1969 in spaceflight

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This is an old revision of this page, as edited by Grounded Cosmonaut (talk | contribs) at 21:15, 28 October 2017 (+ September). The present address (URL) is a permanent link to this revision, which may differ significantly from the current revision.

1969 in spaceflight
Humanity's first manned lunar landing
National firsts
Satellite
Rockets
Maiden flights
Retirements
Crewed flights
Orbital9
Total travellers22

1969 saw humanity step onto another world for the first time. On July 21, 1969, the Apollo 11 Lunar Module, Eagle, landed on the moon's surface with two astronauts aboard. Days later the crew of three returned safely to Earth, satisfying U.S. President John F. Kennedy's 1962 challenge of May 25, 1961, that “this nation should commit itself to achieving the goal, before this decade is out, of landing a man on the Moon and returning him safely to the Earth.”[1][2]

There were four Apollo missions in total in 1969, three of which traveled to the moon, with Apollo 12 also landing on the surface. The success of the Apollo program was a testament to the efforts of over 500,000 American engineers, scientists and technicians.

In 1969, the Soviet Union's space program had success with the docking of two manned spacecraft as well as the success of their Venus and Lunar probes. The Soviets, however, suffered severe blows to their manned Lunar aspirations when their N1 rocket failed twice during two 1969 launches.

Orbital launches

Date and time (UTC) Rocket Flight number Launch site LSP
Payload
(⚀ = CubeSat) 		Operator Orbit Function Decay (UTC) Outcome
Remarks

January

5 January
06:28[3] 		Soviet Union Molniya-M/Blok VL Soviet Union Baikonur Site 1/5 Soviet Union
Soviet Union Venera 5 Heliocentric Venus lander May 16, 1969 Successful
Lander operated for 53 minutes in the atmosphere of Venus.
10 January
05:51[3] 		Soviet Union Molniya-M/Blok-VL Soviet Union Baikonur Site 1/5 Soviet Union
Soviet Union Venera 6 Heliocentric Venus lander May 17, 1969 Successful
Lander operated for 51 minutes in the atmosphere of Venus.
12 January
12:10[4] 		Soviet Union Voskhod Soviet Union Plesetsk Site 41/1 Soviet Union
Soviet Union Kosmos 263 (Zenit-2) Low Earth Optical imaging 20 January 1969[5] Successful
14 January
07:30 		Soviet Union Soyuz Soviet Union Baikonur LC-31 Soviet Union RVSN
Soviet Union Soyuz 4 RVSN Low Earth Manned orbital flight 17 January 1969 Successful
First docking between two manned spacecraft (with Soyuz 5)
14 January
07:04 		Soviet Union Soyuz Soviet Union Baikonur LC-1/5 Soviet Union RVSN
Soviet Union Soyuz 5 RVSN Low Earth Manned orbital flight In orbit Successful
First docking between two manned spacecraft (with Soyuz 4)
20 January
04:14[6] 		Soviet Union Proton-K/D Soviet Union Baikonur Site 81/23 Soviet Union
Soviet Union Soyuz 7K-L1 (Zond-1969A) Selenocentric Test flight 20 January 1969 Failure
One of the RD-0210 engines in the second stage failed, resulting in automatic shutdown of the vehicle. Capsule was successfully recovered after successful launch abort.
22 January
16:48[7] 		United States Delta C1 United States Cape Canaveral SLC-17 United States
United States OSO 5 NASA Low Earth Astronomy 2 April 1984[5] Successful
22 January
16:48[9] 		United States Titan IIIB United States Vandenberg SLC-4W United States
United States OPS 7585 (GAMBIT-3 4319) NRO Low Earth Optical imaging 3 February 1969[5] Partial failure
Apogee was too high as the Agena rocket stage failed to switch off at a correct time.[8]
23 January
09:15[6] 		Soviet Union Voskhod Soviet Union Baikonur Site 1/5 Soviet Union
Soviet Union Kosmos 264 (Zenit-4M) Low Earth Optical imaging 5 February 1969[5] Successful
23 January
09:15[6] 		Soviet Union Tsyklon-2A Soviet Union Baikonur Site 90/19 Soviet Union
Soviet Union Kosmos 265 (US-AO No.5) Low Earth Naval surveillance 23 January 1969 Failure
30 January
06:46[9] 		United States Delta E1 United States Vandenberg SLC-2E United States
Canada ISIS 1 CSA Medium Earth Science In orbit Successful

