Timeline of first orbital launches by nationality

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This is a timeline of first orbital launches by nationality. While a number of countries have built satellites, only eight nations and the multi-national European Space Agency have sent objects into orbit using their own launch systems. In all cases, unmanned satellites have preceded manned launches.

The race to launch the first satellite was closely contested by the Soviet Union and the United States and was the beginning of the Space Race. Satellite launching, while still adding to national prestige, has become a significant economic activity with public and private rocket systems competing for launches using cost and reliability as selling points.

1 List of first orbital launches by country
2 Not included
3 Notes
4 See also
5 References

[edit] List of first orbital launches by country

Country	Satellite	Rocket	Location	Date
1950s
Soviet Union	Sputnik 1	R-7 Semyorka	Baikonur Cosmodrome, Soviet Union (today Kazakhstan)	October 4, 1957
United States	Explorer 1	Jupiter-C	Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, United States	January 31, 1958
1960s
France	Astérix	Diamant	Hammaguir, Algeria	November 26, 1965
1970s
Japan	Ōsumi	Lambda	Tanegashima Space Center, Japan	February 11, 1970
People's Republic of China	Dong Fang Hong I	Long March	Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center, China	April 24, 1970
United Kingdom	Prospero X-3	Black Arrow	Woomera, Australia	October 28, 1971
European Space Agency ^[1]	CAT 1	Ariane 1	Guiana Space Centre, French Guiana	December 24, 1979
1980s
India	Rohini 1	SLV	Satish Dhawan Space Centre, India	July 18, 1980
Israel	Ofeq 1	Shavit	Palmachim Air Force Base, Israel	September 19, 1988

[edit] Not included

Australia launched its first satellite on November 29, 1967; however, they used a donated American Redstone rocket, not their own launcher.
Brazil's space programme suffered three satellite launch failures, with a last attempt in 2003.
Iraq is sometimes credited with a satellite launch in 1989, but its Tamouz rocket flight does not appear to have had a satellite or to have been an orbital launch.
North Korea claimed to have launched the Kwangmyŏngsŏng satellite in 1998, but this was never confirmed, and widely believed to be a cover for the test launch of the Taepodong-1 missile.

[edit] Notes

¹ The multi-national European Space Agency is counted as a single entity.

[edit] See also

Timeline of astronauts by nationality

v • d • e Space Exploration Lists and Timelines
Timeline of spaceflight • List of human spaceflight programs • List of human spaceflights • List of space travelers • List of astronauts by name • List of astronauts by selection • Timeline of astronauts by nationality • List of Apollo astronauts • List of NASA missions • List of spacewalks and moonwalks • List of Space Shuttle missions • Timeline of Space Shuttle missions • Space Shuttle crews • List of Mir Expeditions • List of Mir visiting spacecrafts and crews • List of Mir spacewalks • List of manned spaceflights to the ISS • List of ISS Expeditions • List of ISS visitors • List of ISS spacewalks • List of unmanned spaceflights to the ISS • List of Chinese spaceflights• List of Constellation missions
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List of space exploration milestones, 1957-1969 • Space firsts • Spaceflight records • Timeline of first orbital launches by nationality • Timeline of Solar System exploration • Timeline of the Space Race
List of manned spacecraft • List of unmanned spacecraft by program • List of spacecraft • List of launch vehicles • Timeline of rocket and missile technology • List of space agencies • List of private spaceflight companies