1971 in spaceflight

1971 saw the last three known deaths of cosmonauts of the Soviet space program and the only deaths in space. Their mission was to man humanity's first space station. The experimental bay door failed to separate so the first crew failed to dock and second crew were killed on re-entry. 1971 also saw the launch of the first and only British satellite on top of a British rocket after that success the program was cancelled.

1971 in spaceflight

Salyut 1, the first space station and Soyuz 11, the first mission to successfully dock with it, were launched in 1971. The crew were killed during reentry when their spacecraft depressurised
Orbital launches
First	12 January
Last	29 December
Total	133
Successes	118
Failures	15
Catalogued	120
National firsts
Orbital launch	United Kingdom
Rockets
Maiden flights	Soyuz-M Delta M6 Thor LV-2F Burner IIA Titan III(24)B Titan III(33)B Titan IIID
Retirements	Black Arrow Delta E1 Delta M Delta M6 Delta N6 Europa Long March 1 R-36OM Soyuz-L Thor LV-2F Burner II Thorad SLV-2G Agena-D Titan III(23)B
Crewed flights
Orbital	4
Total travellers	12
v t e

1971 in spaceflight

Timeline of spaceflight ← 1970 1972 →

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	Operator	Orbit	Function	Decay (UTC)	Outcome
		Remarks
January
12 January 09:30[1]	Voskhod			Baikonur 31/6
		Kosmos 390 (Zenit-4M)[2]		Low Earth	Optical imaging	25 January[3]	Successful
14 January 12:00:00[4]	Kosmos-2I			Plesetsk 133/1
		Kosmos 391 (DS-P1-I No.10)		Low Earth	Radar target	21 February 1972[3]	Successful
20 January 11:24:00[1]	Vostok-2M			Plesetsk 41/1
		Meteor 1-07 (Meteor-M)[5][6]		Sun-synchronous	Weather	14 July 2005[3]	Successful
21 January 08:40[1]	Voskhod			Baikonur 31/6
		Kosmos 392 (Zenit-2M)[7]		Low Earth	Optical imaging	2 February[3]	Successful
21 January 18:20	Titan III(23)B			Vandenberg SLC-4W		US Air Force
		OPS 7776 (Gambit-3 4330)	NRO	Low Earth	Optical imaging	9 February	Successful
		OPS 7776 SRV-1	NRO	Low Earth	Film return	January	Successful
		OPS 7776 SRV-2	NRO	Low Earth	Film return	February	Successful
26 January 00:36:03	Atlas SLV-3C Centaur-D			Cape Kennedy LC-36A
		Intelsat IV F-2	Intelsat	Geosynchronous	Communications	In orbit	Successful
26 January 12:44:33[4]	Kosmos-2I			Plesetsk 133/1
		Kosmos 393 (DS-P1-Yu No.34)		Low Earth	Calibration	16 June[3]	Successful
31 January 21:03	Saturn V			Kennedy LC-39A		NASA
		Apollo 14 CSM	NASA	Selenocentric	Lunar orbiter	9 February 21:05	Successful
		Apollo 14 LM	NASA	Selenocentric	Lunar lander	5 February 09:17	Successful
		Crewed flight with three astronauts, third crewed Lunar landing
February
3 February 01:41:40	Delta M			Cape Kennedy LC-17A
		NATO-2B	NATO	Geosynchronous	Communications	In orbit	Successful
		Final flight of Delta M
9 February 18:48:48[8]	Kosmos-3M			Plesetsk 132/1
		Kosmos 394 (DS-P1-M No.2)		Low Earth	ASAT target	25 February (destroyed)	Successful
		Destroyed by Kosmos 397, debris still in orbit
16 February 04:00:00	Mu-3S			Kagoshima LA-M		ISAS
		Tansei 1	ISAS	Low Earth	Technology	In orbit	Successful
17 February 03:52:05	Thor LV-2F Burner II			Vandenberg SLC-10W		US Air Force
		OPS 5268 (DAPP-5A F-3)	US Air Force	Low Earth	Weather	In orbit	Successful
		Calsphere 3 (NRL PL-170A)	NRL	Low Earth	Calibration	17 October 1989	Successful