February

1 February
12:11[4] 		Soviet Union Vostok-2M Soviet Union Plesetsk Site 41/1 Soviet Union
Soviet Union Kosmos 265 (Meteor-1) RVSN Low Earth Meteorology 1 February 1969 Failure
5 February
06:46[9] 		United States Thorad-SLV2G-Agena-D United States Vandenberg SLC-3W United States
United States KH-4B 6 (OPS 3890) CIA Low Earth Optical imaging 24 February 1969[5] Successful
United States P-801 2 (OPS 2644) USAF Low Earth Reconnaissance In orbit Successful
6 February
00:39[7] 		United States Delta M United States Cape Canaveral SLC-17A United States NASA
United States Intelsat III F-3 Intelsat Geostationary Communications In orbit Successful
7 February
13:59[4] 		Soviet Union Kosmos-2I Soviet Union Plesetsk Site 133/1 Soviet Union
Soviet Union Kosmos 265 (DS-P1-Yu No.21) RVSN Low Earth Radar calibration 1 May 1969[5] Successful
9 February
21:09[7] 		United States Titan IIIC United States Cape Canaveral SLC-41 United States
United States TACSAT-1 (OPS 0757) USAF Geostationary Communications In orbit Successful
19 February
06:48[6] 		Soviet Union Proton-K/D Soviet Union Baikonur Site 81/24 Soviet Union
Soviet Union Luna 15a + Lunokhod 1A (Ye-8 №201) Selenocentric Lunar lander and rover 19 February 1969 Failure
Engine failure in the first stage, rocket crashed 15 km from the pad.
21 February
09:18 		Soviet Union N1/L3 Soviet Union Baikonur LC-110/38 Soviet Union RVSN
Soviet Union Zond L1S-1 RVSN Selenocentric Test flight 21 February Failure
Soviet Union Dummy LK RVSN Selenocentric Mass simulator 21 February Failure
25 February
01:29[7] 		United States Atlas SLV-3C Centaur-D United States Cape Canaveral LC-36 United States
United States Mariner 6 NASA Heliocentric Mars flyby In orbit Successful
25 February
10:20[4] 		Soviet Union Voskhod Soviet Union Plesetsk Site 41/1 Soviet Union
Soviet Union Kosmos 266 (Zenit-2) Low Earth Optical imaging 5 March 1969[5] Successful
26 February
07:47[7] 		United States Delta E1 United States Cape Canaveral LC-17B United States
United States ESSA-9 ESSA Low Earth (SSO) Meteorology In orbit Successful
26 February
08:30[6] 		Soviet Union Voskhod Soviet Union Baikonur Site 31/6 Soviet Union
Soviet Union Kosmos 267 (Zenit-4) Low Earth Optical imaging 6 March 1969[5] Successful

March

3 March
16:00 		United States Saturn V United States KSC LC-39A United States NASA
United States Apollo 9 CSM Gumdrop NASA Low Earth Manned orbital flight 13 March 1969 Successful
United States Apollo 9 LM Spider NASA Low Earth Test flight 13 March 1969 Successful
First manned orbital test of lunar module
4 March
16:48[9] 		United States Titan IIIB United States Vandenberg SLC-4W United States
United States KH-8 Gambit 3 (OPS 4248) USAF Low Earth Optical imaging 18 March 1969[5] Successful
Apogee was too high as the Agena rocket stage failed to switch off at a correct time.[10]
5 March
13:04[11] 		Soviet Union Kosmos-2I Soviet Union Kapustin Yar Site 86/4 Soviet Union
Soviet Union Kosmos 268 (DS-P1-Yu No.18) Low Earth Radar calibration 9 May 1970[5] Successful
5 March
17:25[4] 		Soviet Union Kosmos-3M Soviet Union Plesetsk Site 132/2 Soviet Union
Soviet Union Kosmos 269 (Tselina-O-4) Low Earth ELINT 21 October 1978[5] Successful
6 March
12:15[4] 		Soviet Union Voskhod Soviet Union Plesetsk Site 41/1 Soviet Union
Soviet Union Kosmos 270 (Zenit-4 No.52) Low Earth Optical imaging 14 March 1969[5] Successful
15 March
12:15[4] 		Soviet Union Voskhod Soviet Union Plesetsk Site 41/1 Soviet Union
Soviet Union Kosmos 271 (Zenit-4 No.53) Low Earth Optical imaging 23 March 1969[5] Successful
17 March
17:25[4] 		Soviet Union Kosmos-3M Soviet Union Plesetsk Site 132/2 Soviet Union
Soviet Union Kosmos 272 (Sfera No.4) Low Earth Geodesy In orbit Successful
18 March
07:40[9] 		United States Atlas F-OV1 United States Vandenberg ABRES-A2 United States
United States OV1-17 USAF Low Earth Technology demonstration 5 March 1970[5] Successful
United States OV1-17A ORBISCAL USAF Low Earth Technology demonstration 24 March 1969[5] Successful
United States OV1-18 USAF Low Earth Technology demonstration 28 August 1972[5] Successful
United States OV1-19 USAF Low Earth Technology demonstration In orbit Successful
19 March
21:38[9] 		United States Thorad-SLV2G-Agena-D United States Vandenberg SLC-3W United States
United States KH-4A 50 (OPS 3722) CIA Low Earth Optical imaging 24 March 1969[5] Successful
United States P-11 (OPS 2285) USAF Low Earth Reconnaissance 6 December 1971[5] Successful
22 March
12:15[4] 		Soviet Union Voskhod Soviet Union Plesetsk Site 41/1 Soviet Union
Soviet Union Kosmos 273 (Zenit-2 No.72) Low Earth Optical imaging 30 March 1969[5] Successful
24 March
10:10[6] 		Soviet Union Voskhod Soviet Union Baikonur Site 31/6 Soviet Union
Soviet Union Kosmos 274 (Zenit-4 No.54) Low Earth Optical imaging 1 April 1969[5] Successful
26 March
12:30[4] 		Soviet Union Vostok-2M Soviet Union Plesetsk Site 41/1 Soviet Union
Soviet Union Meteor-1 1 Low Earth Meteorology 26 March 2012 Successful
27 March
10:40[6] 		Soviet Union Proton-K/D Soviet Union Baikonur Site 81/23 Soviet Union
Soviet Union Mars 2M No.521 Areocentric Mars orbiter 27 March 1969 Failure
Payload fairing failed at T+51. Third stage failed to ignite.
27 March
22:22[7] 		United States Atlas SLV-3C Centaur-D United States Cape Canaveral LC-36A United States
United States Mariner 7 NASA Heliocentric Mars flyby In orbit Successful
28 March
16:00[4] 		Soviet Union Kosmos-2I Soviet Union Plesetsk Site 133/1 Soviet Union
Soviet Union Kosmos 275 (DS-P1-I No.5) RVSN Low Earth Radar calibration 7 February 1970[5] Successful

