2016 in spaceflight
|
| |
| Orbital launches | |
|---|---|
| First | 15 January |
| Last | 22 November |
| Total | 75 |
| Successes | 72 |
| Failures | 3 |
| Catalogued | 72 |
| Rockets | |
| Maiden flights | |
| Retirements | Falcon 9 v1.1 |
| Manned flights | |
| Orbital | 5 |
| Total travellers | 14 |
| EVAs | 4 |
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Several new rockets and spaceports began operations in 2016. First, Russia inaugurated the far-Eastern Vostochny Cosmodrome on 28 April 2016 with a traditional Soyuz-2.1a flight,[1] before expanding it for the Angara rocket family in the following years. Then the Chinese Long March 7 took off for its maiden flight from the new Wenchang Satellite Launch Center on Hainan Island in the South China Sea on 25 June and the maiden flight of the Long March 5 took place on 3 November. Two years after its 2014 accident, the Antares rocket returned to flight on 17 October with its upgraded 230 version featuring the Russian RD-181 engine.
After many failed attempts, SpaceX started landing its Falcon 9 first stages on drone ships, edging closer to their long-stated goal of developing reusable launch vehicles. The company indicated that the recovered engines and structures did not suffer significant damage and they plan to launch a mission with a previously flown booster in January 2017.[2]
The ExoMars mission, a collaboration between the European and Russian space agencies, was launched on 14 March and reached Mars on 19 October.[3] Essentially dedicated to astrobiology investigations, this flight carries the ExoMars Trace Gas Orbiter which reached Mars orbit and Schiaparelli EDM lander which crashed upon landing. A subsequent flight scheduled for 2020 will carry the ExoMars rover along with four static surface instruments.[4] Meanwhile, the Japanese space probe Akatsuki started its observations of Venus in May[5] after spending five months gradually adjusting its orbit. Planetary exploration activities took center stage with the orbit insertion of NASA's Juno probe at Jupiter on 4 July, which was followed by the launch of NASA's OSIRIS-REx mission to asteroid 101955 Bennu on 8 September. Finally, on 30 September, the Rosetta probe executed a slow crash-landing on comet 67P/Churyumov–Gerasimenko.[6][7]
Manned missions include the return of Scott Kelly and Mikhail Kornienko in March, after a 340-day mission on the ISS, the longest-ever continuous stay by astronauts at the station. Kelly also set the record for the longest stay of an American in orbit. Four ISS Expeditions numbered 47 to 50 were launched in 2016, the first one using the last Soyuz TMA-M spacecraft and the next three inaugurating the modernized Soyuz MS. Expedition 50 will continue into 2017. Several EVAs were planned to help maintain the exterior of the ISS. The experimental BEAM inflatable habitat was attached to the ISS on 16 April and expanded on 28 May, to begin two years of on-orbit tests. Meanwhile, China launched its new Tiangong-2 space laboratory in September, which was first visited by two astronauts for a month between 19 October and 17 November.
Orbital launches
| Date and time (UTC) | Rocket | Launch site | LSP | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Payload | Operator | Orbit | Function | Decay (UTC) | Outcome | ||
| Remarks | |||||||
| 15 January 16:57:04 |
 Long March 3B/E |
Xichang LA-3 |
CASC | ||||
 Belintersat 1 |
Belarus | Geosynchronous | Communications | In orbit | Operational | ||
| 17 January 18:42:18 |
 Falcon 9 v1.1 |
Vandenberg SLC-4E |
SpaceX | ||||
| Jason-3 |
NOAA / EUMETSAT | Low Earth | Earth observation | In orbit | Operational | ||
| Final flight of the standard Falcon 9 v1.1, future flights will use the upgraded Falcon 9 Full Thrust. Falcon 9's first stage performed a soft landing on an Autonomous Spaceport Drone Ship in the Pacific Ocean, but the failure of one landing leg to lock into position caused it to fall over and break apart.[8] | |||||||
| 20 January 04:01:00 |
 PSLV-XL |
Satish Dhawan SLP |
ISRO | ||||
| IRNSS-1E |
ISRO | Geosynchronous | Navigation | In orbit | Operational | ||
| 27 January 23:20:48 |
 Ariane 5 ECA |
 Kourou ELA-3 |
Arianespace | ||||
| Intelsat 29e |
Intelsat | Geosynchronous | Communications | In orbit | Operational | ||
| 29 January 22:20:09 |
 Proton-M / Briz-M |
 Baikonur Site 200/39 |
Khrunichev | ||||
| Eutelsat 9B |
Eutelsat | Geosynchronous | Communications | In orbit | Operational | ||
| Carries the first laser communication node for the European Data Relay System | |||||||
|
| |||||||
| 1 February 07:29:04 |
Long March 3C / YZ-1 |
Xichang LA-2 |
CASC | ||||
| BeiDou M3-S |
CNSA | Medium Earth | Navigation | In orbit | Operational | ||
| 5 February 13:38:00 |
Atlas V 401 |
Cape Canaveral SLC-41 |
United Launch Alliance | ||||
| USA-266 (GPS IIF-12) |
US Air Force | Medium Earth | Navigation | In orbit | Operational | ||
| 7 February 00:21:07 |
Soyuz-2.1b / Fregat |
Plesetsk Site 43/4 |
RVSN RF | ||||
| Kosmos 2514 (GLONASS-M 751) |
VKS | Medium Earth | Navigation | In orbit | Operational | ||
| 7 February 00:30 |
 Unha |
Sohae |
KCST | ||||
| Kwangmyŏngsŏng-4[9] |
KCST | Low Earth | Earth observation | In orbit | Operational | ||
| 10 February 11:40:32 |
Delta IV M+ (5,2) |
Vandenberg SLC-6 |
United Launch Alliance | ||||
| USA-267 (Topaz NROL-45) |
NRO | Low Earth | Reconnaissance | In orbit | Operational | ||
| Spacecraft launched in a retrograde orbit | |||||||
| 16 February 17:57:40 |
Rokot / Briz-KM |
Plesetsk Site 133/3 |
/ Eurockot | ||||
| Sentinel-3A |
ESA | Low Earth (SSO) | Earth observation | In orbit | Operational | ||
| 17 February 08:45:00 |
 H-IIA 202 |
Tanegashima LA-Y1 |
MHI | ||||
| Hitomi (ASTRO-H) |
JAXA / NASA | Low Earth | X-ray astronomy | In orbit | Spacecraft failure | ||
| ChubuSat-2 |
Nagoya University | Low Earth | Radiation / Amateur radio | In orbit | Operational | ||
| ChubuSat-3 |
MHI | Low Earth | Remote sensing / Space debris monitor | In orbit | Operational | ||
| Horyu-4 |
Kyushu Institute of Technology | Low Earth | Technology | In orbit | Operational | ||
| Hitomi malfunctioned after initial checkouts, and is believed to have lost attitude control and snapped off its solar array. As of 28 April, JAXA has abandoned efforts to recover the spacecraft.[10] | |||||||
|
| |||||||
| 4 March 23:35:00 |
Falcon 9 Full Thrust |
Cape Canaveral SLC-40 |
SpaceX | ||||
 SES-9 |
SES S.A. | Geosynchronous | Communications | In orbit | Operational | ||
| High-velocity landing test ended with a hard landing on the Autonomous spaceport drone ship Of Course I Still Love You and destruction of the first stage. | |||||||
| 9 March 05:20:07 |
Ariane 5 ECA |
Kourou ELA-3 |
Arianespace | ||||
| Eutelsat 65 West A |
Eutelsat | Geosynchronous | Communications | In orbit | Operational | ||
| 10 March 10:31:00 |
PSLV-XL |
Satish Dhawan SLP |
ISRO | ||||
| IRNSS-1F |
ISRO | Geosynchronous | Navigation | In orbit | Operational | ||
| 13 March 18:56:00 |
Soyuz-2.1b |
Baikonur Site 31/6 |
Roscosmos | ||||
| Resurs-P No.3 |
Roscosmos | Low Earth (SSO) | Earth observation | In orbit | Operational | ||
| The launch succeeded on its second attempt after a rare pad abort the day before. | |||||||
