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 Unha-2
Retirements	Ariane 5GS Falcon 1 Tsyklon-3
Crewed flights
Orbital	9
Total travellers	46
v t e

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[edit]

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 uncrewed 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[edit]

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.

Crewed spaceflight[edit]

Nine crewed 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 crewed 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 crewed 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 crewed Soyuz mission reach orbit. In November, Space Shuttle Atlantis flew mission STS-129, delivering two EXPRESS Logistics Carriers to the ISS. The final crewed 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[edit]

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[edit]

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[edit]

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.

Orbital launches[edit]

Date and time (UTC)	Rocket		Flight number	Launch site		LSP
		Payload (⚀ = CubeSat)	Operator	Orbit	Function	Decay (UTC)	Outcome
		Remarks
January[edit]
18 January 02:47[13]	Delta IV Heavy[14]			Cape Canaveral SLC-37B		United Launch Alliance
		USA-202 / Orion 6[15]	NRO	Geosynchronous	ELINT	In orbit	Operational
		NROL-26 mission.
23 January 03:54[17]	H-IIA 202			Tanegashima LA-Y1		Mitsubishi
		Ibuki (GOSAT)	JAXA	Low Earth (SSO)	Climatology	In orbit	Operational
		SDS-1	JAXA	Low Earth (SSO)	Technology demonstration	In orbit	Successful[18]
		Sohla-1 (Maido-1)	SOHLA[19]	Low Earth (SSO)	Technology demonstration	In orbit	Successful[20]
		Raijin (Sprite-Sat)[21]	Tohoku University	Low Earth (SSO)	Sprite research	In orbit	Spacecraft failure[16]
		Kagayaki[22]	Sorun[23]	Low Earth (SSO)	Technology demonstration	In orbit	Spacecraft failure[16]
		Hitomi (PRISM)[24]	University of Tokyo	Low Earth (SSO)	Technology demonstration	In orbit	Operational
		Kukai (STARS)[25][26]	Kagawa University	Low Earth (SSO)	Technology demonstration	In orbit	Spacecraft failure[16]
		Kiseki (KKS-1)[27]	TMCIT	Low Earth (SSO)	Technology demonstration	In orbit	Spacecraft failure[16]
		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.[16]
30 January 13:30[3]	Tsyklon-3			Plesetsk Site 32/2		Roscosmos
		Koronas-Foton	Roscosmos / MEPhI / NIIEM[29]	Low Earth[29]	Heliophysics	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.[28]
← Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec → February[edit]
2 February 18:36[30]	Safir			Semnan		ISA
		Omid[citation needed]	ISA	Low Earth	Technology demonstration	25 April	Successful
		First successful Iranian orbital launch[2]
6 February 10:22:01[31]	Delta II 7320-10C			Vandenberg SLC-2W		United Launch Alliance
		NOAA-19 (NOAA-N')	NOAA / NASA	Low Earth (SSO)	Meteorology	In orbit	Operational
10 February 05:49:46[32]	Soyuz-U			Baikonur Site 31/6		Roscosmos
		Progress M-66	Roscosmos	Low Earth (ISS)	ISS logistics	18 May 15:14:45	Successful
		ISS flight 32P
11 February 00:03[33]	Proton-M / Briz-M Enhanced			Baikonur Site 200/39		Khrunichev
		Ekspress-AM44[34]	RSCC	Geosynchronous	Communication	In orbit	Operational
		Ekspress-MD1	RSCC	Geosynchronous	Communications	In orbit	Operational
12 February 22:09:00[35]	Ariane 5 ECA			Kourou ELA-3		Arianespace
		Hot Bird 10	Eutelsat	Geosynchronous	Communications	In orbit	Operational
		NSS-9	SES New Skies	Geosynchronous	Communications	In orbit	Operational
		Spirale-A	CNES	Highly elliptical	Technology demonstration	In orbit	Operational
		Spirale-B	CNES	Highly elliptical	Technology demonstration	In orbit	Operational
24 February 09:55:30[37]	Taurus-XL 3110			Vandenberg LC-576E		Orbital Sciences
		OCO	NASA	Intended: Low Earth (SSO)	Climatology	24 February	Launch failure
		Maiden flight of Taurus-XL 3110, payload fairing failed to separate, failed to reach orbit.[36] Satellite was to have been part of A-train constellation
26 February 18:29:55[38]	Zenit-3SLB			Baikonur Site 45/1		Land Launch
		Telstar 11N	Telesat	Geosynchronous	Communications	In orbit	Operational
28 February 04:10	Proton-K / DM-2			Baikonur Site 81/24		Khrunichev
		Raduga-1	VKS	Geosynchronous	Communications	In orbit	Operational
← Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec → March[edit]
7 March 03:49:57[40]	Delta II 7925-10L			Cape Canaveral SLC-17B		United Launch Alliance
		Kepler	NASA	Heliocentric	Exoplanetary science	In orbit	Operational
		Exosolar planet research, operating in an Earth-trailing orbit[39]
15 March 23:43:44[41]	Space Shuttle Discovery[42]			Kennedy LC-39A		United Space Alliance
		STS-119[43]	NASA	Low Earth (ISS)	ISS assembly[44][45]	28 March 19:13[46]	Successful
		ITS S6 Truss	NASA	Low Earth (ISS)	ISS assembly	In orbit	Operational
		Crewed flight with seven astronauts.
