1967 in spaceflight
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Orbital launches | |
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First | Intelsat II F-2 |
Last | CRL AF17.750D |
National firsts | |
Satellite | ![]() |
Rockets | |
Maiden flights | ![]() ![]() |
The year 1967 in spaceflight saw the most orbital launches of the 20th century and more than any other year until 2021, including that of the first Australian satellite, WRESAT, which was launched from the Woomera Test Range atop an American Sparta rocket. The United States National Space Science Data Center catalogued 172 spacecraft placed into orbit by launches which occurred in 1967.[1]
The year saw both setbacks and advances for the United States Apollo programme. Three astronauts; Virgil "Gus" Grissom, Ed White and Roger B. Chaffee, were killed in a fire aboard the AS-204 spacecraft at Cape Kennedy Launch Complex 34 on 27 January whilst rehearsing the launch. On 20 October the Saturn V rocket made its maiden flight.
Launches[]
![]() | This list is incomplete; you can help by . (July 2021) |
January[]
Date and time (UTC) | Rocket | Flight number | Launch site | LSP | |||
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Payload | Operator | Orbit | Function | Decay (UTC) | Outcome | ||
Remarks | |||||||
11 January 10:55[2] |
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Intelsat II F-2 | Intelsat | Geosynchronous | Communications | In orbit | Successful | ||
14 January 21:28[2] |
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KH-4A #38 | CIA | Low Earth Orbit | Reconnaissance | 2 February 1967 | Successful | ||
18 January 14:19[2] |
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US Air Force | Geosynchronous | Communications | In orbit | Successful | ||
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US Air Force | Geosynchronous | Communications | In orbit | Successful | ||
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US Air Force | Geosynchronous | Communications | In orbit | Successful | ||
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US Air Force | Geosynchronous | Communications | In orbit | Successful | ||
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US Air Force | Geosynchronous | Communications | In orbit | Successful | ||
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US Air Force | Geosynchronous | Communications | In orbit | Successful | ||
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US Air Force | Geosynchronous | Communications | In orbit | Successful | ||
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US Air Force | Geosynchronous | Communications | In orbit | Successful | ||
19 January 12:39[2] |
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Low Earth Orbit | Reconnaissance | 27 January 1967 | Successful | |||
25 January 13:55[2] |
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Low Earth Orbit | Weapon System Test | 27 January 1967 | Successful | |||
26 January 17:31[2] |
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ESSA-4 | Sun-Synchronous Orbit | Meteorology | In orbit | Successful | |||
31 January 12:45[2] |
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US Air Force | ||||
OV3-5 | US Air Force | Low Earth orbit | Magnetosphere research satellite | 31 January | Failure |
February[]
Date and time (UTC) | Rocket | Flight number | Launch site | LSP | |||
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Payload | Operator | Orbit | Function | Decay (UTC) | Outcome | ||
Remarks | |||||||
2 February | ![]() |
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US Air Force | ||||
KH-7 36 | US Air Force | Low Earth orbit | Optical Reconnaissance | TBA | Successful | ||
5 February | ![]() |
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NASA | ||||
Lunar Orbiter 3 | NASA | Low Lunar Orbit | Surface Mapping | TBA | Successful | ||
7 February | ![]() |
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MOM | Low Earth Orbit | Uncrewed Test Flight | TBA | Successful | ||
8 February | ![]() |
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US Air Force | ||||
DSMP-4A F2 | US Air Force | Sun-Synchronous Orbit | Meteorology | TBA | Successful | ||
8 February | ![]() |
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CNES | ||||
Diadème 1 | CNES | Low Earth Orbit | Geodesy | TBA | Partial Failure | ||
8 February | ![]() |
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GRU | Low Earth Orbit | Optical reconnaissance | TBA | Successful | ||
14 February | ![]() |
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Yuzhnoye Design Bureau | Low Earth Orbit | Ionosphere Research | TBA | Successful | ||
15 February | ![]() |
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CNES | ||||
Diadème 2 | CNES | Low Earth Orbit | Geodesy | TBA | Successful | ||
22 February | ![]() |
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US Air Force | ||||
KH-4A 39 | US Air Force | Low Earth orbit | Optical Reconnaissance | TBA | Successful | ||
