1969 in spaceflight
Rockets | |
---|---|
Maiden flights | |
Retirements |
|
Crewed flights | |
Orbital | 9 |
Total travellers | 22 |
1969 saw humanity step onto another world for the first time. On 20 July 1969, the Apollo 11 Lunar Module, Eagle, landed on the Moon's surface with two astronauts aboard. Days later the crew of three returned safely to Earth, satisfying U.S. President John F. Kennedy's 1962 challenge of 25 May 1961, that "this nation should commit itself to achieving the goal, before this decade is out, of landing a man on the Moon and returning him safely to the Earth."[1][2]
There were four Apollo missions in total in 1969, three of which traveled to the Moon, with Apollo 12 also landing on the surface. The success of the Apollo program was a testament to the efforts of over 500,000 American engineers, scientists and technicians.
In 1969, the Soviet Union's space program had success with the docking of two crewed spacecraft as well as the success of their Venus and Lunar probes. The Soviets, however, suffered severe blows to their crewed Lunar aspirations when their N1 rocket failed twice during two 1969 launches.
Orbital launches[edit]
Date and time (UTC) | Rocket | Flight number | Launch site | LSP | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Payload (⚀ = CubeSat) | Operator | Orbit | Function | Decay (UTC) | Outcome | |||
Remarks | ||||||||
January[edit] | ||||||||
5 January 06:28[3] | Molniya-M / Blok VL | Baikonur Site 1/5 | ||||||
Venera 5 | Heliocentric | Venus lander | 16 May 1969 | Successful | ||||
Lander operated for 53 minutes in the atmosphere of Venus. | ||||||||
10 January 05:51[3] | Molniya-M / Blok-VL | Baikonur Site 1/5 | ||||||
Venera 6 | Heliocentric | Venus lander | 17 May 1969 | Successful | ||||
Lander operated for 51 minutes in the atmosphere of Venus. | ||||||||
12 January 12:10[4] | Voskhod | Plesetsk Site 41/1 | ||||||
Kosmos 263 (Zenit-2) | Low Earth | Optical imaging | 20 January 1969[5] | Successful | ||||
14 January 07:30 | Soyuz | Baikonur LC-31 | RVSN | |||||
Soyuz 4 | RVSN | Low Earth | Crewed orbital flight | 17 January 1969 | Successful | |||
First docking between two crewed spacecraft (with Soyuz 5) | ||||||||
15 January 07:04 | Soyuz | Baikonur LC-1/5 | RVSN | |||||
Soyuz 5 | RVSN | Low Earth | Crewed orbital flight | 18 January 1969 | Successful | |||
First docking between two crewed spacecraft (with Soyuz 4) | ||||||||
20 January 04:14[6] | Proton-K/D | Baikonur Site 81/23 | ||||||
Soyuz 7K-L1 (Zond-1969A) | Selenocentric | Test flight | 20 January 1969 | Failure | ||||
One of the RD-0210 engines in the second stage failed, resulting in automatic shutdown of the vehicle. Capsule was successfully recovered after successful launch abort. | ||||||||
22 January 16:48[7] | Delta C1 | Cape Canaveral SLC-17 | ||||||
OSO 5 | NASA | Low Earth | Astronomy | 2 April 1984[5] | Successful | |||
22 January 19:10[9] | Titan IIIB | Vandenberg SLC-4W | ||||||
OPS 7585 (GAMBIT-3 4319) | NRO | Low Earth | Optical imaging | 3 February 1969[5] | Partial failure | |||
Apogee was too high as the Agena rocket stage failed to switch off at a correct time.[8] | ||||||||
23 January 09:15[6] | Voskhod | Baikonur Site 1/5 | ||||||
Kosmos 264 (Zenit-4M) | Low Earth | Optical imaging | 5 February 1969[5] | Successful | ||||