		Calsphere 4 (NRL PL-170B)	NRL	Low Earth	Calibration	20 September 1989	Successful
		Calsphere 5 (NRL PL-170C)	NRL	Low Earth	Calibration	7 January 1990	Successful
17 February 20:04:30	Thorad SLV-2H Agena-D			Vandenberg SLC-3W		US Air Force
		KH-4B No.1113	NRO	Intended: Low Earth	Optical imaging	+18 seconds	Launch failure
		Engine failure due to chain of malfunctions caused by fuel additive loading error
17 February 21:09[8]	Kosmos-3M			Plesetsk 132/1
		Kosmos 395 (Tselina-OM)		Low Earth	ELINT	6 April 1980	Successful
18 February 13:59[1]	Voskhod			Plesetsk 43/3
		Kosmos 396 (Zenit-4M)[2]		Low Earth	Optical imaging	3 March[3]	Successful
25 February 11:11[9]	Tsyklon-2			Baikonur 90/19
		Kosmos 397 (IS-A)		Initial: Low Earth Final: Medium Earth	ASAT test	In orbit	Successful
		Intercepted and destroyed Kosmos 394
26 February 05:06[1]	Soyuz-L			Baikonur 31/6
		Kosmos 398 (LK T2K No.2)		Deployed: Low Earth Final: Medium Earth	Test flight	10 December 1995[3]	Successful
March
3 March 09:30[1]	Voskhod			Baikonur 31/6
		Kosmos 399 (Zenit-4M)[2]		Low Earth	Optical imaging	17 March[3]	Successful
3 March 12:15[6]	Long March 1			Jiuquan LA-2A
		Shijian 1		Low Earth	Technology	17 June 1979	Successful
5 March 08:15:02[4]	Kosmos-2I			Kapustin Yar 86/4
		DS-P1-Yu No.39		Intended: Low Earth	Calibration	+133 seconds	Launch failure
		Second stage malfunction, failed to orbit[10]
5 March[1]	Voskhod			Plesetsk 43/4
		Zenit-2M[7]		Intended: Low Earth	Optical imaging	5 March[3]	Launch failure
		Nauka 2KS No.3[6]		Intended: Low Earth
13 March 16:15:00	Delta M6			Cape Kennedy LC-17A
		Explorer 43 (IMP-6)	NASA	Highly elliptical	Gamma-ray astronomy	2 October 1974	Successful
		Only flight of Delta M6
18 March 21:45:00[8]	Kosmos-3M			Plesetsk 132/1
		Kosmos 400 (DS-P1-M No.3)		Low Earth	ASAT target	4 April (destroyed)	Successful
		Destroyed by Kosmos 402, debris still in orbit
21 March 03:45	Titan III(33)B			Vandenberg SLC-4W		US Air Force
		OPS 4788 (Jumpseat)	NRO	Molniya	ELINT	In orbit	Successful
		Maiden flight of Titan III(33)B, first Jumpseat satellite
24 March 21:05	Thorad SLV-2H Agena-D			Vandenberg SLC-3W		US Air Force
		OPS 5300 (KH-4B No.1115)	NRO	Low Earth	Optical imaging	12 April
27 March 10:59[1]	Voskhod			Plesetsk 43/3
		Kosmos 401 (Zenit-4M)[2]		Low Earth	Optical imaging	9 April[3]	Successful
April
1 April 02:57:07	Delta E1			Vandenberg SLC-2E
		ISIS 2	CSA/NASA	Low Earth	Ionospheric	In orbit	Successful
		Final flight of Delta E1
1 April 11:29[9]	Tsyklon-2			Baikonur 90/20
		Kosmos 402 (US-A)		Low Earth	Ocean surveillance	6 May	Successful
2 April 08:20[1]	Voskhod			Plesetsk 43/3
		Kosmos 403 (Zenit-2M)[7]		Low Earth	Optical imaging	14 April[3]	Successful
4 April 14:27[9]	Tsyklon-2			Baikonur 90/19
		Kosmos 404 (IS-A)		Low Earth	ASAT test	4 April	Successful
		Intercepted and destroyed Kosmos 400
7 April 07:10[1]	Vostok-2M			Plesetsk 43/4
		Kosmos 405 (Tselina-D)[11]		Low Earth	ELINT	3 November 2023 03:27[12]	Successful
14 April 08:00[1]	Voskhod			Plesetsk 43/4
		Kosmos 406 (Zenit-4M)[2]		Low Earth	Optical imaging	24 April[3]	Successful
15 April 09:19	Diamant B			Kourou ALD		CNES
		Tournesol	CNES	Low Earth	Ionospheric	28 January 1980	Successful
17 April 11:44:58[1]	Vostok-2M			Plesetsk 43/4