| 14 March 09:31:42[4] |
Proton-M / Briz-M |
Baikonur Site 200/39 |
Khrunichev | ||||
| / ExoMars Trace Gas Orbiter |
ESA | Areocentric orbit | Mars orbiter | In orbit | Operational | ||
| Schiaparelli EDM lander |
ESA | Martian Surface | Mars lander | 19 October | Landing failure | ||
| Briz-M upper stage exploded after separation, apparently without damaging the orbiter or lander.[11] | |||||||
| 18 March 21:26:38 |
Soyuz-FG |
Baikonur Site 1/5 |
Roscosmos | ||||
| Soyuz TMA-20M |
Roscosmos | Low Earth (ISS) | Expedition 47/48 | 7 September 01:13 | Successful | ||
| Manned flight with three cosmonauts. Final flight of the Soyuz TMA-M variant | |||||||
| 23 March 03:05:52 |
Atlas V 401 |
Cape Canaveral SLC-41 |
United Launch Alliance | ||||
| Cygnus CRS OA-6 S.S. Rick Husband |
Orbital ATK / NASA | Low Earth (ISS) | ISS logistics | 22 June 13:29 | Successful | ||
| Flock-2e' x 20 |
Planet Labs | Low Earth | Earth observation | In orbit | Operational | ||
 / Diwata-1 |
DOST / TU | Low Earth | Earth observation | In orbit | Operational | ||
| Anomaly in the mixture ratio control valve assembly, causing the Atlas V booster engine to cut off five seconds early, resulting in a longer-than-usual Centaur orbital insertion burn.[12] Cubesats deployed from the ISS and the Cygnus spacecraft at a later date. | |||||||
| 24 March 09:42:00 |
Soyuz-2.1a |
Plesetsk Site 43/4 |
RVSN RF | ||||
| Kosmos 2515 (Bars-M) |
VKS | Low Earth (SSO) | Reconnaissance | In orbit | Operational | ||
| 29 March 20:11:04 |
Long March 3A |
Xichang LA-2 |
CASC | ||||
| BeiDou IGSO-6 |
CNSA | IGSO | Navigation | In orbit | Operational | ||
| 31 March 16:23:57 |
Soyuz-2.1a |
Baikonur Site 31/6 |
Roscosmos | ||||
| Progress MS-02 |
Roscosmos | Low Earth (ISS) | ISS logistics | 14 October 13:39 | Successful | ||
|
| |||||||
| 5 April 17:38:04 |
Long March 2D |
Jiuquan LA-4/SLS-2 |
CASC | ||||
| Shijian-10 |
CAS | Low Earth | Microgravity Science | 18 April 08:30 | Successful | ||
| 8 April 20:43:31 |
Falcon 9 Full Thrust |
Cape Canaveral SLC-40 |
SpaceX | ||||
| SpaceX CRS-8 |
NASA | Low Earth (ISS) | ISS logistics | 11 May 18:31 | Successful | ||
| BEAM |
Bigelow Aerospace / NASA | Low Earth (ISS) | Technology Demonstration / ISS Assembly | In orbit | Operational | ||
| First stage landed successfully on drone ship Of Course I Still Love You for the first time, the second successful landing overall | |||||||
| 25 April 21:02:13 |
Soyuz-STA / Fregat |
Kourou ELS |
Arianespace | ||||
| Sentinel-1B |
ESA | Low Earth (SSO) | Earth observation | In orbit | Operational | ||
| MICROSCOPE |
CNES | Low Earth (SSO) | Astrophysics research | In orbit | Operational | ||
 AAUSAT-4 |
Aalborg | Low Earth (SSO) | Technology | In orbit | Operational | ||
 e-st@r-II |
Polytechnic University of Turin | Low Earth (SSO) | Technology | In orbit | Operational | ||
.svg.png){kind=small} OUFTI-1 |
Liège | Low Earth (SSO) | Technology | In orbit | Operational | ||
| 28 April 02:01:21 |
Soyuz-2.1a / Volga |
Vostochny Site 1S |
Roscosmos | ||||
| Mikhailo Lomonosov |
MSU | Low Earth (SSO) | Gamma-ray astronomy | In orbit | Operational | ||
| Aist-2D |
SSAU | Low Earth (SSO) | Technology | In orbit | Operational | ||
| SamSat 218 |
SSAU | Low Earth (SSO) | Technology | In orbit | Operational | ||
| First orbital flight from Vostochny Cosmodrome | |||||||
| 28 April 07:20:00 |
PSLV-XL |
Satish Dhawan FLP |
ISRO | ||||
| IRNSS-1G |
ISRO | Geosynchronous | Navigation | In orbit | Operational | ||
|
| |||||||
| 6 May 05:21:00 |
Falcon 9 Full Thrust |
Cape Canaveral SLC-40 |
SpaceX | ||||
| JCSAT-14 |
JSAT | Geosynchronous | Communications | In orbit | Operational | ||
| First stage landed on Of Course I Still Love You droneship, the third successful landing and the first landing with a payload to geostationary transfer orbit. | |||||||
| 15 May 02:43 |
Long March 2D |
Jiuquan LA-4/SLS-2 |
CASC | ||||
| Yaogan 30 |
CNSA | Low Earth (SSO) | Reconnaissance | In orbit | Operational | ||
| 24 May 08:48:43 |
Soyuz-STB / Fregat |
Kourou ELS |
Arianespace | ||||
| Galileo FOC 10 |
ESA | Medium Earth | Navigation | In orbit | Operational | ||
| Galileo FOC 11 |
ESA | Medium Earth | Navigation | In orbit | Operational | ||
| 27 May 21:39:00 |
Falcon 9 Full Thrust |
Cape Canaveral SLC-40 |
SpaceX | ||||
 Thaicom 8 |
Thaicom | Geosynchronous | Communications | In orbit | Operational | ||
| First stage landed on Of Course I Still Love You droneship, the fourth successful landing and the second landing with a payload to geostationary transfer orbit. | |||||||
| 29 May 08:44:35 |
Soyuz-2.1b / Fregat |
Plesetsk Site 43/4 |
RVSN RF | ||||
| Kosmos 2516 (GLONASS-M 753) |
VKS | Medium Earth | Navigation | In orbit | Operational | ||
| 30 May 03:17:04 |
Long March 4B |
Taiyuan LC-9 |
CASC | ||||
| Ziyuan III-02 |
CNSA | Low Earth (SSO) | Earth imaging | In orbit | Operational | ||
 ÑuSat-1/-2 (Aleph-1 constellation)[13] |
Satellogic | Low Earth (SSO) | Earth imaging | In orbit | Operational | ||
|
| |||||||
| 4 June 14:00:13 |
Rokot / Briz-KM |
Plesetsk Site 133/3 |
RVSN RF | ||||
| Kosmos 2517 (Geo-IK-2 No.12) |
VKS | Low Earth | Geodesy | In orbit | Operational | ||
| 9 June 07:10:00 |
Proton-M / Briz-M |
Baikonur Site 81/24 |
Khrunichev | ||||
| Intelsat 31 / DLA-2 |
Intelsat / DirecTV | Geosynchronous | Communications | In orbit | Operational | ||
| 11 June 17:51:00 |
Delta IV Heavy |
Cape Canaveral SLC-37B |
United Launch Alliance | ||||
| USA-268 (Orion NROL-37) |
NRO | Geosynchronous | Reconnaissance | In orbit | Operational | ||
| 12 June 15:30:04 |
Long March 3C |
Xichang LA-3 |
CASC | ||||
| BeiDou G7 |
CNSA | Geosynchronous | Navigation | In orbit | Operational | ||
| 15 June 14:29:00 |
Falcon 9 Full Thrust |
Cape Canaveral SLC-40 |
SpaceX | ||||
| Eutelsat 117 West B |
Eutelsat | Geosynchronous | Communications | In orbit | Operational | ||
 ABS-2A |
ABS | Geosynchronous | Communications | In orbit | Operational | ||
| Satellites were successfully delivered to orbit, first stage landing on drone ship failed. | |||||||
| 18 June 21:38:39 |
Ariane 5 ECA |
Kourou ELA-3 |
Arianespace | ||||
| EchoStar 18 |
EchoStar | Geosynchronous | Communications | In orbit | Operational | ||
 BRIsat |
BRI | Geosynchronous | Communications | In orbit | Operational | ||
| 22 June 03:56:00 |
PSLV-XL |
Satish Dhawan SLP |
ISRO | ||||
| CartoSat-2C |
ISRO | Low Earth (SSO) | Earth observation | In orbit | Operational | ||
 GHGsat |
GHGsat Inc. | Low Earth (SSO) | Earth observation | In orbit | Operational | ||
| M3MSat |
CSA | Low Earth (SSO) | Communications | In orbit | Operational | ||
| SkySat-C1 |
Terra Bella | Low Earth (SSO) | Earth observation | In orbit | Operational | ||
 BIROS |
DLR | Low Earth (SSO) | Earth observation | In orbit | Operational | ||
| SathyabamaSat |
Sathyabama University | Low Earth (SSO) | Earth observation | In orbit | Operational | ||
| Swayam |
College of Engineering, Pune | Low Earth (SSO) | Technology | In orbit | Operational | ||
| LAPAN-A3 |
LAPAN | Low Earth (SSO) | Earth observation | In orbit | Operational | ||
| Flock-2p x 12 |
Planet Labs | Low Earth (SSO) | Earth observation | In orbit | Operational | ||
| 24 June 14:30:00 |
Atlas V 551 |