25 January 11:10[6] | Tsyklon-2A | Baikonur Site 90/19 | ||||||
Kosmos 265 (US-AO No.5) | Low Earth | Naval surveillance | 23 January 1969 | Failure | ||||
30 January 06:46[9] | Delta E1 | Vandenberg SLC-2E | ||||||
ISIS 1 | CSA | Medium Earth | Science | In orbit | Successful | |||
February[edit] | ||||||||
1 February 12:11[4] | Vostok-2M | Plesetsk Site 41/1 | ||||||
Kosmos 265 (Meteor-1) | RVSN | Low Earth | Meteorology | 1 February 1969 | Failure | |||
5 February 06:46[9] | Thorad-SLV2G-Agena-D | Vandenberg SLC-3W | ||||||
KH-4B 6 (OPS 3890) | CIA | Low Earth | Optical imaging | 24 February 1969[5] | Successful | |||
P-801 2 (OPS 2644) | USAF | Low Earth | Reconnaissance | In orbit | Successful | |||
6 February 00:39[7] | Delta M | Cape Canaveral SLC-17A | NASA | |||||
Intelsat III F-3 | Intelsat | Geostationary | Communications | In orbit | Successful | |||
7 February 13:59[4] | Kosmos-2I | Plesetsk Site 133/1 | ||||||
Kosmos 265 (DS-P1-Yu No.21) | RVSN | Low Earth | Radar calibration | 1 May 1969[5] | Successful | |||
9 February 21:09[7] | Titan IIIC | Cape Canaveral SLC-41 | ||||||
TACSAT-1 (OPS 0757) | USAF | Geostationary | Communications | In orbit | Successful | |||
19 February 06:48[6] | Proton-K / Blok D | Baikonur Site 81/24 | ||||||
Luna 15a + Lunokhod 1A (Ye-8 №201) | Selenocentric | Lunar lander and rover | 19 February 1969 | Failure | ||||
Engine failure in the first stage, rocket crashed 15 km from the pad. | ||||||||
21 February 09:18 | N1/L3 | Baikonur LC-110/38 | RVSN | |||||
Zond L1S-1 | RVSN | Selenocentric | Test flight | 21 February | Failure | |||
Dummy LK | RVSN | Selenocentric | Mass simulator | 21 February | Failure | |||
25 February 01:29[7] | Atlas SLV-3C Centaur-D | Cape Canaveral LC-36 | ||||||
Mariner 6 | NASA | Heliocentric | Mars flyby | In orbit | Successful | |||
25 February 10:20[4] | Voskhod | Plesetsk Site 41/1 | ||||||
Kosmos 266 (Zenit-2) | Low Earth | Optical imaging | 5 March 1969[5] | Successful | ||||
26 February 07:47[7] | Delta E1 | Cape Canaveral LC-17B | ||||||
ESSA-9 | ESSA | Low Earth (SSO) | Meteorology | In orbit | Successful | |||
26 February 08:30[6] | Voskhod | Baikonur Site 31/6 | ||||||
Kosmos 267 (Zenit-4) | Low Earth | Optical imaging | 6 March 1969[5] | Successful | ||||
March[edit] | ||||||||
3 March 16:00 | Saturn V | KSC LC-39A | NASA | |||||
Apollo 9 CSM Gumdrop | NASA | Low Earth | Crewed orbital flight | 13 March 1969 | Successful | |||
Apollo 9 LM Spider | NASA | Low Earth | Test flight | 13 March 1969 | Successful | |||
First crewed orbital test of lunar module | ||||||||
4 March 16:48[9] | Titan IIIB | Vandenberg SLC-4W | ||||||
KH-8 Gambit 3 (OPS 4248) | USAF | Low Earth | Optical imaging | 18 March 1969[5] | Successful | |||
Apogee was too high as the Agena rocket stage failed to switch off at a correct time.[8] | ||||||||
5 March 13:04[10] | Kosmos-2I | Kapustin Yar Site 86/4 | ||||||
Kosmos 268 (DS-P1-Yu No.18) | Low Earth | Radar calibration | 9 May 1970[5] | Successful | ||||
5 March 17:25[4] | Kosmos-3M | Plesetsk Site 132/2 | ||||||
Kosmos 269 (Tselina-O-4) | Low Earth | ELINT | 21 October 1978[5] | Successful | ||||
6 March 12:15[4] | Voskhod | Plesetsk Site 41/1 | ||||||
Kosmos 270 (Zenit-4 No.52) | Low Earth | Optical imaging | 14 March 1969[5] | Successful | ||||