		Meteor 1-08 (Meteor-M)[5][6]		Sun-synchronous	Weather	10 January 1991[3]	Successful
19 April 01:40:00[13]	Proton-K			Baikonur 81/24
		Salyut 1		Low Earth	Space station	11 October[3]	Successful
		First space station, visited by two crews. First crew failed to dock, second killed after departure
22 April 15:30	Titan III(23)B			Vandenberg SLC-4W		US Air Force
		OPS 7899 (Gambit-3 4331)	NRO	Low Earth	Optical imaging	13 May	Successful
		OPS 7899 SRV-1	NRO	Low Earth	Film return	April/May	Successful
		OPS 7899 SRV-2	NRO	Low Earth	Film return	May	Successful
		Final flight of Titan III(23)B
22 April 23:54:06[1]	Soyuz			Baikonur 1/5
		Soyuz 10		Low Earth (Salyut 1)	Crewed	24 April 23:40:00[14]	Spacecraft failure
		Crewed flight with three cosmonauts. First mission to dock with a space station, aborted after spacecraft failed to achieve hard dock with Salyut 1
23 April 11:30[8]	Kosmos-3M			Plesetsk 132/1
		Kosmos 407 (Strela-2M)		Low Earth	Communications	In orbit	Successful
24 April 07:32:29	Scout B			San Marco mobile range, Kenya		CRS
		San Marco 3	CRS / NASA	Low Earth	Atmospheric	29 November	Successful
24 April 11:15:02[4]	Kosmos-2I			Plesetsk 133/1
		Kosmos 408 (DS-P1-Yu No.37)		Low Earth	Calibration	29 December[3]	Successful
28 April 14:35[8]	Kosmos-3M			Plesetsk 132/1
		Kosmos 409 (Sfera)		Low Earth	Geodesy	In orbit	Successful
May
5 May 07:43:01	Titan III(23)C			Cape Kennedy LC-40		US Air Force
		OPS 3811 (DSP SVN-3/IMEWS-2)	US Air Force	Geosynchronous	Missile defence	In orbit	Successful
6 May 06:20[1]	Voskhod			Baikonur 31/6
		Kosmos 410 (Zenit-2M)[7]		Low Earth	Optical imaging	18 May[3]	Successful
		Nauka 8KS No.1[6]		Low Earth		25 May[3]	Successful
7 May 14:20[8]	Kosmos-3M			Plesetsk 132/1
		Kosmos 411 (Strela-1M)		Low Earth	Communications	In orbit	Successful
		Kosmos 412 (Strela-1M)		Low Earth	Communications	In orbit	Successful
		Kosmos 413 (Strela-1M)		Low Earth	Communications	In orbit	Successful
		Kosmos 414 (Strela-1M)		Low Earth	Communications	In orbit	Successful
		Kosmos 415 (Strela-1M)		Low Earth	Communications	In orbit	Successful
		Kosmos 416 (Strela-1M)		Low Earth	Communications	In orbit	Successful
		Kosmos 417 (Strela-1M)		Low Earth	Communications	In orbit	Successful
		Kosmos 418 (Strela-1M)		Low Earth	Communications	In orbit	Successful
9 May 01:11:02	Atlas SLV-3C Centaur-D			Cape Kennedy LC-36A
		Mariner 8	NASA	Intended: Areocentric	Mars orbiter	9 May	Launch failure
		Upper stage thrust vectoring failed due to gyroscope malfunction, failed to orbit
10 May 16:58:42[13]	Proton-K/D			Baikonur 81/23
		Kosmos 419 (Mars 3MS No.170)		Intended: Areocentric Achieved: Low Earth	Mars orbiter	12 May[3]	Launch failure
		Blok D failed to ignite due to programming error; coast phase incorrectly entered in years instead of hours[15]
18 May 08:00[1]	Voskhod			Baikonur 31/6
		Kosmos 420 (Zenit-4M)[2]		Low Earth	Optical imaging	29 May[3]	Successful
19 May 10:20:00[4]	Kosmos-2I			Plesetsk 133/1
		Kosmos 421 (DS-P1-Yu No.48)		Low Earth	Calibration	8 November[3]	Successful
19 May 16:22:44[13]	Proton-K/D			Baikonur 81/24
		Mars 2 orbiter		Areocentric	Mars orbiter	In orbit	Successful
		Mars 2 lander		Heliocentric	Mars lander	27 November	Spacecraft failure