April

2 April
10:33[6] 		Soviet Union Proton-K/D Soviet Union Baikonur Site 81/24 Soviet Union
Soviet Union Mars 2M No.522 Areocentric Mars orbiter and lander 2 April 1969 Failure
Rocket crashed near pad after 1st stage engine failure.
4 April
10:20[4] 		Soviet Union Voskhod Soviet Union Plesetsk Site 41/1 Soviet Union
Soviet Union Kosmos 276 (Zenit-4 No.55) Low Earth Optical imaging 11 April 1969[5] Successful
4 April
13:00[4] 		Soviet Union Kosmos-2I Soviet Union Plesetsk Site 133/1 Soviet Union
Soviet Union Kosmos 277 (DS-P1-Yu No.20) Low Earth Radar calibration 6 July 1969[5] Successful
9 April
13:00[4] 		Soviet Union Voskhod Soviet Union Plesetsk Site 41/1 Soviet Union
Soviet Union Kosmos 278 (Zenit-2 No.73) Low Earth Optical imaging 17 April 1969[5] Successful
11 April
02:30[6] 		Soviet Union Molniya-M/Blok ML Soviet Union Baikonur Site 1/5 Soviet Union
Soviet Union Molniya-1 No.11 Molniya Communications 17 April 1974 Successful
13 April
02:24[7] 		United States Atlas-SLV3A Agena-D United States Cape Canaveral LC-13 United States
United States Canyon 2 (OPS 3148) NRO Geostationary Reconnaissance In orbit Successful
14 April
07:54[9] 		United States Thorad-SLV2G-Agena-D United States Vandenberg SLC-2E United States
United States Nimbus 3 NASA, NOAA Low Earth Meteorology In orbit Successful
United States SECOR-13 US Army Low Earth Geodesy In orbit Successful
15 April
08:14[6] 		Soviet Union Voskhod Soviet Union Baikonur Site 31/6 Soviet Union
Soviet Union Kosmos 279 (Zenit-4 No.56) Low Earth Optical imaging 23 April 1969[5] Successful
15 April
17:30[9] 		United States Titan IIIB United States Vandenberg SLC-4W United States
United States KH-8 Gambit 3 (OPS 5310) USAF Low Earth Optical imaging 30 April 1969[5] Successful
23 April
09:55[6] 		Soviet Union Voskhod Soviet Union Baikonur Site 1/5 Soviet Union
Soviet Union Kosmos 280 (Zenit-4M No.3) Low Earth Optical imaging 6 May 1969[5] Successful

