2009 in spaceflight

2009 in spaceflight

The Hubble Space Telescope was serviced for the last time during the STS-125 mission
Orbital launches
First	18 January
Last	29 December
Total	78
Successes	73
Failures	4
Partial failures	1
Catalogued	75
National firsts
Spaceflight	New Zealand
Satellite	Switzerland[1]
Orbital launch	Iran[2]
Rockets
Maiden flights	Delta IV-M+ (5,4) H-IIB Naro-1 Taurus-XL 3110
Retirements	Ariane 5GS Falcon 1 Tsyklon-3
Manned flights
Orbital	9
Total travellers	46

Timeline of spaceflight
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
Future deep-space rendezvous

Several significant events in spaceflight occurred in 2009, including Iran conducting its first indigenous orbital launch, the first Swiss satellite being launched and New Zealand launching its first sounding rocket. The H-IIB and Naro-1 rockets conducted maiden flights, whilst the Tsyklon-3, Falcon 1 and Ariane 5GS were retired from service.^[3][4] The permanent crew of the International Space Station increased from three to six in May, and in the last few months of the year, Japan's first resupply mission to the outpost, HTV-1, was conducted successfully.

Overview

The internationally accepted definition of a spaceflight is any flight which crosses the Kármán line, 100 kilometres above sea level. The first spaceflight launch of the year was that of a Delta IV Heavy, carrying the USA-202 ELINT satellite, which launched from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station at 02:47 GMT on 18 January. This was also the first orbital launch of the year.

On 2 February Iran conducted its first successful orbital launch,^[2] when a Safir was used to place the Omid satellite into low Earth orbit.

At 16:56 GMT on 10 February, the first major collision between two satellites in orbit occurred, resulting in the destruction of Kosmos 2251 and Iridium 33, launched in 1993 and 1997 respectively. Up until the collision, Iridium 33 was operational, and an active part of the Iridium network of satellites, whilst Kosmos 2251 was an inactive piece of space junk.

On 25 August, the Russo- South Korean Naro-1 rocket made its maiden flight on 25 August, marking South Korea's first involvement in conducting a satellite launch attempt, however the rocket failed to reach orbit after its payload fairing malfunctioned.

The first flight of the SpaceX Falcon 9 carrier rocket was scheduled to occur in November, but was delayed to February 2010 to allow more time for preparations. The SpaceX Dragon, a commercial unmanned logistics spacecraft which was developed as part of NASA's COTS programme, was also scheduled to make its first flight in 2009, however its launch has also slipped to 2010 as a result of knock-on delays. The first H-II Transfer Vehicle, HTV-1, was successfully launched on the maiden flight of the H-IIB carrier rocket on 10 September. The first Swiss satellite, SwissCube-1, was launched on 23 September aboard a PSLV.

On 18 December, the Ariane 5GS made its final flight, delivering the Helios-IIB satellite into a sun-synchronous orbit. The last orbital launch of the year was conducted eleven days later, on 29 December, when a Proton-M with a Briz-M upper stage launched the DirecTV-12 satellite.

Space exploration

Although no planetary probes were launched in 2009, four astronomical observatories were placed into orbit. The Kepler spacecraft, which was launched by a Delta II on 7 March, entered an Earth-trailing heliocentric orbit from where it will search for exoplanets. On 14 May, and Ariane 5ECA launched the Herschel and Planck spacecraft. Both were placed at the L₂ Lagrangian point between the Earth and Sun, from where they will be used for astronomy. Herschel carries an infrared telescope whilst Planck carries an optical one. The fourth observatory to be launched was the Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer, or WISE, which is a replacement for the Wide Field Infrared Explorer which failed shortly after launch. WISE was launched into a sun-synchronous orbit by a Delta II on 14 December, and will be used for infrared astronomy. Repairs made to the Hubble Space Telescope during STS-125 restored it to full operations after a series of malfunctions in 2008.

Two lunar probes were launched in 2009; the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter and Lunar Crater Observation and Sensing Satellite were launched on a single Atlas V rocket on 18 June. LRO entered selenocentric orbit and began a series of experiments, whilst LCROSS remained attached to the Centaur upper stage of the carrier rocket, and flew past the Moon. After orbiting the Earth twice, LCROSS separated from the upper stage and both it and the Centaur impacted the Cabeus crater at the South Pole of the Moon, on 9 October. By observing the Centaur's impact, LCROSS was able to confirm the presence of water on the Moon.^[5] Several other Lunar probes ceased operations in 2009; Okina impacted the far side of the Moon on 12 February, Chang'e 1 was deorbited on 1 March, having completed its operations. Kaguya was also deorbited following a successful mission, impacting near Gill crater on 12 June. The Chandrayaan-1 spacecraft failed on 29 August, having operated for less than half of its design life.

The Mars Science Laboratory and Fobos-Grunt missions to Mars had been scheduled for launch at the end of 2009, however both were delayed to 2011 to allow more time for the spacecraft to be developed. Fobos-Grunt, a sample return mission to Mars' natural satellite Phobos, would have carried the first Chinese planetary probe, Yinghuo-1.

Several flybys occurred in 2009, with Cassini continuing to orbit Saturn, passing close to a number of its natural satellites. In February, Dawn passed within 549 kilometres (341 mi) of Mars, during a gravity assist manoeuvre for its journey to the asteroid belt. In September, MESSENGER made its third and final flyby of Mercury before entering orbit in 2011. Whilst the primary objective of the flyby, achieving a gravitational assist, was successful, the spacecraft entered safe mode shortly before its closest approach, which prevented it recording data as it flew away from the planet.^[6] In November, the Rosetta spacecraft performed its third and final gravity assist flyby of Earth.

Manned spaceflight

Nine manned launches occurred in 2009, the most since 1997. STS-119, using Space Shuttle Discovery, was launched on 15 March. It installed the last set of solar arrays on the International Space Station. Soyuz TMA-14, the 100th manned Soyuz launch, delivered the Expedition 19 crew in March. In May, Space Shuttle Atlantis conducted the final mission to service the Hubble Space Telescope, STS-125. Several days later, Soyuz TMA-15 launched with the ISS Expedition 20 crew, brought the total ISS crew size up to six for the first time. This was also the 100th manned spaceflight of the Soyuz programme, excluding the original Soyuz T-10 mission which failed to reach space. In July, Space Shuttle Endeavour delivered the final component of the Japanese Experiment Module on mission STS-127. STS-128, using Discovery in August, delivered supplies using the Leonardo MPLM. September saw the launch of Soyuz TMA-16, with the ISS Expedition 21 crew. This was the 100th manned Soyuz mission reach orbit. In November, Space Shuttle Atlantis flew mission STS-129, delivering two EXPRESS Logistics Carriers to the ISS. The final manned flight of the year, Soyuz TMA-17, was launched on 20 December with the ISS Expedition 22 crew.

Although not a spaceflight in its own right, the Ares I-X test flight was conducted on 28 October, with the rocket lifting off from Launch Complex 39B of the Kennedy Space Center at 15:30 GMT. The flight was successful and reached an altitude of around 46 kilometres (29 mi), within the upper atmosphere. A parachute failure during descent resulted in some damage to the first stage, which was recovered.

Launch failures

Four orbital launch failures occurred in 2009. On 24 February, a Taurus-XL launched from the Vandenberg Air Force Base in California, United States, with the Orbiting Carbon Observatory. The payload fairing did not separate from the rocket, leaving the upper stage with too much mass to reach orbit. The stage, with spacecraft and fairing still attached, reentered the atmosphere, coming down off the coast of Antarctica. The second failure was a controversial North Korean launch attempt using an Unha rocket to launch the Kwangmyŏngsŏng-2 communications satellite. The launch was conducted on 5 April, and North Korea maintains that it successfully reached orbit, however no objects from the launch were tracked as having orbital velocity, and US radar systems tracking the rocket detected that it failed at around the time of third stage ignition, with debris falling in the Pacific Ocean.

A Soyuz-2.1a suffered a failure during the launch of Meridian 2 on 21 May, due to the premature cutoff of the second core stage of the carrier rocket. The satellite was placed in a lower than planned orbit, which it was initially expected to be able to correct by means of its onboard propulsion system, and the launch was reported to be a partial failure. By the time of the next Meridian launch in 2010 it had been confirmed that the satellite could not correct its own orbit, and that the mission was a failure.^[7] On 25 August, the Naro-1 rocket was launched on its maiden flight, however one half of the payload fairing failed to separate, and it did not reach orbit.

