSA	Geosynchronous	Navigation	In orbit	Operational[119]
		Compass navigation system became commercially operational in Asia-Pacific region in December 2012.[118]
31 October 07:41:18	Soyuz-U			Baikonur Site 1/5		Roscosmos
		Progress M-17M / 49P[120]	Roscosmos	Low Earth (ISS)	ISS logistics	21 April 2013	Successful[121]
← Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec → November[edit]
2 November 21:04:00	Proton-M / Briz-M Enhanced			Baikonur Site 81/24		Roscosmos
		Luch 5B	Gonets Satellite System	Geosynchronous	Communications	In orbit	Operational[122]
		Yamal-300K	Gazprom	Geosynchronous	Communications	In orbit	Operational[122]
10 November 21:05:07	Ariane 5 ECA			Kourou ELA-3		Arianespace
		Eutelsat 21B	Eutelsat	Geosynchronous	Communications	In orbit	Operational[123]
		Star One C3	Star One	Geosynchronous	Communications	In orbit	Operational[123]
14 November 11:42:46	Soyuz-2.1a / Fregat			Plesetsk Site 43/4		VKO
		Meridian 6	VKO	Molniya	Communications	In orbit	Operational[124]
18 November 22:53:04[125]	Long March 2C			Taiyuan LC-9		CALT
		Huanjing 1C	CNSA	Low Earth (SSO)	Earth observation	1 March 2023[126]	Successful
		Xinyan 1	CASC	Low Earth (SSO)	Technology demonstration	5 October 2019[127]	Successful
		Fengniao 1	SAST	Low Earth (SSO)	Technology demonstration	11 January 2024[128]	Successful
		Fengniao 1A	SAST	Low Earth (SSO)	Technology demonstration	11 January 2024[129]	Deployement failure
20 November 18:31:00	Proton-M / Briz-M Enhanced			Baikonur Site 200/39		International Launch Services
		EchoStar XVI	EchoStar	Geosynchronous	Communications	In orbit	Operational[130]
25 November 04:06:04	Long March 4C			Jiuquan SLS-2		SAST
		Yaogan 16A	CNSA	Low Earth	ELINT	In orbit	Operational[131]
		Yaogan 16B	CNSA	Low Earth	ELINT	In orbit	Operational[131]
		Yaogan 16C	CNSA	Low Earth	ELINT	In orbit	Operational[131]
27 November 10:13:03[132]	Long March 3B/E			Xichang LC-2		CALT
		ChinaSat 12 / SupremeSAT-I	China Satcom / SupremeSAT	Geosynchronous	Communications	In orbit	Operational[132]
		Part of satellite's communications payload was leased to SupremeSAT, a Sri Lankan satellite operator, as SupremeSAT-I.
← Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec → December[edit]
2 December 02:02:51	Soyuz ST-A / Fregat			Kourou ELS		Arianespace
		Pléiades-HR 1B	CNES	Low Earth (SSO)	Earth observation	In orbit	Operational[133]
3 December 20:43:59	Zenit-3SL			Ocean Odyssey		Sea Launch
		Eutelsat 70B	Eutelsat	Geosynchronous	Communications	In orbit	Operational[134]
8 December 13:13:43	Proton-M / Briz-M Enhanced			Baikonur Site 200/39		International Launch Services
		Yamal-402	Gazprom	Geosynchronous	Communications	In orbit	Operational; partial launch failure[136]
		Briz-M stage failure 4 minutes before scheduled shut down on its fourth burn.[135]
11 December 18:03	Atlas V 501			Cape Canaveral SLC-41		United Launch Alliance
		USA-240 (X-37B OTV-3)	U.S. Air Force	Low Earth	Technology demonstration	17 October 2014	Successful[137][138]
		270-day X-37B endurance mission ultimately extended to over 680 days.[137]
12 December 00:49:46[141][142]	Unha-3			Sohae		KCST
		Kwangmyŏngsŏng-3 Unit 2	KCST	Low Earth	Technology demonstration	In orbit	Spacecraft failure[140]
		First successful North Korean orbital launch, first North Korean satellite;[139] satellite reached orbit but malfunctioned thereafter.[140]
18 December 16:13:04[143]	Long March 2D			Jiuquan SLS-2		SAST
		Göktürk-2	MSB	Low Earth (SSO)	Earth observation	In orbit	Operational[144]
19 December 12:12:35	Soyuz-FG			Baikonur Site 1/5		Roscosmos
		Soyuz TMA-07M	Roscosmos	Low Earth (ISS)	Expedition 34/35	14 May 2013 02:31	Successful[145]
		Crewed flight
19 December 21:49:07	Ariane 5 ECA			Kourou ELA-3		Arianespace
		Skynet 5D	Astrium	Geosynchronous	Communications	In orbit	Operational[146]
		Mexsat-3	SCT	Geosynchronous	Communications	In orbit	Operational[146]
		Skynet 5D military communications satellite operated by Astrium Services on behalf of the British Ministry of Defence.