15 March 12:15[4] | Voskhod | Plesetsk Site 41/1 | ||||||
Kosmos 271 (Zenit-4 No.53) | Low Earth | Optical imaging | 23 March 1969[5] | Successful | ||||
17 March 17:25[4] | Kosmos-3M | Plesetsk Site 132/2 | ||||||
Kosmos 272 (Sfera No.4) | Low Earth | Geodesy | In orbit | Successful | ||||
18 March 07:40[9] | Atlas F-OV1 | Vandenberg ABRES-A2 | ||||||
OV1-17 | USAF | Low Earth | Technology demonstration | 5 March 1970[5] | Successful | |||
OV1-17A ORBISCAL | USAF | Low Earth | Technology demonstration | 24 March 1969[5] | Successful | |||
OV1-18 | USAF | Low Earth | Technology demonstration | 28 August 1972[5] | Successful | |||
OV1-19 | USAF | Low Earth | Technology demonstration | In orbit | Successful | |||
19 March 21:38[9] | Thorad-SLV2G-Agena-D | Vandenberg SLC-3W | ||||||
KH-4A 50 (OPS 3722) | CIA | Low Earth | Optical imaging | 24 March 1969[5] | Successful | |||
P-11 (OPS 2285) | USAF | Low Earth | Reconnaissance | 6 December 1971[5] | Successful | |||
22 March 12:15[4] | Voskhod | Plesetsk Site 41/1 | ||||||
Kosmos 273 (Zenit-2 No.72) | Low Earth | Optical imaging | 30 March 1969[5] | Successful | ||||
24 March 10:10[6] | Voskhod | Baikonur Site 31/6 | ||||||
Kosmos 274 (Zenit-4 No.54) | Low Earth | Optical imaging | 1 April 1969[5] | Successful | ||||
26 March 12:30[4] | Vostok-2M | Plesetsk Site 41/1 | ||||||
Meteor-1 1 | Low Earth | Meteorology | 26 March 2012 | Successful | ||||
27 March 10:40[6] | Proton-K/D | Baikonur Site 81/23 | ||||||
Mars 2M No.521 | Areocentric | Mars orbiter | 27 March 1969 | Failure | ||||
Payload fairing failed at T+51. Third stage failed to ignite. | ||||||||
27 March 22:22[7] | Atlas SLV-3C Centaur-D | Cape Canaveral LC-36A | ||||||
Mariner 7 | NASA | Heliocentric | Mars flyby | In orbit | Successful | |||
28 March 16:00[4] | Kosmos-2I | Plesetsk Site 133/1 | ||||||
Kosmos 275 (DS-P1-I No.5) | RVSN | Low Earth | Radar calibration | 7 February 1970[5] | Successful | |||
April[edit] | ||||||||
2 April 10:33[6] | Proton-K/D | Baikonur Site 81/24 | ||||||
Mars 2M No.522 | Areocentric | Mars orbiter and lander | 2 April 1969 | Failure | ||||
Rocket crashed near pad after 1st stage engine failure. | ||||||||
4 April 10:20[4] | Voskhod | Plesetsk Site 41/1 | ||||||
Kosmos 276 (Zenit-4 No.55) | Low Earth | Optical imaging | 11 April 1969[5] | Successful | ||||
4 April 13:00[4] | Kosmos-2I | Plesetsk Site 133/1 | ||||||
Kosmos 277 (DS-P1-Yu No.20) | Low Earth | Radar calibration | 6 July 1969[5] | Successful | ||||
9 April 13:00[4] | Voskhod | Plesetsk Site 41/1 | ||||||
Kosmos 278 (Zenit-2 No.73) | Low Earth | Optical imaging | 17 April 1969[5] | Successful | ||||
11 April 02:30[6] | Molniya-M/Blok ML | Baikonur Site 1/5 | ||||||
Molniya-1 No.11 | Molniya | Communications | 17 April 1974 | Successful | ||||
13 April 02:24[7] | Atlas-SLV3A Agena-D | Cape Canaveral LC-13 | ||||||
Canyon 2 (OPS 3148) | NRO | Geostationary | Reconnaissance | In orbit | Successful | |||
14 April 07:54[9] | Thorad-SLV2G-Agena-D | Vandenberg SLC-2E | ||||||
Nimbus 3 | NASA, NOAA | Low Earth | Meteorology | In orbit | Successful | |||
SECOR-13 | US Army | Low Earth | Geodesy | In orbit | Successful | |||
15 April 08:14[6] | Voskhod | Baikonur Site 31/6 | ||||||
Kosmos 279 (Zenit-4 No.56) | Low Earth | Optical imaging | 23 April 1969[5] | Successful | ||||
