2018 in spaceflight

2018 in spaceflight

Highlights from spaceflight in 2018[a]
Orbital launches
First	8 January
Last	29 December
Total	114
Successes	111
Failures	2
Partial failures	1
Catalogued	112
National firsts
Satellite	New Zealand  Costa Rica  Kenya  Bhutan  Bangladesh  Jordan
Suborbital launch	Norway
Rockets
Maiden flights	Falcon Heavy Falcon 9 Block 5 Zhuque-1
Retirements	Delta IV M+(5,2) SS-520 Falcon 9 Full Thrust (B3/B4) Ariane 5 ES Delta II
Crewed flights
Orbital	3 (+1 failed)
Suborbital	1 (private)
Total travellers	11 (+2 failed)
EVAs	8
v t

This article lists achieved spaceflight events in 2018. For the first time since 1990, more than 100 orbital launches were performed globally.

Overview[]

Planetary exploration[]

The NASA InSight seismology probe was launched in May 2018 and landed on Mars in November. The Parker Solar Probe was launched to explore the Sun in August 2018, and reached its first perihelion in November, traveling faster than any prior spacecraft. On 20 October the ESA and JAXA launched BepiColombo to Mercury, on a 10-year mission featuring several flybys and eventually deploying two orbiters in 2025 for local study. The asteroid sampling mission Hayabusa2 reached its target Ryugu in June,^[1] and the similar OSIRIS-REx probe reached Bennu in December.^[2] China launched its Chang'e 4 lander/rover in December which performed the first ever soft landing on the far side of the Moon in January 2019;^[3][4] a communications relay was sent to the second Earth-Moon Lagrange point in May. The Google Lunar X Prize expired on 31 March without a winner for its $20 million grand prize, because none of its five finalist teams were able to launch a commercial lunar lander mission before the deadline.^[5]

Human spaceflight[]

The Soyuz MS-10 October mission to the International Space Station (ISS) was aborted shortly after launch, due to a separation failure of one of the rocket's side boosters. The crew landed safely, and was rescheduled for March 2019 on Soyuz MS-12.^[6] The United States returned to spaceflight on 13 December with the successful suborbital spaceflight of VSS Unity Flight VP-03. The flight did not reach the Kármán line (100 km) but it did cross the US definition of space (50 mi). As per United States convention, it was the first human spaceflight launched from the U.S. since the last Space shuttle flight STS-135 in 2011. Astronauts Mark P. Stucky and Frederick W. Sturckow both received their FAA Commercial Astronaut Wings on 7 February 2019. The return of the United States to human orbital spaceflight was further delayed to 2019, as Boeing and SpaceX, under NASA supervision, performed further tests on their commercial crew spacecraft under development: Starliner on Atlas V and SpaceX Dragon 2 on Falcon 9.^[7]

Rocket innovation[]

After a failed launch in 2017, the Electron rocket reached orbit with its second flight in January; manufactured by Rocket Lab, it is the first orbital rocket equipped with electric pump-fed engines.^[8] On 3 February, the Japanese SS-520-5 rocket (a modified sounding rocket) successfully delivered a 3U CubeSat to orbit, thus becoming the lightest and smallest orbital launch vehicle ever.^[9] On 6 February, SpaceX performed the much-delayed test flight of Falcon Heavy,^[10] carrying a car and a mannequin to a heliocentric orbit beyond Mars.^[11] Falcon Heavy is the most powerful rocket currently operational.^[12] On 27 October, LandSpace launched Zhuque-1, the first privately developed rocket in China; it failed to reach orbit.^[13] On 13 December Virgin Galactic's SpaceShipTwo reached 82.7 km, below the internationally recognized Kármán line but above the 50-mile definition of space used by the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration.^[14][15]

Accelerating activity[]

The global activity of the launch industry grew significantly in 2018. 114 launches were conducted over the full year, compared with 91 in 2017, a 25% increase. Only three missions failed fully or partially in 2018, compared with eight failures in 2017. In August, China surpassed its previous record of 22 launches in 2016, and ended the year with a total 39 launches, also more launches than any other country in 2018. The 100th orbital launch of the year occurred on 3 December,^[16] exceeding all yearly tallies since the end of the Cold War space race in 1991.

Orbital launches[]

← Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec →

Date and time (UTC)	Rocket		Flight number	Launch site		LSP
		Payload (⚀ = CubeSat)	Operator	Orbit	Function	Decay (UTC)	Outcome
		Remarks
January[]
8 January 01:00	Falcon 9 Full Thrust		F9-047	Cape Canaveral SLC-40		SpaceX
		Zuma / USA-280[20]	Unnamed U.S. government agency	Low Earth	Classified	8 January	nominal Launch,[21] payload failure
		After an initial lack of official comment on the mission, a preliminary report concludes that the payload adapter manufactured by Northrop Grumman failed to separate the satellite from the second stage, resulting in its re-entry shortly after launch.[17] SpaceX and the United States Air Force reviewed the Falcon 9 flight data and saw no issues with the launch vehicle itself that would affect future launches.[18][19]
9 January 03:24	Long March 2D		2D-Y40[22]	Taiyuan LC-9		CASC
		/ Gaojing-1 03		Low Earth (SSO)	Earth observation	In orbit	Operational
		/ Gaojing-1 04		Low Earth (SSO)	Earth observation	In orbit	Operational
11 January 23:18	Long March 3B / YZ-1		3B-Y45[23]	Xichang LC-2		CASC
		BeiDou-3 M7	CNSA	Medium Earth	Navigation	In orbit	Operational
		BeiDou-3 M8	CNSA	Medium Earth	Navigation	In orbit	Operational
12 January 03:58	PSLV-XL		C40[27]	Satish Dhawan FLP		ISRO
		Cartosat-2F	ISRO	Low Earth (SSO)	Earth observation	In orbit	Operational
		MicroSat-TD	ISRO	Low Earth (SSO)	Technology demonstration	In orbit	Operational
		⚀ Arkyd-6A	Planetary Resources	Low Earth (SSO)	Technology demonstration	In orbit	Operational
		⚀ 1, 2	Yonsei University, NASA	Low Earth (SSO)	Technology demonstration	In orbit	Operational
		⚀ Carbonite-2	Surrey Satellite Technology	Low Earth (SSO)	Technology demonstration	In orbit	Operational
		⚀		Low Earth (SSO)	Earth observation	In orbit	Operational
		⚀	CNU	Low Earth (SSO)	Technology demonstration	In orbit	Operational
		⚀ DemoSat 2	Astranis	Low Earth (SSO)	Technology demonstration (radio)	In orbit	Operational
		⚀ Flock-3p' × 4	Planet Labs	Low Earth (SSO)	Earth observation	In orbit	Operational
		⚀ Fox-1D	AMSAT	Low Earth (SSO)	Technology demonstration	In orbit	Operational
		ICEYE X1	Iceye	Low Earth (SSO)	Technology demonstration	In orbit	Operational
		⚀	ISRO	Low Earth (SSO)	Technology demonstration	In orbit	Operational
		⚀	Korea Aerospace University	Low Earth (SSO)	Technology demonstration	In orbit	Operational
		⚀ Landmapper-BC 3 v2		Low Earth (SSO)	Earth observation	In orbit	Operational
		⚀ Lemur-2 × 4	Spire Global	Low Earth (SSO)	Earth observation	In orbit	Operational
		⚀	Telesat	Low Earth (SSO)	Communications	In orbit	Operational
		⚀ 2a	MIT SSL	Low Earth (SSO)	Technology demonstration	In orbit	Operational
		⚀ PicSat	Paris Observatory	Low Earth (SSO)	Astronomy	In orbit	Operational
		⚀ SpaceBEE 1–4	Swarm Technologies[28]	Low Earth (SSO)	Communications	In orbit	Operational
		⚀	Chosun University	Low Earth (SSO)	Technology demonstration	In orbit	Operational
		⚀ Tyvak 61C	Tyvak Nano-Satellite Systems	Low Earth (SSO)	Astronomy	In orbit	Operational
		Deployed 31 satellites.[24][25][26]
12 January 22:11	Delta IV M+(5,2)		D-379	Vandenberg SLC-6		ULA
		NROL-47 / Topaz-5[29] / USA-281	US Air Force	LEO (retrograde)	Reconnaissance	In orbit	Operational
		Last flight of Delta IV M+(5,2) variant.
13 January 07:20	Long March 2D		2D-Y49[22]	Jiuquan SLS-2		CASC
			CAS	Low Earth	Earth observation	In orbit	Operational
17 January 21:06:11	Epsilon		Epsilon-3[30]	Uchinoura		JAXA
			NEC	Low Earth (SSO)	Earth observation	In orbit	Operational
19 January 04:12	Long March 11		Y3[31]	Jiuquan LA-4/SLS-2		CASC
		Jilin-1 Video-07 (Deqing 1)[32]	Chang Guang Satellite Technology	Low Earth (SSO)	Earth observation	In orbit	Operational
		Jilin-1 Video-08 (Linye 2)[32]	Chang Guang Satellite Technology	Low Earth (SSO)	Earth observation	In orbit	Operational
		⚀ Star of Enlai Huai'an Hao	Huai'an Youth Comprehensive Development Base	Low Earth (SSO)	Technology/Education	In orbit	Operational
		⚀ Xiaoxiang 2		Low Earth (SSO)	Stabilization technology	In orbit	Operational
		⚀ Quantutong-1 (QTT-1)	Full-chart Location Network Co. (Quan Tu Tong Co.)	Low Earth (SSO)	Communications	In orbit	Operational
		⚀ KIPP[33]	Kepler Communications	Low Earth (SSO)	Communications	In orbit	Operational
		100th launch from Jiuquan. Carried and deployed 6 satellites in total.
20 January 00:48	Atlas V 411		AV-076	Cape Canaveral SLC-41		ULA
		SBIRS (USA-282)	U.S. Air Force	Geosynchronous	Missile warning	In orbit	Operational
21 January 01:30	Electron		"Still Testing"	Mahia LC-1A		Rocket Lab
		⚀ Flock-2 (Dove Pioneer)[34]	Planet Labs	Low Earth	Earth observation	22 September 2019[35]	Successful
		Humanity Star	Rocket Lab	Low Earth	Public awareness	22 March 2018	Successful
		⚀ Lemur-2-72[36]	Spire Global	Low Earth	Earth observation	In orbit	Operational
		⚀ Lemur-2-73	Spire Global	Low Earth	Earth observation	In orbit	Operational
		First successful launch of the Electron rocket.
25 January 05:39	Long March 2C		2C-Y36[22]	Xichang LC-3		CASC
		Yaogan 30 K	CAS	Low Earth	Reconnaissance	In orbit	Operational
		Yaogan 30 L	CAS	Low Earth	Reconnaissance	In orbit	Operational
		Yaogan 30 M	CAS	Low Earth	Reconnaissance	In orbit	Operational
		⚀ 1A[37] / NanoSat-1A[38]		Low Earth	Technology demonstration	In orbit	Operational
25 January 22:20	Ariane 5 ECA		VA241	Kourou ELA-3		Arianespace
		SES-14 / GOLD	SES S.A.	Geosynchronous	Communications	In orbit	Partial launch failure / Operational[43]
		Al Yah-3	Yahsat	Geosynchronous	Communications	In orbit	Partial launch failure / Operational
		Due to programming errors in the Guidance, Navigation and Control (GNC)[39] the satellites were placed on an off-nominal orbit.[40] Both payloads are undergoing corrective maneuvers and will be on line in August 2018.[41] These failures have ended the Ariane 5 record series of 82 successful launches in a row from April 2003 to December 2017.[42]
31 January 21:25	Falcon 9 Full Thrust		F9-048	Cape Canaveral SLC-40		SpaceX
		SES-16 / GovSat-1	SES S.A.	Geosynchronous	Communications	In orbit	Operational
		This flight re-used booster B1032 recovered from the NROL-76 mission in May 2017, and landed the first stage in the ocean with the intent to expend it. The booster unexpectedly remained intact, but was not recovered, and it was subsequently destroyed.[44]
← Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec → February[]
1 February 02:07	Soyuz-2.1a / Fregat-M			Vostochny Site 1S[45]		Roscosmos
		No.3	Roscosmos	Low Earth (SSO)	Earth observation	In orbit	Operational
		No.4	Roscosmos	Low Earth (SSO)	Earth observation	In orbit	Operational
		⚀ S-Net 1–4[46]	TU Berlin	Low Earth (SSO)	Technology demonstration (inter-satellite communications)	In orbit	Operational
		⚀ Lemur-2 × 4	Spire Global	Low Earth	Earth observation	In orbit	Operational
		⚀		Low Earth (SSO)	Communications (experimental)
2 February 07:50	Long March 2D		2D-Y13[22]	Jiuquan SLS-2		CASC
		CSES / [47]	CNSA / ASI	Low Earth (SSO)	Earth observation	In orbit	Operational
		⚀ Fengmaniu 1	CNSA	Low Earth (SSO)	Earth observation	In orbit	Operational
		⚀ GOMX 4A	GOMSpace, Danish Ministry of Defence	Low Earth (SSO)	Technology demonstration	In orbit	Operational
		⚀ GOMX 4B	GOMSpace, ESA	Low Earth (SSO)	Technology demonstration	In orbit	Operational
		⚀ ÑuSat 4	Satellogic	Low Earth (SSO)	Earth observation	In orbit	Operational
		⚀ ÑuSat 5	Satellogic	Low Earth (SSO)	Earth observation	In orbit	Operational
		⚀ [48]	China Association for Science and Technology	Low Earth (SSO)	Communications	In orbit	Operational
3 February 05:03	SS-520			Uchinoura		JAXA
		⚀ TRICOM-1R	University of Tokyo	Low Earth	Technology demonstration	21 August 2018	Successful
		The smallest rocket to successfully launch a satellite. Re-flight after a launch failure in January 2017.
6 February 20:45	Falcon Heavy		FH-001	Kennedy LC-39A		SpaceX
		Elon Musk's Tesla Roadster	SpaceX	Heliocentric	Flight test	In orbit	Successful
		Maiden test flight of Falcon Heavy re-using two first-stage boosters. The two side boosters successfully touched down at the landing zones in Cape Canaveral, however the middle booster failed to land on the automated drone ship.[49] The test payload was launched in a heliocentric orbit with an aphelion of 1.70 AU, just beyond the orbit of Mars.[50]
12 February 05:10	Long March 3B / YZ-1		3B-Y47[23]	Xichang LC-2		CASC
		BeiDou-3 M3	CNSA	Medium Earth	Navigation	In orbit	Operational
		BeiDou-3 M4	CNSA	Medium Earth	Navigation	In orbit	Operational
13 February 08:13	Soyuz-2.1a			Baikonur Site 31/6		Roscosmos
		Progress MS-08 / 69P	Roscosmos	Low Earth (ISS)	ISS logistics	30 August	Successful
		3, 4	South-West State University	Low Earth (ISS)	Technology demonstration	In orbit	Operational
		Tanyusha-YuZGU satellites were deployed on 15 August 2018 during a spacewalk.[51]
22 February 14:17	Falcon 9 Full Thrust		F9-049	Vandenberg SLC-4E		SpaceX
		Paz	Hisdesat	Low Earth (SSO)	Earth observation	In orbit	Operational
		Tintin A	SpaceX	Low Earth	Technology demonstration	29 August 2020[52]	Successful
		Tintin B	SpaceX	Low Earth	Technology demonstration	8 August 2020[53]	Successful
		Flew with a re-used first-stage booster that was expended at sea. One half of the payload fairing splashed down in the ocean and was recovered, but it did not land on a ship as attempted. Last flight of Block 3 version rocket.
27 February 04:34:00	H-IIA 202		F38[54]	Tanegashima LA-Y1		MHI
		IGS-Optical 6	CSICE	Low Earth (SSO)	Reconnaissance	In orbit	Operational
← Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec → March[]
1 March 22:02:00	Atlas V 541		AV-077	Cape Canaveral SLC-41		ULA
		GOES-17 (GOES-S)	NESDIS	Geosynchronous	Meteorology	In orbit	Operational
6 March 05:33	Falcon 9 Full Thrust		F9-050	Cape Canaveral SLC-40		SpaceX
		Hispasat 30W-6[55]	Hispasat	Geosynchronous	Communications	In orbit	Operational
		⚀ PODSAT[56]	NovaWurks/DARPA	Geosynchronous transfer orbit	Technology demonstration	In orbit	Operational
		First-stage booster was expended at sea and was not recovered.
9 March 17:10:06	Soyuz ST-B / Fregat-MT		VS18	Kourou ELS		Arianespace
		O3b × 4	SES S.A.	Medium Earth	Communications	In orbit	Operational
17 March 07:10	Long March 2D		2D-Y50[22]	Jiuquan SLS-2		CASC
			CAS	Low Earth	Earth observation	In orbit	Operational
21 March 17:44:23	Soyuz-FG			Baikonur Site 1/5		Roscosmos
		Soyuz MS-08 / 54S	Roscosmos	Low Earth (ISS)	Expedition 55/56	4 October 2018 11:45	Successful
		Crewed flight with three cosmonauts
29 March 11:26	GSLV Mk II		F08[57]	Satish Dhawan SLP		ISRO
		GSAT-6A	ISRO	Geosynchronous	Communications	In orbit	Spacecraft failure[58]
29 March 17:38:43[59][60]	Soyuz-2-1v			Plesetsk Site 43/4		Roscosmos
		EMKA (Kosmos 2525)	Ministry of Defence	Low Earth (SSO)	Reconnaissance	1 April 2021[61]	Successful