24 February | ![]() |
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US Air Force | ||||
KH-8 4 | US Air Force | Low Earth orbit | Optical Reconnaissance | TBA | Successful | ||
27 February | ![]() |
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GRU | Low Earth Orbit | Optical reconnaissance | TBA | Partial Failure | ||
28 February | ![]() |
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GRU | Low Earth Orbit | Meteorology | TBA | Successful |
March[]
Date and time (UTC) | Rocket | Flight number | Launch site | LSP | |||
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Payload | Operator | Orbit | Function | Decay (UTC) | Outcome | ||
Remarks | |||||||
3 March 06:44:58 |
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Planned: Low Earth | Atomic clock test | 8 March 1968 | Successful | |||
5 March 23:05 |
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US Air Force | Low Earth | Lifting body reentry test | 5 March | Successful | ||
Second test of PRIME | |||||||
8 March 16:12:00 |
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NASA | Low Earth | Solar | 4 April 1982 | Successful | ||
The spacecraft performed normally until the second onboard tape recorder failed in July 1968. The spacecraft was put in standby condition on November 10, 1969, and became inoperable shortly thereafter. | |||||||
10 March 11:30 |
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MOM | ||||
Kosmos 146 | MOM | Low Earth orbit | Test prototype Soyuz 7K-L1P | 18 March 1967 | Successful | ||
Maiden Flight of the Proton 8K82K | |||||||
13 March 12:10:23 |
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Low Earth Orbit | Reconnaissance | 21 March 1967 | Successful | |||
21 March 10:07 |
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Yuzhnoye Design Bureau | ||||
Kosmos 149 | Yuzhnoye Design Bureau | Low Earth orbit | Test and optical | 7 April | Successful | ||
Aerodynamic skirt stabiliser test |
April[]
Date and time (UTC) | Rocket | Flight number | Launch site | LSP | |||
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Payload | Operator | Orbit | Function | Decay (UTC) | Outcome | ||
Remarks | |||||||
8 April 09:00 |
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MOM | ||||
Kosmos 154 | MOM | Low Earth orbit | Test prototype Soyuz 7K-L1P | 10 April | Failure | ||
Block D (4th stage) failed to re-ignite | |||||||
14 April 03:25 |
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US Air Force | ||||
Transit 15 | US Navy | Low Earth Orbit | Navigation Satellite | In orbit | Successful | ||
23 April 00:35 |
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MOM | ||||
Soyuz 1 | MOM | Low Earth Orbit | Test Soyuz spacecraft | 24 April | Failure | ||
Solar panels jammed, bad weather prevented Soyuz 2 launch, parachute failure during descent resulted in loss of crew | |||||||
26 April 10:06 |
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CRS | ||||
San Marco 2 | CRS | Low Earth Orbit | Atmospheric Research | In orbit | Successful |
May[]
Date and time (UTC) | Rocket | Flight number | Launch site | LSP | |||
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Payload | Operator | Orbit | Function | Decay (UTC) | Outcome | ||
Remarks | |||||||
5 May 16:00 |
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US Air Force | ||||
Ariel 3 | UK Science Research Council, NASA | Low Earth Orbit | Atmospheric Research | 14 December 1970 | Successful | ||
18 May 09:05 |
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US Air Force | ||||
Transit 16 | US Navy | Low Earth Orbit | Navigation | In orbit | Successful | ||
30 May 02:06 |
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US Air Force | ||||
ESRO 2A | ESRO | Low Earth Orbit | X-Ray Astronomy and Radiation Measurements | 30 May 1967 | Failure | ||
Third Stage Failure |
July[]
Date and time (UTC) | Rocket | Flight number | Launch site | LSP | |||
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Payload | Operator | Orbit | Function | Decay (UTC) | Outcome | ||
Remarks | |||||||
1 July | ![]() |
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US Air Force | ||||
DODGE | US Air Force | Geosynchronous Orbit | Triaxial Gravity Gradient Stabilization, Magnetic Field Measurements, and Earth Imagery | In orbit | Successful |
August[]
Date and time (UTC) | Rocket | Flight number | Launch site | LSP | |||
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Payload | Operator | Orbit | Function | Decay (UTC) | Outcome | ||
Remarks | |||||||
4 August 03:53 |
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ELDO | ||||
N/A | Low Earth Orbit | Test launcher with dummy third stage | N/A | Failure | |||
Second Stage failed to ignite |
September[]
Date and time (UTC) | Rocket | Flight number | Launch site | LSP | |||
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Payload | Operator | Orbit | Function | Decay (UTC) | Outcome | ||
Remarks | |||||||
7 September | ![]() |