Cape Canaveral SLC-41 |
United Launch Alliance | ||||
| MUOS-5 |
US Navy | GSO (intended) GTO (achieved) |
Communications | In orbit | Wrong orbit[14] | ||
| 25 June 12:00:07 |
Long March 7 / YZ-1A |
Wenchang LC-2 |
CASC | ||||
| Next-generation crew capsule scale model |
CNSA | Low Earth | Technology/Test Flight | 26 June 07:41 | Successful | ||
| Star of Aoxiang |
NPU | Low Earth | Technology | In orbit | Operational | ||
| Aolong-1 |
Low Earth | Technology | In orbit | Operational | |||
| Tiange-1 |
Low Earth | Technology | In orbit | Operational | |||
| Tiange-2 |
Low Earth | Technology | In orbit | Operational | |||
| Maiden flight of the Long March 7 rocket and the first launch from the Wenchang Satellite Launch Center.[15] | |||||||
| 29 June 03:21:04 |
Long March 4B |
Jiuquan LA-4/SLS-2 |
CASC | ||||
| Shijian 16-02 |
CNSA | Low Earth | Technology | In orbit | Operational | ||
|
| |||||||
| 7 July 01:36:40 |
Soyuz-FG |
Baikonur Site 1/5 |
Roscosmos | ||||
| Soyuz MS-01 |
Roscosmos | Low Earth (ISS) | Expedition 48/49 | 30 October 3:58 | Successful | ||
| Manned flight with three cosmonauts. Maiden flight of the modernized Soyuz MS spacecraft variant. | |||||||
| 16 July 21:41:45 |
Soyuz-U |
Baikonur Site 31/6 |
Roscosmos | ||||
| Progress MS-03 |
Roscosmos | Low Earth (ISS) | ISS logistics | In orbit | Operational | ||
| 18 July 04:45:29 |
Falcon 9 Full Thrust |
Cape Canaveral SLC-40 |
SpaceX | ||||
| SpaceX CRS-9 |
NASA | Low Earth (ISS) | ISS logistics | 26 August 15:47 | Operational | ||
| Delivering the IDA-2 segment of the NASA Docking System. Second successful return to launch site and vertical landing of a first stage, demonstrated as part of a controlled descent test. | |||||||
| 28 July 12:37:00 |
Atlas V 421 |
Cape Canaveral SLC-41 |
United Launch Alliance | ||||
| USA-269 (Quasar NROL-61) |
NRO | GSO[16] | Communications | In orbit | Operational | ||
|
| |||||||
| 5 August 16:22:04 |
Long March 3B |
Xichang LA-3 |
CASC | ||||
| Tiantong-1 01 |
CAST | Geosynchronous | Communications | In orbit | Operational | ||
| 9 August 22:55:25 |
Long March 4C |
Taiyuan LC-9 |
CASC | ||||
| Gaofen-3 |
CAST | Low Earth (SSO) | Reconnaissance | In orbit | Operational | ||
| 14 August 05:26:00 |
Falcon 9 Full Thrust |
Cape Canaveral SLC-40 |
SpaceX | ||||
| JCSAT-16 |
JSAT | Geosynchronous | Communications | In orbit | Operational | ||
| 15 August 17:40:04 |
Long March 2D |
Jiuquan LA-4/SLS-2 |
CASC | ||||
| Quantum Experiments At Space Scale (QUESS)[17] |
CAS | Low Earth (SSO) | Technology | In orbit | Operational | ||
| Lixing-1 |
CAS | Low Earth (SSO) | Technology | In orbit | Operational | ||
 3Cat 2 |
UPC | Low Earth (SSO) | Technology | In orbit | Operational | ||
| 19 August 04:52:00 |
Delta IV M+ (4,2) |
Cape Canaveral SLC-37B |
United Launch Alliance | ||||
| AFSPC 6 / USA-270 / GSSAP #3 |
US Air Force | Geosynchronous | Space surveillance | In orbit | Operational | ||
| AFSPC 6 / USA-271 / GSSAP #4 |
US Air Force | Geosynchronous | Space surveillance | In orbit | Operational | ||
| 24 August 22:16:01 |
Ariane 5 ECA |
Kourou ELA-3 |
Arianespace | ||||
| Intelsat 33e |
Intelsat | Planned: Geosynchronous | Communications | In orbit | Orbit raising delayed due to thruster malfunction | ||
| Intelsat 36 |
Intelsat | Geosynchronous | Communications | In orbit | Operational | ||
| 31 August 18:50:00 |
Long March 4C |
Taiyuan LC-9 |
CASC | ||||
| Gaofen-10 |
CAST | Low Earth (SSO) | Reconnaissance | 31 August | Launch failure | ||
|
| |||||||
| 3 September 07:00–09:00 (scheduled) |
Falcon 9 Full Thrust |
Cape Canaveral SLC-40 |
SpaceX | ||||
 Amos-6 |
Spacecom | Planned: Geosynchronous | Communications | 13:07, September 1, 2016 (UTC)[18] | Destroyed prior to launch | ||
| Launch pad explosion destroyed both the rocket and the satellite two days prior to scheduled launch.[18] | |||||||
| 8 September 11:20:00 |
GSLV Mk II |
Satish Dhawan SLP |
ISRO | ||||
| INSAT-3DR |
ISRO | Geosynchronous | Meteorology | In orbit | Operational | ||
| 8 September 23:05:00 |
Atlas V 411 |
Cape Canaveral SLC-41 |
United Launch Alliance | ||||
| OSIRIS-REx |
NASA | Heliocentric | Asteroid sample return | In orbit | Operational | ||
| Will reach asteroid Bennu in August 2018 | |||||||
| 13 September 14:38:00 |
Shavit-2 |
Palmachim |
Israel Aerospace Industries | ||||
| Ofeq 11 |
Israel Defense Forces | Low Earth | Reconnaissance | In orbit | Satellite malfunction[19] | ||
| 15 September 14:04:12 |
Long March 2F/G |
Jiuquan LA-4/SLS-1 |
CNSA | ||||
| Tiangong-2 |
CNSA | Low Earth | Space station | In orbit | Operational | ||
| BanXing 2 |
SAST | Low Earth | Technology | In orbit | Operational | ||
| Second Chinese space laboratory, BanXing 2 deployed 22 October | |||||||
|
|
16 September 01:43:35 |
Vega |
Kourou ELV |
Arianespace | |||
 PeruSat-1 |
Peruvian Armed Forces | Low Earth (SSO) | Reconnaissance | In orbit | Operational | ||
| SkySat x 4 |
Terra Bella | Low Earth (SSO) | Earth observation | In orbit | Operational | ||
| 26 September 03:42:00 |
PSLV-G |
Satish Dhawan FLP |
ISRO | ||||
| ScatSat-1 |
ISRO | Low Earth (SSO) | Meteorology | In orbit | Operational | ||
| Pratham |
IIT Bombay | Low Earth (SSO) | Technology | In orbit | Operational | ||
| PISAT |
PES University | Low Earth (SSO) | Earth Observation | In orbit | Operational | ||
| BlackSky Pathfinder 1 |
BlackSky Global | Low Earth (SSO) | Earth Observation | In orbit | Operational | ||
 Alsat-1N |
Algerian Space Agency | Low Earth (SSO) | Earth Observation | In orbit | Operational | ||
| Alsat-1B |
Algerian Space Agency | Low Earth (SSO) | Earth Observation | In orbit | Operational | ||
| Alsat-2B |
Algerian Space Agency | Low Earth (SSO) | Earth Observation | In orbit | Operational | ||
| CanX-7 |
UTIAS Space Flight Laboratory | Low Earth (SSO) | Technology | In orbit | Operational | ||
|
| |||||||
| 5 October 20:30 |
Ariane 5 ECA |
Kourou ELA-3 |
Arianespace | ||||
 NBN-Co 1B / Sky Muster II |
NBN | Geosynchronous | Communications | In orbit | Operational | ||
| GSAT-18 |
ISRO | Geosynchronous | Communications | In orbit | Operational | ||
| 16 October 23:30 |
Long March 2F |
Jiuquan LA-4 / SLS-1 |
CNSA | ||||
| Shenzhou 11 |
CNSA | Low Earth | Docking with Tiangong-2 | In orbit | Operational | ||
| Crewed flight with two astronauts[20] | |||||||
| 17 October 23:45 |
Antares 230 |
MARS Pad 0A |
Orbital ATK | ||||
| Cygnus CRS OA-5 |
NASA | Low Earth (ISS) | ISS logistics | 26 November 23:36 | Successful | ||
| Lemur-2 x4 |
Spire Global | Low Earth | Earth Observation | In orbit | Operational | ||
| CubeSats to be deployed from the ISS and Cygnus spacecraft at a later date | |||||||
| 19 October 08:05 |
Soyuz-FG |
Baikonur Site 31/6 |
Roscosmos | ||||
| Soyuz MS-02 |
Roscosmos | Low Earth (ISS) | Expedition 49/50 | In orbit | Operational | ||
| Manned flight with three cosmonauts | |||||||
|
| |||||||
| 2 November 06:20:00 |
H-IIA 202 |
Tanegashima LA-Y1 |
MHI | ||||
| Himawari 9 |
JMA | Geosynchronous | Meteorology | In orbit | Operational | ||
| 3 November 12:42 |
Long March 5 |
Wenchang LC-1 |
CASC | ||||
| Shijian-17 |
CNSA | Geosynchronous | Technology | In orbit | Operational | ||
| Maiden flight of the Long March 5 rocket. Shijian-17 will be a test of electric propulsion. | |||||||