On 31 August a Long March 3B placed the Palapa-D satellite into a lower than expected orbit after its third stage gas generator burned through, resulting in an engine failure at the start of the second burn.^[8] The satellite was able to raise itself to its correct orbit at the expense of fuel which would have been used for five or six years of operations.^[8]

Summary of launches

In total, seventy eight orbital launches were attempted in 2009, with seventy five catalogued as having reached orbit, and the three outright launch failures, including the North Korean launch, not being catalogued. This is an increase of nine attempts compared to 2008, and eight more launches reached orbit. This continues a four-year trend of increasing annual launch rates. The United States National Space Science Data Center catalogued 123 spacecraft placed into orbit by launches which occurred in 2009.^[9]

Suborbital spaceflight in 2009 saw a number of sounding rocket and missile launches. New Zealand's Ātea-1 sounding rocket was launched on 30 November, marking that country's first suborbital flight. Russia twice attempted launches of its Bulava missile, however both launches failed. The second failure, which occurred on 9 December, resulted in a spiral pattern which was observed in the sky over Norway. The SpaceLoft-XL rocket experienced another launch failure during its third flight, on 2 May. The payload section separated from the rocket whilst it was still burning, and as a result the vehicle did not reach space.^[10] It had been carrying samples of cremated human remains for Celestis, and student experiments.

By country

China conducted six launches in 2009; satellite problems early in the year followed by the fallout of the August partial launch failure resulted in many planned launches slipping into 2010. Europe launched seven Ariane 5 rockets, six in the ECA configuration and one in the GS configuration. It had also intended to launch the first Vega rocket, however this was delayed due to ongoing development issues, which had already left the project several years behind schedule. India conducted two launches of Polar Satellite Launch Vehicles, however the first flight of a new variant of the Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle with an Indian-built upper stage slipped into 2010. Japan conducted three launches; two using the H-IIA, plus the first H-IIB. Russia and the former Soviet Union conducted twenty nine launches, not including the international Sea and Land launch programmes, which conducted four, and the single Naro-1 launch conducted in cooperation with South Korea.

The United States made twenty four launch attempts, with the Evolved Expendable Launch Vehicles accounting for eight; the most EELV launches in a single year to date. Eight Delta II launches were also made, including its last mission with a GPS satellite, and its last flight with a payload for the United States armed forces. As the Delta II programme wound down, Space Launch Complex 17A at the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, one of the oldest operational launch pads in the world, was deactivated. SpaceX launched a single Falcon 1, which successfully placed an operational satellite into orbit for the first time. This was the final flight of the Falcon 1, which was subsequently retired from service in favour of the Falcon 1e.^[4] At the start of the year, a mockup Falcon 9 was erected on its launch pad at Canaveral, however the type's maiden flight slipped into 2010.

Sea Launch only conducted a single launch in 2009; a Zenit-3SL launched Sicral 1B in April. In June, the company was declared bankrupt,^[11] and subsequently it lost a number of launch contracts.^[12] By the end of the year it was expecting to resume launches in 2010.^[12] Its subsidiary, Land Launch, conducted three launches. Iran made its first successful indigenous orbital launch, however planned follow-up launches had not been conducted by the end of the year. North Korea made one launch which it claimed had successfully placed a satellite into orbit, however no such satellite was detected by any country capable of doing so. Israel was not reported to have scheduled or conducted an orbital launch attempt.