		Lander failed to achieve soft landing, instead impacting the planet[15]
22 May 00:51[8]	Kosmos-3M			Plesetsk 132/1
		Kosmos 422 (Tsyklon)		Low Earth	Navigation	In orbit	Successful
27 May 11:59:55[4]	Kosmos-2I			Plesetsk 133/1
		Kosmos 423 (DS-P1-Yu No.47)		Low Earth	Calibration	26 November[3]	Successful
28 May 10:30[1]	Voskhod			Plesetsk 43/4
		Kosmos 424 (Zenit-4M)[2]		Low Earth	Optical imaging	10 June[3]	Successful
28 May 15:26:30[13]	Proton-K/D			Baikonur 81/23
		Mars 3 orbiter		Areocentric	Mars orbiter	In orbit	Successful
		Mars 3 lander		Heliocentric	Mars lander	2 December	Spacecraft failure
		Lander failed 20 seconds after landing[15]
29 May 03:49[8]	Kosmos-3M			Plesetsk 132/1
		Kosmos 425 (Tselina-OM)		Low Earth	ELINT	15 January 1980	Successful
30 May 22:23:04	Atlas SLV-3C Centaur-D			Cape Kennedy LC-36B
		Mariner 9	NASA	Areocentric	Mars orbiter	In orbit	Successful
		First spacecraft to orbit Mars upon orbital insertion on 14 November. Deactivated on 27 October 1972
June
4 June 18:10:00[8]	Kosmos-3M			Plesetsk 132/2
		Kosmos 426 (DS-U2-K No.1)		Low Earth	Magnetospheric	11 May 2002[3]	Successful
		Ceased operations on 12 January 1972
6 June 04:55:09[1]	Soyuz			Baikonur 1/5
		Soyuz 11		Low Earth (Salyut 1)	Crewed	29 June 23:16:52[16]	Spacecraft failure
		Crewed flight with three cosmonauts. First mission to occupy a space station, and only mission to occupy Salyut 1. Crew killed by depressurisation of spacecraft during reentry
8 June 14:00:05	Thor LV-2F Burner II			Vandenberg SLC-10W		US Air Force
		SESP-1 (P70-1)	US Air Force/STP	Low Earth	Technology	31 January 1982	Successful
		Final flight of Thor LV-2F Burner II
11 June 10:00[1]	Voskhod			Plesetsk 43/4
		Kosmos 427 (Zenit-4MK)[17]		Low Earth	Optical imaging	23 June[3]	Successful
15 June 18:41	Titan III(23)D			Vandenberg SLC-4E		US Air Force
		OPS 8709 (Hexagon 1201)	NRO	Low Earth	Optical imaging	6 August	Successful
		OPS 8709 SRV-1	NRO	Low Earth	Film return	20 June[18]	Partial spacecraft failure
		OPS 8709 SRV-2	NRO	Low Earth	Film return	26 June[19]	Successful
		OPS 8709 SRV-3	NRO	Low Earth	Film return	10 July[19]	Spacecraft failure
		OPS 8709 SRV-4	NRO	Low Earth	Film return	15 July[19]	Successful
		Maiden flight of Titan IIID, first Hexagon satellite. SRV-1 recovered from water, SRV-3 lost due to parachute failure
24 June 07:59[1]	Voskhod			Baikonur 31/6
		Kosmos 428 (Zenit-2M)[7]		Low Earth	Optical imaging	6 July[3]	Successful
		Nauka 1KS No.4[6]		Low Earth		13 July[3]	Successful
25 June	Voskhod			Plesetsk 43/3
		Zenit-4M[2]		Intended: Low Earth	Optical imaging	25 June[3]	Launch failure
26 June 23:15:08[6]	N1			Baikonur 110/37
		Soyuz 7K-LOK mockup		Intended: Highly elliptical	Test flight	+51 seconds	Launch failure
		LK mockup		Intended: Highly elliptical	Test flight
		Loss of roll control, vehicle disintegrated at max Q
July
8 July 22:58:00	Scout B			Wallops LA-3A		NASA
		Explorer 44 (Solrad 10)	NASA	Low Earth	Solar	15 December 1979	Successful
16 July 01:41:36[1]	Vostok-2M			Plesetsk 43/4
		Meteor 1-09 (Meteor-M)[5][6]		Sun-synchronous	Weather	27 August 1991[3]	Successful
16 July 10:50	Thorad SLV-2H Agena-D			Vandenberg SLC-1W		US Air Force
		OPS 8373 ("Heavy Ferret")	NRO	Low Earth	ELINT	31 August 1978	Successful
20 July 10:00[1]	Voskhod			Baikonur 31/6