29 March 17:50	Long March 3B / YZ-1		3B-Y48[23]	Xichang LC-2		CASC
		BeiDou-3 M9	CNSA	Medium Earth	Navigation	In orbit	Operational
		BeiDou-3 M10	CNSA	Medium Earth	Navigation	In orbit	Operational
30 March 14:14	Falcon 9 Full Thrust		F9-051	Vandenberg SLC-4E		SpaceX
		Iridium NEXT 41–50	Iridium	Low Earth	Communications	In orbit	Operational
		Re-used first-stage booster B1041.[62] First stage was not recovered, did a simulated landing test at sea. Fairing recovery attempt failed due to parafoil issues.
31 March 03:22	Long March 4C		4C-Y26[63]	Taiyuan LC-9		CASC
		Gaofen-1 02	CNSA	SSO	Earth observation	In orbit	Operational
		Gaofen-1 03	CNSA	SSO	Earth observation	In orbit	Operational
		Gaofen-1 04	CNSA	SSO	Earth observation	In orbit	Operational
← Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec → April[]
2 April 20:30	Falcon 9 Full Thrust		F9-052	Cape Canaveral SLC-40		SpaceX
		SpaceX CRS-14	NASA	Low Earth (ISS)	ISS logistics	5 May 2018	Successful
		RemoveDEBRIS	University of Surrey	Low Earth	Technology demonstration	4 December 2021[67]	Successful
		⚀ DebrisSat 1	University of Surrey	Low Earth	Technology demonstration	2 March 2019	Successful
		⚀ DebrisSat 2	University of Surrey	Low Earth	Technology demonstration	30 May 2020	Successful
		⚀ Ubakusat	ITU//KIT	Low Earth	Technology demonstration	27 December 2020	Successful
		⚀ 1KUNS-PF	UoN	Low Earth	Technology demonstration	11 June 2020	Successful
		⚀ Proyecto Irazú	/ITCR	Low Earth	Technology demonstration	4 March 2020	Successful
		Re-used first-stage booster B1039, used to launch CRS-12 in 2017; and the Dragon capsule from CRS-8 in 2016.[64] First stage was not recovered. Ubakusat, 1KUNS-PF, and Proyecto Irazú were deployed from the ISS on 11 May 2018.[65] RemoveDEBRIS was deployed into orbit on 20 June 2018.[66]
5 April 21:34	Ariane 5 ECA		VA242	Kourou ELA-3		Arianespace
		Superbird-B3 / DSN-1	JSAT / DSN / JSDF	Geosynchronous	Communications	In orbit	Operational
		HYLAS-4	Avanti	Geosynchronous	Communications	In orbit	Operational
		First flight of Ariane 5 since off-target launch of VA241 in January 2018.
10 April 04:25	Long March 4C[68]		4C-Y25[63]	Jiuquan SLS-2		CASC
		Yaogan 31 A	CAS	Low Earth	Reconnaissance	In orbit	Operational
		Yaogan 31 B	CAS	Low Earth	Reconnaissance	In orbit	Operational
		Yaogan 31 C	CAS	Low Earth	Reconnaissance	In orbit	Operational
		⚀ 1B	[37]	Low Earth	Technology demonstration	In orbit	Operational
11 April 22:34	PSLV-XL			Satish Dhawan FLP		ISRO
		IRNSS-1I	ISRO	Geosynchronous	Satellite navigation (IRNSS)	In orbit	Operational
14 April 23:13	Atlas V 551		AV-079	Cape Canaveral SLC-41		ULA
		AFSPC-11 / ()[69][70]	U.S. Air Force	Geosynchronous	Communications (military)	In orbit	Operational
		(USA-284 + USA-285/286/287)[71]	Air Force Research Laboratory	Geosynchronous	Technology experiments (Space Test Program)	In orbit	Operational
18 April 22:12	Proton-M / Briz-M		?	Baikonur		RVSN RF
		Blagovest-12L / Kosmos 2526	VKS	Geosynchronous	Communications (military)	In orbit	Operational
18 April 22:51	Falcon 9 Full Thrust		F9-053	Cape Canaveral SLC-40		SpaceX
		TESS	NASA	HEO	Space observatory	In orbit	Operational
		Block 4 first-stage booster, serial number B1045.
25 April 17:57	Rokot / Briz-KM			Plesetsk Site 133/3		/ Eurockot
		Sentinel-3B	ESA	Low Earth (SSO)	Earth observation	In orbit	Operational
26 April 04:42	Long March 11		Y4[31]	Jiuquan LA-4/SLS-2		CASC
		OHS 2A–2D[72]		Low Earth (SSO)	Earth observation	In orbit	Operational
		OVS 2A[73]		Low Earth (SSO)	Earth observation	In orbit	Operational
← Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec → May[]
3 May 16:05	Long March 3B/G2		3B-Y55[23]	Xichang LC-2		CASC
		Apstar 6C	APT Satellite Holdings	Geosynchronous	Communications	In orbit	Operational
5 May 11:05	Atlas V 401		AV-078	Vandenberg SLC-3E		ULA
		InSight	NASA / JPL	TMI to Martian Surface	Mars lander	26 November 19:52:59	Successful
		⚀ MarCO A (WALL-E)[75]	NASA / JPL	Heliocentric	Communications	In orbit	Successful
		⚀ MarCO B (Eva)[75]	NASA / JPL	Heliocentric	Communications	In orbit	Successful
		12th mission of the Discovery program. Mars lander mission dedicated to geological and seismological studies of the planet.[74]
8 May 18:28	Long March 4C		4C-Y20[63]	Taiyuan LC-9		CASC
		Gaofen 5	CAST	Low Earth (SSO)	Earth observation	In orbit	Operational
11 May 20:14	Falcon 9 Block 5		F9-054	Kennedy LC-39A		SpaceX
		Bangabandhu-1	BTRC	Geosynchronous	Communications	In orbit	Operational
		First launch of a Falcon 9 Block 5 first-stage booster, serial number B1046. The booster was recovered.[76]
20 May 21:28	Long March 4C		4C-Y27[63]	Xichang LC-3[63]		CASC
		Queqiao	CNSA	Earth–Moon L2, halo orbit	Communications	In orbit	Operational[78][79]
		Longjiang-1	CNSA	Selenocentric, elliptical orbit	Radio astronomy	In orbit	Spacecraft Failure[80][81]
		Longjiang-2	CNSA	Selenocentric, elliptical orbit	Radio astronomy	31 July 2019[82] 14:20	Successful
		The relay satellite Queqiao, or "Magpie Bridge" will stay in a halo orbit around the second Earth-Moon Lagrange point (E-M L2) and support communications from the Chang'e 4 rover exploring the far side of the Moon.[77]
21 May 08:44	Antares 230			MARS LP-0A		Orbital ATK
		Cygnus CRS OA-9E S.S. J.R. Thompson	NASA	Low Earth (ISS)	ISS logistics	30 July 2018 09:17	Successful
		⚀ CubeRRT	OSU	Low Earth (ISS)	Technology demonstration	26 November 2020[86]	Successful
		⚀ HaloSat	UI	Low Earth (ISS)	X-ray astronomy	4 January 2021[87]	Successful
		⚀ Radix	Analytical Space	Low Earth (ISS)	Technology demonstration	7 April 2020[88]	Successful
		⚀ RainCube	JPL	Low Earth (ISS)	Technology demonstration	24 December 2020[89]	Successful
		⚀ TEMPEST-D	CSU/JPL	Low Earth (ISS)	Technology demonstration	21 June 2021[90]	Successful
		⚀ Aerocube 12A, 12B	The Aerospace Corporation	Low Earth (ISS)	Technology demonstration	In orbit	Operational
		⚀ RadSat-g[91]	MSU	Low Earth (ISS)	Technology demonstration	5 April 2021[92]	Successful[93]
		⚀ EQUiSat	Brown University	Low Earth (ISS)	Technology demonstration	26 December 2020[94]	Successful
		⚀ MemSat[95]	Rowan University	Low Earth (ISS)	Technology demonstration	27 September 2020[96]	Successful
		⚀ EnduroSat One	Space Challenges Program	Low Earth (ISS)	Technology demonstration	15 October 2020[97]	Successful
		⚀ Lemur-2 (× 4)	Spire Global	Low Earth	Aircraft tracking	In orbit	Operational
		RainCube, Radix, CubeRRT, HaloSat, TEMPEST-D, EnduroSat One, EQUISat, MEMSat, RadSat-g are carried aboard Cygnus to be deployed from ISS later.[83] CubeRRT, EQUISat, HaloSat, MemSat, RadSat-g, RainCube, TEMPEST-D, EnduroSat One, Radix were deployed on 13 July 2018.[84] Four Lemur-2s and two Aerocubes were carried in the external deployer of Cygnus and deployed into orbit on 16 July 2018 after it departed from ISS.[85]
22 May 19:47:58[101]	Falcon 9 Full Thrust[102]		F9-055	Vandenberg SLC-4E		SpaceX
		Iridium NEXT 51–55	Iridium	Low Earth	Communications	In orbit	Operational
		GRACE-FO 1, 2	DLR	Low Earth	Gravitational science	In orbit	Operational
		DLR arranged a rideshare of GRACE-FO on a Falcon 9 with Iridium following the cancellation of their Dnepr launch contract in 2015.[98] Iridium CEO Matt Desch disclosed in September 2017 that GRACE-FO would be launched on the sixth Iridium NEXT mission.[99] Re-used a first-stage booster.[100]
← Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec → June[]
2 June 04:13	Long March 2D		2D-Y20[22]	Jiuquan SLS-2		CASC
		Gaofen 6	CAST	Low Earth (SSO)	Earth observation	In orbit	Operational
		⚀ Luojia 1	Wuhan University	Low Earth (SSO)	Earth observation	In orbit	Operational
4 June 04:45	Falcon 9 Full Thrust		F9-056	Cape Canaveral SLC-40		SpaceX
		SES-12	SES S.A.	Geosynchronous	Communications	In orbit	Operational
5 June 13:07[103]	Long March 3A		3A-Y25[23]	Xichang LC-2		CAST
		Fengyun 2H	CMA	Geosynchronous	Meteorology	In orbit	Operational
6 June 11:12:41	Soyuz-FG			Baikonur Site 1/5		Roscosmos
		Soyuz MS-09 / 55S	Roscosmos	Low Earth (ISS)	Expedition 56/57	20 December 2018 01:42	Successful
		1, 2	SPUTNIX	Low Earth (ISS)	Space research, Education	In orbit	Operational
		Crewed flight with three cosmonauts. SiriusSat satellites were deployed on 15 August 2018 during a spacewalk.[104] Crew return was delayed due to the launch failure of Soyuz MS-10; it was rescheduled for 20 December, after the MS-11 crew arrives on 3 December.
12 June 04:20[105]	H-IIA 202		F39[54]	Tanegashima		MHI
		IGS Radar-6	CSICE	Low Earth (SSO)	Reconnaissance	In orbit	Operational
16 June 21:30	Soyuz-2.1b / Fregat-M			Plesetsk Site 43/4		RVSN RF
		GLONASS-M 756 / Kosmos 2527	VKS	Medium Earth	Navigation	In orbit	Operational
27 June 03:30	Long March 2C		2C-Yxx[22]	Xichang LC-3		CASC
		A	CAST[106]	Low Earth	Technology demonstration	In orbit	Operational
		B	CAST	Low Earth	Technology demonstration	In orbit	Operational
29 June 09:42	Falcon 9 Full Thrust		F9-057	Cape Canaveral SLC-40		SpaceX
		SpaceX CRS-15	NASA	Low Earth (ISS)	ISS logistics	3 August 2018	Successful
		⚀ BHUTAN-1	Kyushu Institute of Technology	Low Earth (ISS)	Technology demonstration	18 November 2020[107]	Successful
		⚀ Maya-1	UP / DOST	Low Earth (ISS)	Technology demonstration	20 November 2020[108]	Successful
		⚀ UiTMSAT-1	UiTM	Low Earth (ISS)	Technology demonstration	20 November 2020[109]	Successful
		Last orbital flight of a Block 4 booster version. Bhutan-1, Maya-1, UiTMSAT-1 were deployed into orbit from ISS on 10 August 2018.
← Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec → July[]
9 July 03:56	Long March 2C / SMA		2CSMA-Y3[22]	Jiuquan LC-43/94		CASC
		PRSS-1	SUPARCO	Low Earth (SSO)	Earth observation	In orbit	Operational
		PakTES-1A	SUPARCO	Low Earth (SSO)	Earth observation	In orbit	Operational
9 July 20:58	Long March 3A		3A-Y27[23]	Xichang LA-2		CASC
		BeiDou IGSO-7	CNSA	IGSO	Navigation	In orbit	Operational
9 July 21:51:34	Soyuz-2.1a			Baikonur		Roscosmos
		Progress MS-09 / 70P	Roscosmos	Low Earth (ISS)	ISS logistics	25 January 2019	Successful
		Fastest rendezvous with the ISS, with a new two-orbit procedure taking less than four hours.[110]
22 July 05:50	Falcon 9 Block 5		F9-058	Cape Canaveral SLC-40		SpaceX
		Telstar 19V	Telesat	Geosynchronous	Communications	In orbit	Operational
25 July 11:25:01	Ariane 5 ES		VA244	Kourou ELA-3		Arianespace
		Galileo FOC 19, 20, 21, 22	ESA	Medium Earth	Navigation	In orbit	Operational
		Third Galileo launch with Ariane 5 (10th overall), carrying Tara, Samuel, Anna, and Ellen. Last flight of Ariane 5 ES variant; further Galileo launches will be carried by Ariane 6.
25 July 11:39:26	Falcon 9 Block 5		F9-059	Vandenberg SLC-4E		SpaceX
		Iridium NEXT 56-65	Iridium	Low Earth	Communications	In orbit	Operational