List of launches

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

Date and time (UTC)	Rocket		Launch site		LSP
	Payload	Operator	Orbit	Function	Decay (UTC)	Outcome
	Remarks
18 January 02:47[13]	Delta IV-H[14]		Cape Canaveral SLC-37B		United Launch Alliance
	USA-202[15] (Mentor)	NRO	Geosynchronous	ELINT	In orbit	Operational
	NRO Launch 26
23 January 03:54[16]	H-IIA 202		Tanegashima LA-Y1		Mitsubishi
	Ibuki (GOSAT)	JAXA	Low Earth	Climatology	In orbit	Operational
	SDS-1	JAXA	Low Earth	Technology	In orbit	Successful[17]
	Sohla-1 (Maido-1)	SOHLA[18]	Low Earth	Technology	In orbit	Successful[19]
	Raijin (Sprite-Sat)[20]	Tohoku	Low Earth	Sprite research	In orbit	Spacecraft failure[21]
	Kagayaki[22]	Sorun[23]	Low Earth	Technology	In orbit	Spacecraft failure[21]
	Hitomi (PRISM)[24]	Tokyo	Low Earth	Technology	In orbit	Operational
	Kukai (STARS)[25][26]	Kagawa	Low Earth	Technology	In orbit	Spacecraft failure[21]
	Kiseki (KKS-1)[27]	TMCIT	Low Earth	Technology	In orbit	Spacecraft failure[21]
	Raijin failed to respond to commands from ground following electromagnetic boom deployment, Kagayaki failed to contact ground, STARS tether deployment failed, Kiseki failed to respond to commands from ground.[21]
26 January 00:15[28]	S-310		Andøya LA-U3		Andøya
	Delta-2	JAXA/Nagoya[28][29][30]	Suborbital	Auroral[28]	26 January	Successful
29 January 09:49	Black Brant IX		Poker Flat		NASA
	ACES-I[31]	Iowa	Suborbital	Auroral	09:59	Successful
29 January 09:51	Black Brant VB		Poker Flat		NASA
	ACES-II[31]	Iowa	Suborbital	Auroral	10:01	Successful
30 January 13:30[3]	Tsyklon-3		Plesetsk Site 32/2		Roskosmos
	Koronas-Foton	Roskosmos/MEPhI/NIIEM[32]	Low Earth[32]	Solar	In orbit	Spacecraft failure
	Final flight of Tsyklon-3 rocket,[3] satellite problems during mid-2009, loss of signal in early December due to power system malfunction. Declared a total loss in April 2010.[33]
← Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec →
2 February 18:36[34]	Safir		Semnan		ISA
	Omid[35]	ISA	Low Earth	Technology	25 April	Successful
	First successful Iranian orbital launch[2]
6 February 10:22:01[36]	Delta II 7320-10C		Vandenberg SLC-2W		United Launch Alliance
	NOAA-19 (NOAA-N')	NOAA/NASA	Low Earth	Weather	In orbit	Operational
10 February 05:49:46[37]	Soyuz-U		Baikonur Site 31/6		Roskosmos
	Progress M-66	Roskosmos	Low Earth (ISS)	Logistics	18 May 15:14:45	Successful
	ISS flight 32P
11 February 00:03[38]	Proton-M/Briz-M Enhanced		Baikonur Site 200/39		Khrunichev
	Ekspress-AM44[39]	RSCC	Geosynchronous	Communication	In orbit	Operational
	Ekspress-MD1	RSCC	Geosynchronous	Communication	In orbit	Operational
12 February 22:09:00[40]	Ariane 5ECA		Kourou ELA-3		Arianespace
	Hot Bird 10	Eutelsat	Geosynchronous	Communication	In orbit	Operational
	NSS-9	SES New Skies	Geosynchronous	Communication	In orbit	Operational
	Spirale-A	CNES	Geosynchronous Transfer	Technology	In orbit	Operational
	Spirale-B	CNES	Geosynchronous Transfer	Technology	In orbit	Operational
13 February[41]	UGM-133 Trident II D5		USS Alabama, Pacific Ocean		US Navy
		US Navy	Suborbital	Missile test	13 February	Successful
18 February 09:52:00[42]	Terrier-Orion		Poker Flat		NASA
		Clemson	Suborbital	Atmospheric	18 February	Successful
18 February 10:29:00[42]	Terrier-Orion		Poker Flat		NASA
		Clemson	Suborbital	Atmospheric	18 February	Successful
18 February 10:59:00[42]	Terrier-Orion		Poker Flat		NASA
		Clemson	Suborbital	Atmospheric	18 February	Successful
18 February 11:47:00[42]	Terrier-Orion		Poker Flat		NASA
		Clemson	Suborbital	Atmospheric	18 February	Successful
24 February 09:55:30[43]	Taurus-XL 3110		Vandenberg LC-576E		Orbital Sciences
	OCO	NASA	Intended: Sun-synchronous	Climatology	24 February	Launch failure
	Maiden flight of Taurus-XL 3110, payload fairing failed to separate, failed to reach orbit.[44] Satellite was to have been part of A-train constellation
25 February 10:45[45]	Black Brant IX		White Sands LC-36		NASA
	CIBER	Caltech	Suborbital	IR Astronomy[46]	10:55	Successful
26 February 18:29:55[47]	Zenit-3SLB		Baikonur Site 45/1		Land Launch
	Telstar 11N	Telesat	Geosynchronous	Communication	In orbit	Operational
28 February 04:10	Proton-K/DM-2		Baikonur Site 81/24		Khrunichev
	Raduga-1	VKS	Geosynchronous	Communication	In orbit	Operational
February[34]	UGM-133 Trident II D5		Submarine, Pacific Ocean		US Navy
		US Navy	Suborbital	Missile test	February	Successful
← Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec →
6 March 10:54[48]	Dhanush		Ship, Indian Ocean		DRDO
		DRDO	Suborbital	Target	6 March	Successful
	Target for successful Prithvi interceptor test, apogee: 120 kilometres (75 mi)[48]
7 March 03:49:57[49]	Delta II 7925-10L		Cape Canaveral SLC-17B		United Launch Alliance
	Kepler	NASA	Heliocentric	Astronomy	In orbit	Operational
	Exosolar planet research, operating in an Earth-trailing orbit[50]
15 March 23:43:44[51]	Space Shuttle Discovery[52]		Kennedy LC-39A		United Space Alliance
	STS-119[53]	NASA	Low Earth (ISS)	ISS Assembly[54][55]	28 March 19:13[56]	Successful
	ITS S6 Truss	NASA	Low Earth (ISS)	ISS component	In orbit	Operational
	Manned flight with seven astronauts
17 March 14:21[57]	Rokot/Briz-KM		Plesetsk Site 133/3[58]		Eurockot
	GOCE	ESA	Low Earth	Gravity	11 November 2013 00:16	Successful
18 March[59] 00:25[60]	TRBM		USS Tripoli, Barking Sands		US Army
		US Army/MDA	Suborbital	Target	18 March	Successful
	Intercepted by THAAD launched at 00:30 UTC[59][60]
18 March[59] 00:30[60]	THAAD		Barking Sands		US Army
		US Army/MDA	Suborbital	ABM test	18 March	Successful
	Intercepted target missile[59]
18 March[59] 00:30[60]	THAAD		Barking Sands		US Army
		US Army/MDA	Suborbital	ABM test	18 March	Successful
	Backup interceptor, destroyed by range safety after first missile succeeded[61]
20 March 11:04	Black Brant XII		Poker Flat		NASA
	Cascades-2	Dartmouth	Suborbital	Auroral	20 March	Successful
24 March 08:34:00[62]	Delta II 7925-9.5		Cape Canaveral SLC-17A		United Launch Alliance
	USA-203 (GPS IIR-20/M7)	US Air Force	Medium Earth	Navigation	In orbit	Partial spacecraft failure Operational
25 March 13:25[63]	Hera		Fort Wingate LC-96		US Army
		US Army	Suborbital	Target	25 March	Successful
	Target for MIM-104 Patriot PAC-3 test, interceptor failed
26 March 11:49:06	Soyuz-FG		Baikonur Site 1/5		Roskosmos
	Soyuz TMA-14[14]	Roskosmos	Low Earth (ISS)	ISS Expedition 19	11 October 04:32	Successful
	Manned flight with three cosmonauts. First space tourist to make two flights.
← Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec →
3 April 16:24	Proton-M/Briz-M Enhanced		Baikonur Site 200/39		International Launch Services
	Eutelsat W2A	Eutelsat	Geosynchronous	Communication	In orbit	Operational
4 April 00:31[64]	Atlas V 421		Cape Canaveral SLC-41		United Launch Alliance
	USA-204 (WGS-2)	US Air Force	Geosynchronous	Communication	In orbit	Operational
5 April 02:30:15[65]	Unha		Tonghae		KCST
	Kwangmyŏngsŏng-2	KCST	Intended: Low Earth	Technology	5 April	Launch failure
	North Korea claimed the launch was successful,[66] however no objects were tracked in orbit.
7 April	Blue Sparrow		F-15 Eagle, Israel		Israeli Air Force
		Israeli Air Force	Suborbital	Arrow-2 target	7 April	Successful
	Arrow-2 target, successfully intercepted
7 April	Arrow-2		Negev		Israel Aerospace Industries
		IAI/Israeli Defense Forces	Suborbital	ABM Test	7 April	Successful
	Successful intercept of a Blue Sparrow target over the Mediterranean
10 April 09:10	RS-12M Topol		Plesetsk		RVSN
		RVSN	Suborbital	Missile test	10 April	Successful
14 April 16:16	Long March 3C		Xichang LA-2		CNSA
	Compass-G2	CNSA	Geosynchronous	Navigation	In orbit	Operational
17 April 11:17[67]	FalconLaunch		White Sands		US Air Force Academy
	FalconLAUNCH VII	US Air Force Academy	Suborbital	Technology	17 April	Successful
	Apogee: 108 kilometres (67 mi),[67] first student-built rocket to reach space
20 April 01:15	PSLV-CA		Satish Dhawan SLP		ISRO
	RISAT-2	ISRO	Low Earth	Radar imaging	In orbit	Operational
	ANUSAT	Anna	Low Earth	Technology	18 April 2012	Successful
20 April 08:16	Zenit-3SL		Ocean Odyssey		Sea Launch
	Sicral-1B	ASI	Geosynchronous	Communication	In orbit	Operational
22 April 02:55	Long March 2C		Taiyuan LC-1		CNSA
	Yaogan-6	CNSA	Sun-synchronous	Remote sensing	In orbit	Operational
29 April 16:58	Soyuz-U		Plesetsk Site 16/2		VKS
	Kosmos 2450 (Kobal't-M)	VKS	Low Earth	Optical imaging	27 July	Successful
← Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec →
2 May 14:02[10]	SpaceLoft XL		Spaceport America		UP Aerospace
	SL-3	NMSGC	Suborbital	Student research	2 May	Launch failure[68]
	Discovery	Celestis	Suborbital	Space burial
	Failed to reach space due to premature payload separation whilst rocket was still burning[10][69][68]
5 May 20:24:25[14][64]	Delta II 7920-10C		Vandenberg SLC-2W		United Launch Alliance
	USA-205 (STSS-ATRR)	US Air Force/MDA	Low Earth	Missile defence Technology	In orbit	Operational
7 May 02:42:00[70]	Terrier-Orion[70]		Woomera		DSTO
	HiFIRE 0	DSTO/AFRL	Suborbital	Technology	7 May	Successful
7 May 18:37	Soyuz-U		Baikonur Site 1/5		Roskosmos
	Progress M-02M	Roskosmos	Low Earth (ISS)	Logistics	13 July 16:28:47	Successful
	ISS flight 33P
11 May 18:01	Space Shuttle Atlantis[52]		Kennedy LC-39A		United Space Alliance
	STS-125[71]	NASA[72]	Low Earth (HST)	HST servicing flight[73][74]	24 May 15:39	Successful
	Manned flight with seven astronauts, final Space Shuttle mission to the Hubble Space Telescope
14 May[75] 13:12	Ariane 5ECA		Kourou ELA-3		Arianespace
	Herschel[76]	ESA	Earth/Sun L2	IR astronomy	In orbit	Operational
	Planck[77]	ESA	Earth/Sun L2	Astronomy	In orbit	Operational
16 May 00:57	Proton-M/Briz-M Enhanced		Baikonur Site 200/39		International Launch Services
	ProtoStar II	ProtoStar	Geosynchronous	Communication	In orbit	Operational
19 May 04:36	Agni II		Integrated Test Range		Indian Army/DRDO
		Indian Army/DRDO	Suborbital	Missile test	+127 seconds	Launch failure