| 9 November 23:42 |
Long March 11 |
Jiuquan |
CASC | ||||
| XPNAV 1[21] |
CAS | Low Earth (SSO) | X-ray pulsar-based navigation | In orbit | Operational | ||
| Xiaoxiang 1[22] |
Changsha Gaoxinqu Tianyi Research Institute | Low Earth (SSO) | Stabilization technology | In orbit | Operational | ||
| 11 November 18:30 |
Atlas V 401 |
Vandenberg SLC-3E |
United Launch Alliance | ||||
| WorldView-4 |
DigitalGlobe | Low Earth (SSO) | Earth observation | In orbit | Operational | ||
| CELTEE 1 |
M42 Technologies | Low Earth (SSO) | Calibration | In orbit | Operational | ||
| Promethus-2 x2 |
LANL | Low Earth (SSO) | Technology | In orbit | Operational | ||
| AeroCube 8 x2 |
Aerospace | Low Earth (SSO) | Technology | In orbit | Operational | ||
| OptiCube 4 |
NASA Orbital Debris Program Office | Low Earth (SSO) | Calibration | In orbit | Operational | ||
| RAVAN |
JHU/APL | Low Earth (SSO) | Technology, Earth Observation | In orbit | Operational | ||
| CubeSats deployed after WorldView-4 separation as part of NRO-sponsored ENTERPRISE mission | |||||||
| 11 November 23:14 |
Long March 2D |
Jiuquan LA-4/SLS-2 |
CASC | ||||
| Yunhai-1 |
SAST | Low Earth | Earth observation | In orbit | Operational | ||
| 17 November 13:06:48 |
Ariane 5 ES |
Kourou ELA-3 |
Arianespace | ||||
| Galileo FOC 7 |
ESA | Medium Earth | Navigation | In orbit | Operational | ||
| Galileo FOC 12 |
ESA | Medium Earth | Navigation | In orbit | Operational | ||
| Galileo FOC 13 |
ESA | Medium Earth | Navigation | In orbit | Operational | ||
| Galileo FOC 14 |
ESA | Medium Earth | Navigation | In orbit | Operational | ||
| 17 November 20:20:14 |
Soyuz-FG |
Baikonur Site 1/5 |
Roscosmos | ||||
| Soyuz MS-03 |
Roscosmos | Low Earth (ISS) | Expedition 50/51 | In orbit | Operational | ||
| Manned flight with three cosmonauts | |||||||
| 19 November 23:42:00 |
Atlas V 541 |
Cape Canaveral SLC-41 |
United Launch Alliance | ||||
| GOES-R |
NASA / NOAA | Geosynchronous | Meteorology | In orbit | Operational | ||
| 22 November 15:24:04 |
Long March 3C |
Xichang |
CASC | ||||
| Tianlian I-04 |
CNSA | Geosynchronous | Communications | In orbit | Operational | ||
|
| |||||||
| 1 December 14:52 |
Soyuz-U |
Baikonur Site 1/5 |
Roscosmos | ||||
| Progress MS-04 |
Roscosmos | Planned: Low Earth (ISS) | ISS logistics | 1 December | Launch failure | ||
| 5 December 13:51:44 |
Vega |
Kourou ELV |
Arianespace | ||||
 Göktürk-1 |
Turkish Armed Forces | Planned: Low Earth (SSO) | Reconnaissance | ||||
| 7 December 04:54 |
PSLV-XL |
Satish Dhawan FLP |
ISRO | ||||
| Resourcesat-2A |
ISRO | Low Earth (SSO) | Remote sensing | ||||
| IITMSAT |
IIT Madras | Low Earth (SSO) | Ionospheric research | ||||
| Max Valier Sat |
"Max Valier" school Bolzano, "Oskar von Miller" school Merano, "Max Valier" amateur astronomy group in South Tyrol | Low Earth (SSO) | X-ray astronomy | ||||
| NIUSAT |
Noorul Islam University | Low Earth (SSO) | Earth observation | ||||
 Venta-1 |
Ventspils University College | Low Earth (SSO) | Ship tracking | ||||
| 7/8 December 23:53–00:42 |
Delta IV M+ (5,4) |
Cape Canaveral SLC-37B |
United Launch Alliance | ||||
| WGS-8 |
US Air Force | Planned: Geosynchronous | Communications | ||||
| 9 December 13:26 |
H-IIB |
Tanegashima LA-Y2 |
MHI | ||||
| HTV-6 |
JAXA | Planned: Low Earth (ISS) | ISS logistics | ||||
| EGG |
UTokyo | Planned: Low Earth | Technology/Re-entry Demonstration | ||||
| TuPOD |
GAUSS Srl | Planned: Low Earth | TubeSat Deployment/Amateur Radio | ||||
| / UBAKUSAT |
İTÜ/Kyutech | Planned: Low Earth | Technology | ||||
 / AOBA-VELOX 3 |
NTU/Kyutech | Planned: Low Earth | Technology | ||||
| STARS C |
Kagawa University | Planned: Low Earth | Technology | ||||
| FREEDOM |
Nakashimada Engineering Works/Tohoku University | Planned: Low Earth | Technology | ||||
| ITF 2 |
University of Tsukuba | Planned: Low Earth | Technology | ||||
| Waseda-SAT 3 |
Waseda University | Planned: Low Earth | Technology | ||||
| OSNSAT |
Open Space Network | Planned: Low Earth | Technology | ||||
 Tancredo 1 |
Escola Municipal Presidente Tancredo de Almeida Neves/INPE | Planned: Low Earth | Technology | ||||
| CubeSats to be deployed at a later date | |||||||
| 11 December | Long March 3B |
Xichang LA-3 |
CASC | ||||
| Fengyun 4A |
CMA | Planned: Geosynchronous | Meteorology | ||||
| 12 December 13:19–14:49 |
Pegasus-XL |
Stargazer, Cape Canaveral |
Orbital ATK | ||||
| CYGNSS x 8 |
NASA | Planned: Low Earth | Meteorology | ||||
| 16 December 18:22–20:22 |
Atlas V 431 |
Cape Canaveral SLC-41 |
United Launch Alliance | ||||
| EchoStar 19 |
HughesNet | Planned: Geosynchronous | Communications | ||||
| 16 December 20:36[23] |
Falcon 9 Full Thrust |
Vandenberg SLC-4E |
SpaceX | ||||
| Iridium NEXT 1-10 |
Iridium Communications | Planned: Low Earth | Communications | ||||
| 19 December | Long March 2D |
Jiuquan LA-4/SLS-2 |
CASC | ||||
| TanSat |
CAS | Planned: Low Earth (SSO) | Earth observation | ||||
| 20 December 11:00-12:00 |
Epsilon |
Uchinoura |
JAXA | ||||
| ERG |
JAXA | Planned: Medium Earth (elliptical) | Magnetospherics | ||||
| 20 December 20:30–21:45 |
Ariane 5 ECA |
Kourou ELA-3 |
Arianespace | ||||
| Star One D1 |
Star One | Planned: Geosynchronous | Communications | ||||
| JCSAT-15 |
JSAT | Planned: Geosynchronous | Communications | ||||
| 22 December 16:26:34 |
Proton-M / Briz-M |
Baikonur |
Khrunichev | ||||
| EchoStar 21 |
EchoStar | Planned: Geosynchronous | Communications | ||||
| 26 December | Long March 2D |
Taiyuan |
CASC | ||||
| Superview-1 |
Beijing Space View Technology | Planned: Low Earth (SSO) | Earth observation | ||||
| Superview-2 |
Beijing Space View Technology | Planned: Low Earth (SSO) | Earth observation | ||||
Suborbital flights
| Date and time (UTC) | Rocket | Launch site | LSP | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Payload | Operator | Orbit | Function | Decay (UTC) | Outcome | |
| Remarks | ||||||
| 15 January 03:00:00 |
S-310 |
Uchinoura |
JAXA | |||
|
TPU / TU / TU / KU / JAXA | Suborbital | Ionospheric research | 15 January | Successful | |
| Apogee: 161 kilometres (100 mi)[24] | ||||||
| 22 January | New Shepard |
Corn Ranch |
Blue Origin | |||
| New Shepard crew capsule |
Blue Origin | Suborbital | Test flight | 22 January | Successful | |
| Apogee: 101.7 kilometres (63.2 mi)[25] | ||||||
| 23 January 08:30 |
VSB-30 |
 Esrange |
EuroLaunch | |||
| / TEXUS-53 |
DLR / ESA | Suborbital | Microgravity | 23 January | Successful | |
| Apogee: 252 kilometres (157 mi) | ||||||
| 28 January | SRALT? |
C-17, Pacific Ocean |
MDA | |||
| MDA | Suborbital | ABM target | 28 January | Successful | ||
| Apogee: 300 kilometres (190 mi), CTV-02+ target | ||||||
| 28 January | Ground Based Interceptor |
Vandenberg LF-23 |
MDA | |||
| MDA | Suborbital | ABM test | 28 January | Successful | ||
| CTV-02+, successful test flight, the CE-II kill vehicle performed scripted maneuvers to demonstrate performance of alternate divert thrusters. Upon entering terminal phase, the kill vehicle initiated a planned burn sequence to evaluate the alternate divert thrusters until fuel was exhausted, intentionally precluding an intercept. | ||||||
| 2 February 21:09 |
VS-30 |
Esrange |
SSC | |||