15 April 17:30[9] | Titan IIIB | Vandenberg SLC-4W | ||||||
KH-8 Gambit 3 (OPS 5310) | USAF | Low Earth | Optical imaging | 30 April 1969[5] | Successful | |||
23 April 09:55[6] | Voskhod | Baikonur Site 1/5 | ||||||
Kosmos 280 (Zenit-4M No.3) | Low Earth | Optical imaging | 6 May 1969[5] | Successful | ||||
May[edit] | ||||||||
2 May 01:46[9] | Thorad-SLV2G-Agena-D | Vandenberg SLC-3W | ||||||
KH-4A 51 (OPS 1101) | CIA | Low Earth | Optical imaging | 23 May 1969[5] | Successful | |||
P-11 (OPS 1721) | USAF | Low Earth | Reconnaissance | 16 February 1970[5] | Successful | |||
13 May 09:15[4] | Voskhod | Plesetsk Site 41/1 | ||||||
Kosmos 281 (Zenit-2 No.74) | Low Earth | Optical imaging | 21 May 1969[5] | Successful | ||||
18 May 16:49 | Saturn V | KSC LC-39B | NASA | |||||
Apollo 10 CSM Charlie Brown | NASA | Selenocentric | Crewed Lunar orbital flight | 26 May 1969 | Successful | |||
Apollo 10 LM Snoopy | NASA | Selenocentric | Test flight | In orbit | Successful | |||
First test of lunar module in lunar orbit. "Dress rehearsal" of Apollo 11 landing. | ||||||||
20 May 08:40[4] | Voskhod | Plesetsk Site 41/1 | ||||||
Kosmos 282 (Zenit-4 No.57) | Low Earth | Optical imaging | 28 May 1969[5] | Successful | ||||
22 May 02:00[7] | Delta M | Cape Canaveral LC-17A | NASA | |||||
Intelsat III F-4 | Intelsat | Geostationary | Communications | In orbit | Successful | |||
23 May 07:57[7] | Titan IIIC | Cape Canaveral SLC-41 | ||||||
Vela 9, 10 | USAF | High Earth | Nuclear detection | In orbit | Successful | |||
OV5 5, 6, 9 | USAF | High Earth | Technology demonstration | In orbit | Successful | |||
27 May 12:59[4] | Kosmos-2I | Plesetsk Site 133/1 | ||||||
Kosmos 283 (DS-P1-Yu No.21) | Low Earth | Radar calibration | 10 December 1969[5] | Successful | ||||
29 May 06:59[6] | Voskhod | Baikonur Site 31/6 | ||||||
Kosmos 284 (Zenit-4 No.58) | Low Earth | Optical imaging | 6 June 1969[5] | Successful | ||||
June[edit] | ||||||||
3 June 12:57[4] | Kosmos-2I | Plesetsk Site 133/1 | ||||||
Kosmos 285 (DS-P1-Yu No.22) | Low Earth | Radar calibration | 7 October 1969[5] | Successful | ||||
3 June 16:49[9] | Titan IIIB | Vandenberg SLC-4W | ||||||
KH-8 Gambit 3 (OPS 1077) | USAF | Low Earth | Optical imaging | 14 June 1969[5] | Successful | |||
5 June 14:42[9] | Thorad-SLV2H Agena-D | Vandenberg SLC-3W | ||||||
OGO 6 | NASA | Low Earth | Research | 12 October 1979[5] | Successful | |||
14 June 04:00[6] | Proton-K/Blok D | Baikonur Site 81/24 | ||||||
Luna E-8-5 No. 402 | Selenocentric | Lunar sample return | 14 June 1969 | Failure | ||||
Blok D upper stage failed to ignite, thus leaving the payload on a suborbital trajectory. | ||||||||
15 June 08:59[4] | Voskhod | Plesetsk Site 41/1 | ||||||
Kosmos 286 (Zenit-4 No.59) | Low Earth | Optical imaging | 23 June 1969[5] | Successful | ||||
21 June 08:47[9] | Delta E1 | Vandenberg SLC-2W | ||||||
Explorer 41 (IMP-G) | NASA | Highly elliptical | Magnetospheric research | In orbit | Successful | |||
24 June 06:50[6] | Voskhod | Baikonur Site 31/6 | ||||||
Kosmos 287 (Zenit-2 No.75) | Low Earth | Optical imaging | 2 July 1969[5] | Successful | ||||
27 June 06:59[6] | Voskhod | Baikonur Site 1/5 | ||||||
Kosmos 288 (Zenit-4 No.60) | Low Earth | Optical imaging | 5 July 1969[5] | Successful | ||||