	Loss of control, landed in sea 203 kilometres (126 mi) downrange[78]
19 May 23:55	Minotaur I		MARS LP-0B		Orbital Sciences
	TacSat-3	USAF-RL	Low Earth	Technology	30 April 2012	Successful
	PharmaSat	NASA	Low Earth	Biological	14 August 2012	Successful
	AeroCube 3	Aerospace Corporation	Low Earth	Technology	6 January 2011	Successful
	HawkSat I[79]	HISS	Low Earth	Technology[79][80]	4 September 2011	Successful
	CP6[79]	CalPoly	Low Earth	Technology	6 October 2011	Successful
	All payloads except TacSat-3 and Pharmasat are CubeSats
20 May[60]	Sejjil-2		Semnan		IGRC
		IGRC	Suborbital	Missile test	20 May	Successful
	Apogee: 800 kilometres (500 mi)
21 May 21:53	Soyuz-2.1a/Fregat		Plesetsk Site 43/4		RVSN
	Meridian 2[60]	VKS	Intended: Molniya Achieved: Medium Earth	Communication	In orbit	Launch failure[81]
	Core vehicle second stage shut down five seconds early,[82] attempt to compensate using Fregat resulted in propellent depletion during second of three burns[60] Satellite reached a lower orbit than expected, and despite being expected to be recoverable to fully operational status[83] was unable to recover[81]
22 May 10:32[84]	Nike-Orion		Esrange		EuroLaunch
	MAPHEUS	DLR	Suborbital	Technology	22 May	Successful
	Apogee: 140.8 kilometres (87.5 mi)[84]
26 May	UGM-133 Trident II D5		HMS Victorious		Royal Navy
		Royal Navy	Suborbital	Missile test	26 July	Successful
27 May 10:34:42	Soyuz-FG		Baikonur Site 1/5		Roskosmos
	Soyuz TMA-15	Roskosmos	Low Earth (ISS)	ISS Expedition 20	1 December 07:17	Successful
	Manned flight with three cosmonauts, established first permanent six-man crew on the ISS
28 May 16:52	Terrier-Orion		Wallops Island		NASA
	SOAREX VII	NASA	Suborbital		28 May	Successful
29 May	Orion		Alcântara		AEB
	Maracati 1	INPE	Suborbital	Microgravity	29 May	Successful
← Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec →
6 June	Terrier-Lynx		San Nicolas		US Air Force
		US Air Force	Suborbital	YAL-1 target	6 June	Successful
	Apogee: 100 kilometres (62 mi)
13 June	Terrier-Lynx		San Nicolas		US Air Force
		US Air Force	Suborbital	YAL-1 target	13 June	Successful
	Apogee: 100 kilometres (62 mi)
18 June[85] 21:32	Atlas V 401		Cape Canaveral SLC-41		United Launch Alliance
	LRO	NASA	Selenocentric	Lunar orbiter	In orbit	Operational
	LCROSS	NASA	High Earth (TLI)	Lunar impactor	9 October 11:37	Successful
	LCROSS observed the upper stage impacting the Cabeus crater on the Moon at 11:31 on 9 October shortly before its own impact into the same crater. The LCROSS spacecraft confirmed the presence of water at the Lunar South Pole.[5]
21 June 21:50	Zenit-3SLB		Baikonur Site 45/1		Land Launch
	MEASAT-3a	MEASAT	Geosynchronous	Communication	In orbit	Operational
26 June 09:30	Terrier-Orion		Wallops Island LA-2		NASA
	RockOn!	Colorado	Suborbital	Student research	09:45	Successful
27 June 07:30	Black Brant IX		White Sands LC-36		NASA
	DICE	Colorado	Suborbital	UV Astronomy	07:40	Spacecraft failure[86]
27 June 22:51[87]	Delta IV-M+ (4,2)		Cape Canaveral SLC-37B		United Launch Alliance
	GOES-O (GOES-14)	NOAA/NASA	Geostationary	Weather	In orbit	Operational
29 June 10:01	LGM-30G Minuteman III		Vandenberg		US Air Force
	GT-199GM	US Air Force	Suborbital	Missile test	29 June	Successful
30 June 19:10	Proton-M/Briz-M Enhanced		Baikonur Site 200/39		International Launch Services
	Sirius FM-5 (RadioSat-5)	Sirius XM	Geosynchronous	Communication	In orbit	Operational
← Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec →
1 July[88] 19:52	Ariane 5ECA		Kourou ELA-3		Arianespace
	TerreStar-1	TerreStar	Geosynchronous	Communication	In orbit	Operational
6 July 01:26	Rokot/Briz-KM		Plesetsk Site 133/3		VKS
	Kosmos 2451 (Rodnik)	VKS	Low Earth	Communications	In orbit	Operational
	Kosmos 2452 (Rodnik)	VKS	Low Earth	Communications	In orbit	Operational
	Kosmos 2453 (Rodnik)	VKS	Low Earth	Communications	In orbit	Operational
13 July 01:20[89]	R-29RMU Sineva		K-84 Ekaterinburg, North Pole		VMF
		VMF	Suborbital	Missile test	13 July	Successful
	Carried ten re-entry vehicles, impacted Kura Test Range
13 July 23:50[89]	R-29RMU Sineva		K-117 Bryansk, North Pole		VMF
		VMF	Suborbital	Missile test	14 July	Successful
	Carried ten re-entry vehicles, impacted Chizha test site
14 July 03:35[90]	Falcon 1		Omelek		SpaceX
	RazakSat-1 (MACSat)	ATSB	Low Earth	Imaging	In orbit	Operational
	Final flight of Falcon 1[4]
15 July[87] 22:03	Space Shuttle Endeavour[53]		Kennedy LC-39A		United Space Alliance
	STS-127	NASA	Low Earth (ISS)	ISS Assembly	31 July 14:48	Successful
	JEM-EF	JAXA	Low Earth (ISS)	ISS component	In orbit	Operational
	AggieSat 2	NASA	Low Earth	Technology	17 March 2010 18:26[91]	Partial spacecraft failure Successful
	BEVO-1	NASA	Low Earth	Technology		Partial spacecraft failure Successful
	Castor[92]	NRL	Low Earth	Atmospheric	18 August 2010 17:48[93]	Successful
	Pollux[92]	NRL	Low Earth	Atmospheric	29 March 2010	Successful
	Manned flight with seven astronauts, AggieSat 2 and BEVO-1 collectively designated Dragonsat, Castor and Pollux collectively designated ANDE-2, both deployed on 30 July; Dragonsat at 12:34:30 UTC and ANDE-2 at 17:23:02; Dragonsat satellites failed to separate from each other
16 July[94]	RSM-56 Bulava		TK-208 Dmitri Donskoi, White Sea		VMF
		VMF	Suborbital	Missile test	16 July	Launch failure
	First stage malfunction[94]
21 July 03:57:43	Kosmos-3M		Plesetsk Site 132/1		RVSN
	Kosmos 2454 (Parus)	VKS	Low Earth	Navigation Communications	In orbit	Operational
	Sterkh-1	Roskosmos	Low Earth	Communication Search and rescue	In orbit	Operational
22 July 03:40	LRALT		C-17 Globemaster III, Pacific Ocean		MDA
		MDA/IMDO	Suborbital	ABM target	22 July	Successful
	Target for Arrow test, interceptor launch scrubbed
24 July 10:56:51	Soyuz-U		Baikonur Site 1/5		Roskosmos
	Progress M-67	Roskosmos	Low Earth (ISS)	Logistics	27 September 10:19:11	Successful
	Final flight of original Progress-M; ISS flight 34P
29 July 18:46	Dnepr		Baikonur Site 109/95		ISC Kosmotras
	DubaiSat-1	EIAST	Sun-synchronous	Imaging	In orbit	Operational
	Deimos-1	Deimos Space	Sun-synchronous	Imaging	In orbit	Operational
	UK-DMC 2	BNSC (2009-2010) UKSA (2010—)	Sun-synchronous	Imaging	In orbit	Operational
	Nanosat 1B	INTA	Low Earth	Imaging	In orbit	Operational
	AprizeSat-3	LatinSat	Low Earth	Communication	In orbit	Operational
	AprizeSat-4	LatinSat	Low Earth	Communication	In orbit	Operational
31 July 03:40			Kauai		MDA
		MDA	Suborbital	ABM target	31 July	Successful
	Target for Stellar Avenger test, intercept successful
31 July 03:42	RIM-161 Standard Missile 3		USS Hopper		MDA
	Stellar Avenger	MDA	Suborbital	ABM test	31 July	Successful
31 July 04:00[89]			Kauai		MDA
	FTX-06 Event 1	MDA	Suborbital	ABM target	31 July	Successful
	Radar target for exercise after Stellar Avenger, not intercepted
← Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec →
11 August 04:50	Black Brant IX		San Nicolas		NASA
	MARTI	US Air Force	Suborbital	ABL target	11 August	Successful
11 August 19:47	Proton-M/Briz-M		Baikonur Site 200/39		International Launch Services
	AsiaSat 5	AsiaSat	Geosynchronous	Communication	In orbit	Operational
17 August 10:35:00	Delta II 7925-9.5		Cape Canaveral SLC-17A		United Launch Alliance
	USA-206 (GPS IIR-21/M8)	US Air Force	Medium Earth	Navigation	In orbit	Operational
	Final launch from SLC-17A,[62] final GPS IIR launch, final flight of Delta II 7925
17 August 12:52:00	Black Brant IX		Wallops Island		NASA
	IRVE-II[95]	NASA	Suborbital	Technology	17 August	Successful
21 August 22:09	Ariane 5ECA		Kourou ELA-3		Arianespace
	JCSAT-12	SKY Perfect JSAT Group	Geosynchronous	Communications	In orbit	Operational
	Optus D3	Optus	Geosynchronous	Communications	In orbit	Operational
23 August 16:01[96]	LGM-30G Minuteman III		Vandenberg		US Air Force
	GT-200GM	US Air Force	Suborbital	Missile test	23 August	Successful[96]
	Travelled 6,743 kilometres (4,190 mi) downrange[96]
25 August[97] 08:00	Naro-1		Naro[98]		Khrunichev/KARI[98]
	STSAT-2A	KARI[99]	Intended: Low Earth	Technology	25 August	Launch failure[100]
	Maiden flight of Naro-1,[101] first South Korean orbital launch attempt (with Russian assistance). First flight of Angara Universal Rocket Module (used as first stage), half of payload fairing failed to separate, failed to reach orbit.[102][103]
29 August 03:59	Space Shuttle Discovery		Kennedy LC-39A		United Space Alliance
	STS-128[104]	NASA	Low Earth (ISS)	ISS assembly	11 September 00:53	Successful
	Leonardo MPLM	ASI/NASA	Low Earth (ISS)	Logistics		Successful
	Manned flight with seven astronauts
31 August 09:28[105]	Long March 3B		Xichang		CNSA
	Palapa-D	Indosat	Geosynchronous	Communication	In orbit	Partial launch failure Operational[106]
	Third stage failed during restart[105] due to gas generator burnthrough[8]
← Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec →
3 September[107]	UGM-133 Trident II D5		USS West Virginia, Eastern Range		US Navy
		US Navy	Suborbital	Missile test	3 September	Successful
	Apogee: 1,000 kilometres (620 mi)
4 September[107]	UGM-133 Trident II D5		USS West Virginia, Eastern Range		US Navy
		US Navy	Suborbital	Missile test	4 September	Successful
	Apogee: 1,000 kilometres (620 mi)
8 September 21:35	Atlas V 401		Cape Canaveral SLC-41		United Launch Alliance
	USA-207 (PAN)		Geostationary	Communications	In orbit	Operational
10 September 17:01:46[108]	H-IIB		Tanegashima LA-Y2		JAXA[109]
	HTV-1	JAXA	Low Earth (ISS)	Logistics	1 November 21:26	Successful
	Maiden flight of H-IIB and H-II Transfer Vehicle, first launch from LA-Y2
14 September 17:40[86]	Black Brant IX		White Sands LC-36		NASA
	HERSCHEL	NRL	Suborbital	Solar	14 September	Successful
17 September 15:55	Soyuz-2.1b/Fregat		Baikonur Site 31/6		Roskosmos
	Meteor M-1	Roskosmos	Sun-synchronous	Weather	In orbit	Operational
	Universitetsky-Tatyana-2[110]	MSU	Sun-synchronous	Technology	In orbit	Operational
	Sterkh-2	Roskosmos	Sun-synchronous	Communication Search and rescue	In orbit	Operational