| SPIDER/LEEWAVES |
SSC | Suborbital | Technology | 2 February | Successful | |
| Apogee: 138 kilometres (86 mi) | ||||||
| 21 February 07:34 |
LGM-30G Minuteman III |
Vandenberg LF-09 |
US Air Force | |||
| US Air Force | Suborbital | Test flight | 21 February | Successful | ||
| GT217GM, Apogee: ~1,300 kilometres (810 mi) ? | ||||||
| 22 February 04:15 |
Black Brant IX |
White Sands |
NASA | |||
| CHESS-2 |
LASP | Suborbital | Astronomy | 22 February | Successful | |
| Apogee: 309 kilometres (192 mi) | ||||||
| 26 February 07:01 |
LGM-30G Minuteman III |
Vandenberg LF-10 |
US Air Force | |||
| US Air Force | Suborbital | Test flight | 26 February | Successful | ||
| GT218GM, Apogee: ~1,300 kilometres (810 mi) ? | ||||||
| 1 March 14:50 |
Terrier Malemute |
Wallops Island |
NASA | |||
| MUSIC |
West Virginia University | Suborbital | Technology experiments | 1 March | Successful | |
| Apogee: ~185 kilometers (115 mi)[26] | ||||||
| 7 March 12:05 |
Terrier Orion |
Wallops Island |
NASA | |||
| SOAREX-9 |
NASA Ames | Suborbital | Technology experiment | 7 March | Successful | |
| RadPC |
Montana State University | Suborbital | Technology experiment | 7 March | Successful | |
| VIP |
Controlled Dynamics | Suborbital | Technology experiment | 7 March | Successful | |
| Apogee: ~159 kilometers (99 mi) | ||||||
| 14 March | UGM-133 Trident II D5 |
Submarine, ETR |
US Navy | |||
| US Navy | Suborbital | Missile test | 14 March | Successful | ||
| Follow-on Commander's Evaluation Test 52 | ||||||
| 15 March | UGM-133 Trident II D5 |
Submarine, ETR |
US Navy | |||
| US Navy | Suborbital | Missile test | 15 March | Successful | ||
| Follow-on Commander's Evaluation Test 52 | ||||||
| 16 March | UGM-133 Trident II D5 |
Submarine, ETR |
US Navy | |||
| US Navy | Suborbital | Missile test | 16 March | Successful | ||
| Follow-on Commander's Evaluation Test 52 | ||||||
| 2 April 15:18 |
New Shepard |
Corn Ranch |
Blue Origin | |||
| New Shepard crew capsule |
Blue Origin | Suborbital | Test flight | 2 April | Successful | |
| BORE |
Southwest Research Institute | Suborbital | Microgravity experiment | 2 April | Successful | |
| COLLIDE |
University of Central Florida | Suborbital | Microgravity experiment | 2 April | Successful | |
| Apogee: 103.8 kilometers (64.5 mi). Third successful booster landing of the same rocket.[27] | ||||||
| 26 April 17:00 |
Tianying 3F |
Hainan |
CNSA | |||
| Kunpeng-1B |
CSSAR | Suborbital | Environment monitoring | 26 April | Successful | |
| Apogee: 316 kilometres (196 mi) | ||||||
| 18 May 00:45 |
VS-30/Improved Orion |
Woomera Test Range |
DSTO | |||
| HiFire-5B |
DSTO | Suborbital | Technology | 18 May | Successful | |
| Apogee: 278 kilometres (173 mi) | ||||||
| 18 May 07:02 |
MRBM-T3 |
Kauai |
MDA | |||
| MDA | Suborbital | Radar target | 18 May | Successful | ||
| Medium Range Ballistic Missile Target, Aegis radar target FTX-21, apogee: 300 kilometres (190 mi)? | ||||||
| 25 May | RIM-161 Standard Missile 3-IB |
USS Hopper, Kauai |
US Navy | |||
| US Navy | Suborbital | Test flight | 25 May | Successful | ||
| Apogee: 100 kilometres (62 mi)? | ||||||
| 26 May | RIM-161 Standard Missile 3-IB |
USS Hopper, Kauai |
US Navy | |||
| US Navy | Suborbital | Test flight | 26 May | Successful | ||
| Apogee: 100 kilometres (62 mi)? | ||||||
| 1 June 19:00 |
Black Brant IX |
White Sands |
NASA | |||
| EVE |
CU Boulder | Suborbital | SDO calibration | 1 June | Successful | |
| Apogee: 290 kilometres (180 mi) | ||||||
| 19 June 14:35 |
New Shepard |
Corn Ranch |
Blue Origin | |||
| New Shepard crew capsule |
Blue Origin | Suborbital | Test flight | 19 June | Successful | |
| Capillary Flow Experiment |
Purdue University School of Aeronautics and Astronautics | Suborbital | Microgravity experiment | 19 June | Successful | |
| EITIC |
Louisiana State University | Suborbital | Microgravity experiment | 19 June | Successful | |
| MEDEA |
Braunschweig University of Technology | Suborbital | Microgravity experiment | 19 June | Successful | |
| Apogee: 101 kilometers (62.8 mi). Fourth successful booster landing of the same rocket. | ||||||
| 24 June 10:06 |
Terrier Improved Orion |
Wallops Island |
NASA | |||
| RockOn/RockSat-C |
CU Boulder | Suborbital | Student experiments | 24 June | Successful | |
| Apogee: ~119 kilometres (74 mi) | ||||||
| 30 June 09:43 |
Improved Malemute |
 Andøya |
Andøya | |||
| MaxiDusty 1 |
Oslo/Andøya | Suborbital | Atmospheric Science | 30 June | Successful | |
| Apogee: 115 kilometres (71 mi) | ||||||
| 1 July 07:18 |
M51 |
Le Triomphant, Audierne Bay |
DGA/Marine nationale | |||
| DGA/Marine nationale | Suborbital | Test flight | 1 July | Successful | ||
| Apogee: 1,000 kilometres (620 mi)? | ||||||
| 8 July 13:01 |
Improved Malemute |
Andøya |
Andøya | |||
| MaxiDusty 1b |
Oslo/Andøya | Suborbital | Atmospheric Science | 8 July | Successful | |
| Apogee: 117 kilometres (73 mi) | ||||||
| 19 July 04:05 |
Terrier Improved Orion |
Esrange |
DLR | |||
| ROTEX-T |
DLR | Suborbital | Technology | 19 July | Successful | |
| Apogee: 182 kilometres (113 mi) | ||||||
| 27 July 18:26 |
Black Brant IX |
White Sands |
NASA | |||
| Hi-C |
NASA/MSFC | Suborbital | Solar research | 27 July | Spacecraft failure | |
| Apogee: 250 kilometres (160 mi) | ||||||
| 17 August 11:33 |
Terrier-Improved Malemute |
Wallops Island |
NASA | |||
| Rocksat-X |
University of Colorado Boulder | Suborbital | Student Research | 17 August | Successful | |
| Apogee: ~153 kilometres (95 mi) | ||||||
| 25 August | RS-24 Yars? |
Plesetsk |
RVSN | |||
| RVSN | Suborbital | Missile test | 25 August | Launch failure | ||
| 31 August | UGM-133 Trident II D5 |
USS Maryland, ETR |
US Navy | |||
| US Navy | Suborbital | Missile test | 31 August | Successful | ||
| 5 September 09:10 |
LGM-30G Minuteman III |
Vandenberg LF-04 |
US Air Force | |||
| US Air Force | Suborbital | Test flight | 5 September | Successful | ||
| GT219GM, Apogee: ~1,300 kilometres (810 mi) ? | ||||||
| 9 September | RS-12M Topol |
Plesetsk |
RVSN | |||
| RVSN | Suborbital | Missile test | 9 September | Successful | ||
| 27 September | RSM-56 Bulava |
K-535 Yury Dolgorukiy, White Sea |
VMF | |||
| VMF | Suborbital | Missile test | 27 September | Successful | ||
| 27 September | RSM-56 Bulava |
K-535 Yury Dolgorukiy, White Sea |
VMF | |||
| VMF | Suborbital | Missile test | 27 September | Launch failure? | ||
| The second missile self destroyed "after completing the first phase of the flight", maybe intentional. It appears to be a normal practice in salvo launches. The missile probably carried mockups instead of working upper stages and warheads to save money. | ||||||
| 5 October 15:37 |
New Shepard |
Corn Ranch |
Blue Origin | |||
| New Shepard crew capsule |
Blue Origin | Suborbital | Test flight | 5 October | Successful | |
| In-flight escape test 45 seconds after launch. Booster unexpectedly survived and reached an apogee of 93.7 kilometres (58.2 mi) before completing its fifth successful landing. | ||||||
| 12 October | R-29R Volna |
K-433 Svyatoy Georgiy Pobedonosets, Sea of Okhotsk |
VMF | |||
| VMF | Suborbital | Missile test | 12 October | Successful | ||
| 12 October | R-29RMU Sineva |
K-407 Novomoskovsk, Barents Sea |