29 July 01:48	Long March 3B / YZ-1		3B-Y49[23]	Xichang		CASC
		BeiDou-3 M5	CNSA	Medium Earth	Navigation	In orbit	Operational
		BeiDou-3 M6	CNSA	Medium Earth	Navigation	In orbit	Operational
31 July 03:00	Long March 4B		4B-Y37[63]	Taiyuan LC-9		CASC
		Gaofen 11	CAST	Low Earth (SSO)	Earth observation	In orbit	Operational
← Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec → August[]
7 August 05:18	Falcon 9 Block 5		F9-060	Cape Canaveral SLC-40		SpaceX
		Telkom 4 / Merah Putih[111]	Telkom Indonesia	Geosynchronous	Communications	In orbit	Operational
12 August 07:31	Delta IV Heavy		D-380	Cape Canaveral SLC-37B		ULA
		Parker Solar Probe	NASA	Heliocentric	Heliophysics	In orbit	Operational
		Heliophysics observation mission planned to make in situ studies of the Sun's outer corona at a perihelion distance of 8.5 solar radii (5.9 million kilometers) – the closest any spacecraft will come to the Sun to date.
22 August 21:20:09	Vega		VV12	Kourou ELV		Arianespace
		ADM-Aeolus	ESA	Low Earth (SSO)	Earth observation	In orbit	Operational
24 August 23:52	Long March 3B / YZ-1		3B-Y50[23]	Xichang		CASC
		BeiDou-3 M11	CNSA	Medium Earth	Navigation	In orbit	Operational
		BeiDou-3 M12	CNSA	Medium Earth	Navigation	In orbit	Operational
← Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec → September[]
7 September 03:15	Long March 2C		2C-Y48[22]	Taiyuan LC-9		CAST
		HaiYang 1C	CAST	Low Earth	Earth observation	In orbit	Operational
10 September 04:45	Falcon 9 Block 5		F9-061	Cape Canaveral SLC-40		SpaceX
		Telstar 18V	Telesat	Geosynchronous	Communications	In orbit	Operational
15 September 13:02	Delta II 7420		D-381	Vandenberg SLC-2W		ULA
		ICESat-2	NASA	Low Earth	Earth observation	In orbit	Operational
		⚀ ELFIN x 2 (ELFIN, ELFIN-STAR)	UCLA	Low Earth	Magnetospheric Research	In orbit	Operational
		⚀ DAVE	Cal Poly	Low Earth	Technology demonstration	In orbit	Operational
		⚀ SurfSat	UCF	Low Earth	Technology demonstration	In orbit	Operational
		Last flight of the Delta II series; final flight of the Thor rocket family.
16 September 16:37	PSLV-CA		C42[27]	Satish Dhawan FLP		ISRO
		SSTL S1-4	SSTL	Low Earth	Earth observation	In orbit	Operational
			SSTL / British Government	Low Earth	Earth observation	In orbit	Operational
19 September 14:07[112]	Long March 3B / YZ-1		3B-Y51[23]	Xichang LC-3		CASC
		BeiDou-3 M13	CNSA	Medium Earth	Navigation	In orbit	Operational
		BeiDou-3 M14	CNSA	Medium Earth	Navigation	In orbit	Operational
22 September 17:52:27	H-IIB		F7[54]	Tanegashima LA-Y2		MHI
		HTV-7	JAXA	Low Earth (ISS)	ISS logistics	10 November 2018	Successful
		⚀ [113]	Kyushu Institute of Technology / Nanyang Technological University	Low Earth	Technology demonstration	23 September 2021[114]	Successful[115]
		⚀		Low Earth	Technology demonstration	14 March 2021[116]	Spacecraft failure[117][118]
		⚀ (Tenryū)	Shizuoka University	Low Earth	Technology demonstration	26 June 2021	Successful[119]
		SPATIUM-1, RSP-00, and STARS-Me were carried by HTV-7 to be deployed into orbit from the International Space Station. They were deployed on 6 October 2018.
25 September 22:38	Ariane 5 ECA		VA243	Kourou ELA-3		Arianespace
		Azerspace-2 / Intelsat 38[122]	Azercosmos / Intelsat	Geosynchronous	Communications	In orbit	Operational
		/ Horizons-3e	Intelsat / JSAT	Geosynchronous	Communications	In orbit	Operational
		Hundredth Ariane 5 mission.[120] Flight VA243 was delayed from 25 May due to issues with GSAT-11.[121]
29 September 04:13	Kuaizhou 1A		F2	Jiuquan SLS-E2[123]		CASIC
		Centispace-1-S1[124]	Beijing Future Navigation Technology	Low Earth (SSO)	Navigation	In orbit	Operational
← Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec → October[]
8 October 02:21	Falcon 9 Block 5		F9-062	Vandenberg SLC-4E		SpaceX
		SAOCOM 1A[125][126]	CONAE	Low Earth (SSO)	Earth observation	In orbit	Operational
		First RTLS at Vandenberg
9 October 02:43	Long March 2C / YZ-1S		2C-Y38[22]	Jiuquan SLS-2		CASC
		Yaogan 32 A	CAS	Low Earth	Reconnaissance	In orbit	Operational
		Yaogan 32 B	CAS	Low Earth	Reconnaissance	In orbit	Operational
		First flight of the Yuanzheng-1S upper stage variant
11 October 08:40	Soyuz-FG			Baikonur Site 1/5		Roscosmos
		Soyuz MS-10 / 56S	Roscosmos	Low Earth (ISS)	Expedition 57/58	11 October 2018	Launch failure
		Crewed flight with two cosmonauts. Launch failure, astronauts landed safely in Soyuz capsule.
15 October 04:23	Long March 3B / YZ-1		3B-Y52[23]	Xichang		CASC
		BeiDou-3 M15	CNSA	Medium Earth	Navigation	In orbit	Operational
		BeiDou-3 M16	CNSA	Medium Earth	Navigation	In orbit	Operational
17 October 04:15	Atlas V 551		AV-073	Cape Canaveral SLC-41		ULA
		AEHF-4[127] (USA-288)[128]	U.S. Air Force	Geosynchronous	Communications (military)	In orbit	Operational
20 October 01:45	Ariane 5 ECA		VA245	Kourou ELA-3		Arianespace
		BepiColombo	ESA / JAXA	Mercurian orbit	Mercury probes	In orbit	En route
		Third and final cornerstone mission of the Horizon 2000+ programme. Joint ESA / JAXA Mercury mission consisting of two orbiters, the ESA Mercury Planetary Orbiter and the JAXA Mio (Mercury Magnetospheric Orbiter)
24 October 22:57[129]	Long March 4B		4B-Y34[130]	Taiyuan LC-9		CAST
		HaiYang 2B	CAST	Low Earth	Earth observation	In orbit	Operational
25 October 00:15[131]	Soyuz-2.1b			Plesetsk Site 43/4		RVSN RF
		-S1 №3 / Kosmos 2528	VKS	Low Earth	ELINT	In orbit	Operational
27 October 08:00[13]	Zhuque-1			Jiuquan (mobile launcher)		LandSpace
		⚀ / Future 1 (CCTV)	China Central Television[133]	Low Earth (SSO)	Space science / remote sensing	27 October 2018	Launch failure[13]
		Maiden flight of the Zhuque-1 solid-propellant rocket[132]
29 October 00:43[134]	Long March 2C		2C-Y22[22]	Jiuquan SLS-2		CASC
		/	CNSA / CNES	Low Earth (SSO)	Earth observation	In orbit	Operational
		⚀ (2)[135]		Low Earth (SSO)	Technology demonstration ()	In orbit	Operational
		⚀ (Tongchuan-1)[135]	Tsinghua University	Low Earth (SSO)	Gamma ray detector (gravitational wave research)	In orbit	Operational
		⚀ (Xinghe)[135]	(ADA Space)	Low Earth (SSO)	Technology demonstration (remote sensing)	In orbit	Operational
		⚀ [135]	Changsha City	Low Earth (SSO)	Amateur radio	In orbit	Operational
		⚀ (BSUSat-1)[135]	Belarusian State University	Low Earth (SSO)	Technology demonstration	In orbit	Operational
29 October 04:08[136]	H-IIA 202		F40[54]	Tanegashima LA-Y1		MHI
		GOSAT-2 (Ibuki 2)	JAXA	Low Earth (SSO)	Earth observation	In orbit	Operational
		KhalifaSat	EIAST	Low Earth (SSO)	Earth observation	In orbit	Operational
		⚀	Aichi University of Technology	Low Earth	Technology demonstration	In orbit	Operational
		/ Diwata-2b	DOST / TU	Low Earth	Earth observation	In orbit	Operational
		⚀ Stars-AO	Shizuoka University	Low Earth	Technology demonstration	In orbit	Operational
		[137]	Kyushu Institute of Technology	Low Earth	Magnetosphere observation / Technology demonstration	In orbit	Operational
← Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec → November[]
1 November 15:57[138]	Long March 3B/E		3B-Y41[23]	Xichang		CASC
		BeiDou-3 G1Q	CNSA	Geosynchronous	Navigation	In orbit	Operational
3 November 20:17[139]	Soyuz-2.1b / Fregat-M			Plesetsk Site 43/4		RVSN RF
		GLONASS-M 757 / Kosmos 2529	VKS	Medium Earth	Navigation	In orbit	Operational
7 November 00:47:27[140]	Soyuz ST-B / Fregat-M		VS19	Kourou ELS		Arianespace
		MetOp-C	Eumetsat	Low Earth (SSO)	Meteorology	In orbit	Operational
11 November 03:50[141]	Electron		"It's Business Time"[142]	Mahia LC-1A		Rocket Lab
		⚀ Lemur-2-82	Spire Global	Low Earth	Earth observation	In orbit	Operational
		�� Lemur-2-83	Spire Global	Low Earth	Earth observation	In orbit	Operational
		⚀ Cicero 10	GeoOptics	Low Earth	Earth observation	In orbit	Operational
		⚀ IRVINE01	Irvine CubeSat STEM Program	Low Earth	Education	In orbit	Operational
		⚀ Proxima 1	Fleet Space Technologies	Low Earth	Technology demonstration	In orbit	Operational
		⚀ Proxima 2	Fleet Space Technologies	Low Earth	Technology demonstration	In orbit	Operational
		⚀		Low Earth	Technology demonstration	In orbit	Operational
14 November 11:38[143]	GSLV Mk III		D2[144]	Satish Dhawan SLP		ISRO
		GSAT-29	ISRO	Geosynchronous	Communications	In orbit	Operational
		Second orbital flight of GSLV Mk III
15 November 20:46[145]	Falcon 9 Block 5		F9-063	Kennedy LC-39A		SpaceX
		Es'hail 2[146]	Es'hailSat	Geosynchronous	Communications	In orbit	Operational
16 November 18:14:08[148]	Soyuz-FG			Baikonur		Roscosmos
		Progress MS-10 / 71P	Roscosmos	Low Earth (ISS)	ISS logistics	4 June 2019	Successful
		Return to flight of the Soyuz-FG variant involved in the Soyuz MS-10 launch failure.[147]
17 November 09:01:22[151]	Antares 230			MARS LP-0A		Northrop Grumman
		Cygnus NG-10 SS John Young	NASA	Low Earth (ISS)	ISS logistics	25 February 2019	Successful
		⚀		Low Earth	Education	In orbit	Operational
		⚀		Low Earth	Education	In orbit	Operational
		⚀	Masdar Institute of Science and Technology	Low Earth	Technology demonstration	In orbit	Operational
		⚀	NRL	Low Earth	Technology demonstration	In orbit	Operational
		⚀	Cornell University	Low Earth	Technology demonstration	2 April 2019[152]	Successful
		Largest number of satellites launched on a single rocket (108). Cygnus NG-10, CHEFsat 2, Kicksat 2, 104 Sprite Chipsats (deployed from Kicksat 2), MYSAT 1. CubeSats were carried aboard Cygnus and deployed into orbit after the departure of Cygnus from ISS.[149] KickSat-2 carried 105 Sprite "ChipSats" which were successfully deployed into a rapidly decaying orbit on 17 March 2019.[150]
18 November 18:00[153]	Long March 3B / YZ-1		3B-Yxx[23]	Xichang		CASC
		BeiDou-3 M17	CNSA	Medium Earth	Navigation	In orbit	Operational
		BeiDou-3 M18	CNSA	Medium Earth	Navigation	In orbit	Operational
19 November 23:40[154]	Long March 2D		2D-Y28[22]	Jiuquan SLS-2 (LC34)		CASC
		(OKW-1)[155]		Low Earth (SSO)	Communications	In orbit	Operational
		[156]	Chinese Academy of Sciences	Low Earth	Technology demonstration	In orbit	Operational
		As of 19 November 2018, several other payloads were not yet identified.
21 November 01:42:31[157]	Vega		VV13	Kourou ELV		Arianespace
		Mohammed VI-B	Morocco	Low Earth	Earth observation	In orbit	Operational
29 November 04:27:30[158]	PSLV-CA		C43[27]	Satish Dhawan FLP		ISRO
		HySIS	ISRO	Low Earth	Earth observation	In orbit	Operational
		BlackSky Global 1	Spaceflight Industries	Low Earth	Earth observation	In orbit	Operational
		⚀ CASE	Kepler Communications	Low Earth	Technology demonstration	In orbit	Operational
		⚀ 3Cat-1	Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya (UPC)	Low Earth	Technology demonstration	In orbit	Operational
		⚀ 1[159]	Fleet Space Technologies	Low Earth	Technology demonstration	In orbit	Operational
		⚀ CICERO-8	GeoOptics Inc.	Low Earth	Meteorology	In orbit	Operational
		⚀ FACSAT-1	Colombian Air Force	Low Earth	Earth observation	In orbit	Operational
