Notable spaceflight activities in 2017 included the maiden orbital flight of India's Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle Mark III (also called LVM3) on 5 June and the first suborbital test of Rocket Lab's Electron rocket, inaugurating the Mahia spaceport in New Zealand. The rocket is named for its innovative Rutherford engine which feeds propellants via battery-powered electric motors instead of the usual gas generator and turbopumps.
  .jpg)  Highlights from spaceflight in 2017[a] | |
| Orbital launches | |
|---|---|
| First | 5 January |
| Last | 26 December |
| Total | 91 |
| Successes | 83 |
| Failures | 6 |
| Partial failures | 2 |
| Catalogued | 86 |
| National firsts | |
| Satellite | |
| Rockets | |
| Maiden flights | |
| Retirements | |
| Crewed flights | |
| Orbital | 4 |
| Total travellers | 11 |
| EVAs | 10 |
Overview
China launched its new missile-derived Kaituozhe-2 variant on 2 March. The Japanese SS-520, a suborbital sounding rocket modified for orbital flight, failed to reach orbit in January.[1] If successful, it would have become the smallest and lightest vehicle to ever put an object in orbit.[2]
The venerable Russian Soyuz-U workhorse was retired after its 786th mission on 22 February. On 30 March, the SES-10 mission was launched with a previously flown Falcon 9 first stage, achieving a key milestone in the SpaceX reusable launch system development program; several other Falcon 9 first-stage boosters were re-used since then.
After a record-breaking 13-year mission observing Saturn, its rings and moons, the Cassini space probe was deliberately destroyed by plunging into Saturn's atmosphere, on 15 September 2017.[3]
A record number of 466 satellites were attempted to be launched thanks to an increase in the number of small satellites. 289 of all satellites weighted less than 10 kg.[4] The number of small satellites launched exceeded even the most optimistic forecasts.[5]
Orbital launches
| Date and time (UTC) | Rocket | Flight number | Launch site | LSP | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Payload (⚀ = CubeSat) | Operator | Orbit | Function | Decay (UTC) | Outcome | |||
| Remarks | ||||||||
January | ||||||||
| 5 January 15:18 |  Long March 3B/E | 3B-Y39[6] | Xichang LC-2[6] | CASC | ||||
| TJS-2 | CNSA | Geosynchronous | Communications | In orbit | Operational | |||
| 9 January 04:11:12 | Kuaizhou 1A | Jiuquan LS-95A | CASIC | |||||
| Jilin-1 Video-03 (Lingqiao 1-03)[7] | Chang Guang Satellite Technology | Low Earth (SSO) | Earth observation | In orbit | Operational | |||
| Caton-1 | CNSA | Low Earth (SSO) | Earth observation | In orbit | Operational | |||
| Xingyun Shiyan 1 | CNSA | Low Earth (SSO) | Earth observation | In orbit | Operational | |||
| 14 January 17:54:39 |  Falcon 9 Full Thrust | F9-029 | Vandenberg SLC-4E | SpaceX | ||||
| Iridium NEXT 1–10 | Iridium | Low Earth | Communications | In orbit | Operational | |||
| Return to flight mission for Falcon 9 after an accident in September 2016. First stage landed on a drone ship. | ||||||||
| 14 January 23:33 |  SS-520[8] | Uchinoura | JAXA | |||||
| TRICOM-1 | University of Tokyo | Low Earth | Technology demonstration | 14 January | Launch failure | |||
| Contact lost at +20 sec after launch. Aborted ignition of 2nd stage.[1] | ||||||||
| 21 January 00:42 | Atlas V 401 | AV-066 | Cape Canaveral SLC-41 | United Launch Alliance | ||||
| USA-273 / SBIRS GEO-3 | US Air Force | Geosynchronous | Missile warning | In orbit | Operational | |||
| 24 January 07:44 | H-IIA 204 | F32 | Tanegashima LA-Y1 | MHI | ||||
| DSN-2 | DSN / JSDF | Geosynchronous | Communications (military) | In orbit | Operational | |||
| 28 January 01:03:34 |  Soyuz ST-B / Fregat-MT |  Kourou ELS | Arianespace | |||||
 Hispasat AG1 | Hispasat | Geosynchronous | Communications | In orbit | Operational | |||
| First GTO launch by Soyuz at the Guiana Space Centre | ||||||||
February | ||||||||
| 14 February 21:39 |  Ariane 5 ECA | VA235 | Kourou ELA-3 | Arianespace | ||||
Intelsat 32e /  SkyBrasil-1 | Intelsat / SKY Brasil | Geosynchronous | Communications | In orbit | Operational | |||
 Telkom-3S | Telkom | Geosynchronous | Communications | In orbit | Operational | |||
| 15 February 03:58 |  PSLV-XL | C37 | Satish Dhawan FLP | ISRO | ||||
| Cartosat-2D | ISRO | Low Earth (SSO) | Earth observation | In orbit | Operational | |||
| INS-1A, 1B | ISRO | Low Earth (SSO) | Technology demonstration | In orbit | Operational | |||
⚀  Al-Farabi 1 | KazGU | Low Earth (SSO) | Technology demonstration | In orbit | Operational | |||
⚀  BGUSAT | Ben Gurion University | Low Earth (SSO) | Technology demonstration | 24 February 2023[9] | Successful | |||
⚀  DIDO-2 | SpacePharma | Low Earth (SSO) | Microgravity research | In orbit | Operational | |||
| ⚀ Flock-3p × 88 | Planet Labs | Low Earth (SSO) | Earth observation | In orbit | Operational | |||
| ⚀ Lemur-2 × 8 | Spire Global | Low Earth (SSO) | Earth observation | In orbit | Operational | |||
⚀  Nayif 1 | EIAST/AUS | Low Earth (SSO) | Technology demonstration | In orbit | Operational | |||
⚀ / / / PEASS | PEASS Consortium | Low Earth (SSO) | Technology demonstration | In orbit | Operational | |||
| Second largest number of satellites launched on a single rocket (104). | ||||||||
| 19 February 14:38:59 | Falcon 9 Full Thrust | F9-030 | Kennedy LC-39A | SpaceX | ||||
| SpaceX CRS-10 | NASA | Low Earth (ISS) | ISS logistics | 19 March 2017, 14:46 | Successful | |||
| First SpaceX launch from LC-39A. Carries the SAGE III and Lightning Imaging Sensor (LIS) Earth-observation instruments to the ISS. First stage returned to Landing Zone 1. | ||||||||
| 22 February 05:58 | Soyuz-U | Baikonur Site 1/5 | Roscosmos | |||||
| Progress MS-05 / 66P | Roscosmos | Low Earth (ISS) | ISS logistics | 20 July | Successful | |||
| 786th and final flight of Soyuz-U. | ||||||||
March | ||||||||
| 1 March 17:50 | Atlas V 401 | AV-068 | Vandenberg SLC-3E | United Launch Alliance | ||||
| USA-274 / Intruder 8 | NRO | Low Earth | Reconnaissance | In orbit | Operational | |||
| NROL-79 mission. | ||||||||
| 2 March 23:53 | Kaituozhe-2 | Jiuquan | CASIC | |||||
| Tiankun-1 | CASIC | Low Earth (SSO) | Technology demonstration | 7 July 2023[10] | Successful | |||
| Maiden flight. | ||||||||
| 7 March 01:49:24 | Vega | Kourou ELV | Arianespace | |||||
| Sentinel-2B | ESA | Low Earth (SSO) | Earth observation | In orbit | Operational | |||
| 16 March 06:00 | Falcon 9 Full Thrust | F9-031 | Kennedy LC-39A | SpaceX | ||||
| Echostar 23 | EchoStar | Geosynchronous | Communications | In orbit | Operational | |||
| Due to the satellite's heavy mass (~5,600 kg),[11] the rocket flew in its expendable configuration and the first-stage booster was not recovered.[12] | ||||||||
| 17 March 01:20:00 | H-IIA 202 | F33 | Tanegashima LA-Y1 | MHI | ||||
| IGS-Radar 5 | CSICE | Low Earth (SSO) | Reconnaissance | In orbit | Operational | |||
| 19 March 00:18 | Delta IV M+(5,4) | Cape Canaveral SLC-37B | United Launch Alliance | |||||
| USA-275 / WGS-9 | US Air Force | Geosynchronous | Communications | In orbit | Operational | |||
| 30 March 22:27 | Falcon 9 Full Thrust | F9-032 | Kennedy LC-39A | SpaceX | ||||
 SES-10 | SES S.A. | Geosynchronous | Communications | In orbit | Operational | |||
| First flight of a Falcon 9 re-used first stage.[13] SpaceX recovered the stage again. | ||||||||
April | ||||||||
| 12 April 11:04:04 | Long March 3B/E | 3B-Y43[6] | Xichang LC-2[6] | CASC | ||||
| Shijian 13[14] | CNSA | Geosynchronous | Communications Technology demonstration | In orbit | Operational | |||
| 18 April 15:11 | Atlas V 401 | AV-070 | Cape Canaveral SLC-41 | United Launch Alliance | ||||
| Cygnus CRS OA-7 SS John Glenn[15] | NASA | Low Earth (ISS) | ISS logistics | 12 June 2017 | Successful | |||
| ⚀ Altair 1 | Millennium Space Systems | Low Earth | Technology demonstration | In orbit | Operational | |||