17 March 14:21[47]	Rokot / Briz-KM			Plesetsk Site 133/3[48]		Eurockot
		GOCE	ESA	Low Earth	Gravitational research	11 November 2013 00:16	Successful
24 March 08:34:00[49]	Delta II 7925-9.5			Cape Canaveral SLC-17A		United Launch Alliance
		USA-203 (GPS IIR-20/M7)	U.S. Air Force	Medium Earth	Navigation	In orbit	Partial spacecraft failure Operational
26 March 11:49:06	Soyuz-FG			Baikonur Site 1/5		Roscosmos
		Soyuz TMA-14[14]	Roscosmos	Low Earth (ISS)	Expedition 19	11 October 04:32	Successful
		Crewed flight with three cosmonauts. First space tourist to make two flights.
← Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec → April[edit]
3 April 16:24	Proton-M / Briz-M Enhanced			Baikonur Site 200/39		International Launch Services
		Eutelsat W2A	Eutelsat	Geosynchronous	Communications	In orbit	Operational
4 April 00:31[50]	Atlas V 421			Cape Canaveral SLC-41		United Launch Alliance
		USA-204 (WGS-2)	U.S. Air Force	Geosynchronous	Communications	In orbit	Operational
5 April 02:30:15[52]	Unha-2			Tonghae		KCST
		Kwangmyŏngsŏng-2	KCST	Intended: Low Earth	Technology demonstration	5 April	Launch failure
		North Korea claimed the launch was successful;[51] however, no objects were tracked in orbit.
14 April 16:16	Long March 3C			Xichang LA-2		CNSA
		Compass-G2	CNSA	Geosynchronous	Navigation	In orbit	Spacecraft failure
		Failed in orbit shortly after launch. Towed to a high graveyard orbit by Shijian-21 on 22 January 2022.[53]
20 April 01:15	PSLV-CA			Satish Dhawan SLP		ISRO
		RISAT-2	ISRO	Low Earth	Radar imaging	30 October 2022 00:06[54]	Successful
		ANUSAT	Anna University	Low Earth	Technology demonstration	18 April 2012	Successful
20 April 08:16	Zenit-3SL			Ocean Odyssey		Sea Launch
		Sicral-1B	ASI	Geosynchronous	Communications	In orbit	Operational
22 April 02:55	Long March 2C			Taiyuan LC-1		CASC
		Yaogan-6	CNSA	Low Earth (SSO)	Earth observation	In orbit	Operational
29 April 16:58	Soyuz-U			Plesetsk Site 16/2		VKS
		Kosmos 2450 (Kobal't-M)	VKS	Low Earth	Optical reconnaissance	27 July	Successful
← Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec → May[edit]
5 May 20:24:25[14][50]	Delta II 7920-10C			Vandenberg SLC-2W		United Launch Alliance
		USA-205 (STSS-ATRR)	U.S. Air Force / MDA	Low Earth (SSO)	Missile defence Technology demonstration	In orbit	Operational
7 May 18:37	Soyuz-U			Baikonur Site 1/5		Roscosmos
		Progress M-02M	Roscosmos	Low Earth (ISS)	ISS logistics	13 July 16:28:47	Successful
		ISS flight 33P
11 May 18:01	Space Shuttle Atlantis[42]			Kennedy LC-39A		United Space Alliance
		STS-125[55]	NASA[56]	Low Earth (HST)	HST servicing flight[57][58]	24 May 15:39	Successful
		Crewed flight with seven astronauts, final Space Shuttle mission to the Hubble Space Telescope.