May

2 May
01:46[9] 		United States Thorad-SLV2G-Agena-D United States Vandenberg SLC-3W United States
United States KH-4A 51 (OPS 1101) CIA Low Earth Optical imaging 23 May 1969[5] Successful
United States P-11 (OPS 1721) USAF Low Earth Reconnaissance 16 February 1970[5] Successful
13 May
09:15[4] 		Soviet Union Voskhod Soviet Union Plesetsk Site 41/1 Soviet Union
Soviet Union Kosmos 281 (Zenit-2 No.74) Low Earth Optical imaging 21 May 1969[5] Successful
18 May
16:49 		United States Saturn V United States KSC LC-39B United States NASA
United States Apollo 10 CSM Charlie Brown NASA Selenocentric Manned Lunar orbital flight 26 May 1969 Successful
United States Apollo 10 LM Snoopy NASA Selenocentric Test flight In orbit Successful
First test of lunar module in lunar orbit. "Dress rehearsal" of Apollo 11 landing.
20 May
08:40[4] 		Soviet Union Voskhod Soviet Union Plesetsk Site 41/1 Soviet Union
Soviet Union Kosmos 282 (Zenit-4 No.57) Low Earth Optical imaging 28 May 1969[5] Successful
22 May
02:00[7] 		United States Delta M United States Cape Canaveral LC-17A United States NASA
United States Intelsat III F-4 Intelsat Geostationary Communications In orbit Successful
23 May
07:57[7] 		United States Titan IIIC United States Cape Canaveral SLC-41 United States
United States Vela 9, 10 USAF High Earth Nuclear detection In orbit Successful
United States OV5 5, 6, 9 USAF High Earth Technology demonstration In orbit Successful
27 May
12:59[4] 		Soviet Union Kosmos-2I Soviet Union Plesetsk Site 133/1 Soviet Union
Soviet Union Kosmos 283 (DS-P1-Yu No.21) Low Earth Radar calibration 10 December 1969[5] Successful
29 May
06:59[6] 		Soviet Union Voskhod Soviet Union Baikonur Site 31/6 Soviet Union
Soviet Union Kosmos 284 (Zenit-4 No.58) Low Earth Optical imaging 6 June 1969[5] Successful

June

3 June
12:57[4] 		Soviet Union Kosmos-2I Soviet Union Plesetsk Site 133/1 Soviet Union
Soviet Union Kosmos 285 (DS-P1-Yu No.22) Low Earth Radar calibration 7 October 1969[5] Successful
3 June
16:49[9] 		United States Titan IIIB United States Vandenberg SLC-4W United States
United States KH-8 Gambit 3 (OPS 1077) USAF Low Earth Optical imaging 14 June 1969[5] Successful
5 June
14:42[9] 		United States Thorad-SLV2H Agena-D United States Vandenberg SLC-3W United States
United States OGO 6 NASA Low Earth Research 12 October 1979[5] Successful
14 June
04:00[6] 		Soviet Union Proton-K/D Soviet Union Baikonur Site 81/24 Soviet Union
Soviet Union Luna 15b (Ye-8-5 №402) Selenocentric Lunar sample return 14 June 1969 Failure
Blok D upper stage failed to ignite, thus leaving the payload on a suborbital trajectory.
15 June
08:59[4] 		Soviet Union Voskhod Soviet Union Plesetsk Site 41/1 Soviet Union
Soviet Union Kosmos 286 (Zenit-4 No.59) Low Earth Optical imaging 23 June 1969[5] Successful
21 June
08:47[9] 		United States Delta E1 United States Vandenberg SLC-2W United States
United States Explorer 41 (IMP-G) NASA Highly elliptical Magnetospheric research In orbit Successful
24 June
06:50[6] 		Soviet Union Voskhod Soviet Union Baikonur Site 31/6 Soviet Union
Soviet Union Kosmos 287 (Zenit-2 No.75) Low Earth Optical imaging 2 July 1969[5] Successful
27 June
06:59[6] 		Soviet Union Voskhod Soviet Union Baikonur Site 1/5 Soviet Union
Soviet Union Kosmos 288 (Zenit-4 No.60) Low Earth Optical imaging 5 July 1969[5] Successful
29 June
03:15[7] 		United States Delta N United States Cape Canaveral LC-17A United States
United States Biosat 3 NASA Low Earth Life science 7 July 1969[5] Successful