		⚀ (Flock 3r) x16	Planet Labs	Low Earth	Earth observation	In orbit	Operational
		⚀ Hiber 1		Low Earth	Technology demonstration	In orbit	Spacecraft failure[160]
		⚀ HSAT 1	Harris Corporation	Low Earth	Technology demonstration	In orbit	Operational
		⚀ InnoSat 2	Astronautic Technology Sdn Bhd	Low Earth	Technology demonstration	In orbit	Operational
		⚀ Lemur-2 x4		Low Earth	Earth observation	In orbit	Operational
		⚀ Reaktor Hello World	Reaktor Radio Actives Ry	Low Earth	Technology demonstration	In orbit	Operational
30 November 02:27[161]	Rokot / Briz-KM			Plesetsk Site 133/3		RVSN RF
		Strela-3M 16–18 / Kosmos 2530–2532[162]	VKS	Low Earth	Communications (military)	In orbit	Operational
← Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec → December[]
3 December 11:31[16]	Soyuz-FG			Baikonur Site 1/5		Roscosmos
		Soyuz MS-11 / 57S	Roscosmos	Low Earth (ISS)	Expedition 58/59	25 June 2019 02:47	Successful
		Crewed flight with three cosmonauts
3 December 18:34[165]	Falcon 9 Block 5		F9-064	Vandenberg SLC-4E		SpaceX
		SSO-A / SHERPA 65 small satellites[164]	Spaceflight Industries	Low Earth (SSO)	Satellite dispenser	In orbit	Successful
		⚀ 2[166]		Low Earth (SSO)	Earth observation
		⚀ Astrocast 0.1[166]	Astrocast	Low Earth (SSO)	Technology demonstration
		⚀ [166]	Audacy	Low Earth (SSO)	Technology demonstration
		⚀ [166]	ViaSat	Low Earth (SSO)	Technology demonstration
		BlackSky Global 2[166]	Spaceflight Industries	Low Earth (SSO)	Earth observation
		⚀ [166]	SpaceQuest, Ltd.,	Low Earth (SSO)	Technology demonstration
		⚀ 1[166]	Capella Space	Low Earth (SSO)	Earth observation (radar)
		⚀ 2[159]		Low Earth (SSO)	Technology demonstration
		⚀ [166]	University of Colorado Boulder	Low Earth (SSO)	Heliophysics
		⚀ 1[166]		Low Earth (SSO)	Earth observation
		⚀ Enoch [166]	Los Angeles County Museum of Art	Low Earth (SSO)	Art
		⚀ 2[166]	Elysium Space	Low Earth (SSO)	Space burial
		ESEO[166]		Low Earth (SSO)	Education	In orbit	Successful[167]
		Eu:CROPIS[166]	DLR	Low Earth (SSO)	Life sciences	In orbit	Partial failure[168]
		[163] + constellation	DARPA	Low Earth (SSO)	Technology demonstration (satlets)
		⚀ 1[166]		Low Earth (SSO)	Amateur radio
		FalconSat 6[163]	U.S. Air Force Academy	Low Earth (SSO)	Technology demonstration
		⚀ Flock-3s 1–3[166]	Planet Labs	Low Earth (SSO)	Earth observation
		⚀ Fox 1C[166]	AMSAT, VPI, Vanderbilt University	Low Earth (SSO)	Technology demonstration
		⚀ 1–3[166]	HawkEye 360	Low Earth (SSO)	SIGINT, traffic monitoring[169]
		⚀ 2[166]		Low Earth (SSO)	Communications	In orbit	Spacecraft failure[160]
		⚀ [166]	US Navy PEO Space Systems	Low Earth (SSO)	Technology demonstration
		ICEYE X2	Iceye	Low Earth (SSO)	Earth observation (radar)
		⚀ [170]	ITA	Low Earth (SSO)	Earth observation
		⚀ IRVINE02[171]	Irvine CubeSat STEM Program	Low Earth (SSO)	Education
		⚀ JY1-Sat[166]	Jordanian universities	Low Earth (SSO)	Amateur radio
		⚀ K2SAT[166]	KAIST	Low Earth (SSO)	Technology demonstration
		⚀ KazSTSAT[172]	, Astrium	Low Earth (SSO)	Earth observation
		⚀ KazSciSat[173]	Institute of space technique and technology	Low Earth (SSO)	Earth observation
		⚀	KazGU	Low Earth (SSO)	Earth observation
		⚀ KNACKSAT[166]	KMUTNB	Low Earth (SSO)	Technology demonstration
		⚀ Landmapper-BC 4		Low Earth (SSO)	Earth observation
		⚀ MinXSS 2[166]	University of Colorado Boulder	Low Earth (SSO)	Heliophysics
		⚀ MOVE II[166]	TUM	Low Earth (SSO)	Technology demonstration
		⚀ [166]	KAIST	Low Earth (SSO)	Technology demonstration
		⚀ Orbital Reflector[166]	Nevada Museum of Art	Low Earth (SSO)	Art
		⚀ OrbWeaver 1, 2 [166]	Tethers Unlimited, Inc., DARPA	Low Earth (SSO)	Technology demonstration
		⚀ ORS 7A, 7B (Polar Scout 1, 2)[174]	USCG, DHS	Low Earth (SSO)	Communications
		⚀ PW-Sat 2[166]	Warsaw University of Technology	Low Earth (SSO)	Technology demonstration
		⚀ [166]	Australian Defence Force Academy	Low Earth (SSO)	Technology demonstration
		⚀ A, B[166]	Georgia Institute of Technology	Low Earth (SSO)	Technology demonstration
		⚀ [166]		Low Earth (SSO)	Technology demonstration
		⚀ 1[166]	University of North Carolina	Low Earth (SSO)	Earth observation
		⚀ Sirion Pathfinder 2[166]	Sirion Global	Low Earth (SSO)	Technology demonstration
		SkySat 14, 15[175]	Planet Labs	Low Earth (SSO)	Earth observation
		⚀ [166]	Seoul National University	Low Earth (SSO)	Amateur radio, Technology demonstration
		⚀ 2[166]	Seoul National University	Low Earth (SSO)	Earth observation
		⚀ SpaceBEE 5-7[166]	Swarm Technologies	Low Earth (SSO)	Communications
		⚀ SPAWAR-CAL O, R, OR [166]	United States Navy	Low Earth (SSO)	Calibration
		STPSat 5[166]	USAF STP	Low Earth (SSO)	Technology demonstration
		⚀ Suomi-100[166]	Aalto University	Low Earth (SSO)	Technology demonstration
		⚀ [166]	SpaceQuest, Ltd.,	Low Earth (SSO)	Technology demonstration
		⚀ [166]	exactEarth	Low Earth (SSO)	Technology demonstration
		⚀ [166]	Korea Aerospace University	Low Earth (SSO)	Thermospheric research
		⚀ WeissSat 1[166]	The Weiss School	Low Earth (SSO)	Technology demonstration
		The SSO-A "dedicated rideshare" mission delivered 64 small payloads with custom-made dispensers.[163][164]
4 December 20:37[176]	Ariane 5 ECA		VA246	Kourou ELA-3		Arianespace
		GSAT-11	ISRO	Geosynchronous	Communications	In orbit	Operational
		-2A	KARI	Geosynchronous	Meteorology	In orbit	Operational
5 December 18:16[177]	Falcon 9 Block 5		F9-065	Cape Canaveral SLC-40		SpaceX
		SpaceX CRS-16	NASA	Low Earth (ISS)	ISS logistics	14 January 2019	Successful
		Delphini 1	AU	Low Earth	Technology demonstration	14 March 2021[180]	Successful[181]
		TechEdSat 8	SJSU, UIdaho, NASA	Low Earth	Technology demonstration	20 April 2020[182]	Successful
		CAT 1, 2[183]	APL	Low Earth	Technology demonstration	13 April 2021[184][185]	Successful
		UNITE	USI	Low Earth	Ionospheric science	21 October 2021[186]	Successful[187]
		First stage tumbled during descent, and did not make it to Landing Zone 1. It achieved a water landing in the Atlantic Ocean.[177][178] CubeSat payloads were carried in the CRS-16, and deployed into orbit from the ISS on 31 January 2019.[179]
7 December 04:12[188]	Long March 2D		2D-Y38[22]	Jiuquan SLS-2 (LC-34/pad 94)		CASC
		A[22]	KACST	Low Earth (SSO)	Earth observation	In orbit	Operational
		B	KACST	Low Earth (SSO)	Earth observation	In orbit	Operational
		TY/DF-1	CAST	Low Earth (SSO)	Technology demonstration	In orbit	Operational
		TFSTAR (Douyu-666)	CAST	Low Earth (SSO)	Communications	In orbit	Operational
		Xinjiang Jiaotong 01 (TY3-01)	CAST	Low Earth (SSO)	Communications	In orbit	Operational
		Piao Chong (Ladybeetle) 1-7	CAST	Low Earth (SSO)	Communications, IoT	In orbit	Operational
7 December 18:24[190]	Long March 3B/E		3B-Y30[130]	Xichang LC-2		CASC
		Chang'e 4	CNSA	Selenocentric	Lunar lander	In orbit	Operational
		China's second lunar lander (back-up to Chang'e 3), and the first spacecraft to attempt a soft landing on the far side of the Moon.[189]
16 December 06:33[191]	Electron		"This One's For Pickering"	Mahia LC-1A		Rocket Lab
		⚀	NASA Glenn Research Center	Low Earth	Technology demonstration	In orbit	Operational
		⚀	NASA Goddard Space Flight Center	Low Earth	Earth observation	In orbit	Operational
		⚀	NASA, UFL, Stanford University, KACST	Low Earth	Technology demonstration	In orbit	Operational
		⚀ CubeSail 1	University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign	Low Earth	Technology demonstration	In orbit	Operational
		⚀		Low Earth	Technology demonstration	In orbit	Operational
		⚀	Cal Poly[192]	Low Earth	Technology demonstration	In orbit	Operational
		⚀	New Mexico Institute of Mining and Technology	Low Earth	Technology demonstration	In orbit	Operational
		⚀ RSat-P	U.S. Naval Academy	Low Earth	Technology demonstration	In orbit	Operational
		⚀ -2	NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory	Low Earth	Technology demonstration	In orbit	Operational
		⚀	NASA Langley Research Center	Highly elliptical	Technology demonstration	In orbit	Operational
		⚀ STF-1	NASA's Katherine Johnson IV&V Facility, WVU, WVSGC	Low Earth	Technology demonstration	In orbit	Operational
		⚀	The Aerospace Corporation	Low Earth	Technology demonstration	In orbit	Operational
		⚀ (AeroCube 11)	The Aerospace Corporation	Low Earth	Earth observation	In orbit	Operational
		Launch for NASA's Venture Class Launch Services program (VCLS-1), including ELaNa payloads.
19 December 10:40[193]	GSLV Mk II		F11[57]	Satish Dhawan SLP		ISRO
		GSAT-7A	Indian Air Force	Geosynchronous	Communications (military)	In orbit	Operational
19 December 16:37:14[194]	Soyuz ST-A / Fregat-M		VS20	Kourou ELS		Arianespace
		CSO 1	French Armed Forces	Low Earth (SSO)	Reconnaissance	In orbit	Operational
21 December 00:20[195]	Proton-M / Briz-M			Baikonur		RVSN RF
		Blagovest-13L / Kosmos 2533	VKS	Geosynchronous	Communications (military)	In orbit	Operational
21 December 23:51[197]	Long March 11		Y5[31]	Jiuquan		CASC
		1	CASIC	Low Earth (SSO)	Communications (test)	In orbit	Operational
		First test flight for the planned constellation of 156 broadband communications satellites.[196]
23 December 13:51[199]	Falcon 9 Block 5		F9-066	Cape Canaveral SLC-40		SpaceX
		GPS IIIA-01 (USA-289) Vespucci	U.S. Air Force	Medium Earth	Navigation	In orbit	Operational
		Named after Italian explorer Amerigo Vespucci.[198]
24 December 16:53[200]	Long March 3C/E		3C-Y17[23]	Xichang LC-2		CASC
		-3	CNSA	Geosynchronous	Communications test (probably ELINT)	In orbit	Operational
27 December 02:07[202]	Soyuz-2.1a / Fregat-M			Vostochny Site 1S[203]		Roscosmos
		No.5	Roscosmos	Low Earth (SSO)	Earth observation	In orbit	Operational
		No.6	Roscosmos	Low Earth (SSO)	Earth observation	In orbit	Operational
				Low Earth (SSO)	Earth observation	In orbit	Operational
		⚀	Cape Peninsula University of Technology	Low Earth	Technology demonstration	In orbit	Operational
		⚀ Lume-1	University of Vigo	Low Earth	Communications	In orbit	Operational
		⚀ Lemur-2 × 8	Spire Global	Low Earth	Maritime tracking / Atmospheric	In orbit	Operational
		⚀		Low Earth	Aircraft tracking	In orbit	Operational
		⚀		Low Earth	Technology demonstration / Amateur radio	In orbit	Operational
		⚀	University of Würzburg	Low Earth	Technology demonstration	In orbit	Operational
		⚀ Flock-3k × 12	Planet Labs	Low Earth	Earth observation	In orbit	Operational
		Three Israeli payloads, -1,2,3, were planned but they missed the deadline and were replaced with mass simulator payloads.[201]
29 December 08:00[205]	Long March 2D / YZ-3		2D-Y35[22]	Jiuquan SLS-2		CASC
		1	CAST	Low Earth	Communications	In orbit	Operational
		Yunhai-2 01-06[206]	CAST	Low Earth	Meteorology	In orbit	Operational
		First test flight for the planned constellation of 320 M2M communications satellites.[204]