14 May[59] 13:12	Ariane 5 ECA			Kourou ELA-3		Arianespace
		Herschel[60]	ESA	Sun–Earth L2	Infrared astronomy	In orbit	Operational
		Planck[61]	ESA	Sun–Earth L2	Space telescope	In orbit	Operational
16 May 00:57	Proton-M / Briz-M Enhanced			Baikonur Site 200/39		International Launch Services
		ProtoStar II	ProtoStar	Geosynchronous	Communications	In orbit	Operational
19 May 23:55	Minotaur I			MARS LP-0B		Orbital Sciences
		TacSat-3	USAF-RL	Low Earth	Technology demonstration	30 April 2012	Successful
		PharmaSat	NASA	Low Earth	Biological	14 August 2012	Successful
		⚀ AeroCube 3	Aerospace Corporation	Low Earth	Technology demonstration	6 January 2011	Successful
		⚀ HawkSat I[62]	HISS	Low Earth	Technology demonstration[62][63]	4 September 2011	Successful
		⚀ CP6[62]	CalPoly	Low Earth	Technology demonstration	6 October 2011	Successful
		All payloads except TacSat-3 and Pharmasat are CubeSats.
21 May 21:53	Soyuz-2.1a / Fregat			Plesetsk Site 43/4		RVSN RF
		Meridian 2[65]	VKS	Intended: Molniya Achieved: Medium Earth	Communications	23 April 2021 04:48[68]	Launch failure[67]
		Core vehicle second stage shut down five seconds early,[64] attempt to compensate using Fregat resulted in propellent depletion during second of three burns[65] Satellite reached a lower orbit than expected, and despite being expected to be recoverable to fully operational status[66] was unable to recover.[67]
27 May 10:34:42	Soyuz-FG			Baikonur Site 1/5		Roscosmos
		Soyuz TMA-15	Roscosmos	Low Earth (ISS)	Expedition 20	1 December 07:17	Successful
		Crewed flight with three cosmonauts, established first permanent six-man crew on the ISS.
← Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec → June[edit]
18 June[69] 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	Communications	In orbit	Operational
27 June 22:51[70]	Delta IV-M+ (4,2)			Cape Canaveral SLC-37B		United Launch Alliance
		GOES-O (GOES-14)	NOAA / NASA	Geosynchronous	Meteorology	In orbit	Operational
30 June 19:10	Proton-M / Briz-M Enhanced			Baikonur Site 200/39		International Launch Services
		Sirius FM-5 (RadioSat-5)	Sirius XM	Geosynchronous	Communications	In orbit	Operational
← Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec → July[edit]
1 July 17:52[71]	Ariane 5 ECA			Kourou ELA-3		Arianespace
		TerreStar-1	TerreStar	Geosynchronous	Communications	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
14 July 03:35[72]	Falcon 1			Omelek		SpaceX
		RazakSat-1 (MACSat)	ATSB	Low Earth	Earth observation	In orbit	Spacecraft failure
		Final flight of Falcon 1.[4]
15 July[70] 22:03	Space Shuttle Endeavour[43]			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 assembly	In orbit	Operational
		AggieSat 2	NASA	Low Earth	Technology demonstration	17 March 2010 18:26[73]	Partial spacecraft failure Successful
		BEVO-1	NASA	Low Earth	Technology demonstration		Partial spacecraft failure Successful
		Castor[74]	NRL	Low Earth	Atmospheric science	18 August 2010 17:48[75]	Successful
		Pollux[74]	NRL	Low Earth	Atmospheric science	29 March 2010	Successful
		Crewed 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.