July

2 July
07:04 		Europe Europa-1 Australia Woomera LA-6A Europe ELDO
Europe STV-2 ELDO Test flight 2 July 1969 Failure
3 July
20:18 		Soviet Union N1/L3 Soviet Union Baikonur LC-110/38 Soviet Union
Soviet Union Zond L1S-2 Selenocentric Test flight 3 July 1969 Failure
Soviet Union Dummy LK Selenocentric Mass simulator 3 July 1969 Failure
Exploded due to faulty engines and a bolt that was sucked into a fuel pump.
10 July
09:00[4] 		Soviet Union Voskhod Soviet Union Plesetsk Site 41/1 Soviet Union
Soviet Union Kosmos 289 (Zenit-4 No.61) Low Earth Optical imaging 15 July 1969[5] Successful
13 July
02:54[6] 		Soviet Union Proton-K/D Soviet Union Baikonur Site 81/24 Soviet Union
Soviet Union Luna 15 (Ye-8-5 №401) Selenocentric Lunar sample return 20 July 1969 Success
Lander crashed to the surface of the Moon in an attempted landing.
16 July
13:32 		United States Saturn V United States KSC LC-39A United States NASA
United States Apollo 11 CSM Columbia NASA Selenocentric Manned Lunar orbital flight 24 July 1969 Successful
United States Apollo 11 LM Eagle NASA Selenocentric Manned Lunar landing In orbit Successful
First manned Moon landing.
22 July
12:30[4] 		Soviet Union Voskhod Soviet Union Plesetsk Site 41/1 Soviet Union
Soviet Union Kosmos 290 (Zenit-2 No.76) Low Earth Optical imaging 30 July 1969[5] Successful
22 July
12:55[6] 		Soviet Union Molniya-M/Blok ML Soviet Union Baikonur Site 1/5 Soviet Union
Soviet Union Molniya-1 No.12 Molniya Communications 18 June 1971[5] Successful
23 July
04:39[9] 		United States Thor-LV2F Burner-2 United States Vandenberg SLC-10W United States
United States DSAP-4B F3 (OPS 1127) USAF, NRO Low Earth Meteorology In orbit Successful
23 July
09:00[4] 		Soviet Union Kosmos-2I Soviet Union Plesetsk Site 133/1 Soviet Union
Soviet Union DS-P1-Yu No.23 Low Earth Radar calibration 23 July 1969 Failure
Second stage failed at T+267 seconds.
24 July
01:30[9] 		United States Thorad-SLV2H-Agena-D United States Vandenberg SLC-3W United States
United States KH-4B 7 (OPS 3654) CIA Low Earth Optical imaging 23 August 1969[5] Successful
26 July
02:06[7] 		United States Delta M United States Cape Canaveral LC-17A United States
United States Intelsat III F-5 Intelsat Geostationary Communications 14 October 1988[5] Failure
Third stage failure left the spacecraft in an unusable orbit.
31 July
10:19[9] 		United States Thorad-SLV2G-Agena-D United States Vandenberg SLC-1W United States
United States Strawman-2 (OPS 8285) USAF Low Earth ELINT 4 January 1973[5] Successful

August

6 August
05:40[6] 		Soviet Union Tsyklon-2 Soviet Union Baikonur Site 90/19 Soviet Union
Soviet Union Kosmos 291 (IS-GVM) Low Earth Mass simulator 8 September 1969 Successful
First test flight of Tsyklon-2 booster. Flew with a dummy payload planned to be used as an ASAT target but the ASAT interceptor test flight was later cancelled.
7 August
23:48[6] 		Soviet Union Proton-K/D Soviet Union Baikonur Site 81/23 Soviet Union
Soviet Union Zond 7 High Earth Lunar flyby 13 August 1969 Successful
The only successful test flight of Soyuz 7K-L1 spacecraft. Circumlunar flight, perilune 1,984 km.
9 August
07:52[7] 		United States Delta N United States Cape Canaveral LC-17A United States
United States OSO 6 NASA Low Earth Solar observatory 7 March 1981[5] Successful
United States PAC 1 NASA Low Earth Technology demonstration 28 April 1977[5] Successful
12 August
11:01[7] 		United States Atlas SLV-3C Centaur-D United States Cape Canaveral LC-36A United States
United States ATS-5 NASA Geosynchronous Communications In orbit Successful
13 August
22:00[4] 		Soviet Union Kosmos-3M Soviet Union Plesetsk Site 132/2 Soviet Union
Soviet Union Kosmos 292 (Zaliv No.3) Low Earth Navigation In orbit Successful
16 August
11:59[6] 		Soviet Union Voskhod Soviet Union Baikonur Site 31/6 Soviet Union
Soviet Union Kosmos 293 (Zenit-2M No.4) / Nauka 5KS L.1 Low Earth Optical imaging 28 August 1969[5] Successful
19 August
13:00[4] 		Soviet Union Voskhod Soviet Union Plesetsk Site 41/1 Soviet Union
Soviet Union Kosmos 294 (Zenit-4 No.62) Low Earth Optical imaging 27 August 1969[5] Successful
22 August
14:14[4] 		Soviet Union Kosmos-2I Soviet Union Plesetsk Site 133/1 Soviet Union
Soviet Union Kosmos 295 (DS-P1-Yu No.24) Low Earth Radar calibration 1 December 1969[5] Successful
23 August
16:00[9] 		United States Titan IIIB United States Vandenberg SLC-4W United States
United States KH-8 Gambit 3 (OPS 7807) USAF Low Earth Optical imaging 7 September 1969[5] Successful
27 August
21:59[7] 		United States Delta L United States Cape Canaveral LC-17A United States
United States Pioneer E NASA Heliocentric Solar orbiter 27 August 1969 Failure
United States TETR 3 NASA Low Earth orbit Technology demonstration 27 August 1969 Failure
First flight of Delta L rocket. First stage hydraulics failure threw the second stage far off course and the vehicle was destroyed by range safety at T+383 seconds.
29 August
09:05[6] 		Soviet Union Voskhod Soviet Union Baikonur Site 31/6 Soviet Union
Soviet Union Kosmos 296 (Zenit-4 No.63) Low Earth Optical imaging 6 September 1969[5] Successful