Suborbital flights[]

Date and time (UTC)	Rocket		Flight number	Launch site		LSP
		Payload (⚀ = CubeSat)	Operator	Orbit	Function	Decay (UTC)	Outcome
		Remarks
18 January 05:53	Agni V			Integrated Test Range Launch Complex IV		DRDO
			DRDO	Suborbital	Missile test	18 January	Successful
		Apogee: ~800 kilometres (500 mi)
19 January 12:17	Black Brant IX			Poker Flat Research Range		NASA
		DXL-3	U of M	Suborbital	Astronomy	19 January	Successful
		Apogee: 230 kilometres (140 mi)[207]
26 January 14:11:15	Terrier–Improved Orion			Poker Flat Research Range		NASA
		Super Soaker		Suborbital	Atmospheric	26 January	Successful
		Apogee: ~160 kilometres (99 mi)
26 January 14:48:00	Terrier–Improved Orion			Poker Flat Research Range		NASA
		Super Soaker		Suborbital	Atmospheric	26 January	Successful
		Apogee: ~97 kilometres (60 mi)
26 January 14:49:30	Terrier–Improved Orion			Poker Flat Research Range		NASA
		Super Soaker		Suborbital	Atmospheric	26 January	Successful
		Apogee: ~160 kilometres (99 mi)
31 January	IRBM ?			C-17, Pacific Ocean		MDA
		FTM-29 Target	MDA	Suborbital	ABM target	31 January	Successful
		Apogee: 300 kilometres (190 mi)
31 January	SM-3 Block IIA			Pacific Missile Range Facility		US Navy
		FTM-29 Interceptor	MDA	Suborbital	ABM test	31 January	Failure
		Test of a land-based Aegis Ballistic Missile Defense (BMD) weapon system, failed to intercept the target
5 February	B-611?					PLA
			PLA	Suborbital	ABM target	5 February	Successful
		Target
5 February	SC-19			Korla		PLA
			PLA	Suborbital	ABM test	5 February	Successful
		Interceptor, successful intercept[208]
6 February 03:00	Agni I			Integrated Test Range		IDRDL
			IDRDL	Suborbital	Missile test	6 February	Successful
		Apogee: ~500 kilometres (310 mi)?
17 February 07:00	/ VS-31/Improved Malemute			Esrange		DLR / SSC
			DLR	Suborbital	Technology demonstration	17 February	Successful
		Apogee: 248 kilometres (154 mi)
18 February 23:30	Arrow III			Negev		IAF
			IAI/IDF	Suborbital	Flight test	18 February	Successful
		Successful flight test of the Arrow-III weapon system[209]
20 February 03:08	Agni II			Integrated Test Range		Indian Army / DRDO
			Indian Army/DRDO	Suborbital	Missile test	20 February	Successful
25 March 10:51	Terrier–Improved Malemute			Wallops Flight Facility		NASA
		USIP	NASA	Suborbital	Student payloads	25 March	Successful
		Apogee: 172 kilometres (107 mi)[210]
27 March 02:40?	UGM-133 Trident II			USS Nebraska (SSBN-739), Pacific Missile Range Facility		US Navy
			US Navy	Suborbital	Missile test	27 March	Successful
		Demonstration and Shakedown Operation (DASO) 28
27 March 02:40?	UGM-133 Trident II			USS Nebraska (SSBN-739), Pacific Missile Range Facility		US Navy
			US Navy	Suborbital	Missile test	27 March	Successful
		Demonstration and Shakedown Operation (DASO) 28
31 March 16:19	Black Brant IX			Wallops Flight Facility		NASA
		ASPIRE-2	NASA	Suborbital	Technology demonstration	31 March	Successful
		Tested Mars 2020's parachute
4 April 10:40	Black Brant IX			Kwajalein Atoll		NASA
		WRX-R	PSU	Suborbital	XR Astronomy	4 April	Successful
		Apogee: 205 kilometres (127 mi)[211]
4 April 18:00	Hyperbola-1S (Shian Quxian 1Z)			Hainan Island		i-Space
		Mass simulator	i-Space	Suborbital	Test flight	4 April	Successful
		Apogee: 108 kilometres (67 mi)
6 April 14:00	RH-300 Mk-II			TERLS		ISRO
			ISRO VSSC	Suborbital	Ionosphere research	6 April	Successful
		Apogee: 107 kilometres (66 mi)[212]
16 April 16:47	Black Brant IX			Kwajalein Atoll		NASA
		CHESS-4	University of Colorado	Suborbital	UV Astronomy	16 April	Successful
		Apogee: 200 kilometres (120 mi)
25 April 12:26	Minuteman-III			Vandenberg Air Force Base LF-10		US Air Force
			US Air Force	Suborbital	Test flight	25 April	Successful
29 April 17:06	New Shepard			Corn Ranch		Blue Origin
		Suborbital Flight Experiment Monitor-2[213]	NASA	Suborbital	Technology demonstration	29 April	Successful
		Schmitt Space Communicator	SolStar	Suborbital	Technology demonstration	29 April	Successful
		Daphnia	University of Bayreuth	Suborbital	Microgravity Research	29 April	Successful
		EQUIPAGE	Otto von Guericke University	Suborbital	Microgravity Research	29 April	Successful
		EUPHORIE	University of Duisburg-Essen	Suborbital	Microgravity Research	29 April	Successful
		8th flight, Apogee: ~107 kilometres (66 mi)
13 May 08:30	VSB-30			Esrange
		/ TEXUS-54	DLR / ESA	Suborbital	Microgravity	13 May	Successful
		Apogee: 261 kilometres (162 mi)
14 May 08:23	Minuteman-III			Vandenberg Air Force Base LF-04		US Air Force
			US Air Force	Suborbital	Test flight	14 May	Successful
17 May 00:33	OS-X, Chongqing Liangjiang (Twin-River) Star[214]			Undisclosed location in northwest China		OneSpace
			OneSpace	Suborbital	Test flight	17 May	Successful
22 May	RSM-56 Bulava[215]			K-535 Yury Dolgorukiy, White Sea		VMF
			VMF	Suborbital	Missile test	22 May	Successful
22 May	RSM-56 Bulava			K-535 Yury Dolgorukiy, White Sea		VMF
			VMF	Suborbital	Missile test	22 May	Successful
22 May	RSM-56 Bulava			K-535 Yury Dolgorukiy, White Sea		VMF
			VMF	Suborbital	Missile test	22 May	Successful
22 May	RSM-56 Bulava			K-535 Yury Dolgorukiy, White Sea		VMF
			VMF	Suborbital	Missile test	22 May	Successful
23 May	Terrier Malemute			Pacific Missile Range Facility		NNSA
		HOT SHOT 1	NNSA	Suborbital	Technology experiments	23 May	Successful
		Apogee: ~360 kilometres (220 mi)[216]
29 May 18:54	Black Brant IX			White Sands		NASA
		Hi-C 2.1	NASA/MSFC	Suborbital	Solar research	29 May	Successful
		Apogee: 290 kilometres (180 mi)
31 May 04:00	VSB-30			Esrange
		/ TEXUS-55	DLR / ESA	Suborbital	Microgravity	31 May	Successful
		Apogee: 255 kilometres (158 mi)
3 June 04:18	Agni V			Integrated Test Range Launch Complex IV		DRDO
			DRDO	Suborbital	Missile test	3 June	Successful
		Apogee: ~800 kilometres (500 mi)
7 June	Boosted Zombi (ATACMS)			White Sands		NASA
			US Army	Suborbital	Missile test	7 June	Successful
		Apogee: 100 kilometres (62 mi)?
18 June 19:00	Black Brant IX			White Sands		NASA
		EVE	CU Boulder	Suborbital	SDO calibration	18 June	Successful
		Apogee: 250 kilometres (160 mi)
19 June	RS-24 Yars			Plesetsk		RVSN
			RVSN	Suborbital	Missile test	19 June	Successful
21 June 09:30	Terrier–Improved Orion			Wallops Flight Facility		NASA
		RockOn	University of Colorado	Suborbital	Student payloads	21 June	Successful
		Apogee: 120 kilometres (75 mi)[217]
29 June	Momo 2			Taiki Aerospace Research Field		Interstellar Technologies
			Kochi University of Technology	Suborbital	Technology demonstration	29 June	Launch failure
		Two seconds after launch, the engine failed and the vehicle fell back to the pad and exploded
18 July 15:11	New Shepard			Corn Ranch		Blue Origin
		Crew Capsule 2.0	Blue Origin	Suborbital	Test flight	18 July	Successful
		9th flight, the Crew Capsule 2.0-1 RSS H.G.Wells carrying a mannequin and various experiments from NASA, Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory, Purdue University, Otto von Guericke University and Olympiaspace in Germany. Both booster and capsule are flight proven. Successful test of the in-flight abort system at high altitude, Apogee: ~119 kilometres (74 mi), duration 11 minutes.[218]
20 July 22:00	Astra (Rocket 1)			Pacific Spaceport Complex – Alaska		Astra Space
			Astra Space	Suborbital	Flight test	20 July	Launch failure[219]
23 July 06:00	Black Brant IX			White Sands		NASA
		Micro-X	NU	Suborbital	XR Astronomy	23 July	Successful
		The detector worked as anticipated during the flight but the pointing system was unable to lock onto the target Cassiopeia A, apogee: 270 kilometres (170 mi)
31 July 11:38	Minuteman-III			Vandenberg Air Force Base		US Air Force
			US Air Force	Suborbital	Test flight	31 July	Launch failure[220]
14 August 10:13	Terrier–Improved Malemute			Wallops Flight Facility		NASA
		RockSat-X	NASA	Suborbital	Student experiments	14 August	Successful
		Apogee: 146 kilometres (91 mi)[221]
25 August 18:15?	SARGE			Spaceport America, New Mexico		Exos Aerospace
		SARGE Pathfinder	Exos Aerospace	Suborbital	Test flight	25 August	Partial launch failure
		⚀ SKISAT	SKI	Suborbital	Technology demonstration	25 August	Partial launch failure
		A GPS receiver on the rocket stopped providing data during the rocket’s ascent. That triggered an automatic shutdown of the rocket’s engine 38 seconds after liftoff, versus a planned duration of 62 to 65 seconds. The rocket reached a peak altitude of 28 kilometers, rather than the planned 80 kilometers[222]
5 September 05:00	Hyperbola-1S (Shian Quxian 1Z)			Jiuquan		i-Space
		⚀ Three CubeSats[223]	Two companies[223]	Suborbital	Flight test	5 September	Successful
		Apogee: 108 kilometres (67 mi)
7 September 13:30	Black Brant IX			Wallops Flight Facility		NASA
		ASPIRE-3	NASA	Suborbital	Technology demonstration	7 September	Successful
		Tested Mars 2020's parachute
7 September 17:21	Black Brant IX			White Sands		NASA
		FOXSI	UMN	Suborbital	Solar research	7 September	Successful
		Apogee: 304 kilometres (189 mi)
12 September 08:37	MRBM		JFTM-5 E2	Pacific Missile Range Facility		MDA
			JMSDF/MDA	Suborbital	ABM target	12 September	Successful
		Apogee: 150 km (93 mi)?, intercepted by SM-3-IB
12 September 08:40	RIM-161 Standard Missile 3-IB		JFTM-5 E2	JS Atago, Pacific Ocean		JMSDF
			JMSDF	Suborbital	ABM test	12 September	Successful
		Apogee: 150 km (93 mi)?, intercepted target
12 September 14:33	SpaceLoft XL			Spaceport America		UP Aerospace
		FOP-5 (ADEPT, SFEM-3, AFTS)	NASA	Suborbital	Three technology experiments	12 September	Successful
		Mission SL-12, Apogee: 114 kilometres (71 mi)[224]
17 September 14:09	SpaceLoft XL			Spaceport America		UP Aerospace
		FOP-6, Celestis 15	NASA	Suborbital	Technology experiments	17 September	Successful
		Mission SL-11, Apogee: 114 kilometres (71 mi)
27 September 12:15	Nucleus			Andøya		Andøya
		Nammo Nucleus	Nammo	Suborbital	Technology experiments	27 September	Successful
		Apogee: 107 kilometres (66 mi)[225]
29 September	Traveler III			Black Rock Desert		USC Rocket Propulsion Lab
		Flight test		Suborbital	Flight test	29 September	Partial
		No data received after a miscomunication resulted in the avionics and recovery system being unarmed. Vehicle otherwise operated as intended and is apporximated to have reached space.
8 October	Ghauri					Army of Pakistan
			Army of Pakistan	Suborbital	Missile test	8 October	Successful
		Apogee: 400 kilometres (250 mi) ?
11 October 11:00?	DF-11?			Jiuquan		PLARF
			PLARF	Suborbital	Missile test	11 October	Successful
		Apogee: 500 kilometres (310 mi) ?
11 October	R-29RMU Sineva			Russian submarine, Barents Sea		VMF
			VMF	Suborbital	Missile test	11 October	Successful
11 October	R-29RMU Sineva			Russian submarine, Barents Sea		VMF
			VMF	Suborbital	Missile test	11 October	Successful
11 October	R-29R Volna			Russian submarine, Sea of Okhotsk		VMF
			VMF	Suborbital	Missile test	11 October	Successful
11 October	R-29R Volna			Russian submarine, Sea of Okhotsk		VMF
			VMF	Suborbital	Missile test	11 October	Successful
26 October	MRBM			Pacific Missile Range Facility		MDA
		FTM-45 Target	MDA	Suborbital	ABM target	26 October	Successful
		Ballistic missile target for interception
26 October	SM-3 Block IIA			USS John Finn, Kauai		US Navy
		FTM-45 Interceptor	MDA	Suborbital	ABM test	26 October	Successful
		Ballistic missile interceptor, successful intercept[226]
7 November 07:01	Minuteman-III			Vandenberg Air Force Base		US Air Force
			US Air Force	Suborbital	Test flight	7 November	Successful
28 November 07:00	KSLV-2 Pilot Vehicle			Naro Space Center		KARI
		Boilerplate	KARI	Suborbital	Test flight	28 November	Successful
		Apogee: 209 kilometres (130 mi)
29 November	Astra (Test Flight 2)			Pacific Spaceport Complex – Alaska		Astra Space
			Astra Space	Suborbital	Flight test	29 November	Launch failure[227]
30 November	Khorramshahr			Semnan		AFIRI
			AFIRI	Suborbital	Missile test	30 November	Successful
7 December 11:06	Black Brant X			Ny-Ålesund		NASA
		VISIONS-2 1	GSFC	Suborbital	Ionosphere research	7 December	Successful
		Apogee: 805 kilometres (500 mi)
7 December 11:08	Black Brant X			Ny-Ålesund		NASA
		VISIONS-2 2	GSFC	Suborbital	Ionosphere research	7 December	Successful
		Apogee: 600 kilometres (370 mi)
8 December 08:26	Black Brant XIIA			Andøya		NASA
			UoI	Suborbital	Electrodynamics	8 December	Successful
		Apogee: 1,042 kilometres (647 mi)
8 December 08:28	Black Brant XIIA			Andøya		NASA
			UoI	Suborbital	Electrodynamics	8 December	Successful
		Apogee: 756 kilometres (470 mi)
9 December 15:43	VS-30			Alcântara		AEB
		PSR-01	INPE	Suborbital	Test	9 December	Successful
		Apogee: 120 kilometres (75 mi)?
10 December	IRBM-T1			C-17, Pacific Ocean		MDA
		FTI-03 Target	MDA	Suborbital	ABM target	10 December	Successful
		Apogee: 300 kilometres (190 mi)
10 December	SM-3 Block IIA			Pacific Missile Range Facility		US Navy
		FTI-03 Interceptor	MDA	Suborbital	ABM test	10 December	Successful
		Ballistic missile interceptor, successful intercept[228]
10 December 08:00	Agni V			Integrated Test Range Launch Complex IV		DRDO
			DRDO	Suborbital	Missile test	10 December	Successful
		Apogee: ~800 kilometres (500 mi)
10 December	RS-12M Topol			Kapustin Yar		RVSN
			RVSN	Suborbital	Missile test	10 December	Launch failure[229]
13 December 16:00	SpaceShipTwo		VP-03	White Knight Two, from Mojave Spaceport		Virgin Galactic
		VSS Unity	Virgin Galactic	Suborbital	Test flight	13 December	Successful
		First manned sub-orbital high altitude flight of SpaceShipTwo with two astronauts (Mark P. Stucky and Frederick W. Sturckow), Apogee: 82.7 kilometres (51.4 mi). Not considered a spaceflight under FAI rules, but recognized as a spaceflight under U.S. law.
18 December 07:46	Black Brant IX			White Sands Missile Range		NASA
		DEUCE 2	University of Colorado	Suborbital	Astronomy	18 December	Successful
		Apogee: 282 kilometres (175 mi)
26 December 09:59	UR-100NU			Yasniy		RVSN
		Avangard	RVSN	Suborbital	Missile test	26 December	Successful[230]
		Yu-71 Hypersonic Vehicle Test, Apogee: 1,000 kilometres (620 mi)?