21 July 03:57:43	Kosmos-3M			Plesetsk Site 132/1		RVSN RF
		Kosmos 2454 (Parus)	VKS	Low Earth	Navigation Communications	In orbit	Operational
		Sterkh-1	Roscosmos	Low Earth	Communications Search and rescue	In orbit	Operational
24 July 10:56:51	Soyuz-U			Baikonur Site 1/5		Roscosmos
		Progress M-67	Roscosmos	Low Earth (ISS)	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	Low Earth (SSO)	Earth observation	In orbit	Operational
		Deimos-1	Deimos Space	Low Earth (SSO)	Earth observation	In orbit	Operational
		UK-DMC 2	BNSC (2009-2010) UKSA (2010—)	Low Earth (SSO)	Earth observation	In orbit	Operational
		Nanosat 1B	INTA	Low Earth (SSO)	Earth observation	In orbit	Operational
		AprizeSat-3	LatinSat	Low Earth (SSO)	Communications	In orbit	Operational
		AprizeSat-4	LatinSat	Low Earth (SSO)	Communications	In orbit	Operational
← Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec → August[edit]
11 August 19:47	Proton-M / Briz-M			Baikonur Site 200/39		International Launch Services
		AsiaSat 5	AsiaSat	Geosynchronous	Communications	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)	U.S. Air Force	Medium Earth	Navigation	In orbit	Operational
		Final launch from SLC-17A,[49] final GPS IIR launch, final flight of Delta II 7925
21 August 22:09	Ariane 5 ECA			Kourou ELA-3		Arianespace
		JCSAT-12	SKY Perfect JSAT Group	Geosynchronous	Communications	In orbit	Operational
		Optus D3	Optus	Geosynchronous	Communications	In orbit	Operational
25 August[79] 08:00	Naro-1			Naro[80]		Khrunichev / KARI[80]
		STSAT-2A	KARI[81]	Intended: Low Earth	Technology demonstration	25 August	Launch failure[82]
		Maiden flight of Naro-1,[76] 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.[77][78]
29 August 03:59	Space Shuttle Discovery			Kennedy LC-39A		United Space Alliance
		STS-128[83]	NASA	Low Earth (ISS)	ISS assembly	11 September 00:53	Successful
		Leonardo MPLM	ASI / NASA	Low Earth (ISS)	ISS logistics		Successful
		Crewed flight with seven astronauts.
31 August 09:28[84]	Long March 3B			Xichang		CASC
		Palapa-D	Indosat	Geosynchronous	Communications	In orbit	Partial launch failure Operational[85]
		Third stage failed during restart[84] due to gas generator burn-through.[8]
← Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec → September[edit]
8 September 21:35	Atlas V 401			Cape Canaveral SLC-41		United Launch Alliance
		USA-207 (PAN)	NRO	Geosynchronous	Reconnaissance	In orbit	Operational
10 September 17:01:46[86]	H-IIB			Tanegashima LA-Y2		JAXA[87]
		HTV-1	JAXA	Low Earth (ISS)	ISS logistics	1 November 21:26	Successful
		Maiden flight of H-IIB and H-II Transfer Vehicle, first launch from LA-Y2.