| ⚀ IceCube | GSFC | Low Earth | Technology demonstration Atmospheric research | 3 October 2018[16] | Successful | |||
| ⚀ CSUNSat 1 | CSUN | Low Earth | Technology demonstration | 5 May 2019[17] | Successful | |||
| ⚀ CXBN 2 | MSU | Low Earth | X-ray astronomy | 1 March 2019[18] | Successful | |||
⚀ / / / SHARC (Biarri-Point) | Project Biarri / AFRL | Low Earth | Technology demonstration | 4 May 2019[19] | Successful | |||
| QB50 x 31 | Various | Low Earth | Technology demonstration Atmospheric research | In orbit | Operational | |||
| QB50 mission includes first Finnish satellite Aalto-2, Greek satellite UPSat | ||||||||
| 20 April 07:13:44 | Soyuz-FG | Baikonur Site 1/5 | Roscosmos | |||||
| Soyuz MS-04 / 50S | Roscosmos | Low Earth (ISS) | Expedition 51/52 | 3 September 2017 01:22 | Successful | |||
| Crewed flight with two cosmonauts.[20] | ||||||||
| 20 April 11:41:35 | Long March 7 | Y2[22] | Wenchang LC-2 | CASC | ||||
| Tianzhou 1 | CMSA | Low Earth (Tiangong 2) | Tiangong 2 resupply | 22 September 2017 10:00 | Successful | |||
| SilkRoad-1 / Silu 1[21] | Xi'an Institute of Surveying and Mapping | Low Earth | Earth observation | In orbit | Operational | |||
| SilkRoad-1 was released on 1 August from Tianzhou 1.[21] | ||||||||
May | ||||||||
| 1 May 11:15 | Falcon 9 Full Thrust | F9-033 | Kennedy LC-39A | SpaceX | ||||
| NROL-76 / USA-276 | NRO | Low Earth[23] | Reconnaissance | In orbit | Operational | |||
| First stage returned to Landing Zone 1. | ||||||||
| 4 May 21:50 | Ariane 5 ECA | VA236 | Kourou ELA-3 | Arianespace | ||||
 Koreasat-7 | KT Corporation | Geosynchronous | Communications | In orbit | Operational | |||
| SGDC-1 | Telebras | Geosynchronous | Communications | In orbit | Operational | |||
| 5 May 11:27 | GSLV Mk II | F09 | Satish Dhawan SLP | ISRO | ||||
| GSAT-9 | ISRO | Geosynchronous | Communications | In orbit | Operational | |||
| 15 May 23:21 | Falcon 9 Full Thrust | F9-034 | Kennedy LC-39A | SpaceX | ||||
| Inmarsat-5 F4 | Inmarsat | Geosynchronous | Communications | In orbit | Operational | |||
| Due to the satellite's heavy mass (6,070 kg),[24] the rocket flew in its expendable configuration and the first-stage booster was not recovered.[12] | ||||||||
| 18 May 11:54:53 | Soyuz ST-A / Fregat-MT[25] | Kourou ELS | Arianespace | |||||
| SES-15 | SES S.A. | Geosynchronous | Communications | In orbit | Operational | |||
| 25 May 04:20:00 | Electron | It's a Test |  Mahia LC-1A | Rocket Lab | ||||
| It's a Test | Rocket Lab | Low Earth | Rocket stage / Flight test | 25 May | Launch failure | |||
| First Electron launch. Flight terminated by range safety at an altitude of 224 kilometres (139 mi) due to an error in ground tracking equipment. Carried instruments on the upper stage rather than a payload.[26] | ||||||||
| 25 May 06:33 | Soyuz-2.1b / Fregat-M | Plesetsk Site 43/4 | RVSN RF | |||||
| EKS-2 | VKS | Molniya | Missile early warning | In orbit | Operational | |||
June | ||||||||
| 1 June 00:17:46 | H-IIA 202 | F34 | Tanegashima LA-Y1 | MHI | ||||
| QZS-2 | CAO | Tundra/Quasi-Zenith Orbit[27] | Navigation | In orbit | Operational | |||
| 1 June 23:45 | Ariane 5 ECA | VA237 | Kourou ELA-3 | Arianespace | ||||
| ViaSat-2 | ViaSat | Geosynchronous | Communications | In orbit | Operational | |||
| Eutelsat 172B | Eutelsat | Geosynchronous | Communications | In orbit | Operational | |||
| This mission carried the heaviest and most expensive commercial payload ever launched, valued at $800 million[28] with a combined payload mass of 9,969 kg for both satellites (10,865 kg total launch mass with dual-deployment hardware).[29] | ||||||||
| 3 June 21:07 | Falcon 9 Full Thrust | F9-035 | Kennedy LC-39A | SpaceX | ||||
| SpaceX CRS-11 | NASA | Low Earth (ISS) | ISS logistics | 3 July 2017 | Successful | |||
| NICER[31] | NASA | Low Earth (ISS) | X-ray astronomy | In orbit | Operational | |||
⚀  BRAC ONNESHA | BRACU | Low Earth | Technology demonstration | 6 May 2019[32] | Successful | |||
⚀  GhanaSat-1 | All Nations University | Low Earth | Technology demonstration | 22 May 2019[33] | Successful | |||
⚀  Mazaalai | National University of Mongolia | Low Earth | Technology demonstration | 11 May 2019[34] | Successful | |||
⚀  Nigeria EduSat-1 | FUTA | Low Earth | Technology demonstration | 13 May 2019[35] | Successful | |||
| ⚀ TOKI | KIT | Low Earth | Technology demonstration | 3 May 2019[36] | Successful | |||
| First stage returned to Landing Zone 1. TOKI, GhanaSat-1, Mazaalai, BRAC ONNESHA, and Nigeria EduSat-1 were carried to ISS as the cargo of SpaceX CRS-11 and deployed into orbit on 7 July 2017.[30] | ||||||||
| 5 June 11:58 | GSLV Mk III | D1 | Satish Dhawan SLP | ISRO | ||||
| GSAT-19 | ISRO | Geosynchronous | Communications | In orbit | Operational | |||
| Maiden orbital flight. | ||||||||
| 8 June 03:45 | Proton-M / Briz-M | 935-61[37] | Baikonur Site 81/24 | International Launch Services | ||||
| Echostar 21 | EchoStar | Geosynchronous | Communications | In orbit | Operational | |||
| 14 June 09:20 | Soyuz-2.1a | Baikonur Site 31/6 | Roscosmos | |||||
| Progress MS-06 / 67P | Roscosmos | Low Earth (ISS) | ISS logistics | 28 December | Successful | |||
| Sfera-53 2 | Low Earth | Radar calibration target | 29 November 2018[40] | Successful | ||||
| Tanyusha-YuZGU 1 | South-West State University | Low Earth | Technology demonstration | 30 July 2019[41] | Successful | |||
| Tanyusha-YuZGU 2 | South-West State University | Low Earth | Technology demonstration | 8 September 2019[42] | Successful | |||
| TNS-0 2 | RISDE | Low Earth | Technology demonstration | 15 October 2019[43] | Successful | |||
| Tanyusha-YuZGU, Sfera-53 2, TNS-O No. 2 were small satellites deployed into orbit from the ISS by cosmonauts during an EVA on 17 August 2017.[38][39] | ||||||||
| 15 June 03:15 | Long March 4B | 4B-Y31[44] | Jiuquan SLS-2 | CASC | ||||
| HXMT | CAS / IHEP | Low Earth (SSO) | X-ray astronomy | In orbit | Operational | |||
| Zhuhai-1 01 | Zhuhai Orbital Control Engineering | Low Earth (SSO) | Earth observation | In orbit | Operational | |||
| Zhuhai-1 02 | Zhuhai Orbital Control Engineering | Low Earth (SSO) | Earth observation | In orbit | Operational | |||
 ÑuSat 3 | Satellogic | Low Earth (SSO) | Earth observation | In orbit | Operational | |||
| CAS-4A | CNSA | Low Earth (SSO) | Communications | In orbit | Operational | |||
| CAS-4B | CNSA | Low Earth (SSO) | Communications | In orbit | Operational | |||
| 18 June 16:12 | Long March 3B/E | 3B-Y28[6] | Xichang LC-2 | CASC | ||||
| ChinaSat 9A (Zhongxing-9A)[47] | China Satcom | Geosynchronous (intended) | Communications | In orbit | Partial launch failure Operational | |||
| Payload was inserted into a wrong orbit.[45][46] After 16 days of orbit raising maneuvers, the satellite raised its orbit from 16,420 km to 36,000 km, and corrected its longitude to 101.4°E.[citation needed] | ||||||||
| 23 June 03:59[49] | PSLV-XL | C38 | Satish Dhawan FLP | ISRO | ||||
| Cartosat-2E | ISRO | Low Earth (SSO) | Earth observation | In orbit | Operational | |||
| CE-SAT 1 | Canon | Low Earth (SSO) | Earth observation | In orbit | Operational | |||
 Max Valier Sat | Max Valier school, Bozen | Low Earth (SSO) | X-ray astronomy Technology demonstration | In orbit | Operational | |||
| NIUSAT | Noorul Islam University | Low Earth (SSO) | Earth observation | In orbit | Operational | |||
 Venta-1 | Ventspils University College | Low Earth (SSO) | AIS ship tracking | In orbit | Operational | |||
⚀  Aalto-1 | Aalto University | Low Earth (SSO) | Earth observation | In orbit | Operational | |||
| ⚀ Blue Diamond | Sky and Space Global | Low Earth (SSO) | Communications | In orbit | Operational | |||
| ⚀ Green Diamond | Sky and Space Global | Low Earth (SSO) | Communications | In orbit | Operational | |||
| ⚀ Red Diamond | Sky and Space Global | Low Earth (SSO) | Communications | In orbit | Operational | |||