Deep-space rendezvous[]

Date (GMT)	Spacecraft	Event	Remarks
7 February	Juno	11th perijove of Jupiter
1 April	Juno	12th perijove
17 May	TESS	Gravity assist by the Moon	Closest approach: 8,100 kilometres (5,000 mi)
24 May	Juno	13th perijove
25 May	Queqiao	Moon flyby	In Earth–Moon L2 halo orbit[231]
25 May	Longjiang-1	Moon flyby	Failed lunar orbital injection[80]
25 May	Longjiang-2	Injection into Selenocentric orbit	Preliminary orbit was 350 × 13800 km, inclined 21° to the equator[81]
27 June[1]	Hayabusa2	Arrival at asteroid Ryugu
16 July	Juno	14th perijove
7 September	Juno	15th perijove
21 September	HIBOU (ROVER-1A)	Landing on Ryugu
21 September	OWL (ROVER-1B)	Landing on Ryugu
3 October	MASCOT	Landing on Ryugu
3 October	Parker Solar Probe	First gravity assist at Venus
29 October	Juno	16th perijove
6 November	Parker Solar Probe	First perihelion	Occurred at 03:28 UTC, a distance of 25 million km from the Sun. New record for the fastest spacecraft (95 km/s).
26 November	InSight	Arrival at Mars	Successful landing at Elysium Planitia, coordinates 4°30′09″N 135°37′24″E / 4.5024°N 135.6234°E / 4.5024; 135.6234.[232]
26 November	MarCO A, B	Mars flyby	Data relays for InSight lander
3 December	OSIRIS-REx	Arrival at asteroid Bennu[2]	Approach phase operations began on 17 August
12 December	Chang'e 4	Injection into Selenocentric orbit	Preliminary orbit 100 × 400 km, en route to a landing attempt on the Lunar farside[233]
21 December	Juno	17th perijove