September

2 September
11:00[4] 		Soviet Union Voskhod Soviet Union Plesetsk Site 41/1 Soviet Union
Soviet Union Kosmos 297 (Zenit-4 No.64) Low Earth Optical imaging 10 September 1969[5] Successful
15 September
08:40[6] 		Soviet Union R-36O Soviet Union Baikonur Site 191/66 Soviet Union
Soviet Union Kosmos 298 (OGCh No.21) Low Earth Weapon test 15 September 1969[5] Successful
18 September
08:40[6] 		Soviet Union Voskhod Soviet Union Baikonur Site 31/6 Soviet Union
Soviet Union Kosmos 299 (Zenit-4 No.65) Low Earth Optical imaging 22 September 1969[5] Successful
22 September
02:10[12] 		Japan Lambda 4S Japan Kagoshima L Japan ISAS
Japan Ōsumi-4 ISAS Low Earth Test flight 22 September 1969 Failure
22 September
21:11[9] 		United States Thorad-SLV2G-Agena-D United States Vandenberg SLC-3W United States
United States KH-4A 52 (OPS 3531) CIA Low Earth Optical imaging 13 October 1969[5] Successful
United States P-11 (OPS 4710) USAF Low Earth Reconnaissance 16 May 1971[5] Successful
23 September
14:07[6] 		Soviet Union Proton-K/D Soviet Union Baikonur Site 81/24 Soviet Union
Soviet Union Kosmos 300 (Luna 16a, Ye-8-5 №403) Selenocentric Lunar sample return 27 September 1969[5] Failure
Blok D stage failed due to valve defect and the probe failed to leave Earth orbit.
24 September
12:15[4] 		Soviet Union Voskhod Soviet Union Plesetsk Site 41/1 Soviet Union
Soviet Union Kosmos 301 (Zenit-2 No.77) Low Earth Optical imaging 2 October 1969[5] Successful
30 September
13:40[9] 		United States Thorad-SLV2G-Agena-D United States Vandenberg SLC-3W United States
United States Poppy 8A-D (NRL-PL 161-164) NRL/US Navy Low Earth ELINT In orbit Successful
United States NRL-PL 165 NRL/US Navy Low Earth Technology demonstration In orbit Successful
United States Timation-2 NRL/US Navy Low Earth Navigation In orbit Successful
United States Tempsat 2 NRL Low Earth Calibration In orbit Successful
United States SOICAL Cone & Cylinder USAF Low Earth Calibration In orbit Successful
United States P-11 (OPS 7613) USAF Low Earth Reconnaissance In orbit Successful

October

11 October
11:10 		Soviet Union Soyuz Soviet Union Baikonur LC-31/6 Soviet Union RVSN
Soviet Union Soyuz 6 RVSN Low Earth Manned orbital flight 16 October 1969 Partial failure
Rendezvous with Soyuz 7 and 8 unsuccessful due to electronic failure.
12 October
10:44 		Soviet Union Soyuz Soviet Union Baikonur LC-1/5 Soviet Union RVSN
Soviet Union Soyuz 7 RVSN Low Earth Manned orbital flight 16 October 1969 Partial failure
Rendezvous with Soyuz 6 and 8 unsuccessful due to electronic failure.
13 October
10:19 		Soviet Union Soyuz Soviet Union Baikonur LC-31/6 Soviet Union RVSN
Soviet Union Soyuz 8 RVSN Low Earth Manned orbital flight 16 October 1969 Partial failure
Rendezvous with Soyuz 6 and 7 unsuccessful due to electronic failure.

November

14 November
16:22 		United States Saturn V United States KSC LC-39A United States NASA
United States Apollo 12 CSM Yankee Clipper NASA Selenocentric Manned Lunar orbital flight 24 November 1969 Successful
United States Apollo 12 LM Intrepid NASA Selenocentric Manned Lunar landing In orbit Successful
First manned Moon landing.