	UGATUSAT	UGATU	Sun-synchronous	Imaging[111]	In orbit	Operational
	BLITS	Roskosmos	Sun-synchronous	Radar calibration	In orbit	Operational
	Sumbandila	Stellenbosch	Low Earth	Technology	In orbit	Operational
	IRIS		Low Earth	Technology[112]	In orbit	Operational
	IRIS intentionally remained attached to upper stage
17 September 19:19:19	Proton-M/Briz-M Enhanced		Baikonur Site 200/39		International Launch Services
	Nimiq 5	Telesat Canada	Geosynchronous	Communication	In orbit	Operational[113]
19 September 23:32	Black Brant XII		Wallops Island LP-1		NASA
	CARE[114]	NRL	Suborbital	Aeronomy	19 September	Successful
23 September 06:21 [115]	PSLV-CA		Satish Dhawan FLP		ISRO
	Oceansat-2	ISRO	Sun-synchronous	Oceanography	In orbit	Operational
	BeeSat	TU Berlin	Sun-synchronous	Technology	In orbit	Operational
	UWE-2	Würzburg	Sun-synchronous	Technology	In orbit	Operational
	ITU-pSat1	ITU	Sun-synchronous	Technology	In orbit	Operational
	SwissCube-1	EPFL	Sun-synchronous	Atmospheric	In orbit	Operational
	Rubin 9.1	OHB-System	Low Earth	Technology	In orbit	Successful
	Rubin 9.2	OHB-System	Low Earth	Technology	In orbit	Successful
	First Swiss satellite, Rubin payloads intentionally remained attached to upper stage
25 September 12:20 [116]	Delta II 7920-10C		Cape Canaveral SLC-17B		United Launch Alliance
	USA-208 (STSS-Demo 1)	US Air Force	Low Earth	Technology Missile defence	In orbit	Operational
	USA-209 (STSS-Demo 2)	US Air Force	Low Earth	Technology Missile defence	In orbit	Operational
27 September[107]	Shahab 1		Iran		IGRC
		IGRC	Suborbital	Missile test	27 September	Successful
	Part of Great Prophet IV exercise, apogee: 100 kilometres (62 mi)
27 September[107]	Shahab 2		Iran		IGRC
		IGRC	Suborbital	Missile test	27 September	Successful
	Part of Great Prophet IV exercise, apogee: 100 kilometres (62 mi)
28 September[107]	Shahab 3		Iran		IGRC
		IGRC	Suborbital	Missile test	28 September	Successful
	Part of Great Prophet IV exercise, apogee: 500 kilometres (310 mi)
28 September[107]	Sejjil-1		Iran		IGRC
		IGRC	Suborbital	Missile test	28 September	Successful
	Part of Great Prophet IV exercise, apogee: 800 kilometres (500 mi)
30 September 07:14	Soyuz-FG		Baikonur Site 1/5		Roskosmos
	Soyuz TMA-16	Roskosmos	Low Earth (ISS)	ISS Expedition 21	18 March 2010	Successful
	Manned flight with three cosmonauts
← Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec →
1 October 21:59[117]	Ariane 5ECA		Kourou ELA-3		Arianespace
	Amazonas-2	Hispasat	Geosynchronous	Communications	In orbit	Operational
	COMSATBw-1	Bundeswehr	Geosynchronous	Communications	In orbit	Operational
6 October[118]	R-29R Volna		K-433 Svyatoy Georgiy Pobedonosets, Sea of Okhotsk		VMF
		VMF	Suborbital	Missile test	6 October	Successful
	Carried four re-entry vehicles
7 October[118]	R-29R Volna		K-44 Ryazan, Sea of Okhotsk		VMF
		VMF	Suborbital	Missile test	7 October	Successful
	Carried four re-entry vehicles
8 October 18:51[119]	Delta II 7920		Vandenberg SLC-2W		United Launch Alliance
	WorldView-2	DigitalGlobe	Low Earth	Imaging	In orbit	Operational
12 October	Prithvi 2		Odisha		Indian Air Force
		Indian Air Force	Suborbital	Target	12 October	Successful
15 October 01:14	Soyuz-U		Baikonur Site 1/5		Roskosmos
	Progress M-03M	Roskosmos	Low Earth (ISS)	Logistics	27 April 2010 18:50:56	Successful
	ISS flight 35P
16 October[118]	ARAV-B (Terrier-Oriole)		Kauai		MDA
	FTX-06 Event 2	MDA	Suborbital	ABM target	16 October	Successful
	Radar target, not intercepted
16 October[118]	ARAV-B (Terrier-Oriole)		Kauai		MDA
	FTX-06 Event 3	MDA	Suborbital	ABM target	16 October	Successful
	Radar target, not intercepted
18 October 16:12	Atlas V 401		Vandenberg SLC-3E		United Launch Alliance
	USA-210 (DMSP-5D3 F18)	US Air Force/NOAA	Low Earth	Weather	In orbit	Operational
28 October 04:00[118]			Kauai		MDA
		JMSDF/MDA	Suborbital	ABM target	28 October	Successful
	Apogee: 150 kilometres (93 mi), intercepted by SM-3
28 October 04:04[118]	RIM-161 Standard Missile 3		JDS Myōkō, Pacific Ocean		JMSDF
		JMSDF	Suborbital	ABM test	28 October	Successful
	Apogee: 150 kilometres (93 mi), intercepted target
29 October 20:00	Ariane 5ECA		Kourou ELA-3		Arianespace
	Thor-6	Telenor	Geosynchronous	Communication	In orbit	Operational
	NSS-12	SES New Skies	Geosynchronous	Communication	In orbit	Operational
← Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec →
1 November[118]	R-29RMU Sineva		K-117 Bryansk, Barents Sea		VMF
		VMF	Suborbital	Missile test	1 November	Successful
	Carried four re-entry vehicles
2 November 01:50	Rokot/Briz-KM		Plesetsk Site 133/3		Eurockot[120]
	SMOS[121]	ESA	Sun-synchronous	Earth science	In orbit	Operational
	Proba-2	ESA	Sun-synchronous	Earth science	In orbit	Operational
5 November[118]	ARAV-C (Talos-Castor)		Kauai		MDA
	FTX-06 Event 4	MDA	Suborbital	ABM target	5 November	Successful
	Radar target, not intercepted
10 November[64] 14:22	Soyuz-U		Baikonur Site 1/5		Roskosmos
	Progress M-MIM2	Roskosmos	Low Earth (ISS)	Orbital tug	8 December 05:27[122]	Successful
	Poisk (MRM-2)	Roskosmos	Low Earth (ISS)	ISS component	In orbit	Operational
	ISS flight 5R
12 November 02:45[123]	Long March 2C		Jiuquan LA-4		CASC
	Shijian XI-01	CASC	Low Earth	Technology	In orbit	Operational
14 November 02:30[124]	Black Brant IX		White Sands LC-36		NASA
	CyXESS	Colorado	Suborbital	X-ray astronomy[125]	14 November	Successful
16 November[87] 19:28	Space Shuttle Atlantis[53]		Kennedy LC-39A		United Space Alliance
	STS-129	NASA	Low Earth (ISS)	ISS assembly	27 November 14:44[126]	Successful
	ExPRESS-1	NASA	Low Earth (ISS)	ISS logistics	In orbit	Operational
	ExPRESS-2	NASA	Low Earth (ISS)	ISS logistics	In orbit	Operational
	Manned flight, launching with six astronauts, and landing with seven
20 November 10:44	Soyuz-U		Plesetsk Site 16/2		RVSN
	Kosmos 2455 (Lotos-S)	VKS	Low Earth	ELINT	In orbit	Operational
22 November 11:15[127]	VSB-30		Esrange		EuroLaunch
	TEXUS-46	ESA	Suborbital	Microgravity	22 November	Successful
	Apogee: 252 kilometres (157 mi)[128]
23 November 06:55[129]	Atlas V 431		Cape Canaveral SLC-41		United Launch Alliance
	Intelsat 14	Intelsat	Geosynchronous	Communication	In orbit	Operational
23 November 14:20[130]	Agni II		Integrated Test Range		Indian Army/DRDO
		Indian Army/DRDO	Suborbital	Missile test	23 November	Launch failure
	Loss of control after second stage separation[130]
24 November 14:19[131]	Proton-M/Briz-M Enhanced[132]		Baikonur Site 200/39		International Launch Services
	Eutelsat W7	Eutelsat	Geosynchronous	Communication	In orbit	Operational
28 November[133] 01:21	H-IIA 202		Tanegashima LA-Y1		Mitsubishi
	IGS Optical 3[128]		Low Earth	Reconnaissance	In orbit	Operational
29 November 09:00[127]	VSB-30		Esrange		EuroLaunch
	TEXUS-47	ESA	Suborbital	Microgravity	29 November	Successful
	Apogee: 264 kilometres (164 mi)[128]
30 November 01:38[128]	Ātea-1		Great Mercury Island		Rocket Lab
	Manu Karere	Rocket Lab	Suborbital	Test flight	30 November	Successful
	Apogee: 120 kilometres (75 mi),[128] maiden flight of Ātea-1, first spaceflight to be conducted by New Zealand
30 November 21:00	Zenit-3SLB[134]		Baikonur Site 45/1		Land Launch
	Intelsat 15	Intelsat	Geosynchronous	Communication	In orbit	Operational[135]
← Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec →
6 December 01:47[136]	Delta IV-M+ (5,4)		Cape Canaveral SLC-37B		United Launch Alliance
	USA-211 (WGS-3)	US Air Force	Geosynchronous	Communication	In orbit	Successful
	Maiden flight of Delta IV-M+ (5,4), final Block I WGS satellite
9 December 06:45[128]	RSM-56 Bulava		TK-208 Dmitri Donskoi, White Sea		VMF
		VMF	Suborbital	Missile test	9 December	Launch failure
	Loss of control during third stage burn,[128] caused spiral patterns in the sky above Norway
9 December 08:42[137]	Long March 2D		Jiuquan LA-4/SLS-2		CNSA
	Yaogan-7	CNSA	Sun-synchronous	Remote sensing	In orbit	Operational
10 December 11:35[128]	RS-12M Topol		Kapustin Yar		RVSN
		RVSN	Suborbital	Missile test	10 December	Successful
11 December	LRALT		C-17 Globemaster III, Pacific Ocean		MDA
		MDA/IMDO	Suborbital	ABM target	11 December	Launch failure
	Target for THAAD
13 December	Dhanush		INS Subhadra		Indian Navy
		Indian Navy	Suborbital	Target	13 December	Successful
14 December 10:38[138]	Proton-M/DM-2 Enhanced		Baikonur Site 81/24		Khrunichev
	Kosmos 2456 (Glonass-M 730)	VKS	Medium Earth	Navigation	In orbit	Operational
	Kosmos 2457 (Glonass-M 733)	VKS	Medium Earth	Navigation	In orbit	Operational
	Kosmos 2458 (Glonass-M 734)	VKS	Medium Earth	Navigation	In orbit	Operational
14 December 14:09[139]	Delta II 7320		Vandenberg SLC-2W		United Launch Alliance
	WISE	NASA	Sun-synchronous	IR Astronomy	In orbit	Operational
15 December 02:31	Long March 4C		Taiyuan LC-2		CNSA
	Yaogan-8	CNSA	Sun-synchronous	Remote sensing	In orbit	Operational[140]
	Xi Wang 1	CNSA	Sun-synchronous	Amateur radio	In orbit	Operational[140]
16 December[128]	Sejjil-2		Iran		IGRC
		IGRC	Suborbital	Missile test	16 December	Successful
	Apogee: 800 kilometres (500 mi)
17 December 03:25	Terrier-Orion		Wallops Island		NASA
	HAROH[141]	ERAU	Suborbital	Aeronomy	17 December	Successful
18 December 16:26	Ariane 5GS		Kourou ELA-3		Arianespace
	Helios IIB	DGA	Low Earth	Reconnaissance	In orbit	Operational
	Final flight of Ariane 5GS
19 December[142]	UGM-133 Trident II D5		USS Alaska		US Navy
		US Navy	Suborbital	Test flight	19 December	Successful
	Demonstration and Shakedown Operation
20 December 21:52	Soyuz-FG		Baikonur Site 1/5		Roskosmos
	Soyuz TMA-17	Roskosmos	Low Earth (ISS)	ISS Expedition 22	2 June 2010 03:25	Successful
	Manned flight with three cosmonauts
24 December[143]	R-36M2 Voyevoda		Dombarovsky		RVSN
		RVSN	Suborbital	Missile test	24 December	Successful
29 December 00:22	Proton-M/Briz-M Enhanced		Baikonur Site 200/39		International Launch Services
	DirecTV-12	DirecTV	Planned: Geosynchronous	Communication	In orbit	Operational