| ⚀ CICERO-6 | GeoOptics Inc | Low Earth (SSO) | Technology demonstration | In orbit | Operational | |||
| ⚀ COMPASS-2 | FH Aachen | Low Earth (SSO) | Technology demonstration | In orbit | Operational | |||
| ⚀ D-SAT | D-Orbit | Low Earth (SSO) | Technology demonstration | In orbit | Operational | |||
| ⚀ InflateSail | University of Surrey | Low Earth (SSO) | Technology demonstration | 3 September 2017 01:27 | Successful | |||
| ⚀ Lemur-2 × 8 | Spire Global | Low Earth (SSO) | Earth observation | In orbit | Operational | |||
⚀  LituanicaSAT-2 | Vilnius University | Low Earth (SSO) | Technology demonstration | In orbit | Operational | |||
| ⚀ NUDTSat | NUDT | Low Earth (SSO) | Ionosphere research | In orbit | Operational | |||
⚀  Pegasus | FH Wiener Neustadt | Low Earth (SSO) | Thermosphere research | In orbit | Operational | |||
| ⚀ ROBUSTA-1B | University of Montpellier | Low Earth (SSO) | Technology demonstration | In orbit | Operational | |||
⚀  skCUBE | University of Zilina | Low Earth (SSO) | Technology demonstration | In orbit | Operational | |||
⚀  SUCHAI-1 | University of Chile | Low Earth (SSO) | Ionosphere research | In orbit | Operational | |||
| ⚀ Tyvak-53b | Tyvak Nano-Satellite Systems | Low Earth (SSO) | Technology demonstration | 14 March 2023[50] | Successful | |||
| ⚀ UCLSat | University College London | Low Earth (SSO) | Ionosphere research | In orbit | Operational | |||
| ⚀ URSA MAIOR | Sapienza University | Low Earth (SSO) | Thermosphere research | In orbit | Operational | |||
⚀  VZLUSat-1 | VZLU | Low Earth (SSO) | Thermosphere research | In orbit | Operational | |||
| Venta-1 was the first Latvian satellite. COMPASS-2, InflateSail, LithuanicaSAT-2, NUDTSat, Pegasus, UCLSat, URSA MAIOR and VZLUSat-2 are part of the QB-50 project led by Von Karman Institute to create a network of cubesats conducting measurements of Earth's lower termosphere and ionosphere.[48] | ||||||||
| 23 June 18:04 | Soyuz-2-1v / Volga | Plesetsk Site 43/4 | RVSN RF | |||||
| Kosmos 2519 | VKS | Low Earth | Geodesy | 23 December 2021[52] | Successful | |||
| Kosmos 2521 | VKS | Low Earth | Technology demonstration | 12 September 2019[53] | Successful | |||
| Napryazhenie / 14F150 / Nivelir.[51] Kosmos 2521, also known as Sputnik Inspektor, was later deployed by Kosmos 2519. | ||||||||
| 23 June 19:10 | Falcon 9 Full Thrust | F9-036 | Kennedy LC-39A | SpaceX | ||||
 BulgariaSat-1 | Bulsatcom | Geosynchronous | Communications | In orbit | Operational | |||
| Second flight of a Falcon 9 re-used first stage.[54] | ||||||||
| 25 June 20:25:14 | Falcon 9 Full Thrust | F9-037 | Vandenberg SLC-4E | SpaceX | ||||
| Iridium NEXT 11–20 | Iridium | Low Earth | Communications | In orbit | Operational | |||
| 28 June 20:59 | Ariane 5 ECA | VA238 | Kourou ELA-3 | Arianespace | ||||
EuropaSat /  Hellas Sat 3 | Inmarsat | Geosynchronous | Communications | In orbit | Operational | |||
| GSAT-17 | ISRO | Geosynchronous | Communications | In orbit | Operational | |||
July | ||||||||
| 2 July 11:23:23 | Long March 5 | Y2[56] | Wenchang LC-1 | CASC | ||||
| Shijian 18[14] | CAST | Geosynchronous | Communications Technology demonstration | 2 July 2017 | Launch failure | |||
| The cause of the failure was confirmed by CASC later, related to the anomaly happened on one of the YF-77 engine in the first stage.[55] | ||||||||
| 5 July 23:38 | Falcon 9 Full Thrust[58] | F9-038 | Kennedy LC-39A | SpaceX | ||||
| Intelsat 35e | Intelsat | Geosynchronous | Communications | In orbit | Operational | |||
| Due to the satellite's heavy mass (6,761 kg),[57] the rocket flew in its expendable configuration and the first-stage booster was not recovered.[12] | ||||||||
| 14 July 06:36:49 | Soyuz-2.1a / Fregat-M | Baikonur Site 31/6 | Roscosmos | |||||
| Kanopus-V-IK[64] | Roscosmos | Low Earth (SSO) | Earth observation | In orbit | Operational | |||
| CICERO × 3 | GeoOptics | Low Earth (SSO) | Earth observation | In orbit | Operational | |||
| Flying Laptop | Institute of Space Systems | Low Earth (SSO) | Technology demonstration | In orbit | Operational | |||
 NORSAT-1 | Norsk Romsenter | Low Earth (SSO) | Technology demonstration | In orbit | Operational | |||
| NORSAT-2 | Norsk Romsenter | Low Earth (SSO) | Technology demonstration | In orbit | Operational | |||
| TechnoSat | TU Berlin | Low Earth (SSO) | Technology demonstration | In orbit | Operational | |||
| WNISAT-1R | Weathernews | Low Earth (SSO) | Earth observation | In orbit | Operational | |||
| ⚀ Corvus-BC 1, 2 (Lanmapper-BC 1, 2) | Astro Digital | Low Earth (SSO) | Earth observation | In orbit | Failure[65] | |||
⚀  / Ecuador-UTE-YuZGU | UTE / YuZGU | Low Earth (SSO) | Technology demonstration | In orbit | Operational | |||
| ⚀ Flock-2k × 48 | Planet Labs | Low Earth (SSO) | Earth observation | In orbit | Operational | |||
| ⚀ Iskra-MAI-85 | MAI | Low Earth (SSO) | Technology demonstration | In orbit | Operational | |||
| ⚀ Lemur-2 × 8 | Spire Global | Low Earth (SSO) | Earth observation | In orbit | Operational | |||
| ⚀ Mayak | MPU | Low Earth (SSO) | Technology demonstration | In orbit | Partial failure | |||
| ⚀ MKA-N × 2 | Roscosmos / Dauria Aerospace | Low Earth (SSO) | Earth observation | In orbit | Failure[60][66] | |||
| ⚀ NanoACE | Tyvak Nano-Satellite Systems | Low Earth (SSO) | Technology demonstration | In orbit | Operational | |||
| Delivery of 73 satellites in three orbital altitudes with a single launch.[59] Some cubesats were deployed into unintended orbit or having communication problem.[60] Mayak fails to deploy solar reflector.[61] Glavcosmos has later confirmed upper stage anomaly during the launch.[62][63] | ||||||||
| 27 July |  Simorgh | Semnan | ISA | |||||
| ISA | Low Earth | 27 July 2017 | Launch failure | |||||
| The first orbital attempt for Simorgh.[67] Iranian official sources state that the rocket has reached orbit.[68][69] U.S. Strategic Command confirmed that no satellite deployed from the rocket as the rocket suffered a "catastrophic failure" shortly after liftoff.[70][71] The U.S. Air Force's Joint Space Operations Center at Vandenberg Air Force Base reported that it had not detected any satellite released into low-Earth orbit by the Simorgh SLV.[72] Finally, the United States, France, Germany and Britain have condemned Iran's test of a satellite-launching rocket.[73] | ||||||||
| [74] 15:41[75] | Soyuz-FG | Baikonur Site 1/5 | Roscosmos | |||||
| Soyuz MS-05 / 51S | Roscosmos | Low Earth (ISS) | Expedition 52/53 | 14 December 2017 08:48 | Successful | |||
| Crewed flight with three cosmonauts. | ||||||||
August | ||||||||
| 2 August 01:58 | Vega | Kourou ELV | Arianespace | |||||
| OPTSAT-3000 | Italian Defense Ministry | Low Earth (SSO) | IMINT (Reconnaissance) | In orbit | Operational | |||
| / VENμS | ISA / CNES | Low Earth (SSO) | Earth observation | In orbit | Operational | |||
| 14 August 16:31 | Falcon 9 Full Thrust | F9-039 | Kennedy LC-39A | SpaceX | ||||
| SpaceX CRS-12 | NASA | Low Earth (ISS) | ISS logistics | 17 September 2017 | Successful | |||
| ⚀ OSIRIS-3U | Penn State | Low Earth | Space weather | 7 March 2019[81] | Successful | |||
| Kestrel Eye 2M | U.S. Army | Low Earth | Reconnaissance | 28 August 2021[82] | Successful | |||
| ⚀ Dellingr/RBLE | GSFC | Low Earth | Technology demonstration / Heliophysics | In orbit | Operational | |||
| ⚀ ASTERIA | MIT/JPL | Low Earth | Technology demonstration | In orbit | Successful[83] | |||
| First flight of Falcon 9 "block 4" upgrade.[76] Last flight of a newly-built Dragon capsule; further missions will use refurbished spacecraft.[77] Carried cosmic-ray detector ISS-CREAM to be installed on the station, and several cubesats to be later deployed from the ISS. Kestrel Eye was deployed into orbit from ISS on 24 October 2017.[78] ASTERIA and Dellingr/RBLE were deployed on 20 November 2017,[79] and OSIRIS-3U was deployed on 21 November 2017.[80] | ||||||||