VMF | |||
| VMF | Suborbital | Missile test | 12 October | Successful | ||
| 12 October | RS-12M Topol |
Plesetsk |
RVSN | |||
| RVSN | Suborbital | Missile test | 12 October | Successful | ||
Deep space rendezvous
 |
Wikinews has related news: NASA's Juno spacecraft enters Jupiter orbit |
| Date (UTC) | Spacecraft | Event | Remarks |
|---|---|---|---|
| 14 January | Mars Express | Flyby of Phobos | Closest approach: 53 kilometres (33 mi).[28] |
| 15 January[29] | Cassini | 116th flyby of Titan | Closest approach: 3,817 kilometres (2,372 mi). |
| 31 January | Cassini | 117th flyby of Titan | Closest approach: 1,400 kilometres (870 mi). |
| 16 February | Cassini | 118th flyby of Titan | Closest approach: 1,018 kilometres (633 mi). |
| 4 April | Cassini | 119th flyby of Titan | Closest approach: 990 kilometres (615 mi). |
| 6 May | Cassini | 120th flyby of Titan | Closest approach: 971 kilometres (603 mi). |
| 7 June | Cassini | 121st flyby of Titan | Closest approach: 975 kilometres (606 mi). |
| 4 July | Juno | Jovicentric orbit injection. | First solar-powered Jovian probe (2nd orbiter) |
| 4 July | Mars Express | Flyby of Phobos | Closest approach: 350 kilometres (220 mi). |
| 25 July | Cassini | 122nd flyby of Titan | Closest approach: 976 kilometres (606 mi). |
| 10 August | Cassini | 123rd flyby of Titan | Closest approach: 1,599 kilometres (994 mi). |
| 27 August | Juno | 1st perijove of Jupiter | Closest approach: 2,600 kilometres (1,600 mi).[30] |
| 26 September | Cassini | 124th flyby of Titan | Closest approach: 1,737 kilometres (1,079 mi). |
| 30 September | Rosetta | Landing on 67P/Churyumov–Gerasimenko | Probe was programmed to deactivate its thrusters and radio transmissions after landing. |
| 19 October | Trace Gas Orbiter (ExoMars 2016) | Areocentric orbit injection | |
| 19 October | Schiaparelli (ExoMars 2016) | Landing on Mars, Meridiani Planum | Probe entered Martian atmosphere intact, but contact was lost 50 seconds before expected landing.[31] NASA's MRO later identified the Schiaparelli crash site, confirming the loss of the lander.[32] |
| 19 October | Juno | 2nd perijove of Jupiter | Period Reduction Maneuver[33] originally planned, but delayed due to valve issues.[34] |
| 13 November | Cassini | 125th flyby of Titan | Closest approach: 1,582 kilometres (983 mi). |
| 16 November | Mars Express | Flyby of Phobos | Closest approach: 127 kilometres (79 mi). |
| 29 November | Cassini | 126th flyby of Titan | Closest approach: 3,223 kilometres (2,003 mi). |
| 11 December | Juno | 3rd perijove of Jupiter | Period Reduction Maneuver[34] |
Extra-Vehicular Activities (EVAs)
| Start Date/Time | Duration | End Time | Spacecraft | Crew | Remarks |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 15 January 13:48 |
4 hours 43 minutes | 18:31 | Expedition 46 ISS Quest |
Replaced a failed voltage regulator responsible for shutting down one of the station's eight power channels in November 2015, and routed cables in support of the installation of the International Docking Adaptor. EVA terminated two hours early due to water leakage in Kopra's helmet, but the primary task was accomplished.[35] | |
| 3 February 12:55 |
4 hours 45 minutes | 17:40 | Expedition 46 ISS Pirs |
Deployed a commemorative flash drive, took samples of module exteriors, installed handrails for use in future EVAs, retrieved an astrobiology experiment, deployed a materials science experiment, and tested a tool for applying coatings to module exteriors.[36] | |
| 19 August 12:04 |
5 hours 58 minutes | 18:02 | Expedition 48 ISS Quest |
The astronauts installed the International Docking Adapter (IDA) which was delivered by Dragon CRS-9, allowing future commercial crew spacecraft to dock with the station. This first IDA was attached to Harmony's forward port, over the existing Pressurized Mating Adapter (PMA).[37][38] The EVA terminated after completing the primary objective, without completing the secondary objectives, due to a malfunction of the right earphone of Jeff Williams. | |
| 1 September 11:53 |
6 hours 48 minutes | 18:41 | Expedition 48 ISS Quest |
The crew retracted a thermal radiator which is a backup, and then installed the first pair of several High Definition cameras to monitor the traffic around the station. Then they have performed some maintenance operations.[39] |
Space debris events
| Date/Time (UTC) | Source object | Event type | Pieces tracked | Remarks |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 26 March 01:42[40] | Hitomi | Satellite breakup | 10[41] | JAXA lost communications with the freshly launched telescope during its early commissioning phase. Meanwhile, JspOC observed 5 then 10 pieces of debris diverging from the satellite, one of them comparably sized to the main spacecraft by radar signature.[42]
Hitomi itself went into a tumble and sent short intermittent communications. As of 18 April 2016, the investigation into the root cause of the incident was ongoing. Collision with already-tracked space debris has been ruled out.[40] Multiple incidents in the spacecraft's attitude control system resulted in an excessive spin rate and breakup of structurally weak elements.[43] In a twist of fate, one of the secondary payloads traveling with Hitomi was ChubuSat-3, a microsatellite dedicated to monitoring global warming effects and space debris.[44] |
| 1 June 09:20 [45] | SL-12 R/B (#33473) | Booster breakup | 20+ [45] | An ullage motor, part of a Russian Proton-M rocket that was launched in December 2008, exploded for unknown reasons.[46] |
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 | 18 | 1 | 0 | ||
| Europe | 7 | 7 | 0 | 0 | ||
| India | 6 | 6 | 0 | 0 | ||
| Israel | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | ||
| Japan | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | ||
| North Korea | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | ||
| Russia | 19 | 18 | 1 | 0 | Includes 2 Soyuz launches from Kourou | |
| United States | 20 | 19 | 1 | 0 | ||
| World | 75 | 72 | 3 | 0 | ||
By rocket
By family
| Family | Country | Launches | Successes | Failures | Partial failures | Remarks |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Antares | United States | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | |
| Ariane | Europe | 6 | 6 | 0 | 0 | |
| Atlas | United States | 7 | 7 | 0 | 0 | |
| Delta | United States | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | |
| Falcon | United States | 9 | 8 | 1 | 0 | |
| H-II | Japan | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | |
| Long March | China | 19 | 18 | 1 | 0 | |
| R-7 | Russia | 14 | 13 | 1 | 0 | |
| SLV | India | 6 | 6 | 0 | 0 | |
| Shavit | Israel | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | |
| Unha | North Korea | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | |
| Universal Rocket | Russia | 5 | 5 | 0 | 0 | |
| Vega | Europe | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | |
By type
| Rocket | Country | Family | Launches | Successes | Failures | Partial failures | Remarks |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Antares 200 | United States | Antares | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | Maiden Flight |
| Ariane 5 | Europe | Ariane | 6 | 6 | 0 | 0 | |