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

Deep space rendezvous

Date	Spacecraft	Event	Remarks
7 February	Cassini	50th flyby of Titan	Closest approach: 960 kilometres (600 mi)
12 February[144]	Okina	Lunar impact	Farside of the Moon
17 February	Dawn	Flyby of Mars	Gravity assist, closest approach 549 kilometres (341 mi) at 00:28 GMT
1 March[145]	Chang'e 1	Lunar impact	Deorbited at 07:36 and impacted at 08:13[145]
27 March	Cassini	51st flyby of Titan	Closest approach: 960 kilometres (600 mi)
4 April	Cassini	52nd flyby of Titan	Closest approach: 4,150 kilometres (2,580 mi)
20 April	Cassini	53rd flyby of Titan	Closest approach: 3,600 kilometres (2,200 mi)
5 May	Cassini	54th flyby of Titan	Closest approach: 3,244 kilometres (2,016 mi)
21 May	Cassini	55th flyby of Titan	Closest approach: 965 kilometres (600 mi)
6 June	Cassini	56th flyby of Titan	Closest approach: 965 kilometres (600 mi)
10 June[146]	Kaguya	Lunar Impact	at 18:25 UTC, around Gill crater.
22 June	Cassini	57th flyby of Titan	Closest approach: 955 kilometres (593 mi)
23 June	LRO	Selenocentric orbit insertion	Orbital insersion burn lasted from 09:47 to 10:26 UTC
23 June	LCROSS/Centaur	Lunar flyby	Gravity assist to align for impact in October, closest approach: 3,200 kilometres (2,000 mi) at 10:30:33 UTC
8 July	Cassini	58th flyby of Titan	Closest approach: 965 kilometres (600 mi)
24 July	Cassini	59th flyby of Titan	Closest approach: 955 kilometres (593 mi)
9 August	Cassini	60th flyby of Titan	Closest approach: 970 kilometres (600 mi)
25 August	Cassini	61st flyby of Titan	Closest approach: 970 kilometres (600 mi)
17 September	Artemis P1	Lunar flyby	Closest approach: 43,875 kilometres (27,263 mi) at 00:49 UTC[147]
30 September	MESSENGER	3rd flyby of Mercury	Gravity assist, closest approach: 229 kilometres (142 mi)[148]
9 October	AV-020 Centaur	Lunar impact	2,000-kilogram (4,400 lb) upper stage of the Atlas V rocket used to launch LRO and LCROSS. Impacted Cabeus crater[5] at Lunar South Pole.[149] Impact occurred at 11:31 UTC, and was observed by LCROSS.
	LCROSS (S-S/C)	Lunar impact	700-kilogram (1,500 lb) shepherding spacecraft. Detached from Centaur at 01:50 UTC, and impacted same crater at 11:37.
12 October	Cassini	62nd flyby of Titan	Closest approach: 1,300 kilometres (810 mi)
2 November	Cassini	7th flyby of Enceladus	Closest approach: 103 kilometres (64 mi)
13 November	Rosetta	3rd flyby of Earth	Gravity assist
21 November	Cassini	8th flyby of Enceladus	Closest approach: 1,607 kilometres (999 mi)
8 December	Artemis P1	Lunar flyby	Closest approach: 16,101 kilometres (10,005 mi) at 01:25 UTC[147]
12 December	Cassini	63rd flyby of Titan	Closest approach: 4,850 kilometres (3,010 mi)
28 December	Cassini	64th flyby of Titan	Closest approach: 955 kilometres (593 mi)