December


Suborbital flights

Date and time (UTC) Rocket Flight number Launch site LSP
Payload
(⚀ = CubeSat) 		Operator Orbit Function Decay (UTC) Outcome
Remarks
20 February
11:48[13] 		France Véronique France Kourou ALFS France LRBA
FU-170 CIRCE CNES Suborbital Ionosphere research 20 February Successful
Apogee: 107 kilometres (66 mi)
20 March
05:37[14] 		United States Terrier Sandhawk United States Poker Flat Research Range United States Sandia
HEMLOCK DARPA Suborbital Aeronomy 20 March Successful
Apogee: 176 kilometres (109 mi)
16 April[15] Argentina Canopus 2 Argentina CELPA Argentina CONAE
CONAE Suborbital Test flight 16 April Successful
First flight of Canopus 2 sounding rocket. Apogee: 150 kilometres (93 mi).
1 May[16] United States Sandhawk Tomahawk United States Pacific Missile Range Facility United States Sandia
Sandia National Laboratories Suborbital Test flight 1 May Successful
First flight of the Sandhawk Tomahawk configuration. Apogee: 528 kilometres (328 mi).
24 May
05:52[17] 		United States Terrier Tomahawk United States Pacific Missile Range Facility United States Sandia
LRL BOX-16 TT-9 Sandia National Laboratories Suborbital Astronomy 24 May Successful
Apogee: 159 kilometres (99 mi)
27 June
22:58[18] 		United Kingdom Black Arrow Australia Woomera LA-5B United Kingdom RAE
RAE Suborbital Test flight 27 June Failure
Lost control 50 seconds into the flight, destroyed by range safety.
24 July[19] Australia HAD Australia Woomera LA-1 Australia WRE
WRE Suborbital Test flight 24 July Successful
Apogee: 115 kilometres (71 mi)
5 August
09:08[20] 		Australia Aero High Australia Woomera LA-1 Australia WRE
WRE Suborbital 5 August Successful
Apogee: 208 kilometres (129 mi)
12 September[15] Argentina Rigel Argentina CELPA Argentina CONAE
CONAE Suborbital Test flight 12 September Successful
First test flight of Rigel sounding rocket. Apogee: 250 kilometres (160 mi)
23 October[15] Argentina Canopus 2 Argentina CELPA Argentina CONAE
CONAE Suborbital Test flight 23 October Successful
Apogee: 150 kilometres (93 mi).
8 November[21] France Vesta France Kourou ALFS France LRBA
FU-189 Star pointing test CNES Suborbital Technology demonstration 8 November Successful
Last flight of the Vesta sounding rocket. Apogee: 204 kilometres (127 mi).
9 December[19] Australia HAD Australia Woomera LA-1 Australia WRE
WRE Suborbital Test flight 9 December Successful
Last flight of HAD rocket. Apogee: 115 kilometres (71 mi).
22 December[15] Argentina Rigel Argentina CELPA Argentina CONAE
CONAE Suborbital Test flight 22 December Successful
Apogee: 250 kilometres (160 mi)
23 December[15] Argentina Canopus 2 Argentina CELPA Argentina CONAE
CONAE Suborbital Test flight 23 December Successful
Apogee: 150 kilometres (93 mi).

Deep-space rendezvous

Date (GMT) Spacecraft Event Remarks
16 May Venera 5 Atmospheric entry in Venus Atmospheric probe worked for 53 min in the Venerian atmosphere
17 May Venera 6 Atmospheric entry in Venus Atmospheric probe worked for 51 min in the Venerian atmosphere
21 May Apollo 10 31 orbits around the Moon Altitude ~15,4 km
20 July Apollo 11 Moon landing 22 kg from Mare Tranquillitatis (sample return mission)
21 July Luna 15 Moon impact Impacted at Mare Crisium (sample return mission). Primary mission failed.
5 August Mariner 6 Flyby of Mars Periapsis: 3,412 km. 25 close-up pictures.
5 August Mariner 7 Flyby of Mars Periapsis: 3,543 km. 33 close-up pictures.
11 August Zond 7 Circumlunar flight Periapsis: 1,984 km.
19 November Apollo 12 Moon landing 34 kg from Oceanus Procellarum (sample return mission)

Extravehicular activities (EVAs)

Start Date/Time Duration End Time Spacecraft Crew Remarks


Orbital launch statistics

By country

Europe: 1Japan: 1Soviet Union: 61USA: 36
Country Launches Successes Failures Partial
failures 		Remarks
 Europe 1 0 1 0
 Japan 1 0 1 0
 Soviet Union 61 50 11 0
 United States 36 33 2 1
World 99 83 15 1

By rocket

By family

Family Country Launches Successes Failures Partial failures Remarks
Atlas  United States 5 5 0 0
Blue Streak  Europe 1 0 1 0
Kosmos  Soviet Union 11 10 1 0
Lambda  Japan 1 0 1 0
N-1  Soviet Union 2 0 2 0 First flight
R-7  Soviet Union 37 36 1 0
R-36  Soviet Union 3 2 1 0
Saturn  United States 4 4 0 0
Scout  United States 0 0 0 0
Thor  United States 20 18 2 0
Titan  United States 7 6 0 1
Universal Rocket  Soviet Union 8 2 6 0