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NASA | ||||
Biosatellite 2 | NASA | Low Earth Orbit | Biological experiments | 9 September 1967 | Successful | ||
8 September | ![]() |
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NASA | ||||
Surveyor 5 | NASA | Lunar Orbit, Lunar Landing | Unmanned lunar surface exploration | 11 September 1967 | Successful | ||
25 September | ![]() |
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US Air Force | ||||
Transit 17 | US Navy | Low Earth Orbit | Navigation Satellite | In orbit | Successful | ||
27 September 22:11 |
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MOM | ||||
Zond 4a | MOM | Lunar Free-return | Prototype Soyuz 7K-L1P/Zond | In orbit | Failure | ||
First stage failure |
October[]
Date and time (UTC) | Rocket | Flight number | Launch site | LSP | |||
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Payload | Operator | Orbit | Function | Decay (UTC) | Outcome | ||
Remarks | |||||||
19 October 17:33 |
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US Air Force | ||||
RAM C-1 | NASA | Suborbital | Technology Demonstration | no | Successful |
November[]
Date and time (UTC) | Rocket | Flight number | Launch site | LSP | |||
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Payload | Operator | Orbit | Function | Decay (UTC) | Outcome | ||
Remarks | |||||||
9 November 12:00 |
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NASA | ||||
Apollo 4 | NASA | High Earth Orbit | Test Saturn V and Apollo Command Module reentry | 9 November 1967 | Successful | ||
Maiden flight of the Saturn V | |||||||
22 November 19:07 |
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MOM | ||||
Zond 4b | MOM | Lunar Free-return | Prototype Soyuz 7K-L1P/Zond | In orbit | Failure | ||
Second stage failure | |||||||
29 November | ![]() |
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WRE | ||||
WRESAT | WRE | Low Earth orbit | Atmospheric experiments | 10 January 1968 | Successful | ||
First Australian orbital launch |
December[]
Date and time (UTC) | Rocket | Flight number | Launch site | LSP | |||
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Payload | Operator | Orbit | Function | Decay (UTC) | Outcome | ||
Remarks | |||||||
4 December 21:01 |
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ELDO | ||||
N/A | ELDO | Low Earth Orbit | Test launcher with dummy third stage and boilerplate spacecraft | N/A | Failure | ||
Second Stage failed to separate | |||||||
5 December 01:03 |
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US Air Force | ||||
OV3-06 | US Air Force | Low Earth Orbit | Magnetospheric Research | 9 March 1969 | Successful |
Deep Space Rendezvous[]
Date (UTC) | Spacecraft | Event | Remarks |
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8 February | Lunar Orbiter 3 | Selenocentric orbit insertion | Returned 182 images |
20 April | Surveyor 3 | Lunar landing | in Oceanus Procellarum |
8 May | Lunar Orbiter 4 | Selenocentric orbit insertion | Returned 163 images |
17 July | Surveyor 4 | Lunar impact | Failed lander, impacted Sinus Medii |
22 July | Explorer 35 | Selenocentric orbit insertion | |
5 August | Lunar Orbiter 5 | Selenocentric orbit insertion | Returned 213 images |
11 September | Surveyor 5 | Lunar landing | in Mare Tranquillitatis |
1 October | Lunar Orbiter 2 | Lunar impact | |
10 October | Lunar Orbiter 3 | Lunar impact | |
18 October | Venera 4 | Venus probe | Atmospheric probe functioned for 94 minutes in the Venerian atmosphere |
19 October | Mariner 5 | Flyby of Venus | Closest approach 3,990 kilometres (2,480 mi) |
31 October | Lunar Orbiter 4 | Lunar impact | |
10 November | Surveyor 6 | Lunar landing | in Sinus Medii |
References[]
Generic references:
Spaceflight portal
![RocketSunIcon.svg](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/d/d6/RocketSunIcon.svg/28px-RocketSunIcon.svg.png)
- Bergin, Chris. "NASASpaceFlight.com".
- Clark, Stephen. "Spaceflight Now".
- Kelso, T.S. "Satellite Catalog (SATCAT)". CelesTrak.
- Krebs, Gunter. "Chronology of Space Launches".
- Kyle, Ed. "Space Launch Report".
- McDowell, Jonathan. "Jonathan's Space Report".
- Pietrobon, Steven. "Steven Pietrobon's Space Archive".
- Wade, Mark. "Encyclopedia Astronautica".
- Webb, Brian. "Southwest Space Archive".
- Zak, Anatoly. "Russian Space Web".
- "ISS Calendar". Spaceflight 101.
- "NSSDCA Master Catalog". NASA Space Science Data Coordinated Archive. NASA Goddard Space Flight Center.
- "Space Calendar". NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory.
- "Space Information Center". JAXA.
- "Хроника освоения космоса" [Chronicle of space exploration]. CosmoWorld (in Russian).
Footnotes[]
- ^ "Spacecraft Query Results". Master Catalog Search. NASA NSSDC. Archived from the original on 2 March 2012. Retrieved 30 May 2010.
- ^ a b c d e f g McDowell, Jonathan. "Launch Log". Jonathon's Space Report. Retrieved 30 December 2018.
Categories:
- 1967 in spaceflight
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