| 16 August 22:07 | Proton-M / Briz-M | ?[37] | Baikonur Site 81/24 | RVSN RF | ||||
| Blagovest-11L[84] | VKS | Geosynchronous | Communications (military) | In orbit | Operational | |||
| 18 August 12:29 | Atlas V 401 | AV-074 | Cape Canaveral SLC-41 | United Launch Alliance | ||||
| TDRS-M | NASA | Geosynchronous | Communications | In orbit | Operational | |||
| 19 August 05:29 | H-IIA 204 | F35 | Tanegashima LA-Y1 | MHI | ||||
| QZS-3 | CAO | Geosynchronous | Navigation | In orbit | Operational | |||
| 24 August 18:50 | Falcon 9 Full Thrust | F9-040 | Vandenberg SLC-4E | SpaceX | ||||
 FormoSat-5 | NSPO | Low Earth (SSO) | Earth observation | In orbit | Operational | |||
| 26 August 06:04 | Minotaur IV / Orion 38 | Cape Canaveral SLC-46 | Orbital ATK | |||||
| ORS-5 | ORS | Low Earth | Space surveillance | In orbit | Operational | |||
| 31 August 13:30 | PSLV-XL | C39 | Satish Dhawan FLP | ISRO | ||||
| IRNSS-1H | ISRO | Geosynchronous | Navigation | 2 March 2019 | Launch failure | |||
| Payload fairing failed to separate, leaving the satellite adrift within the fairing after internally separating from the fourth stage of the rocket.[85] The stage, along with IRNSS-1H, re-entered the atmosphere together on 2 March 2019.[86] | ||||||||
September | ||||||||
| 7 September 14:00 | Falcon 9 Full Thrust | F9-041 | Kennedy LC-39A | SpaceX | ||||
| X-37B / OTV-5 / USA-277 | U.S. Air Force | Low Earth | Technology demonstration (classified) | 27 October 2019 07:51 | Successful[87] | |||
| 11 September 19:23:41 | Proton-M / Briz-M | 935-65[37] | Baikonur Site 200/39 | International Launch Services | ||||
| Amazonas 5 | Hispasat | Geosynchronous | Communications | In orbit | Operational | |||
| 12 September 21:17:02 | Soyuz-FG | Baikonur Site 1/5 | Roscosmos | |||||
| Soyuz MS-06 / 52S | Roscosmos | Low Earth (ISS) | Expedition 53/54 | In orbit | Operational | |||
| Crewed flight with three cosmonauts.[20][88] | ||||||||
| 22 September 00:02:32 | Soyuz-2.1b / Fregat-M | Plesetsk Site 43/4 | RVSN RF | |||||
| Kosmos 2522 / GLONASS-M 752 | VKS | Medium Earth | Navigation | In orbit | Operational | |||
| 24 September 05:49:47 | Atlas V 541 | AV-072 | Vandenberg SLC-3E | United Launch Alliance | ||||
| NROL-42 / Trumpet / USA-278 | NRO | Low Earth | Reconnaissance | In orbit | Operational | |||
| 28 September 18:52:16 | Proton-M / Briz-M | 937-03[37] | Baikonur Site 200/39 | International Launch Services | ||||
 AsiaSat 9 | AsiaSat | Geosynchronous | Communications | In orbit | Operational | |||
| 29 September 04:21 | Long March 2C | 2C-Y29[89] | Xichang LC-3 | CASC | ||||
| Yaogan-30 A | CAS | Low Earth | Technology demonstration | In orbit | Operational | |||
| Yaogan-30 B | CAS | Low Earth | Technology demonstration | In orbit | Operational | |||
| Yaogan-30 C | CAS | Low Earth | Technology demonstration | In orbit | Operational | |||
| 29 September 21:47 | Ariane 5 ECA | VA239 | Kourou ELA-3 | Arianespace | ||||
| Intelsat 37e | Intelsat | Geosynchronous | Communications | In orbit | Operational | |||
| BSAT-4a | BSAT | Geosynchronous | Communications | In orbit | Operational | |||
October | ||||||||
| 9 October 04:13 | Long March 2D | 2D-Y30[89] | Jiuquan SLS-2 | CASC | ||||
 VRSS-2 | ABAE / MPPCTII | Low Earth (SSO) | Earth observation | In orbit | Operational | |||
| 9 October 12:37 | Falcon 9 Full Thrust | F9-042 | Vandenberg SLC-4E | SpaceX | ||||
| Iridium NEXT 21–30 | Iridium | Low Earth | Communications | In orbit | Operational | |||
| 9 October 22:01:37 | H-IIA 202 | F36 | Tanegashima LA-Y1 | MHI | ||||
| QZS-4 | CAO | Tundra | Navigation | In orbit | Operational | |||
| 11 October 22:53 | Falcon 9 Full Thrust | F9-043 | Kennedy LC-39A | SpaceX | ||||
| SES-11 / EchoStar 105 | SES S.A. / EchoStar | Geosynchronous | Communications | In orbit | Operational | |||
| Third time a Falcon 9 first stage is re-used.[90] | ||||||||
| 13 October 09:27:44 | Rokot / Briz-KM | Plesetsk Site 133/3 | / Eurockot | |||||
| Sentinel-5 Precursor | ESA | Low Earth (SSO) | Earth observation | In orbit | Operational | |||
| 14 October 08:46:53 | Soyuz-2.1a | Baikonur Site 31/6 | Roscosmos | |||||
| Progress MS-07 / 68P | Roscosmos | Low Earth (ISS) | ISS logistics | 26 April 2018 | Successful | |||
| / Iskra 5 | Moscow Aviation Institute / Space Kidz India | Low Earth | Communications | |||||
| Originally intended to debut a new two-orbit rendezvous profile, profile reverted to standard 34-orbit profile after the first launch attempt was scrubbed.[91] | ||||||||
| 15 October 07:28 | Atlas V 421 | AV-075 | Cape Canaveral SLC-41 | United Launch Alliance | ||||
| NROL-52 / Quasar 21 / USA-279 | NRO | Geosynchronous (TBC)[92] | Communications (military) | In orbit | Operational | |||
| 30 October 19:34 | Falcon 9 Full Thrust | F9-044 | Kennedy LC-39A | SpaceX | ||||
| Koreasat 5A | KT Corporation | Geosynchronous | Communications | In orbit | Operational | |||
| 31 October 21:37 | Minotaur-C | Vandenberg LC-576E | Orbital ATK | |||||
| SkySat x 6 | Terra Bella | Low Earth | Earth observation | In orbit | Operational | |||
| ⚀ Flock-3m x 4 | Planet Labs | Low Earth | Earth observation | In orbit | Operational | |||
| Return to flight mission for Minotaur-C after a failed launch in March 2011. | ||||||||
November | ||||||||
| 5 November 11:45:00 | Long March 3B / YZ-1 | 3B-Y46[6] | Xichang | CASC | ||||
| BeiDou-3 M1 | CNSA | Medium Earth | Navigation | In orbit | Operational | |||
| BeiDou-3 M2 | CNSA | Medium Earth | Navigation | In orbit | Operational | |||
| 8 November 01:42:30 | Vega | Kourou ELV | Arianespace | |||||
 Mohammed VI-A (MN35-13) | Morocco | Low Earth | Earth observation | In orbit | Operational | |||
| 12 November 12:19:51[94] | Antares 230 | MARS LP-0A | Orbital ATK | |||||
| Cygnus CRS OA-8E SS Gene Cernan[95] | NASA | Low Earth (ISS) | ISS logistics | 18 December 2017 | Successful | |||
| ⚀ AeroCube (OSCD) × 2 | The Aerospace Corporation | Low Earth | Technology demonstration | 5 August 2022 (OSCD B) 12 August 2022 (OSCD C) | Successful | |||
| ⚀ Asgardia-1 | Asgardia | Low Earth | Technology demonstration | 12 September 2022[96] | Successful | |||
| ⚀ CHEFsat | NRL | Low Earth | Technology demonstration | 2 January 2022[97] | Successful | |||
| ⚀ EcAMSat | NASA | Low Earth | Microbiology | 8 December 2021[98] | Successful | |||
| ⚀ ISARA | JPL | Low Earth | Technology demonstration | In orbit | Operational | |||
| ⚀ Lemur-2 × 8 | Spire Global | Low Earth | Earth observation | In orbit | Operational | |||
| ⚀ PropCube 2 (Fauna)[99] | NPS | Low Earth | Technology demonstration | 30 July 2022[100] | Successful | |||
| ⚀ TechEdSat-6 | SJSU/UI/NASA Ames | Low Earth | Technology demonstration | 15 May 2018[101] | Successful | |||
| EcAMSat was deployed into orbit from ISS on 20 November 2017,[79] and TechEdSat-6 was deployed on 21 November 2017.[80] Other small satellites were deployed from Cygnus after it departed from ISS.[93] | ||||||||
| 14 November 18:35 | Long March 4C | 4C-Y21[44] | Taiyuan LA-9[44] | CAST | ||||
| Fengyun 3D[102] | CMA | Low Earth (polar) | Meteorology | In orbit | Operational | |||
| HEAD-1[102] | HEAD Aerospace | Low Earth (polar) | AIS ship tracking | In orbit | Operational | |||
| 18 November 09:47:36 | Delta II 7920 | Vandenberg SLC-2W | United Launch Alliance | |||||
| NOAA-20 | NOAA | Low Earth (SSO) | Meteorology | In orbit | Operational | |||
| Buccaneer RMM | UNSW, DSTO | Low Earth (SSO) | Technology demonstration | In orbit | Operational | |||
| EagleSat | ERAU | Low Earth (SSO) | Education | In orbit | Operational | |||
| MakerSat 0 | NNU | Low Earth (SSO) | Technology demonstration | In orbit | Operational | |||
| MiRaTA | MIT | Low Earth (SSO) | Earth observation | In orbit | Operational | |||