17 September 15:55:07[88][89]	Soyuz-2.1b / Fregat			Baikonur Site 31/6		Roscosmos
		Meteor-M No.1	Roscosmos	Low Earth (SSO)	Meteorology	In orbit	Successful
		BLITS	Roscosmos	Low Earth (SSO)	Radar calibration	In orbit	Operational
		IRIS[90]	NPO Lavochkin / EADS Astrium	Low Earth (SSO)	Technology demonstration	12 March 2021[91]	Successful
		Sterkh-2	Roscosmos	Low Earth (SSO)	Communications Search and rescue	In orbit	Spacecraft failure[92]
		SumbandilaSat[93]	Stellenbosch	Low Earth (SSO)	Technology demonstration	10 December 2021	Spacecraft failure; Partial success
		UGATUSAT[94]	UGATU	Low Earth (SSO)	Earth observation	In orbit	Spacecraft failure[95]
		Universitetsky-Tatyana-2[96]	MSU	Low Earth (SSO)	Technology demonstration	In orbit	Spacecraft failure; Partial success
		Meteor M-1 was a replacement for Meteor-3M No.1. 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	Communications	In orbit	Operational[97]
23 September 06:21[98]	PSLV-CA			Satish Dhawan FLP		ISRO
		Oceansat-2	ISRO	Low Earth (SSO)	Oceanography	In orbit	Operational
		Rubin 9.1	OHB-System	Low Earth (SSO)	Technology demonstration	In orbit	Successful
		Rubin 9.2	OHB-System	Low Earth (SSO)	Technology demonstration	In orbit	Successful
		⚀ BeeSat-1	TU Berlin	Low Earth (SSO)	Technology demonstration	In orbit	Operational
		⚀ ITU-pSat1	ITU	Low Earth (SSO)	Technology demonstration	In orbit	Operational
		⚀ SwissCube-1	EPFL	Low Earth (SSO)	Atmospheric science	In orbit	Operational
		⚀ UWE-2	Würzburg	Low Earth (SSO)	Technology demonstration	In orbit	Operational
		First Swiss satellite, Rubin payloads intentionally remained attached to upper stage.
25 September 12:20[99]	Delta II 7920-10C			Cape Canaveral SLC-17B		United Launch Alliance
		USA-208 (STSS-Demo 1)	U.S. Air Force	Low Earth	Technology demonstration Missile defence	In orbit	Successful[100]
		USA-209 (STSS-Demo 2)	U.S. Air Force	Low Earth	Technology demonstration Missile defence	In orbit	Successful[100]
30 September 07:14	Soyuz-FG			Baikonur Site 1/5		Roscosmos
		Soyuz TMA-16	Roscosmos	Low Earth (ISS)	Expedition 21	18 March 2010	Successful
		Crewed flight with three cosmonauts
← Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec → October[edit]
1 October 21:59[101]	Ariane 5 ECA			Kourou ELA-3		Arianespace
		Amazonas-2	Hispasat	Geosynchronous	Communications	In orbit	Operational
		COMSATBw-1	Bundeswehr	Geosynchronous	Communications	In orbit	Operational
8 October 18:51[102]	Delta II 7920			Vandenberg SLC-2W		United Launch Alliance
		WorldView-2	DigitalGlobe	Low Earth (SSO)	Earth observation	In orbit	Operational
15 October 01:14	Soyuz-U			Baikonur Site 1/5		Roscosmos
		Progress M-03M	Roscosmos	Low Earth (ISS)	ISS logistics	27 April 2010 18:50:56	Successful
		ISS flight 35P
18 October 16:12	Atlas V 401			Vandenberg SLC-3E		United Launch Alliance
		USA-210 (DMSP-5D3 F18)	U.S. Air Force / NOAA	Low Earth (SSO)	Meteorology	In orbit	Operational
29 October 20:00	Ariane 5 ECA			Kourou ELA-3		Arianespace
		Thor-6	Telenor	Geosynchronous	Communications	In orbit	Operational
		NSS-12	SES World Skies	Geosynchronous	Communications	In orbit	Operational
← Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec → November[edit]
2 November 01:50	Rokot / Briz-KM			Plesetsk Site 133/3		Eurockot[103]
		SMOS[104]	ESA	Low Earth (SSO)	Earth observation	In orbit	Operational
		Proba-2	ESA	Low Earth (SSO)	Earth observation	In orbit	Operational
10 November[50] 14:22	Soyuz-U			Baikonur Site 1/5		Roscosmos
		Progress M-MIM2	Roscosmos	Low Earth (ISS)	Orbital tug	8 December 05:27[105]	Successful
		Poisk (MRM-2)	Roscosmos	Low Earth (ISS)	ISS assembly	In orbit	Operational
		ISS flight 5R
12 November 02:45[106]	Long March 2C			Jiuquan LA-4		CASC
		Shijian 11-01	CASC	Low Earth (SSO)	Technology demonstration	In orbit	Operational
16 November[70] 19:28	Space Shuttle Atlantis[43]			Kennedy LC-39A		United Space Alliance
		STS-129	NASA	Low Earth (ISS)	ISS assembly	27 November 14:44[107]	Successful
		ExPRESS-1	NASA	Low Earth (ISS)	ISS logistics	In orbit	Operational
		ExPRESS-2	NASA	Low Earth (ISS)	ISS logistics	In orbit	Operational
		Crewed flight, launching with six astronauts, and landing with seven.