29 June 03:15[7] | Delta N | Cape Canaveral LC-17A | ||||||
Biosatellite_3 | NASA | Low Earth | Life science | 7 July 1969[5] | Successful | |||
July[edit] | ||||||||
2 July 07:04 | Europa-1 | Woomera LA-6A | ELDO | |||||
STV-2 | ELDO | Test flight | 2 July 1969 | Failure | ||||
3 July 20:18 | N1/L3 | Baikonur LC-110/38 | ||||||
Zond L1S-2 | Selenocentric | Test flight | 3 July 1969 | Failure | ||||
Dummy LK | Selenocentric | Mass simulator | 3 July 1969 | Failure | ||||
Exploded due to faulty engines and a bolt that was sucked into a fuel pump. | ||||||||
10 July 09:00[4] | Voskhod | Plesetsk Site 41/1 | ||||||
Kosmos 289 (Zenit-4 No.61) | Low Earth | Optical imaging | 15 July 1969[5] | Successful | ||||
13 July 02:54[6] | Proton-K/D | Baikonur Site 81/24 | ||||||
Luna 15 (Ye-8-5 №401) | Selenocentric | Lunar sample return | 20 July 1969 | Success | ||||
Lander crashed to the surface of the Moon in an attempted landing. | ||||||||
16 July 13:32 | Saturn V | KSC LC-39A | NASA | |||||
Apollo 11 CSM Columbia | NASA | Selenocentric | Crewed Lunar orbital flight | 24 July 1969 | Successful | |||
Apollo 11 LM Eagle | NASA | Selenocentric | Crewed Lunar landing | In orbit | Successful | |||
First crewed Moon landing. | ||||||||
22 July 12:30[4] | Voskhod | Plesetsk Site 41/1 | ||||||
Kosmos 290 (Zenit-2 No.76) | Low Earth | Optical imaging | 30 July 1969[5] | Successful | ||||
22 July 12:55[6] | Molniya-M/Blok ML | Baikonur Site 1/5 | ||||||
Molniya-1 No.12 | Molniya | Communications | 18 June 1971[5] | Successful | ||||
23 July 04:39[9] | Thor-LV2F Burner-2 | Vandenberg SLC-10W | ||||||
DSAP-4B F3 (OPS 1127) | USAF, NRO | Low Earth | Meteorology | In orbit | Successful | |||
23 July 09:00[4] | Kosmos-2I | Plesetsk Site 133/1 | ||||||
DS-P1-Yu No.23 | Low Earth | Radar calibration | 23 July 1969 | Failure | ||||
Second stage failed at T+267 seconds. | ||||||||
24 July 01:30[9] | Thorad-SLV2H-Agena-D | Vandenberg SLC-3W | ||||||
KH-4B 7 (OPS 3654) | CIA | Low Earth | Optical imaging | 23 August 1969[5] | Successful | |||
26 July 02:06[7] | Delta M | Cape Canaveral LC-17A | ||||||
Intelsat III F-5 | Intelsat | Geostationary | Communications | 14 October 1988[5] | Failure | |||
Third stage failure left the spacecraft in an unusable orbit. | ||||||||
31 July 10:19[9] | Thorad-SLV2G-Agena-D | Vandenberg SLC-1W | ||||||
Strawman-2 (OPS 8285) | USAF | Low Earth | ELINT | 4 January 1973[5] | Successful | |||
August[edit] | ||||||||
6 August 05:40[6] | Tsyklon-2 | Baikonur Site 90/19 | ||||||
Kosmos 291 (IS-GVM) | Low Earth | Mass simulator | 8 September 1969 | Successful | ||||
First test flight of Tsyklon-2 booster. Flew with a dummy payload planned to be used as an ASAT target but the ASAT interceptor test flight was later cancelled. | ||||||||
7 August 23:48[6] | Proton-K/Blok D | Baikonur Site 81/23 | ||||||
Zond 7 | High Earth | Lunar flyby | 13 August 1969 | Successful | ||||
The only successful test flight of Soyuz 7K-L1 spacecraft. Circumlunar flight, perilune 1,984 km. | ||||||||
9 August 07:52[7] | Delta N | Cape Canaveral LC-17A | ||||||
OSO 6 | NASA | Low Earth | Solar observatory | 7 March 1981[5] | Successful | |||
PAC 1 | NASA | Low Earth | Technology demonstration | 28 April 1977[5] | Successful | |||