| RadFxSat (Fox 1B) | AMSAT | Low Earth (SSO) | Technology demonstration | In orbit | Operational | |||
| Last flight of the Delta II 7920 configuration, penultimate flight of Delta II | ||||||||
| 21 November 04:50 | Long March 6 | Y2[103] | Taiyuan LA-16 | CASC | ||||
| Jilin-1 Video-04 (Lingqiao 1-04)[104] | Chang Guang Satellite Technology | Low Earth (SSO) | Earth observation | In orbit | Operational | |||
| Jilin-1 Video-05 (Lingqiao 1-05)[104] | Chang Guang Satellite Technology | Low Earth (SSO) | Earth observation | In orbit | Operational | |||
| Jilin-1 Video-06 (Lingqiao 1-06)[104] | Chang Guang Satellite Technology | Low Earth (SSO) | Earth observation | In orbit | Operational | |||
| 24 November 18:10 | Long March 2C | 2C-Y30[89] | Xichang | CASC | ||||
| Yaogan 30-02A | CNSA | Low Earth | Reconnaissance | In orbit | Operational | |||
| Yaogan 30-02B | CNSA | Low Earth | Reconnaissance | In orbit | Operational | |||
| Yaogan 30-02C | CNSA | Low Earth | Reconnaissance | In orbit | Operational | |||
| 28 November 05:41:46[75] | Soyuz-2.1b / Fregat-M | Vostochny Site 1S[106] | Roscosmos | |||||
| Meteor-M No. 2-1 | Roscosmos | Low Earth (SSO) | Meteorology | 28 November 2017 | Launch failure | |||
| AISSat-3 | NSC | Low Earth (SSO) | Traffic monitoring | 28 November 2017 | Launch failure | |||
| Baumanets 2 | Bauman University | Low Earth (SSO) | Technology demonstration | 28 November 2017 | Launch failure | |||
| IDEA-OSG 1 | Astroscale | Low Earth (SSO) | Technology demonstration | 28 November 2017 | Launch failure | |||
| LEO Vantage 2 | TeleSat Canada | Low Earth (SSO) | Communications (experimental) | 28 November 2017 | Launch failure | |||
| ⚀ Corvus-BC 3 | Astro Digital | Low Earth (SSO) | Earth observation | 28 November 2017 | Launch failure | |||
| ⚀ D-Star One | German Orbital Systems | Low Earth (SSO) | Communications (experimental) | 28 November 2017 | Launch failure | |||
| ⚀ Lemur-2 × 10 | Spire Global | Low Earth (SSO) | Earth observation | 28 November 2017 | Launch failure | |||
⚀  SEAM | Multiple users | Low Earth (SSO) | Technology demonstration | 28 November 2017 | Launch failure | |||
| The Fregat upper stage suffered an apparent programming failure resulting in the loss of all 19 satellites.[105] | ||||||||
December | ||||||||
| 2 December 10:43:26 | Soyuz-2.1b | Plesetsk | RVSN RF | |||||
| Kosmos-2524 (Lotos No. 2 803) | Low Earth | ELINT | In orbit | Operational | ||||
| 3 December 04:11 | Long March 2D | 2D-Y47[89] | Jiuquan LC-43 | CASC | ||||
| LKW-1[107] | CAS | Low Earth | Earth observation | In orbit | Operational | |||
| 10 December 16:41 [108] | Long March 3B | 3B-Y40[6] | Xichang LC-2 | CAST | ||||
 Alcomsat-1 | Algerian Space Agency | Geosynchronous | Communications | In orbit | Operational | |||
| First Algerian geostationary communications satellite | ||||||||
| 12 December 18:36:07 | Ariane 5 ES | VA240 | Kourou ELA-3 | Arianespace | ||||
| Galileo FOC 15-18 | ESA | Medium Earth | Navigation | In orbit | Operational | |||
| Second Galileo launch with Ariane 5 (9th overall), carrying Nicole, Zofia, Alexandre, and Irina. | ||||||||
| 15 December 15:36 | Falcon 9 Full Thrust | F9-045 | Cape Canaveral SLC-40 | SpaceX | ||||
| SpaceX CRS-13 | NASA | Low Earth (ISS) | ISS logistics | 13 January 2018 | Successful | |||
| Re-used the first-stage booster from CRS-11 (2017) and the Dragon capsule from CRS-6 (2015)[109] | ||||||||
| 17 December 07:21 | Soyuz-FG | Baikonur Site 1/5 | Roscosmos | |||||
| Soyuz MS-07 / 53S | Roscosmos | Low Earth (ISS) | Expedition 54/55 | In orbit | Operational | |||
| Crewed flight with three cosmonauts. | ||||||||
| 23 December 01:26:22[110] | H-IIA 202 | F37 | Tanegashima LA-Y1 | MHI | ||||
| GCOM-C | JAXA | Low Earth (SSO) | Earth observation | In orbit | Operational | |||
| SLATS | JAXA | Low Earth | Atmospheric sciences Technology demonstration | 1 October 2019 | Successful | |||
| 23 December 01:27:23[75] | Falcon 9 Full Thrust | F9-046 | Vandenberg SLC-4E | SpaceX | ||||
| Iridium NEXT 31–40 | Iridium | Low Earth | Communications | In orbit | Operational | |||
| Re-using a first-stage booster.[111] This rocket flew in its expendable configuration so the first-stage booster was not recovered[112] | ||||||||
| 23 December 04:14[113] | Long March 2D | 2D-Y48[89] | Jiuquan LC-43 | CASC | ||||
| LKW-2 | CAS | Low Earth | Earth observation | In orbit | Operational | |||
| 25 December 19:44 | Long March 2C | 2C-Y34[89] | Xichang LC-3 | CASC | ||||
| Yaogan-30 G | CAS | Low Earth | Technology demonstration | In orbit | Operational | |||
| Yaogan-30 H | CAS | Low Earth | Technology demonstration | In orbit | Operational | |||
| Yaogan-30 J | CAS | Low Earth | Technology demonstration | In orbit | Operational | |||
| 26 December 19:00:03 |  Zenit-3F / Fregat-SB | Baikonur Site 45/1 | S7 Space[116] | |||||
 AngoSat 1 | Republic of Angola | Geosynchronous | Communications | In orbit | Spacecraft failure[117] | |||
| First satellite of Angola. Launch was successful but contact was lost quickly afterwards.[114] On 28 December 2017, communication was temporarily restored and telemetry was received.[115] | ||||||||
Suborbital flights
| Date and time (UTC) | Rocket | Flight number | Launch site | LSP | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Payload (⚀ = CubeSat) | Operator | Orbit | Function | Decay (UTC) | Outcome | ||
| Remarks | |||||||
| 15 January | DF-5C | Taiyuan Satellite Launch Center | PLARF | ||||
| PLARF | Suborbital | Missile test | 15 January | Successful | |||
| 16 January | RS-12M Topol | Plesetsk | RVSN | ||||
| RVSN | Suborbital | Missile test | 16 January | Successful | |||
| 23 January 02:30 | VSB-30 | Esrange | DLR / SSC | ||||
| / MAIUS-1 [118] | DLR / SSC | Suborbital | Microgravity | 23 January | Successful | ||
| Apogee: 238 kilometres (148 mi) | |||||||
| 24 January |  Ababeel | ? | ASFC | ||||
| ASFC | Suborbital | Missile test | 24 January | Successful | |||
| 25 January | Black Sparrow | F-15 Eagle, Israel | IAF | ||||
| IAI/IDF | Suborbital | Missile test target | 25 January | Successful | |||
| DST-5 target, successfully intercepted | |||||||
| 25 January | Stunner | Palmachim Airbase | IAF | ||||
| IAI/IDF | Suborbital | Missile test | 25 January | Successful | |||
| DST-5 interceptor | |||||||
| 27 January 13:45:00 | Black Brant IX | Poker Flat Research Range | NASA | ||||
| PolarNOx | Virginia Tech | Suborbital | Thermosphere research | 27 January | Successful | ||
| Apogee: 283 kilometres (176 mi).[119] | |||||||
| 29 January | Khorramshahr | Semnan | AFIRI | ||||
| AFIRI | Suborbital | Missile test | 29 January | Launch failure | |||
| The missile flew about 600 miles before exploding. Test of a reentry vehicle failed.[120] | |||||||
| 4 February 8:30:00 | MRBM | SFTM-01 | Pacific Missile Range Facility | MDA | |||
| SFTM-01 Target | MDA | Suborbital | ABM target | 4 February | Successful | ||
| Ballistic missile target for interception[121] | |||||||
| 4 February ~8:30:00 | SM-3 | SFTM-01 | USS John Paul Jones, Kauai | MDA | |||
| SFTM-01 Interceptor | MDA | Suborbital | ABM test | 4 February | Successful | ||
| Ballistic missile interceptor[121] | |||||||
| 9 February 7:38:59 | Minuteman-III | Vandenberg Air Force Base LF-10 | US Air Force | ||||
| US Air Force | Suborbital | Test flight | 9 February | Successful | |||
| 16 February | UGM-133 Trident II | USS Ohio (SSGN-726), Pacific Missile Range Facility | US Navy | ||||
| US Navy | Suborbital | Missile test | 9 February | Successful | |||
| Follow-on Commander's Evaluation Test 53 | |||||||
| 16 February | UGM-133 Trident II | USS Ohio (SSGN-726), Pacific Missile Range Facility | US Navy | ||||
| US Navy | Suborbital | Missile test | 9 February | Successful | |||
| Follow-on Commander's Evaluation Test 53 | |||||||
| 16 February | UGM-133 Trident II | USS Ohio (SSGN-726), Pacific Missile Range Facility | US Navy | ||||