Distant, non-targeted flybys of Dione, Mimas, Rhea, Tethys and Titan by Cassini occurred throughout the year.

EVAs

Start Date/Time	Duration	End Time	Spacecraft	Crew	Remarks
10 March 16:22	4 hours 49 minutes	21:11	Expedition 18 ISS Pirs	Yuri Lonchakov Michael Fincke	Installed the EXPOSE-R experiment, removed tape straps from a docking target on the Pirs docking compartment, inspected and photographed the exterior of the Russian portion of the station.[150][151]
19 March 17:16	6 hours 7 minutes	23:23	STS-119 ISS Quest	Steven Swanson Richard R. Arnold	Installed the S6 truss to the S5 truss, connected S5/S6 umbilicals, released launch restraints, removed keel pins, stored and removed thermal covers, and deployed the S6 photovoltaic radiator.[152]
21 March 16:51	6 hours 30 minutes	23:21	STS-119 ISS Quest	Steven Swanson Joseph M. Acaba	Advanced preparation of worksite for STS-127, installation of an unpressurised cargo carrier attachment system on the P3 truss, installation of a Global Positioning System antenna to the Kibo laboratory, and infrared imagery of panels of the radiators on the P1 and S1 trusses.[153][154] Cargo carrier installation unsuccessful
23 March 15:37	6 hours 27 minutes	22:04	STS-119 ISS Quest	Joseph M. Acaba Richard R. Arnold	Relocation of a crew equipment cart, complete the deployment of a cargo carrier, lubricated the station robotic arm's latching end effector B snare bearings, and finish swapping electrical relays to the station's gyroscopes.[155] Cargo carrier deployment unsuccessful
14 May 12:52	7 hours 20 minutes	20:12	STS-125 Atlantis	John M. Grunsfeld Andrew J. Feustel	HST servicing: Replaced the WFPC-2 with WFC-3, replaced the Science Instrument Command and Data Handling Unit, lubricated three shroud doors, installed SCM.[156][157][158]
15 May 12:49	7 hours 56 minutes	20:46	STS-125 Atlantis	Michael J. Massimino Michael T. Good	HST servicing: Replaced rate sensing gyroscopes, removed one of two batteries.[159][160]
16 May 13:35	6 hours 36 minutes	20:11	STS-125 Atlantis	John M. Grunsfeld Andrew J. Feustel	HST servicing: Replaced COSTAR with COS. Repaired ACS, performed get-ahead tasks from EVA-5.[161]
17 May 13:45	8 hours 2 minutes	21:47	STS-125 Atlantis	Michael J. Massimino Michael T. Good	HST servicing: Repaired Space Telescope Imaging Spectrograph.[162]
18 May 13:20	7 hours 2 minutes	20:22	STS-125 Atlantis	John M. Grunsfeld Andrew J. Feustel	HST servicing: Final HST servicing EVA, final EVA from Space Shuttle. Replaced second battery, installed FGS-3, replaced some insulation and a low-gain antenna cover.[163][164][165]
5 June 07:52	4 hours 54 minutes	12:46	Expedition 20 ISS Pirs	Gennady Padalka Michael R. Barratt	Prepared the Zvezda service module transfer compartment for the arrival of the Poisk module, installed docking antenna for the module, photographed antenna for evaluation on the ground, and photographed the Strela-2 crane. First use of the Orlan-MK spacesuit.[166][167][168]
10 June 06:55	12 minutes	07:07	Expedition 20 ISS Zvezda	Gennady Padalka Michael R. Barratt	Internal spacewalk in the depressurised Zvezda transfer compartment, replaced one of the Zvezda hatches with a docking cone, in preparation for the docking of Poisk, later this year.[169]
18 July 16:19	5 hours 32 minutes	21:51	STS-127 ISS Quest	David Wolf Timothy L. Kopra	JEF installed and P3 nadir UCCAS deployed. S3 zenith outboard PAS deploy postponed due to time constraints.
20 July 15:27	6 hours 53 minutes	22:20	STS-127 ISS Quest	David Wolf Thomas Marshburn	Transferred Orbital Replacement Units (ORUs) from the Shuttle Integrated Cargo Carrier (ICC) to the External Stowage Platform-3 (ESP-3). Transferred materials included a spare high-gain antenna, cooling-system pump module and spare parts for the Mobile Servicing System. JEF Visual Equipment (JEF-VE) installation on the forward section was postponed due to time constraints.
22 July 14:32	5 hours 59 minutes	20:31	STS-127 ISS Quest	David Wolf Christopher Cassidy	JPM preparation work, ICS-EF MLI, and P6 battery replacement (2 of 6 units). EVA was cut short due to high levels of CO2 in Cassidy's suit.
24 July 13:54	7 hours 12 minutes	21:06	STS-127 ISS Quest	Christopher Cassidy Thomas Marshburn	P6 battery replacement (final 4 of 6).
27 July 11:33	4 hours 54 minutes	16:27	STS-127 ISS Quest	Christopher Cassidy Thomas Marshburn	SPDM thermal cover adjustment, Z1 patch panel reconfiguration, JEM visual equipment (JEM-VE) installation (forward and aft), and JEM-LTA reconfigurations. S3 Nadir PAS (outboard) deployment postponed to later mission.
1 September 21:49	6 hours 35 minutes	2 September 04:24	STS-128 ISS Quest	John D. Olivas Nicole P. Stott	Prepared for the replacement of an empty ammonia tank on the station's port truss by releasing its bolts. Retrieved the MISSE-6 and EuTEF experiments mounted outside Columbus, and stowed them in the Shuttle's payload bay for their return to Earth. Nicole Stott becomes the tenth woman to conduct a spacewalk.
3 September 22:13	6 hours 39 minutes	4 September 04:51	STS-128 ISS Quest	John D. Olivas Christer Fuglesang	Removed the new ammonia tank from the shuttle's payload bay and replaced it with the used tank from the station. The new tank, weighing about 1,800 pounds (820 kg), was the most mass ever moved by spacewalking astronauts. With this spacewalk, Christer Fuglesang became the first person, who is not from either an American or Russian space program, to have participated in four or more spacewalks.
5 September 20:39	7 hours 1 minute	6 September 03:40	STS-128 ISS Quest	John D. Olivas Christer Fuglesang	Prepared for the arrival of Tranquility by attaching cables between the starboard truss and Unity, the area where Tranquility will be installed. The spacewalkers also replaced a communications sensor device, installed two new GPS antennas, deployed the PAS on the S3 truss, and replaced a circuit breaker.
19 November 14:24	6 hours 37 minutes	21:01	STS-129 ISS Quest	Michael Foreman Robert Satcher	Installed a spare antenna on the station's truss and a bracket for ammonia lines on Unity. Lubricated the grapple mechanism on the Payload Orbital Replacement Unit Attachment Device on the Mobile Base System and lubricated the snares of the hand of the station's Japanese robotic arm. Deployed the S3 outboard Payload Attach System.
21 November 14:31	6 hours 8 minutes	20:39	STS-129 ISS Quest	Michael Foreman Randolph Bresnik	Installed the GATOR (Grappling Adaptor to On-Orbit Railing) bracket to Columbus and an additional ham radio antenna. Installed on the truss an antenna for wireless helmet camera video. Relocated the Floating Potential Measurement Unit that records electrical potential around the station as it orbits the Earth. Deployed two brackets to attach cargo on the truss.
23 November 13:24	5 hours 42 minutes	19:06	STS-129 ISS Quest	Robert Satcher Randolph Bresnik	Installed a new High Pressure Gas Tank (HPGT) on the Quest airlock. Installed MISSE-7A and 7B on ELC-2. Strapped two micrometeoroid and orbital debris (MMOD) shields to External Stowage Platform #2. Relocated foot restraint, released a bolt on Ammonia Tank Assembly, installed insulated covers on cameras on mobile servicing system and Canadarm 2's end effector. Worked heater cables on docking adapter.