12 August 11:01[7] | Atlas SLV-3C Centaur-D | Cape Canaveral LC-36A | ||||||
ATS-5 | NASA | Geosynchronous | Communications | In orbit | Successful | |||
13 August 22:00[4] | Kosmos-3M | Plesetsk Site 132/2 | ||||||
Kosmos 292 (Zaliv No.3) | Low Earth | Navigation | In orbit | Successful | ||||
16 August 11:59[6] | Voskhod | Baikonur Site 31/6 | ||||||
Kosmos 293 (Zenit-2M No.4) / Nauka 5KS L.1 | Low Earth | Optical imaging | 28 August 1969[5] | Successful | ||||
19 August 13:00[4] | Voskhod | Plesetsk Site 41/1 | ||||||
Kosmos 294 (Zenit-4 No.62) | Low Earth | Optical imaging | 27 August 1969[5] | Successful | ||||
22 August 14:14[4] | Kosmos-2I | Plesetsk Site 133/1 | ||||||
Kosmos 295 (DS-P1-Yu No.24) | Low Earth | Radar calibration | 1 December 1969[5] | Successful | ||||
23 August 16:00[9] | Titan IIIB | Vandenberg SLC-4W | ||||||
KH-8 Gambit 3 (OPS 7807) | USAF | Low Earth | Optical imaging | 7 September 1969[5] | Successful | |||
27 August 21:59[7] | Delta L | Cape Canaveral LC-17A | ||||||
Pioneer E | NASA | Heliocentric | Solar orbiter | 27 August 1969 | Failure | |||
TETR 3 | NASA | Low Earth orbit | Technology demonstration | 27 August 1969 | Failure | |||
First flight of Delta L rocket. First stage hydraulics failure threw the second stage far off course and the vehicle was destroyed by range safety at T+383 seconds. | ||||||||
29 August 09:05[6] | Voskhod | Baikonur Site 31/6 | ||||||
Kosmos 296 (Zenit-4 No.63) | Low Earth | Optical imaging | 6 September 1969[5] | Successful | ||||
September[edit] | ||||||||
2 September 11:00[4] | Voskhod | Plesetsk Site 41/1 | ||||||
Kosmos 297 (Zenit-4 No.64) | Low Earth | Optical imaging | 10 September 1969[5] | Successful | ||||
15 September 08:40[6] | R-36O | Baikonur Site 191/66 | ||||||
Kosmos 298 (OGCh No.21) | Low Earth | Weapon test | 15 September 1969[5] | Successful | ||||
18 September 08:40[6] | Voskhod | Baikonur Site 31/6 | ||||||
Kosmos 299 (Zenit-4 No.65) | Low Earth | Optical imaging | 22 September 1969[5] | Successful | ||||
22 September 02:10[11] | Lambda 4S | Kagoshima L | ISAS | |||||
Ōsumi-4 | ISAS | Low Earth | Test flight | 22 September 1969 | Failure | |||
22 September 21:11[9] | Thorad-SLV2G-Agena-D | Vandenberg SLC-3W | ||||||
KH-4A 52 (OPS 3531) | CIA | Low Earth | Optical imaging | 13 October 1969[5] | Successful | |||
P-11 (OPS 4710) | USAF | Low Earth | Reconnaissance | 16 May 1971[5] | Successful | |||
23 September 14:07[6] | Proton-K/Blok D | Baikonur Site 81/24 | ||||||
Kosmos 300 (Luna 16a, Ye-8-5 №403) | Selenocentric | Lunar sample return | 27 September 1969[5] | Failure | ||||
Blok D stage failed due to valve defect and the probe failed to leave Earth orbit. | ||||||||
24 September 12:15[4] | Voskhod | Plesetsk Site 41/1 | ||||||
Kosmos 301 (Zenit-2 No.77) | Low Earth | Optical imaging | 2 October 1969[5] | Successful | ||||
30 September 13:40[9] | Thorad-SLV2G-Agena-D | Vandenberg SLC-3W | ||||||
Poppy 8A-D (NRL-PL 161-164) | NRL/US Navy | Low Earth | ELINT | In orbit | Successful | |||
NRL-PL 165 | NRL/US Navy | Low Earth | Technology demonstration | In orbit | Successful | |||
Timation-2 | NRL/US Navy | Low Earth | Navigation | In orbit | Successful | |||
Tempsat 2 | NRL | Low Earth | Calibration | In orbit | Successful | |||