| US Navy | Suborbital | Missile test | 9 February | Successful | |||
| Follow-on Commander's Evaluation Test 53 | |||||||
| 16 February | UGM-133 Trident II | USS Ohio (SSGN-726), Pacific Missile Range Facility | US Navy | ||||
| US Navy | Suborbital | Missile test | 9 February | Successful | |||
| Follow-on Commander's Evaluation Test 53 | |||||||
| 22 February 10:14:00 | Black Brant IX | Poker Flat Research Range | NASA | ||||
| ISINGLASS | Dartmouth College | Suborbital | Ionosphere research | 22 February | Successful | ||
| [122] | |||||||
| 1 March | Black Brant IX | Poker Flat Research Range | NASA | ||||
| JETS | Goddard Space Flight Center | Suborbital | Magnetosphere research | 1 March | Successful | ||
| Apogee: 330 kilometres (210 mi).[123] | |||||||
| 1 March | Black Brant IX | Poker Flat Research Range | NASA | ||||
| JETS | Goddard Space Flight Center | Suborbital | Magnetosphere research | 1 March | Successful | ||
| Apogee: 190 kilometres (120 mi).[123] | |||||||
| 1 March | Black Brant IX | Poker Flat Research Range | NASA | ||||
| ISINGLASS | Dartmouth College | Suborbital | Ionosphere research | 1 March | Successful | ||
| Apogee: 365 kilometres (227 mi).[123] | |||||||
| 17 March | Hyunmoo-2B | Anheung Test Site | ADD | ||||
| ADD | Suborbital | Missile test | 17 March | Successful | |||
| 7 April 09:30 | Maxus | Esrange | EuroLaunch | ||||
| / MAXUS-9 | ESA / SSC | Suborbital | Microgravity | 7 April | Successful | ||
| Apogee: 678 kilometres (421 mi)[124] | |||||||
| 26 April | Minuteman-III | Vandenberg Air Force Base LF-09 | US Air Force | ||||
| US Air Force | Suborbital | Test flight | 26 April | Successful | |||
| 27 April | Agni-III | ITR IC-4 | Indian Army | ||||
| Indian Army | Suborbital | Missile test | 27 April | Successful | |||
| Apogee: 350 kilometres (220 mi) | |||||||
| 3 May | Minuteman-III | Vandenberg Air Force Base LF-04 | US Air Force | ||||
| US Air Force | Suborbital | Test flight | 3 May | Successful | |||
| 4 May | Agni II | Integrated Test Range | Indian Army / DRDO | ||||
| Indian Army/DRDO | Suborbital | Missile test | 4 May | Successful | |||
| 5 May | Black Brant IX | White Sands Missile Range | NASA | ||||
| RAISE 3 | Southwest Research Institute | Suborbital | Solar research | 5 May | Successful | ||
| Apogee: 296 kilometres (184 mi).[125] | |||||||
| 13 May | VSB-30 | Esrange | DLR / SSC | ||||
| MAPHEUS-6 | DLR | Suborbital | Technology demonstration | 13 May | Successful | ||
| Apogee: 254 kilometres (158 mi) | |||||||
| 14 May |  Hwasong-12 [128] | Kusong | Korean People's Army Strategic Force | ||||
| ? | Korean People's Army Strategic Force | Suborbital | Missile Test | 14 May | Successful | ||
| Apogee: 2,111 kilometres (1,312 mi)[126][127] | |||||||
| 16 May | Black Brant IX | Wallops Flight Facility | NASA | ||||
| SubTec-7 | NASA | Suborbital | Technology demonstration | 16 May | Successful | ||
| Apogee: 248 kilometres (154 mi).[129] | |||||||
| 30 May | ICBM-T2 | FTG-15 | Ronald Reagan Ballistic Missile Defense Test Site | MDA | |||
| FTG-15 target | MDA | Suborbital | ABM target | 30 May | Successful | ||
| Ballistic missile target for interception | |||||||
| 30 May | GBI-OBV | FTG-15 | Vandenberg Air Force Base | MDA | |||
| FTG-15 interceptor | MDA | Suborbital | ABM test | 30 May | Successful | ||
| Ballistic missile interceptor | |||||||
| 14 June | Sabre Zombi (ATACMS) | White Sands Missile Range | NASA | ||||
| US Army | Suborbital | Missile test | 14 June | Successful | |||
| Apogee: 80 kilometres (50 mi)? | |||||||
| 22 June 9:20 | MRBM | SFTM-02 | Pacific Missile Range Facility | MDA | |||
| SFTM-02 target | MDA | Suborbital | ABM target | 22 June | Successful | ||
| Ballistic missile target for interception | |||||||
| 22 June ~9:20 | SM-3 | SFTM-02 | USS John Paul Jones, Kauai | MDA | |||
| SFTM-02 interceptor | MDA | Suborbital | ABM test | 22 June | Failure | ||
| Ballistic missile interceptor, failed to intercept the target[130] | |||||||
| 22 June | Terrier-Improved Orion | Wallops Flight Facility | NASA | ||||
| RockOn | University of Colorado | Suborbital | Student payloads | 22 June | Successful | ||
| Apogee: 116 kilometres (72 mi).[131] | |||||||
| 23 June | Hyunmoo-2C | Anheung Test Site | ADD | ||||
| ADD | Suborbital | Missile test | 17 March | Successful | |||
| 26 June | RSM-56 Bulava | K-535 Yury Dolgorukiy, White Sea | VMF | ||||
| VMF | Suborbital | Missile test | 26 June | Successful | |||
| 27 June | Black Brant IX | White Sands Missile Range | NASA | ||||
| CHESS-3 | University of Colorado | Suborbital | UV Astronomy | 27 June | Successful | ||
| 29 June | Terrier-Improved Malemute | Wallops Flight Facility | NASA | ||||
| Ampoule Test Launch | NASA | Suborbital | Ionosphere research | 29 June | Successful | ||
| Apogee: 190 kilometres (120 mi).[132] | |||||||
| 30 June | VSB-30 | Woomera Test Range | DSTO | ||||
| / HiFire-4 | DSTO / Boeing | Suborbital | Technology demonstration | 30 June | Successful | ||
| Successful experimental hypersonic vehicle flight test, exceeded expectations in flight control performance.[133] | |||||||
| 3 July | Hwasong-14[134] | ? | Korean People's Army Strategic Force | ||||
| ? | Korean People's Army Strategic Force | Suborbital | Missile Test | 3 July | Successful | ||
| Apogee: 2,803 kilometres (1,742 mi) First confirmed North Korean ICBM test | |||||||
| 11 July | IRBM-T1 ? | FFT-18 | C-17, Pacific Ocean | MDA | |||
| | MDA | Suborbital | ABM target | 11 July | Successful | ||
| Apogee: 500 kilometres (310 mi), successfully intercepted | |||||||
| 11 July | THAAD | FFT-18 | Kodiak | US Army | |||
| | US Army/MDA | Suborbital | ABM test | 11 July | Successful | ||
| Intercepted target missile, apogee: 100 kilometres (62 mi) | |||||||
| 23 July | B-611 | Shuangchengzi | PLA | ||||
| PLA | Suborbital | ABM target | 23 July | Successful | |||
| Target | |||||||
| 23 July | DN-3 | Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center | PLARF | ||||
| PLARF | Suborbital | ABM test | 23 July | Launch failure[citation needed] | |||
| 28 July | Hwasong-14[135] | ? | Korean People's Army Strategic Force | ||||
| ? | Korean People's Army Strategic Force | Suborbital | Missile Test | 28 July | Successful | ||
| Apogee: 3,700 kilometres (2,300 mi) | |||||||
| 29 July | Momo | Taiki Aerospace Research Field | Interstellar Technologies | ||||
| Interstellar Technologies | Suborbital | Test flight | 29 July | Launch failure | |||
| Communications were lost just over one minute into the flight, resulting in an early shutdown of the engine.[136] | |||||||
| 30 July | eMRBM ? | FET-01 | C-17, Pacific Ocean | MDA | |||
| | MDA | Suborbital | ABM target | 30 July | Successful | ||
| Apogee: 300 kilometres (190 mi), successfully intercepted | |||||||
| 30 July | THAAD | FET-01 | Kodiak | US Army | |||
| | US Army/MDA | Suborbital | ABM test | 30 July | Successful | ||
| Intercepted target missile, apogee: 100 kilometres (62 mi) | |||||||
| 2 August 09:10 | Minuteman-III | Vandenberg Air Force Base LF-10 | US Air Force | ||||
| US Air Force | Suborbital | Missile test | 2 August | Successful | |||
| 13 August 09:30 | Terrier-Improved Malemute | Wallops Flight Facility | NASA | ||||
| RockSat-X | NASA | Suborbital | Student experiments | 13 August | Successful | ||
| Apogee: 151 kilometres (94 mi).[137] | |||||||
| 23 August | DF-4 | Taiyuan Satellite Launch Center | PLARF | ||||
| PLARF | Suborbital | Missile test | 23 August | Successful | |||
| 29 August | Hwasong-12[138] | Pyongyang International Airport | Korean People's Army Strategic Force | ||||
| Korean People's Army Strategic Force | Suborbital | Missile test | 29 August | Successful | |||
| Apogee: 550 kilometres (340 mi)[138] | |||||||
| 29 August | MRBM-T3 ? | FTM-27 E2 | Pacific Missile Range Facility | MDA | |||
| MDA | Suborbital | ABM target | 29 August | Successful | |||