Suborbital flights[edit]

Date and time (UTC)	Rocket		Flight number	Launch site		LSP
		Payload (⚀ = CubeSat)	Operator	Orbit	Function	Decay (UTC)	Outcome
		Remarks
11 January 13:25	Terrier-Improved Malemute[147]			Wallops Island		NASA
			NASA	Suborbital	Test flight	11 January	Successful[148]
11 January 20:51	S-520			Uchinoura		JAXA
			JAXA/HU/TU/TU/TPU/KU/KUT	Suborbital	Atmospheric science	11 January	Successful[149]
24 January	Arrow III			Negev		IAI
			IAI/IDF	Suborbital	ABM Test	24 January	Successful[150]
		First test flight of the Arrow-III
10 February 04:40	Prithvi			ITR IC-4		DRDO
			DRDO	Suborbital	Target	10 February	Successful[151]
		Target for ABM test, successfully intercepted
10 February	Blue Sparrow			F-15 Eagle, Israel		IAF
			Israeli Air Force	Suborbital	ABM target	10 February	Successful[152]
		Arrow-3 tracking target
13 February 09:32	VSB-30			Esrange		EuroLaunch
		MASER-12	SSC	Suborbital	Microgravity	13 February	Successful[153]
19 February 05:41	Black Brant IX			Poker Flat		NASA
			UNH	Suborbital	Auroral research	19 February	Successful[154]
22 February	UGM-133 Trident II D5			USS Tennessee, ETR		US Navy
			US Navy	Suborbital	Missile test	22 February	Successful[155]
		Demonstration and Shakedown Operation 23 (DASO-23)
25 February 10:46	LGM-30G Minuteman III			Vandenberg LF-09		US Air Force
			US Air Force	Suborbital	Test flight	25 February	Successful[156]
22 March 09:00	Black Brant IX			White Sands		NASA
		CIBER	Caltech	Suborbital	Astronomy	22 March	Successful[157]
27 March 08:58	Terrier-Oriole			Wallops Island		NASA
		ATREX	Clemson	Suborbital	Geospace	27 March	Successful[158]
27 March 08:59	Terrier-Improved Malemute			Wallops Island		NASA
		ATREX	Clemson	Suborbital	Geospace	27 March	Successful[158]
27 March 09:00	Terrier-Orion			Wallops Island		NASA
		ATREX	Clemson	Suborbital	Geospace	27 March	Successful[158]
27 March 09:02	Terrier-Improved Malemute			Wallops Island		NASA
		ATREX	Clemson	Suborbital	Geospace	27 March	Successful[158]
27 March 09:03	Terrier-Orion			Wallops Island		NASA
		ATREX	Clemson	Suborbital	Geospace	27 March	Successful[158]
5 April 14:18	SpaceLoft XL			Spaceport America		UP Aerospace
			ORS	Suborbital	Technology demonstration	5 April	Successful[159]
		Apogee: 117 kilometres (73 mi), successfully recovered
14 April	UGM-133 Trident II D5			USS Maryland, ETR		US Navy
			US Navy	Suborbital	Test flight	14 April	Successful[160]
		Follow-on Commander's Evaluation Test 45
14 April	UGM-133 Trident II D5			USS Maryland, ETR		US Navy
			US Navy	Suborbital	Test flight	14 April	Successful[160]
		Follow-on Commander's Evaluation Test 45
16 April	UGM-133 Trident II D5			USS Maryland, ETR		US Navy
			US Navy	Suborbital	Test flight	16 April	Successful[160]
		Follow-on Commander's Evaluation Test 46
16 April	UGM-133 Trident II D5			USS Maryland, ETR		US Navy
			US Navy	Suborbital	Test flight	16 April	Successful[160]
		Follow-on Commander's Evaluation Test 46
19 April 02:37	Agni-V			Integrated Test Range		DRDO
			DRDO	Suborbital	Test flight	19 April	Successful[161]