| Atlas V | United States | Atlas | 7 | 7 | 0 | 0 | |
| Delta IV | United States | Delta | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | |
| Falcon 9 | United States | Falcon | 9 | 8 | 1 | 0 | |
| GSLV | India | SLV | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | |
| H-IIA | Japan | H-II | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | |
| Long March 2 | China | Long March | 6 | 6 | 0 | 0 | |
| Long March 3 | China | Long March | 6 | 6 | 0 | 0 | |
| Long March 4 | China | Long March | 4 | 3 | 1 | 0 | |
| Long March 5 | China | Long March | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | Maiden flight |
| Long March 7 | China | Long March | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | Maiden flight |
| Long March 11 | China | Long March | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | |
| Proton | Russia | Universal Rocket | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | |
| PSLV | India | SLV | 5 | 5 | 0 | 0 | |
| Shavit | Israel | Shavit | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | |
| Soyuz | Russia | R-7 | 6 | 5 | 1 | 0 | |
| Soyuz-2 | Russia | R-7 | 8 | 8 | 0 | 0 | |
| Unha | North Korea | Unha | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | |
| UR-100 | Russia | Universal Rocket | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | |
| Vega | Europe | Vega | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | |
By configuration
| Rocket | Country | Type | Launches | Successes | Failures | Partial failures | Remarks |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Antares 230 | United States | Antares 200 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | Maiden Flight |
| Ariane 5 ECA | Europe | Ariane 5 | 5 | 5 | 0 | 0 | |
| Ariane 5 ES | Europe | Ariane 5 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | |
| Atlas V 401 | United States | Atlas V | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | |
| Atlas V 411 | United States | Atlas V | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | |
| Atlas V 421 | United States | Atlas V | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | |
| Atlas V 541 | United States | Atlas V | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | |
| Atlas V 551 | United States | Atlas V | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | |
| Delta IV Medium+ (4,2) | United States | Delta IV | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | |
| Delta IV Medium+ (5,2) | United States | Delta IV | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | |
| Delta IV Heavy | United States | Delta IV | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | |
| Falcon 9 v1.1 | United States | Falcon 9 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | Final flight |
| Falcon 9 Full Thrust | United States | Falcon 9 | 8 | 7 | 1 | 0 | |
| GSLV Mk II | India | GSLV | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | |
| H-IIA 202 | Japan | H-IIA | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | |
| Long March 2D | China | Long March 2 | 4 | 4 | 0 | 0 | |
| Long March 2F/G | China | Long March 2 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | |
| Long March 3A | China | Long March 3 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | |
| Long March 3B/E | China | Long March 3 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | |
| Long March 3C | China | Long March 3 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | |
| Long March 3C / YZ-1 | China | Long March 3 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | |
| Long March 4B | China | Long March 4 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | |
| Long March 4C | China | Long March 4 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | |
| Long March 5 | China | Long March 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Maiden flight |
| Long March 7 / YZ-1A | China | Long March 7 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | Maiden flight |
| Long March 11 | China | Long March | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | |
| Proton-M / Briz-M | Russia | Proton | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | |
| PSLV-G | India | PSLV | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | |
| PSLV-XL | India | PSLV | 4 | 4 | 0 | 0 | |
| Rokot / Briz-KM | Russia | UR-100 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | |
| Shavit-2 | Israel | Shavit | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | |
| Soyuz 2.1a or STA | Russia | Soyuz-2 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | |
| Soyuz 2.1a / Fregat | Russia | Soyuz-2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | |
| Soyuz 2.1a / Volga | Russia | Soyuz-2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | Maiden flight |
| Soyuz 2.1b or STB | Russia | Soyuz-2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | |
| Soyuz 2.1b / Fregat | Russia | Soyuz-2 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | |
| Soyuz-FG | Russia | Soyuz | 4 | 4 | 0 | 0 | |
| Soyuz-U | Russia | Soyuz | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | |
| Unha | North Korea | Unha | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | |
| Vega | Europe | Vega | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | |
By spaceport
| Site | Country | Launches | Successes | Failures | Partial failures | Remarks |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Baikonur | Kazakhstan | 11 | 10 | 1 | 0 | |
| Cape Canaveral | United States | 16 | 15 | 1 | 0 | |
| Jiuquan | China | 8 | 8 | 0 | 0 | |
| Kourou | France | 9 | 9 | 0 | 0 | |
| MARS | United States | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | |
| Palmachim | Israel | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | |
| Plesetsk | Russia | 5 | 5 | 0 | 0 | |
| Satish Dhawan | India | 6 | 6 | 0 | 0 | |
| Sohae | North Korea | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | |
| Taiyuan | China | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | |
| Tanegashima | Japan | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | |
| Vandenberg | United States | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | |
| Vostochny | Russia | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | First launch |
| Wenchang | China | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | First launch |
| Xichang | China | 6 | 6 | 0 | 0 | |
By orbit
| Orbital regime | Launches | Achieved | Not achieved | Accidentally achieved |
Remarks |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Transatmospheric | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| Low Earth | 37 | 36 | 1 | 0 | Including 10 to ISS (+1 failed) |
| Geosynchronous / transfer | 29 | 26 | 3 | 0 | MUOS-5 stuck in GTO[14] |
| Medium Earth | 7 | 7 | 0 | 0 | |
| High Earth | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| Heliocentric orbit | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | Including planetary transfer orbits |
References
|
Generic references:
|
Footnotes
- ↑
- ↑ Payer, Markus (30 August 2016). "Leading satellite operator will be world's first company to launch a geostationary satellite on a reusable rocket in Q4 2016" (Press release). SES S.A. Retrieved 30 August 2016.