| FTM-27 E2 target, successfully intercepted by SM-6 missile in low altitude | |||||||
| 9 September 11:34 | Black Brant IX |  Kwajalein Atoll | NASA | ||||
| WINDY | NASA | Suborbital | Ionosphere research | 9 September | Successful | ||
| Apogee: 409 kilometres (254 mi).[139] | |||||||
| 9 September 11:39 | Terrier Malemute | Kwajalein Atoll | NASA | ||||
| WINDY | NASA | Suborbital | Ionosphere research | 9 September | Partial failure[139] | ||
| Useful data was not obtained.[139] | |||||||
| 12 September | RS-24 Yars | Plesetsk | RVSN | ||||
| RVSN | Suborbital | Missile test | 12 September | Successful | |||
| 14 September | Hwasong-12 (?) | Pyongyang International Airport | Korean People's Army Strategic Force | ||||
| Korean People's Army Strategic Force | Suborbital | Missile test | 14 September | Successful | |||
| Apogee: 770 kilometres (480 mi)[140] | |||||||
| 17 September | PTV | Ronald Reagan Ballistic Missile Defense Test Site | Orbital ATK | ||||
| Patriot target vehicle | SMC | Suborbital | ABM target | 17 September | Successful | ||
| Ballistic missile target for interception | |||||||
| 17 September | MIM-104 Patriot | Ronald Reagan Ballistic Missile Defense Test Site | SMC | ||||
| SMC | Suborbital | ABM test | 17 September | Successful | |||
| Ballistic missile interceptor | |||||||
| 20 September | RS-24 Yars | Plesetsk | RVSN | ||||
| RVSN | Suborbital | Missile test | 20 September | Successful | |||
| 22 September | Khorramshahr | Semnan | AFIRI | ||||
| AFIRI | Suborbital | Missile test | 22 September | Successful | |||
| 25 September | Terrier-Oriole | South Uist, Hebrides | MDA | ||||
| DOD | Suborbital | Radar-Target | 25 September | Successful | |||
| Radar-Target, apogee: ~100 kilometres (62 mi)? | |||||||
| 26 September | RS-12M Topol | Kapustin Yar | RVSN | ||||
| RVSN | Suborbital | Missile test | 26 September | Successful | |||
| 4 October 11:45 | Black Brant IX | Wallops Flight Facility | NASA | ||||
| ASPIRE | NASA | Suborbital | Technology demonstration | 4 October | Successful | ||
| Tested Mars 2020's parachute | |||||||
| 15 October | Terrier-Oriole | FS-17 E4 | South Uist, Hebrides | MDA | |||
| DOD | Suborbital | ABM target | 15 October | Successful | |||
| SM-3 Target, apogee: ~100 kilometres (62 mi)? | |||||||
| 15 October | SM-3 | FS-17 E4 | USS Donald Cook (DDG-75), Hebrides Range | US Navy | |||
| US Navy | Suborbital | ABM test | 15 October | Successful | |||
| Second Aegis-Test in the North Atlantic, successful intercept, apogee: ~100 kilometres (62 mi)? | |||||||
| 26 October | RS-12M Topol[141][142] | Plesetsk | RVSN | ||||
| RVSN | Suborbital | Missile test | 26 October | Successful | |||
| 26 October | R-29R Volna | Russian submarine, Sea of Okhotsk | VMF | ||||
| VMF | Suborbital | Missile test | 26 October | Successful | |||
| 26 October | R-29R Volna | Russian submarine, Sea of Okhotsk | VMF | ||||
| VMF | Suborbital | Missile test | 26 October | Successful | |||
| 26 October | R-29RMU Sineva | Russian submarine, Barents Sea | VMF | ||||
| VMF | Suborbital | Missile test | 26 October | Successful | |||
| 30 October | UGM-27 Polaris (STARS) | Barking Sands LC-42 | US Navy | ||||
| CPS FE-1 | US Navy | Suborbital | Technology | 30 October | Successful | ||
| Conventional Prompt Strike Flight Experiment-1, successful hypersonic glide vehicle test | |||||||
| 30 October 10:00 | Black Brant IX | White Sands Missile Range | NASA | ||||
| DEUCE | NASA | Suborbital | Astronomy | 30 October | Partial failure | ||
| Black Brant rocket performed flawlessly but science data was not obtained.[143] | |||||||
| 16 November | Sabre Zombi (ATACMS)[144] | Fort Bliss McGregor Range | NASA | ||||
| US Army | Suborbital | Missile test | 16 November | Successful | |||
| Apogee: 80 kilometres (50 mi)? | |||||||
| 4 December | Black Sparrow | F-15 Eagle, Israel | IAF | ||||
| IAI/IDF | Suborbital | Missile test target | 4 December | Launch failure | |||
| Arrow-III interceptor launch was called off after launch failure of the target missile[145] | |||||||
| 12 December | New Shepard | Corn Ranch | Blue Origin | ||||
| New Shepard crew capsule | Blue Origin | Suborbital | Test flight | 12 December | Successful | ||
| Flight test with new capsule[146] | |||||||
| 26 December 03:30 | RS-12M Topol | Kapustin Yar | RVSN | ||||
| RVSN | Suborbital | Missile test | 26 December | Successful | |||
Deep-space rendezvous
| Date (UTC) | Spacecraft | Event | Remarks |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2 February | Juno | 4th perijove of Jupiter | A decision was made to cancel a period reduction maneuver and remain in a 53-day orbit for the remainder of the mission over engine concerns.[147] |
| 27 March | Juno | 5th perijove | |
| 22 April[148] | Cassini | 127th flyby of Titan | Closest approach: 979 kilometres (608 mi). |
| 19 May | Juno | 6th perijove | |
| 11 July | Juno | 7th perijove | |
| 1 September | Juno | 8th perijove | |
| 15 September | Cassini | End of mission | Intentional destructive entry into Saturn's atmosphere |
| 23 September | OSIRIS-REx | Flyby of Earth | Gravity assist to accelerate the probe towards its destination |
| 24 October | Juno | 9th perijove | |
| 16 December | Juno | 10th perijove |
Extravehicular activities (EVAs)
| Start date/time | Duration | End time | Spacecraft | Crew | Remarks |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 6 January 12:23 | 6 hours 31 minutes | 18:54 | Expedition 50 ISS Quest | The crew completed the installation of new batteries on the station's power channel 3A, and then executed a series of tasks to get ahead for the next EVA. Kimbrough collected photos of the AMS-02, then they removed a broken light on the S3 truss and routed Ethernet cables on the Z1 truss. | |
| 13 January 11:22 | 5 hours 58 minutes | 17:20 | Expedition 50 ISS Quest | The crew completed the installation of new batteries on the station's power channel 1A, and then executed a series of get ahead tasks. First they installed a new camera on the Mobile Transporter Relay Assembly, then Pesquet replaced a Worksite Interface Adapter on Canadarm-2 and collected photos of Z1 truss and S0 truss, meanwhile Kimbrough removed 2 handrails from the Destiny module. Then they picked up a bundle of covers and brought them to the Tranquillity module where will be installed when Pressurized Mating Adapter 3 will be moved from Node 3 to Node 2. When removed, the PMA's Common Berthing Mechanism will be covered up to protect it from the space environment. | |
| 24 March 11:24 | 6 hours 34 minutes | 17:58 | Expedition 50 ISS Quest | Kimbrough replaced the External Control Zone 2 (EXT-2) multiplexer–demultiplexer (MDM) with an upgraded "EPIC MDM" and prepared PMA-3 for its robotic relocation on Sunday. Pesquet inspected the Radiator Beam Valve Module for ammonia leaks, then lubricated one of the Latching End Effectors of Dextre. Kimbrough then replaced a pair of cameras on the Kibo module, and a light on one of the CETA carts. | |
| 30 March 11:29 | 7 hours 4 minutes | 18:33 | Expedition 50 ISS Quest | Kimbrough replaced the External Control Zone 1 (EXT-1) multiplexer–demultiplexer (MDM) with an upgraded "EPIC MDM" while Whitson connected heater power and heater feedback telemetry to enable PMA-3 to be repressurized, then released a series of straps to free up a cover that protected the APAS. The astronauts then installed axial shields on PMA-3's former location on Tranquillity module and installed covers on PMA-3. One of the shields was lost but the others were installed successfully.[149] | |
| 12 May 13:01 [150] | 4 hours 13 minutes | 17:21 | Expedition 51 ISS Quest |
| |
| 23 May 11:20 [151] | 2 hours 46 minutes | 14:06 | Expedition 51 ISS Quest | Throughout this hurriedly planned "contingency" spacewalk, both Fischer and Whitson successfully replaced a failed multiplexer–demultiplexer (MDM), and installed a pair of antennas on station to enhance wireless communication for future spacewalks.[152] | |