		Apogee: 800 kilometres (500 mi), maiden flight of Agni-V
23 April	VS-30/Orion			Andøya		DSTO
		HiFire-5	DSTO	Suborbital	Technology demonstration	23 April	Launch failure
		Hypersonic research experiment, second stage of launch vehicle failed to ignite
25 April	Shaheen-IA			Sonmiani		ASFC
			ASFC	Suborbital	Test flight	25 April	Successful[162]
10 May 06:18	Terrier Orion (ARAV-A)		FTM-16 E2a	Kauai		MDA
			MDA	Suborbital	ABM target	10 May	Successful[163]
		SM-3 Block 1B target
10 May 06:21	RIM-161C SM-3 Block 1B		FTM-16 E2a	USS Lake Erie, Pacific Ocean		US Navy
			US Navy	Suborbital	ABM test	10 May	Successful[163]
		ARAV-A interceptor, successful intercept
23 May 06:15	RS-26 Rubezh			Plesetsk		RVSN
			RVSN	Suborbital	Missile test	23 May	Successful[164]
7 June 17:39	RS-12M Topol			Kapustin Yar		RVSN
			RVSN	Suborbital	Missile test	7 June	Successful[165]
21 June 10:40	Terrier Improved Orion			Wallops Island		NASA
		RockOn	Colorado	Suborbital	Student experiments	21 June	Successful[166]
22 June 19:18	VS-40			Andøya		Andøya
		SHEFEX II	DLR	Suborbital	Technology demonstration	22 June	Successful[167]
23 June 19:30	Black Brant IX			White Sands		NASA
		EVE	CU Boulder	Suborbital	SDO calibration	23 June	Successful[168]
27 June 09:15	Castor 4B		FTM-18	Kauai		MDA
			MDA	Suborbital	ABM target	27 June	Successful[169]
		SM-3 Block 1B target
27 June 09:18	RIM-161C SM-3 Block 1B		FTM-18	USS Lake Erie, Pacific Ocean		US Navy
			US Navy	Suborbital	ABM test	27 June	Successful[169]
		Castor 4B interceptor, successful intercept
3 July	Shahab-1			Iran		IRGC
			IGRC	Suborbital	Missile test	3 July	Successful[170]
		Apogee: ~100 kilometres (62 mi)
3 July	Shahab-2			Iran		IGRC
			IRGC	Suborbital	Missile test	3 July	Successful[170]
		Apogee: ~100 kilometres (62 mi)
3 July	Shahab-3			Iran		IRGC
			IRGC	Suborbital	Missile test	3 July	Successful[170]
		Apogee: ~150 kilometres (93 mi)
5 July 18:50	Black Brant IX			White Sands		NASA
		SUMI	NASA/MSFC	Suborbital	Solar research	5 July	Successful[171]
11 July 18:50	Black Brant IX			White Sands		NASA
		Hi-C	NASA/MSFC	Suborbital	Solar research	11 July	Successful[172]
13 July 04:36	Agni-I			Integrated Test Range		IDRDL
			IDRDL	Suborbital	Missile test	13 July	Successful[173]
		Apogee: ~200 kilometres (120 mi)
23 July 11:01	Black Brant XI			Wallops Island		NASA
		IRVE-3	NASA/Langley	Suborbital	Atmospheric entry test	23 July	Successful[174]
		Apogee: ~285 miles (459 km); part of the Hypersonic Inflatable Aerodynamic Decelerator programme
24 July 19:17	Black Brant IX			White Sands		NASA
		DFS	USC	Suborbital	Solar research	24 July	Successful[175]
7 August 07:30:00[176]	S-310			Uchinoura		JAXA
		[177]	UT/JAXA/AGU/TKD/NU/TU/KIT	Suborbital	Technology demonstration	7 August	Successful[178]
9 August 03:16	Agni-II			ITR IC-4		Indian Army
			Indian Army	Suborbital	Missile test	9 August	Successful[179]
		Apogee: 220 kilometres (140 mi)
12 September	Terrier-Lynx			Wallops Island		DoD
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