20 November 10:44	Soyuz-U			Plesetsk Site 16/2		RVSN RF
		Kosmos 2455 (Lotos-S)	VKS	Low Earth	ELINT	In orbit	Operational
23 November 06:55[108]	Atlas V 431			Cape Canaveral SLC-41		United Launch Alliance
		Intelsat 14	Intelsat	Geosynchronous	Communications	In orbit	Operational
24 November 14:19[109]	Proton-M / Briz-M Enhanced[110]			Baikonur Site 200/39		International Launch Services
		Eutelsat W7	Eutelsat	Geosynchronous	Communications	In orbit	Operational
28 November[111] 01:21	H-IIA 202			Tanegashima LA-Y1		Mitsubishi
		IGS Optical 3[112]	CSICE	Low Earth (SSO)	Reconnaissance	In orbit	Successful[113]
30 November 21:00[114]	Zenit-3SLB[115]			Baikonur Site 45/1		Land Launch
		Intelsat 15	Intelsat	Geosynchronous	Communications	In orbit	Operational
← Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec → December[edit]
6 December 01:47[116]	Delta IV-M+ (5,4)			Cape Canaveral SLC-37B		United Launch Alliance
		USA-211 (WGS-3)	U.S. Air Force	Geosynchronous	Communications	In orbit	Successful
		Maiden flight of Delta IV-M+ (5,4), final Block I WGS satellite.
9 December 08:42[117]	Long March 2D			Jiuquan SLS-2		CASC
		Yaogan-7	CNSA	Low Earth (SSO)	Earth observation	In orbit	Operational
14 December 10:38[118]	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[119]	Delta II 7320			Vandenberg SLC-2W		United Launch Alliance
		WISE	NASA	Low Earth (SSO)	Infrared astronomy	In orbit	Operational
15 December 02:31[120]	Long March 4C			Taiyuan LC-2		CASC
		Yaogan-8	CNSA	Low Earth (SSO)	Earth observation	In orbit	Operational
		Xiwang 1	CNSA	Low Earth (SSO)	Amateur radio	In orbit	Operational
18 December 16:26	Ariane 5GS			Kourou ELA-3		Arianespace
		Helios IIB	DGA	Low Earth (SSO)	Reconnaissance	In orbit	Operational
		Final flight of Ariane 5GS.
20 December 21:52	Soyuz-FG			Baikonur Site 1/5		Roscosmos
		Soyuz TMA-17	Roscosmos	Low Earth (ISS)	Expedition 22	2 June 2010 03:25	Successful
		Crewed flight with three cosmonauts.
29 December 00:22	Proton-M / Briz-M Enhanced			Baikonur Site 200/39		International Launch Services
		DirecTV-12	DirecTV	Geosynchronous	Communications	In orbit	Operational

Suborbital flights[edit]

Date and time (UTC)	Rocket		Flight number	Launch site		LSP
		Payload (⚀ = CubeSat)	Operator	Orbit	Function	Decay (UTC)	Outcome
		Remarks
26 January 00:15[121]	S-310			Andøya LA-U3		ISAS
		Delta-2	JAXA/Nagoya[121][122][123]	Suborbital	Auroral[121]	26 January	Successful
29 January 09:49	Black Brant IX			Poker Flat		NASA
		ACES-I[124]	University of Iowa	Suborbital	Auroral	09:59	Successful
29 January 09:51	Black Brant VB			Poker Flat		NASA
		ACES-II[124]	University of Iowa	Suborbital	Auroral	10:01	Successful
13 February[125]	UGM-133 Trident II D5			USS Alabama, Pacific Ocean		U.S. Navy
			U.S. Navy	Suborbital	Missile test	13 February	Successful
18 February 09:52:00[126]	Terrier-Orion			Poker Flat		NASA
			Clemson	Suborbital	Atmospheric	18 February	Successful
18 February 10:29:00[126]	Terrier-Orion			Poker Flat		NASA
			Clemson	Suborbital	Atmospheric	18 February	Successful
18 February 10:59:00[126]	Terrier-Orion			Poker Flat		NASA
			Clemson	Suborbital	Atmospheric	18 February	Successful
18 February 11:47:00[126]	Terrier-Orion			Poker Flat		NASA