Orbital launch summary

By country

Country		Launches	Successes	Failures	Partial failures	Remarks
	China	6	5	0	1
	Europe	7	7	0	0
	India	2	2	0	0
	International	4	4	0	0	Sea Launch / Land Launch
	Iran	1	1	0	0	First successful orbital launch[2]
	Japan	3	3	0	0
	North Korea	1	0	1	0
	South Korea	1	0	1	0	With Russian assistance
	Russia /  CIS	29	28	1	0
	United States	24	23	1	0
World		78	73	4	1

By rocket

By family

Family	Country	Launches	Successes	Failures	Partial failures	Remarks
Angara	Russia	1	0	1	0	Maiden flight
Ariane	Europe	7	7	0	0
Atlas	United States	5	5	0	0
Delta	United States	11	11	0	0
Falcon	United States	1	1	0	0
H-II	Japan	3	3	0	0
Long March	People's Republic of China	6	5	0	1
Minotaur	United States	1	1	0	0
Pegasus	United States	1	0	1	0
PSLV	India	2	2	0	0
R-7	Russia	13	12	1	0
R-14	Russia	1	1	0	0
R-36	Ukraine	2	2	0	0
Safir	Iran	1	1	0	0	First successful launch[2]
Space Shuttle	United States	5	5	0	0
Unha	North Korea	1	0	1	0
Universal Rocket	Russia	13	13	0	0
Zenit	Ukraine /  Russia	4	4	0	0

By type

Rocket	Country	Family	Launches	Successes	Failures	Partial failures	Remarks
Ariane 5	Europe	Ariane	7	7	0	0
Atlas V	United States	Atlas	5	5	0	0
Delta II	United States	Delta	8	8	0	0
Delta IV	United States	Delta	3	3	0	0
Dnepr	Ukraine	R-36	1	1	0	0
Falcon 1	United States	Falcon	1	1	0	0	Retired[4]
H-IIA	Japan	H-II	2	2	0	0
H-IIB	Japan	H-II	1	1	0	0	Maiden flight
Kosmos	Russia	R-12/R-14	1	1	0	0
Long March 2	People's Republic of China	Long March	3	3	0	0
Long March 3	People's Republic of China	Long March	2	1	0	1
Long March 4	People's Republic of China	Long March	1	1	0	0
Minotaur I	United States	Minotaur	1	1	0	0
Naro	Russia  South Korea	Angara	1	0	1	0	Maiden flight
Proton	Russia	Universal Rocket	10	10	0	0
PSLV	India	PSLV	2	2	0	0
Safir	Iran	Safir	1	1	0	0
Soyuz	Russia	R-7	11	11	0	0
Soyuz-2	Russia	R-7	2	1	1	0
Space Shuttle	United States	Space Shuttle	5	5	0	0
Taurus	United States	Pegasus	1	0	1	0
Tsyklon	Ukraine	R-36	1	1	0	0	Retired[3]
Unha	North Korea	Unha	1	0	1	0
UR-100	Russia	Universal Rocket	3	3	0	0
Zenit	Ukraine /  Russia	Zenit	4	4	0	0

By configuration

Rocket	Country	Type	Launches	Successes	Failures	Partial failures	Remarks
Ariane 5 ECA	Europe	Ariane 5	6	6	0	0
Ariane 5 GS	Europe	Ariane 5	1	1	0	0	Retired
Atlas V 401	United States	Atlas V	3	3	0	0
Atlas V 421	United States	Atlas V	1	1	0	0
Atlas V 431	United States	Atlas V	1	1	0	0
Delta II 7320	United States	Delta II	2	2	0	0
Delta II 7920	United States	Delta II	3	3	0	0
Delta II 7925	United States	Delta II	3	3	0	0	Retired
Delta IV-H	United States	Delta IV	1	1	0	0
Delta IV-M+(4,2)	United States	Delta IV	1	1	0	0
Delta IV-M+(5,4)	United States	Delta IV	1	1	0	0	Maiden flight
Dnepr	Ukraine	Dnepr	1	1	0	0
Falcon 1	United States	Falcon	1	1	0	0
H-IIA 202	Japan	H-IIA	2	2	0	0
H-IIB	Japan	H-IIB	1	1	0	0	Maiden flight
Kosmos-3M	Russia	Kosmos	1	1	0	0
Long March 2C	People's Republic of China	Long March 2	2	2	0	0
Long March 2D	People's Republic of China	Long March 2	1	1	0	0
Long March 3B	People's Republic of China	Long March 3	1	0	0	1
Long March 3C	People's Republic of China	Long March 3	1	1	0	0
Long March 4C	People's Republic of China	Long March 3	1	1	0	0
Minotaur I	United States	Minotaur I	1	1	0	0
Naro-1	Russia  South Korea	Naro	1	0	1	0	Maiden flight
Proton-K/DM-2	Russia	Proton	1	1	0	0
Proton-M/DM-2	Russia	Proton	1	1	0	0
Proton-M/Briz-M	Russia	Proton	8	8	0	0
PSLV-CA	India	PSLV	2	2	0	0
Rokot/Briz-KM	Russia	UR-100	3	3	0	0
Safir	Iran	Safir	1	1	0	0
Soyuz-2.1a/Fregat	Russia	Soyuz-2	1	0	1	0
Soyuz-2.1b/Fregat	Russia	Soyuz-2	1	1	0	0
Soyuz-FG	Russia	Soyuz	4	4	0	0
Soyuz-U	Russia	Soyuz	7	7	0	0
Space Shuttle	United States	Space Shuttle	5	5	0	0
Taurus-XL 3110	United States	Taurus	1	0	1	0
Tsyklon-3	Ukraine	Tsyklon	1	1	0	0	Retired[3]
Unha	North Korea	Unha	1	0	1	0
Zenit-3SL	Ukraine /  Russia	Zenit	1	1	0	0
Zenit-3SLB	Ukraine /  Russia	Zenit	3	3	0	0

By launch site

Site	Country	Launches	Successes	Failures	Partial failures	Remarks
Baikonur	Kazakhstan	24	24	0	0
Cape Canaveral	United States	11	11	0	0
Jiuquan	People's Republic of China	2	2	0	0
Kennedy	United States	5	5	0	0
Kwajalein Atoll	Marshall Islands	1	1	0	0
Kourou	France	7	7	0	0
MARS	United States	1	1	0	0
Ocean Odyssey	International	1	1	0	0
Naro	South Korea	1	0	1	0	First launch
Plesetsk	Russia	8	7	1	0
Satish Dhawan	India	2	2	0	0
Semnan	Iran	1	1	0	0
Taiyuan	People's Republic of China	2	2	0	0
Tanegashima	Japan	3	3	0	0
Tonghae	North Korea	1	0	1	0
Vandenberg	United States	6	5	1	0
Xichang	People's Republic of China	2	1	0	1

By orbit

Orbital regime	Launches	Achieved	Not Achieved	Accidentally achieved	Remarks
Failed to orbit	0 N/A	0 N/A	0 N/A	3
Low Earth	43	40	3	0	14 to ISS, 1 to HST
Medium Earth	3	3	0	2
Geosynchronous/transfer	24	23	1	0
High Earth	3	2	1	0	Including highly elliptical and Molniya orbits and trans-lunar trajectories.
Heliocentric	1	1	0	0

See also

• List of human spaceflights, 2000-present
• Suborbital spaceflight in 2009
• Timeline of spaceflight

References

Bergin, Chris. "NASASpaceFlight.com".  Clark, Stephen. "Spaceflight Now".  Kelso, T.S. "Satellite Catalog (SATCAT)". CelesTrak.  Krebs, Gunter. "Chronology of Space Launches".  Kyle, Ed. "Space Launch Report".  McDowell, Jonathan. "Jonathan's Space Report".  Pietrobon, Steven. "Steven Pietrobon's Space Archive".  Wade, Mark. "Encyclopedia Astronautica".  Webb, Brian. "Southwest Space Archive".  Zak, Anatoly. "Russian Space Web".  "ISS Calendar". Spaceflight 101.  "Space Calendar". NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory.  "Space Information Center". JAXA.  "Хроника освоения космоса" [Chronicle of space exploration]. CosmoWorld (in Russian).

Generic references:

Footnotes

Timeline of spaceflight
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
Future deep-space rendezvous