SOICAL Cone & Cylinder | USAF | Low Earth | Calibration | Cone: In orbit Cylinder: 14 February 2023[12] | Successful | |||
P-11 (OPS 7613) | USAF | Low Earth | Reconnaissance | In orbit | Successful | |||
October[edit] | ||||||||
1 October 22:29[9] | Scout-B | Vandenberg SLC-5 | ||||||
ESRO 1B | ESRO | Low Earth | Research | In orbit | Partial failure | |||
Orbit was lower than planned. | ||||||||
6 October 01:45[4] | Vostok-2M | Plesetsk Site 41/1 | ||||||
Meteor-1 2 | Low Earth | Meteorology | 20 August 2002[5] | Successful | ||||
11 October 11:10 | Soyuz | Baikonur LC-31/6 | RVSN | |||||
Soyuz 6 | RVSN | Low Earth | Crewed orbital flight | 16 October 1969 | Partial failure | |||
Rendezvous with Soyuz 7 and 8 unsuccessful due to electronic failure. | ||||||||
12 October 10:44 | Soyuz | Baikonur LC-1/5 | RVSN | |||||
Soyuz 7 | RVSN | Low Earth | Crewed orbital flight | 16 October 1969 | Partial failure | |||
Rendezvous with Soyuz 6 and 8 unsuccessful due to electronic failure. | ||||||||
13 October 10:19 | Soyuz | Baikonur LC-31/6 | RVSN | |||||
Soyuz 8 | RVSN | Low Earth | Crewed orbital flight | 16 October 1969 | Partial failure | |||
Rendezvous with Soyuz 6 and 7 unsuccessful due to electronic failure. | ||||||||
14 October[13] 13:19 | Kosmos-2I | Plesetsk Site 133/1 | ||||||
Interkosmos 1 (DS-U3-IK No.1) | Interkosmos | Low Earth | Solar research | 2 January 1970[5] | Successful | |||
17 October 11:45[4] | Voskhod | Plesetsk Site 41/1 | ||||||
Kosmos 302 (Zenit-4 No.66) | Low Earth | Optical imaging | 25 October 1969[5] | Successful | ||||
18 October 10:00[4] | Kosmos-2I | Plesetsk Site 133/1 | ||||||
Kosmos 303 (DS-P1-Yu No.25) | Low Earth | Radar calibration | 23 January 1970[5] | Successful | ||||
21 October 12:49[4] | Kosmos-3M | Plesetsk Site 132 | ||||||
Kosmos 304 (Zaliv No.4) | Low Earth | Navigation | In orbit | Successful | ||||
22 October 14:09[6] | Proton-K/Blok D | Baikonur Site 81/24 | ||||||
Kosmos 305 (Luna 16b, Ye-8-5 №404) | Selenocentric | Lunar sample return | In orbit | Failure | ||||
Control system of the Blok D stage failed and the probe failed to leave Earth orbit. | ||||||||
24 October 09:40[6] | Voskhod | Baikonur Site 1/5 | ||||||
Kosmos 306 (Zenit-2M No.5) | Low Earth | Optical imaging | 5 November 1969[5] | Successful | ||||
24 October 13:01[10] | Kosmos-2I | Kapustin Yar Site 86/4 | ||||||
Kosmos 307 (DS-P1-Yu No.26) | Low Earth | Radar calibration | 30 December 1970[5] | Successful | ||||
24 October 18:10[9] | Titan IIIB | Vandenberg SLC-4W | ||||||
KH-8 Gambit 3 (OPS 8455) | USAF | Low Earth | Optical imaging | 8 November 1969[5] | Successful | |||
November[edit] | ||||||||
4 November 11:59[4] | Kosmos-2I | Plesetsk Site 133/1 | ||||||
Kosmos 308 (DS-P1-I No.6) | Low Earth | Radar calibration | 4 January 1970[5] | Successful | ||||
8 November 01:52[9] | Scout-B | Vandenberg SLC-5 | ||||||
Azur | BMWF/DLR | Medium Earth | Ionospheric research | In orbit | Successful | |||
12 November 11:30[4] | Voskhod | Plesetsk Site 41/1 | ||||||
Kosmos 309 (Zenit-2 No.78) / Nauka 3KS L.1 | Low Earth | Optical imaging | 20 November 1969[5] | Successful | ||||
14 November 16:22 | Saturn V | KSC LC-39A | NASA | |||||
Apollo 12 CSM Yankee Clipper | NASA | Selenocentric | Crewed Lunar orbital flight | 24 November 1969 | Successful | |||