			Clemson	Suborbital	Atmospheric	18 February	Successful
25 February 10:45[127]	Black Brant IX			White Sands LC-36		NASA
		CIBER	Caltech	Suborbital	IR Astronomy[128]	10:55	Successful
February[30]	UGM-133 Trident II D5			Submarine, Pacific Ocean		U.S. Navy
			U.S. Navy	Suborbital	Missile test	February	Successful
6 March 10:54[129]	Dhanush			Ship, Indian Ocean		DRDO
			DRDO	Suborbital	Target	6 March	Successful
		Target for successful Prithvi interceptor test, apogee: 120 kilometres (75 mi)[129]
18 March[130] 00:25[65]	TRBM		FTT-10a	USS Tripoli, Barking Sands		U.S. Army
			U.S. Army/MDA	Suborbital	Target	18 March	Successful
		Intercepted by THAAD launched at 00:30 UTC[130][65]
18 March[130] 00:30[65]	THAAD		FTT-10a	Barking Sands		U.S. Army
			U.S. Army/MDA	Suborbital	ABM test	18 March	Successful
		Intercepted target missile[130]
18 March[130] 00:30[65]	THAAD		FTT-10a	Barking Sands		U.S. Army
			U.S. Army/MDA	Suborbital	ABM test	18 March	Successful
		Backup interceptor, destroyed by range safety after first missile succeeded[131]
20 March 11:04	Black Brant XII			Poker Flat		NASA
		Cascades-2	Dartmouth	Suborbital	Auroral	20 March	Successful
25 March 13:25[132]	Hera			Fort Wingate LC-96		U.S. Army
			U.S. Army	Suborbital	Target	25 March	Successful
		Target for MIM-104 Patriot PAC-3 test, interceptor failed
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 RF
			RVSN RF	Suborbital	Missile test	10 April	Successful
17 April 11:17[133]	FalconLaunch			White Sands		US Air Force Academy
		FalconLAUNCH VII	US Air Force Academy	Suborbital	Technology demonstration	17 April	Successful
		Apogee: 108 kilometres (67 mi),[133] first student-built rocket to reach space
2 May 14:02[citation needed]	SpaceLoft XL			Spaceport America		UP Aerospace
		SL-3	NMSGC	Suborbital	Student research	2 May	Launch failure[135]
		Discovery	Celestis	Suborbital	Space burial
		Failed to reach space due to premature payload separation whilst rocket was still burning[10][134][135]
7 May 02:42:00[136]	Terrier-Orion[136]			Woomera		DSTO
		HiFIRE 0	DSTO/AFRL	Suborbital	Technology demonstration	7 May	Successful
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[137]
20 May[65]	Sejjil-2			Semnan		IRGC
			IRGC	Suborbital	Missile test	20 May	Successful
		Apogee: 800 kilometres (500 mi)
22 May 10:32[138]	Nike-Orion			Esrange		EuroLaunch
		MAPHEUS	DLR	Suborbital	Technology demonstration	22 May	Successful
		Apogee: 140.8 kilometres (87.5 mi)[138]
26 May	UGM-133 Trident II D5			HMS Victorious		Royal Navy
			Royal Navy	Suborbital	Missile test	26 July	Successful
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
6 June	Terrier-Lynx			San Nicolas		U.S. Air Force
			U.S. Air Force	Suborbital	YAL-1 target	6 June	Successful
		Apogee: 100 kilometres (62 mi)
13 June	Terrier-Lynx			San Nicolas		U.S. Air Force
			U.S. Air Force	Suborbital	YAL-1 target	13 June	Successful
		Apogee: 100 kilometres (62 mi)
26 June 09:30	Terrier-Orion			Wallops Island LA-2		NASA
		RockOn!	University of Colorado	Suborbital	Student research	09:45	Successful
27 June 07:30	Black Brant IX			White Sands LC-36		NASA
		DICE	University of Colorado	Suborbital	UV Astronomy	07:40	Spacecraft failure