Extravehicular activities (EVAs)[]

Start Date/Time	Duration	End Time	Spacecraft	Crew	Remarks
23 January 11:49	7 hours 24 minutes	19:13	Expedition 54 ISS Quest	Mark T. Vande Hei Scott D. Tingle	Replacement of latching end effector-B (LEE-B) for the space station remote manipulator system (SSRMS)
2 February 15:34	8 hours 13 minutes	23:47	Expedition 54 ISS Pirs	Alexander Misurkin Anton Shkaplerov	Dismantling Lira electronics assembly Installation of upgraded electronics unit Jettisoning of removed unit Test exposure unit retrieval Biorisk retrieval Foot restraint relocation
16 February 12:00	5 hours 57 minutes	17:57	Expedition 54 ISS Quest	Mark T. Vande Hei Norishige Kanai	Finished removal and replacement of latching end effector on POA Replaced LEE camera, installed ground strap on Canadarm2 Brought failed LEE inside Lubricated Canadarm2 Moved tool platform on Dextre Adjusted struts on flex hose rotary coupler
29 March 13:33	6 hours 10 minutes	19:43	Expedition 55 ISS Quest	Richard R. Arnold Andrew J. Feustel	Node 3 external wireless antenna install P1 truss ammonia jumper remove (P1-3-2 RBVM) CP8 camera group replacement S0 ammonia jumper relocate to ESP-1 APFR relocate to ESP-1 Bolt preps on ESP-2
16 May 11:39	6 hours 31 minutes	18:10	Expedition 55 ISS Quest	Richard R. Arnold Andrew J. Feustel	Relocation of two pump flow control subassembly (PFCS) units Replace the camera port-13 (CP-13) external television camera group (ETVCG) Replacement of the space to ground transmit/receive controller (SGTRC)
14 June 08:06[234]	6 hours 49 minutes	14:55	Expedition 56 ISS Quest	Andrew J. Feustel Richard R. Arnold	Installed new cameras to monitor the approach and docking maneuvers of commercial crew spacecraft Replaced a defective camera and lighting on the right side of the station Closed the cover of the Cloud Aerosol Transport System instrument
15 August 16:17	7 hours 46 minutes	00:03 on 16 August	Expedition 56 ISS Pirs	Oleg Artemyev Sergey Prokopyev	Deployed four cubesats built by Russian students Installed antennas and cables for the Icarus animal-tracking device Retrieved two materials exposure packages from the Zvezda hull[235]
11 December 15:59	7 hours 45 minutes	21:44	Expedition 57 ISS Pirs	Oleg Kononenko Sergey Prokopyev	Inspected damage to the hull of Soyuz MS-09[236]

Space debris events[]

Date/Time (UTC)	Source object	Event type	Pieces tracked	Remarks
22 December 07:12	Orbcomm OG1 FM 16	Satellite breakup	34+	Orbcomm OG1 sat FM 16 disintegrated for unknown reasons.[237]

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. As examples, Soyuz launches by Arianespace in Kourou are counted under Russia because Soyuz-2 is a Russian rocket and Electron launches from Mahia in New Zealand count as USA launches.

Country		Launches	Successes	Failures	Partial failures	Remarks
	China	39	38	1	0	China surpassed its previous record of 22 launches in 2016. The only failure was the maiden flight of private rocket Zhuque-1.
	Europe	8	7	0	1	During Ariane 5 flight VA241 in January, two launched satellites were placed on an off-nominal orbit.
	India	7	7	0	0	GSAT-6A launch was a success, but the satellite failed.
	Japan	6	6	0	0
	Russia	20	19	1	0	Includes three European Soyuz launches from Kourou, French Guiana by Arianespace. Crewed Soyuz MS-10 launch failure, two cosmonauts landed safely.
	United States	34	34	0	0	Includes three Electron launches from Mahia. In January, Zuma launch was a success, satellite was reported lost but actual status is classified.
Total		114	111	2	1

By rocket[]

By family[]

Family	Country	Launches	Successes	Failures	Partial failures	Remarks
Antares	United States	2	2	0	0
Ariane	Europe	6	5	0	1
Atlas	United States	5	5	0	0
Delta	United States	3	3	0	0
Electron	United States	3	3	0	0
Epsilon	Japan	1	1	0	0
Falcon	United States	21	21	0	0
H-II	Japan	4	4	0	0
Kuaizhou	China	1	1	0	0
Long March	China	37	37	0	0
R-7	Russia	16	15	1	0
SLV	India	7	7	0	0
S-Series	Japan	1	1	0	0	Final orbital flight
Universal Rocket	Russia	4	4	0	0
Vega	Europe	2	2	0	0
Zhuque	China	1	0	1	0	Maiden flight

By type[]

Rocket	Country	Family	Launches	Successes	Failures	Partial failures	Remarks
Antares 200	United States	Antares	2	2	0	0
Ariane 5	Europe	Ariane	6	5	0	1
Atlas V	United States	Atlas	5	5	0	0
Delta II	United States	Delta	1	1	0	0	Final flight
Delta IV	United States	Delta	2	2	0	0
Electron	United States	Electron	3	3	0	0
Epsilon	Japan	Epsilon	1	1	0	0
Falcon 9	United States	Falcon	21	21	0	0
GSLV Mk II	India	SLV	2	2	0	0
GSLV Mk III	India	SLV	1	1	0	0
H-IIA	Japan	H-II	3	3	0	0
H-IIB	Japan	H-II	1	1	0	0
Kuaizhou 1	China	Kuaizhou	1	1	0	0
Long March 2	China	Long March	14	14	0	0
Long March 3	China	Long March	14	14	0	0
Long March 4	China	Long March	6	6	0	0
Long March 11	China	Long March	3	3	0	0
Proton	Russia	Universal Rocket	2	2	0	0
PSLV	India	SLV	4	4	0	0
Soyuz	Russia	R-7	5	4	1	0
Soyuz-2 or ST	Russia	R-7	11	11	0	0
SS-520	Japan	S-Series	1	1	0	0	Final orbital flight
UR-100	Russia	Universal Rocket	2	2	0	0
Vega	Europe	Vega	2	2	0	0
Zhuque-1	China	Zhuque	1	0	1	0	Maiden flight

By configuration[]

Rocket	Country	Type	Launches	Successes	Failures	Partial failures	Remarks
Antares 230	United States	Antares 200	2	2	0	0
Ariane 5 ECA	Europe	Ariane 5	5	4	0	1
Ariane 5 ES	Europe	Ariane 5	1	1	0	0	Final flight
Atlas V 401	United States	Atlas V	1	1	0	0
Atlas V 411	United States	Atlas V	1	1	0	0
Atlas V 541	United States	Atlas V	1	1	0	0
Atlas V 551	United States	Atlas V	2	2	0	0
Delta II 7420	United States	Delta II	1	1	0	0	Final flight
Delta IV Medium+ (5,2)	United States	Delta IV	1	1	0	0	Final flight
Delta IV Heavy	United States	Delta IV	1	1	0	0
Epsilon	Japan	Epsilon	1	1	0	0
Electron	United States	Electron	3	3	0	0
Falcon 9 Full Thrust	United States	Falcon 9	10	10	0	0	Final flight
Falcon 9 Block 5	United States	Falcon 9	10	10	0	0	Maiden flight
Falcon Heavy	United States	Falcon 9	1	1	0	0	Maiden flight
GSLV Mk II	India	GSLV Mk II	2	2	0	0
GSLV Mk III	India	GSLV Mk III	1	1	0	0
H-IIA 202	Japan	H-IIA	3	3	0	0
H-IIA 204	Japan	H-IIA	0	0	0	0
H-IIB	Japan	H-IIB	1	1	0	0
Kuaizhou 1A	China	Kuaizhou	1	1	0	0
Long March 2C	China	Long March 2	6	6	0	0
Long March 2D	China	Long March 2	8	8	0	0
Long March 3A	China	Long March 3	2	2	0	0
Long March 3B/E	China	Long March 3	3	3	0	0
Long March 3B / YZ-1	China	Long March 3	8	8	0	0
Long March 3C/E	China	Long March 3	1	1	0	0
Long March 4B	China	Long March 4	2	2	0	0
Long March 4C	China	Long March 4	4	4	0	0
Long March 11	China	Long March 11	3	3	0	0
Proton-M / Briz-M	Russia	Proton	2	2	0	0
PSLV-CA	India	PSLV	2	2	0	0
PLSV-XL	India	PSLV	2	2	0	0
Rokot / Briz-KM	Russia	UR-100	2	2	0	0
Soyuz-FG	Russia	Soyuz	5	4	1	0
Soyuz-2.1a or ST-A	Russia	Soyuz-2	2	2	0	0
Soyuz-2.1a or ST-A / Fregat-M	Russia	Soyuz-2	2	2	0	0
Soyuz-2.1b or ST-B	Russia	Soyuz-2	1	1	0	0
Soyuz-2.1b or ST-B / Fregat-M	Russia	Soyuz-2	4	4	0	0
Soyuz-2.1b or ST-B / Fregat-MT	Russia	Soyuz-2	1	1	0	0
Soyuz-2-1v / Volga	Russia	Soyuz-2	1	1	0	0
SS-520-5	Japan	SS-520	1	1	0	0	Final orbital flight
Vega	Europe	Vega	2	2	0	0
Zhuque-1	China	Zhuque-1	1	0	1	0	Maiden flight

By spaceport[]

Site	Country	Launches	Successes	Failures	Partial failures	Remarks
Baikonur	Kazakhstan	9	8	1	0
Cape Canaveral	United States	17	16	1	0
Jiuquan	China	16	15	1	0
Kennedy	United States	3	3	0	0
Kourou	France	11	10	0	1
Mahia	New Zealand	3	3	0	0
MARS	United States	2	2	0	0
Plesetsk	Russia	6	6	0	0
Satish Dhawan	India	7	7	0	0
Taiyuan	China	6	6	0	0
Tanegashima	Japan	4	4	0	0
Uchinoura	Japan	2	2	0	0
Vandenberg	United States	9	9	0	0
Vostochny	Russia	2	2	0	0
Xichang	China	17	17	0	0
Total		114	110	3	1

By orbit[]

Orbital regime	Launches	Achieved	Not achieved	Accidentally achieved	Remarks
Transatmospheric	0	0	0	0
Low Earth / Sun-synchronous	67	64	3	0	Zuma, Soyuz MS-10 and Zhuque-1 lost
Geosynchronous / GTO	27	26	0	1	Ariane VA241 underperformed
Medium Earth	13	13	0	0
High Earth / Lunar transfer	3	3	0	0
Heliocentric / Planetary transfer	4	4	0	0
Total	114	110	3	1

References[]

Notes

Citations

External links[]