| 17 August 14:36 [153] | 7 hours 34 minutes | 22:10 | Expedition 52 ISS Pirs | ||
| 5 October 12:05 | 6 hours 55 minutes | 19:00 | Expedition 53 ISS Quest | ||
| 10 October 11:56 | 6 hours 26 minutes | 18:22 | Expedition 53 ISS Quest |
| |
| 20 October 11:47 | 6 hours 49 minutes | 18:36 | Expedition 53 ISS Quest |
Orbital launch statistics
By country
For the purposes of this section, the yearly tally of orbital launches by country assigns each flight to the country of origin of the rocket, not to the launch services provider or the spaceport. For example, Soyuz launches by Arianespace in Kourou are counted under Russia because Soyuz-2 is a Russian rocket.
| Country | Launches | Successes | Failures | Partial failures | Remarks | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| China | 18 | 16 | 1 | 1 | ||
| Europe | 9 | 9 | 0 | 0 | ||
| India | 5 | 4 | 1 | 0 | ||
| Iran | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | ||
| Japan | 7 | 6 | 1 | 0 | ||
| Russia | 20 | 18 | 1 | 1 | Includes two European Soyuz launches from Kourou, French Guiana by Arianespace. | |
| Ukraine | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 Zenit launch from Baikonur by S7 Space | |
 United States | 30 | 29 | 1 | 0 | Includes one Electron launch failure from Mahia by Rocket Lab | |
| Total | 91 | 83 | 6 | 2 | ||
By rocket
- Ariane 5
- Atlas V
- Delta II
- Delta IV
- Falcon 9 new
- Falcon 9 reused
- H-IIA
- Long March 2
- Long March 3
- Long March 4
- Long March 5
- Long March 6
- Long March 7
- Minotaur IV
- Minotaur-C
- PSLV
- Soyuz-U
- Soyuz-FG
- Soyuz-2 (Russia)
- Soyuz-ST (Europe)
- Proton-M
- Rokot
- Vega
- Others
By family
| Family | Country | Launches | Successes | Failures | Partial failures | Remarks |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Antares | United States | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | |
| Ariane | Europe | 6 | 6 | 0 | 0 | |
| Atlas | United States | 6 | 6 | 0 | 0 | |
| Delta | United States | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | |
| Electron | United States | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | Maiden flight |
| Falcon | United States | 18 | 18 | 0 | 0 | |
| GSLV | India | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | |
| GSLV Mk III | India | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | First orbital flight |
| H-II | Japan | 6 | 6 | 0 | 0 | |
| Kaituozhe | China | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | |
| Kuaizhou | China | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | |
| Long March | China | 16 | 14 | 1 | 1 | |
| Minotaur | United States | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | |
| PSLV | India | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | |
| R-7 | Russia | 15 | 13 | 1 | 1 | |
| S-Series | Japan | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | |
| Simorgh | Iran | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | First orbital flight |
| Universal Rocket | Russia | 5 | 5 | 0 | 0 | |
| Vega | Europe | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | |
| Zenit | Ukraine | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
By type
| Rocket | Country | Family | Launches | Successes | Failures | Partial failures | Remarks |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Antares 200 | United States | Antares | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | |
| Ariane 5 | Europe | Ariane | 6 | 6 | 0 | 0 | |
| Atlas V | United States | Atlas | 6 | 6 | 0 | 0 | |
| Delta II | United States | Delta | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | |
| Delta IV | United States | Delta | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | |
| Electron | United States | Electron | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | Maiden flight |
| Falcon 9 | United States | Falcon | 18 | 18 | 0 | 0 | |
| GSLV | India | GSLV | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | |
| GSLV Mk III | India | GSLV Mk III | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | First orbital flight |
| Kaituozhe-2 | China | Kaituozhe | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | Maiden flight |
| Kuaizhou 1 | China | Kuaizhou | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | |
| Minotaur IV | United States | Minotaur | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | |
| Minotaur-C | United States | Minotaur | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | |
| H-IIA | Japan | H-II | 6 | 6 | 0 | 0 | |
| Long March 2 | China | Long March | 6 | 6 | 0 | 0 | |
| Long March 3 | China | Long March | 5 | 4 | 0 | 1 | |
| Long March 4 | China | Long March | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | |
| Long March 5 | China | Long March | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | |
| Long March 6 | China | Long March | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | |
| Long March 7 | China | Long March | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | |
| PSLV | India | PSLV | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | |
| Proton | Russia | Universal Rocket | 4 | 4 | 0 | 0 | |
| SS-520 | Japan | S-Series | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | |
| Simorgh | Iran | Simorgh | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | First orbital flight |
| Soyuz | Russia | R-7 | 5 | 5 | 0 | 0 | |
| Soyuz-2 | Russia | R-7 | 10 | 8 | 1 | 1 | |
| UR-100 | Russia | Universal Rocket | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | |
| Vega | Europe | Vega | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | |
| Zenit-3 | Ukraine | Zenit | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
By configuration
By spaceport
5
10
15
20
25
30
China
France
India
Iran
Japan
Kazakhstan
New Zealand
Russia
United States
| Site | Country | Launches | Successes | Failures | Partial failures | Remarks |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Baikonur | Kazakhstan | 13 | 12 | 0 | 1 | |
| Cape Canaveral | United States | 7 | 7 | 0 | 0 | |
| Jiuquan | China | 6 | 6 | 0 | 0 | |
| Kennedy | United States | 12 | 12 | 0 | 0 | |
| Kourou | France | 11 | 11 | 0 | 0 | |
| Mahia | New Zealand | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | First launch |
| MARS | United States | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | |
| Plesetsk | Russia | 5 | 5 | 0 | 0 | |
| Satish Dhawan | India | 5 | 4 | 1 | 0 | |
| Semnan | Iran | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | |
| Taiyuan | China | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | |
| Tanegashima | Japan | 6 | 6 | 0 | 0 | |
| Uchinoura | Japan | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | |
| Vandenberg | United States | 9 | 9 | 0 | 0 | |
| Vostochny | Russia | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | |
| Wenchang | China | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | |
| Xichang | China | 8 | 7 | 0 | 1 | |
| Total | 91 | 83 | 6 | 2 | ||
By orbit
10
20
30
40
50
60
- Transatmospheric
- Low Earth
- Low Earth (ISS)
- Low Earth (SSO)
- Low Earth (polar)
- Medium Earth
- Geosychronous
(transfer) - High Earth
- Heliocentric
| Orbital regime | Launches | Achieved | Not achieved | Accidentally achieved | Remarks |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Transatmospheric | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| Low Earth | 52 | 48 | 4 | 0 | including 13 to ISS, 1 to Tiangong-2 |
| Geosynchronous / transfer | 33 | 31 | 2 | 0 | |
| Medium Earth | 3 | 3 | 0 | 1 | IRNSS-1H did not separate from rocket's second stage, and was stuck in an elliptical orbit with 6000 km apogee |
| High Earth | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | including highly elliptical Tundra orbits |
| Total | 91 | 85 | 6 | 1 |
References
Notes
Citations