- ↑ Chang, Kenneth (19 October 2016). "ExoMars Mission to Join Crowd of Spacecraft at Mars". New York Times. Retrieved 19 October 2016.
- 1 2 Chang, Kenneth (14 March 2016). "Mars Mission Blasts Off From Kazakhstan". The New York Times. Retrieved 14 March 2016.
- ↑ Clark, Steven (17 May 2016). "Japanese orbiter officially begins science mission at Venus". Spaceflight Now.
- ↑ Clark, Stephen (2 July 2016). "Scientists to land, and switch off, Rosetta comet probe in September". Spaceflight Now. Retrieved 5 July 2016.
- ↑ Gannon, Megan (30 September 2016). "Goodbye, Rosetta! Spacecraft Crash-Lands on Comet in Epic Mission Finale". Space.com. Retrieved 1 October 2016.
- ↑ https://twitter.com/SpaceX/status/688834952293519360
- ↑ http://www.cbc.ca/news/world/north-korea-satellite-1.3430137
- ↑ http://global.jaxa.jp/press/2016/04/20160428_hitomi.html
- ↑ King, Bob (24 March 2016). "ExoMars Mission Narrowly Avoids Exploding Booster". Universe Today. Retrieved 26 March 2016.
- ↑ "Atlas V OA-6 Anomaly Status". United Launch Alliance. 31 March 2016. Retrieved 31 March 2016.
- ↑ Barbosa, Rui C. (29 May 2016). "Chinese Long March 4B lofts satellites for Ziyuan-3 and Aleph-1 programs". NASASpaceflight.com.
- 1 2 Covault, Craig (27 July 2016). "Top-Secret NRO-61 Relay Set for Liftoff Thursday as MUOS-5 Finally Climbing to Orbit". AmericaSpace. Retrieved 31 July 2016.
- ↑ "长征七号首飞成功 携带多用途飞船缩比返回舱". Sina.com (in Chinese). Retrieved 25 June 2016.
- ↑ "NROL-61 satellite launched Thursday spotted in space by sky-watchers". Spaceflight Now. 30 July 2016.
- ↑ Jeffrey Lin; P.W. Singer; John Costello (3 March 2016). "CHINA'S QUANTUM SATELLITE COULD CHANGE CRYPTOGRAPHY FOREVER". Popular Science. Retrieved 12 March 2016.
- 1 2 Malik, Tariq (September 1, 2016). "Launchpad Explosion Destroys SpaceX Falcon 9 Rocket, Satellite in Florida". Space.com. Retrieved September 1, 2016.
- ↑ Graham, William (13 September 2016). "Israel launches Ofek spy satellite – officials confirm malfunctions". nasaspaceflight.com. Retrieved 19 September 2016.
- ↑ Huang, Jin (8 March 2016). "Why will Shenzhou-11 carry only two astronauts to space?". People's Daily Online. Retrieved 10 March 2016.
- ↑ Krebs, Gunter. "XPNAV 1". Gunter's Space Page. Retrieved 2016-11-01.
- ↑ Krebs, Gunter. "Xiaoxiang 1". Gunter's Space Page. Retrieved 2016-11-01.
- ↑ Iridium Announces Date for First Iridium NEXT Launch, 1 December 2016
- ↑ 観測ロケットS-310-44号機 打上げ結果について (in Japanese). JAXA. 15 January 2016. Retrieved 15 January 2015.
- ↑ Berger, Brian (23 January 2016). "Launch. Land. Repeat: Blue Origin posts video of New Shepard's Friday flight". Space News.
- ↑ Koehler, Keith (1 March 2016). "MUSIC Successfully Launched from NASA Wallops". NASA.
- ↑ Foust, Jeff (2 April 2016). "Blue Origin flies New Shepard on suborbital test flight". Space News.
- ↑ http://blogs.esa.int/mex/2016/01/13/skimming-phobos/
- ↑ "Cassini Solstice Mission: Saturn Tour Dates: 2016". saturn.jpl.nasa.gov. Jet Propulsion Laboratory. Retrieved 6 September 2015.
- ↑ Agle, D. C.; Brown, Dwayne; Cantillo, Laurie (August 27, 2016). "NASA's Juno Successfully Completes Jupiter Flyby". NASA. Retrieved October 1, 2016.
- ↑ http://www.cbsnews.com/news/esa-mars-lander-schiaparelli-failed-soft-landing-data-sent-back/
- ↑ http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-3860332/Missing-European-craft-crashed-Mars-Nasa-orbiter-spots-Schiaparelli-s-impact-site.html
- ↑ Lakdawalla, Emily (June 9, 2016). "What to expect from JunoCam at Jupiter". Planetary.org. Retrieved October 1, 2016.
- 1 2 http://www.planetary.org/blogs/emily-lakdawalla/2016/10161412-juno-to-delay-planned-burn.html
- ↑ https://blogs.nasa.gov/spacestation/2016/01/15/spacewalk-ends-early-after-water-detected-in-helmet/
- ↑ https://blogs.nasa.gov/spacestation/2016/02/03/second-spacewalk-of-year-complete/
- ↑ "Spacewalk Concludes After Commercial Crew Port Installation". NASA. 19 August 2016.
- ↑ "First Commercial Crew Docking Port established aboard ISS in challenging Spacewalk". Spaceflight101. 19 August 2016.
- ↑ http://www.nasa.gov/press-release/nasa-tv-to-air-us-spacewalk-briefing
- 1 2 Gruss, Mike (29 March 2016). "U.S. Air Force: No evidence malfunctioning Japanese satellite was hit by debris". Space News. Retrieved 5 April 2016.
- ↑ JSpOC (1 April 2016). "10 pieces from Astro-H break-up is posted on @SpaceTrackOrg. 41337 was amended to match the largest piece. The former 41337 is now 41442." (Tweet). Retrieved 13 April 2016 – via Twitter.
- ↑ "New Orbital Data & Observations Dim Hopes for Japanese Hitomi Spacecraft". Spaceflight101. 2 April 2016. Retrieved 5 April 2016.
- ↑ Clark, Stephen (18 April 2016). "Attitude control failures led to break-up of Japanese astronomy satellite". Spaceflight Now. Retrieved 21 April 2016.
- ↑ "ChubuSat Instrument Development Project / About ChubuSat-3 Satellite". Nagoya University. 13 April 2016. Retrieved 13 April 2016.
- 1 2 JSpOC (2 June 2016). "Breakup Notification: SL-12 R/B (#33473) @ 0920-0930z on 1Jun16. 20+ associated pieces. No indication of collision. @SpaceTrackOrg." (Tweet). Retrieved 16 June 2016 – via Twitter.
- ↑ "Russian Ullage rocket engine explodes in space". Spaceflight Insider. 4 June 2016. Retrieved 16 June 2016.
| Timeline of spaceflight | ||||||||||
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| 1940s | 1944 | 1945 | 1946 | 1947 | 1948 | 1949 | ||||
| 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 |
2016 in space | ||
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| Spacecraft launches |
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| Selected NEOs | ||
| Planets | ||
| Space exploration | ||
| Miscellaneous | ||
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