Apollo 12 LM Intrepid | NASA | Selenocentric | Crewed Lunar landing | 20 November 1969 | Successful | |||
Second crewed Moon landing. | ||||||||
15 November 08:30[6] | Voskhod | Baikonur Site 31/6 | ||||||
Kosmos 310 (Zenit-4 No.67) | Low Earth | Optical imaging | 23 November 1969[5] | Successful | ||||
22 November 02:00[7] | Delta M | Cape Canaveral LC-17A | ||||||
Skynet 1A | MoD | Geostationary | Communications (military) | In orbit | Successful | |||
24 November 11:00[4] | Kosmos-2I | Plesetsk Site 133/1 | ||||||
Kosmos 311 (DS-P1-Yu No.27) | Low Earth | Radar calibration | 10 March 1970[5] | Successful | ||||
24 November 16:49[4] | Kosmos-3M | Plesetsk Site 132 | ||||||
Kosmos 312 (Sfera No.5) | Low Earth | Geodesy | In orbit | Successful | ||||
28 November 09:00[6] | Proton-K/Blok D | Baikonur Site 81/23 | ||||||
Soyuz 7K-L1E | Medium Earth | Flight test | In orbit | Failure | ||||
First stage failure | ||||||||
December[edit] | ||||||||
3 December 13:20[4] | Voskhod | Plesetsk Site 41/1 | ||||||
Kosmos 313 (Zenit-2M No.6) / Gektor No.6 | Low Earth | Optical imaging | 15 December 1969[5] | Successful | ||||
4 December 21:37[9] | Thorad-SLV2H-Agena-D | Vandenberg SLC-3W | ||||||
KH-4B 8 (OPS 6617) | CIA | Low Earth | Optical imaging | 10 January 1970[5] | Successful | |||
11 December 12:58[4] | Kosmos-2I | Plesetsk Site 133/1 | ||||||
Kosmos 314 (DS-P1-Yu No.28) | Low Earth | Radar calibration | 22 March 1970[5] | Successful | ||||
20 December 03:26[4] | Kosmos-3M | Plesetsk Site 132 | ||||||
Kosmos 315 (Tselina-O No.5) | Low Earth | ELINT | 25 March 1979[5] | Successful | ||||
23 December 09:25[6] | Tsyklon-2 | Baikonur Site 90/19 | ||||||
Kosmos 316 (I2P No.3) | Low Earth | Dummy ASAT warhead | 28 August 1970[5] | Successful | ||||
23 December 13:50[4] | Voskhod | Plesetsk Site 41/1 | ||||||
Kosmos 317 (Zenit-4MK No.1 / Germes No.1) | Low Earth | Optical imaging | 5 January 1970[5] | Successful | ||||
25 December 09:59[10] | Kosmos-2I | Kapustin Yar Site 86/4 | ||||||
Interkosmos 2 (DS-U1-IK No.1) | Interkosmos | Low Earth | Ionosphere research | 7 June 1970[5] | Successful | |||
27 December[4] | Kosmos-3M | Plesetsk Site 132 | ||||||
Ionosfernaya No.1 | Low Earth | Ionosphere research | In orbit | Failure |
Suborbital flights[edit]
Date and time (UTC) | Rocket | Flight number | Launch site | LSP | |||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Payload (⚀ = CubeSat) | Operator | Orbit | Function | Decay (UTC) | Outcome | ||
Remarks | |||||||
17 January[14] | Nike-Cajun | Esrange | NASA | ||||
/ RTG SNC 2A / 1 Aeronomy mission | NASA/RTG | Suborbital | Aeronomy | 17 January | Successful | ||
Apogee: 117 kilometres (73 mi). | |||||||
21 January[15] | Skylark 6 | Woomera LA-2 SL | British Aerospace | ||||
UK SL781 Solar x-ray mission | RAE/WRE | Suborbital | Astronomy | 21 January | Failure | ||
23 January 20:00[15] | Skylark | Woomera LA-2 SL | British Aerospace | ||||
/ Ion / Te Ionosphere mission | RAE/WRE | Suborbital | Astronomy | 23 January | Successful | ||
Apogee: 149 kilometres (93 mi). | |||||||
23 January 23:00[14] | Nike-Cajun | Esrange | NASA | ||||
/ RTG SNC 2A / 3 Aeronomy mission | NASA/RTG | Suborbital | Aeronomy | 23 January | Successful | ||
Apogee: 116 kilometres (72 mi). | |||||||
25 January 21:00[14] | Nike-Cajun | Esrange | NASA | ||||