By type

Rocket Country Family Launches Successes Failures Partial failures Remarks
Atlas-Agena  United States Atlas 1 1 0 0
Atlas-Centaur  United States Atlas 3 3 0 0
Atlas E/F  United States Atlas 1 1 0 0
Delta  United States Thor 10 8 2 0
Europa  Europe Blue Streak 1 0 1 0
Kosmos-2  Soviet Union Kosmos 8 7 1 0
Kosmos-3  Soviet Union Kosmos 3 3 0 0
Lambda 4  Japan Lambda 1 0 1 0
Molniya  Soviet Union R-7 4 4 0 0
N-1  Soviet Union N-1 2 0 2 0 First flight
Proton  Soviet Union Universal Rocket 8 2 6 0
R-36  Soviet Union R-36 1 1 0 0
Saturn V  United States Saturn 4 4 0 0
Soyuz  Soviet Union R-7 31 31 0 0
Thor-Burner  United States Thor 1 1 0 0
Thorad-Agena  United States Thor 9 9 0 0
Titan III  United States Titan 7 6 0 1
Tsyklon  Soviet Union R-36 2 1 1 0
Vostok  Soviet Union R-7 2 1 1 0

By configuration

By spaceport

Site Country Launches Successes Failures Partial failures Remarks
Baikonur  Soviet Union 33 24 9 0
Cape Canaveral  United States 14 12 2 0
Kapustin Yar  Soviet Union 1 1 0 0
Kennedy  United States 4 4 0 0
Plesetsk  Soviet Union 27 25 2 0
Kagoshima  Japan 1 0 1 0
Vandenberg  United States 18 17 0 1
Woomera  Australia 1 0 1 0

By orbit

Orbital regime Launches Achieved Not Achieved Accidentally
Achieved 		Remarks
Low Earth 63 59 3 1
Geosynchronous / transfer 6 5 1 0
Medium Earth 1 1 0 0
High Earth 13 7 6 0 including highly elliptical and Molniya orbits and Trans Lunar trajectories
Heliocentric 7 4 3 0

Notes

References

  1. ^ Howard E. McCurdy, et al. "Helpful Lessons From The Space Race." Issues In Science & Technology 27.4 (2011): 19-22. Academic Search Premier. Web. 23 Oct. 2013.
  2. ^ "Excerpt from the 'Special Message to the Congress on Urgent National Needs'" NASA. 24 May 2004. 24 May 2015. <https://www.nasa.gov/vision/space/features/jfk_speech_text.html#.VWIGJ0_tmkp>.
  3. ^ a b Wade, Mark. "Venera". Retrieved 19 October 2017.
  4. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z aa Wade, Mark. "Plesetsk". Retrieved 19 October 2017.
  5. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z aa ab ac ad ae af ag ah ai aj ak al am an ao ap aq ar as at au av aw ax ay az ba bb bc bd be bf bg bh McDowell, Jonathan. "Satellite Catalog". Jonathan's Space Page. Retrieved 19 October 2017.
  6. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x Wade, Mark. "Baikonur". Retrieved 19 October 2017.
  7. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n Wade, Mark. "Cape Canaveral". Retrieved 19 October 2017.
  8. ^ Krebs, Gunter. "KH-8 Gambit-3 (Block 1)". Gunter's Space Page. Retrieved 19 October 2017.
  9. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r Wade, Mark. "Vandenberg". Retrieved 19 October 2017.
  10. ^ Krebs, Gunter. "KH-8 Gambit-3 (Block 1)". Gunter's Space Page. Retrieved 19 October 2017.
  11. ^ Wade, Mark. "Kapustin Yar". Retrieved 19 October 2017.
  12. ^ Wade, Mark. "Lambda 4S". Retrieved 19 October 2017.
  13. ^ Wade, Mark. "Veronique". Retrieved 19 October 2017.
  14. ^ Wade, Mark. "Terrier Sandhawk". Retrieved 19 October 2017.
  15. ^ a b c d e Wade, Mark. "Rigel". Retrieved 19 October 2017.
  16. ^ Wade, Mark. "Sandhawk Tomahawk". Retrieved 19 October 2017.
  17. ^ Wade, Mark. "Terrier Tomahawk". Retrieved 19 October 2017.
  18. ^ Wade, Mark. "Black Arrow". Retrieved 19 October 2017.
  19. ^ a b Wade, Mark. "HAD". Retrieved 19 October 2017.
  20. ^ Wade, Mark. "Aero High". Retrieved 19 October 2017.
  21. ^ Wade, Mark. "Vesta". Retrieved 19 October 2017.

External links

Generic references:

 Spaceflight portal


Preceded by Timeline of spaceflight
1969 		Succeeded by
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=1969_in_spaceflight&oldid=807578662"