		Kosmos 429 (Zenit-4M)[2]		Low Earth	Optical imaging	2 August[3]	Successful
22 July	Kosmos-3M			Plesetsk 132/2
		Tselina-OM		Intended: Low Earth	ELINT	22 July	Launch failure
		Failed to orbit
23 July 11:00[1]	Voskhod			Plesetsk 43/3
		Kosmos 430 (Zenit-4M)[2]		Low Earth	Optical imaging	5 August[3]	Successful
26 July 13:34	Saturn V			Kennedy LC-39A		NASA
		Apollo 15 CSM	NASA	Selenocentric	Lunar orbiter	7 August 20:45:53	Successful
		Apollo 15 LM	NASA	Selenocentric	Lunar lander	30 July 22:16:29	Successful
		PFS-1	NASA	Selenocentric	Magnetospheric	1974	Successful
		Crewed flight with three astronauts, fourth crewed lunar landing and first use of Lunar Roving Vehicle, subsatellite deployed on 4 August at 20:13 UTC
28 July 03:29[1]	Molniya-M/ML			Plesetsk 43/4
		Molniya 1-18[20]		Molniya	Communications	19 July 1977[3]	Successful
30 July 08:29[1]	Voskhod			Baikonur 31/6
		Kosmos 431 (Zenit-2M)[7]		Low Earth	Optical imaging	11 August[3]	Successful
August
3 August 11:00:00[4]	Kosmos-2I			Plesetsk 133/1
		DS-P1-Yu No.33		Intended: Low Earth	Radar calibration	+204 seconds	Launch failure
		Second stage malfunction, failed to orbit[10]
5 August 10:00[1]	Voskhod			Baikonur 31/6
		Kosmos 432 (Zenit-4M)[2]	GRU	Low Earth	Optical imaging	18 August[3]	Successful
7 August 00:11	Atlas E/F-OV1-PM			Vandenberg BMRS-A2		US Air Force
		OV1-20	US Air Force	Low Earth	Ionospheric	29 August	Successful
		OV1-21	US Air Force	Low Earth	Ionospheric	29 August	Successful
		LOADS-2	US Air Force	Low Earth	Air density	31 January 1972	Successful
		RTDS	US Air Force	Low Earth	Air density	19 September	Successful
		LCS 4	US Air Force	Low Earth	Air density	In orbit	Operational
		Gridsphere 1 (P70-2/AVL-802)	US Air Force	Low Earth	Technology	2 November 1979	Successful
		Gridsphere 2 (P70-2/AVL-802)	US Air Force	Low Earth	Technology	18 March 1979	Successful
		Gridsphere B (P70-2/AVL-802)	US Air Force	Low Earth	Technology	11 June 1972	Successful
		Rigidsphere (P70-2/AVL-802)	US Air Force	Low Earth	Air density	1 September 1981	Successful
		Two OV1 satellites deployed by independent upper stages, LOADS-2 shared upper stage with OV1-20, other payloads shared with OV1-21. All payloads passive other than OV1s.
8 August 23:45[9]	R-36OM			Baikonur 191/66
		Kosmos 433 (OGCh)	RVSN	Low Earth	FOBS test	9 August	Successful
		Final flight of R-36OM, and FOBS programme
12 August 05:30[1]	Soyuz-L			Baikonur 31/6
		Kosmos 434 (LK T2K No.3)		Deployed: Low Earth Final: Medium Earth	Test flight	23 August 1981[3]	Successful
		Final flight of Soyuz-L
12 August 15:30	Titan III(24)B			Vandenberg SLC-4W		US Air Force
		OPS 8607 (Gambit-3 4332)	NRO	Low Earth	Optical imaging	3 September	Successful
		OPS 8607 SRV-1	NRO	Low Earth	Film return	August	Successful
		OPS 8607 SRV-2	NRO	Low Earth	Film return	September	Successful
		Maiden flight of Titan III(24)B
16 August 18:39:00	Scout B-1			Wallops LA-3A		NASA
		Eole	CNES	Low Earth	Communications	In orbit	Successful
		Maiden flight of Scout B-1
19 August	Voskhod			Baikonur 31/6
		Zenit-4M[2]		Intended: Low Earth	Optical imaging	19 August	Launch failure
		Failed to achieve orbit
27 August 10:54:56[4]	Kosmos-2I			Plesetsk 133/1
		Kosmos 435 (DS-P1-Yu No.41)		Low Earth	Calibration	28 January 1972[3]	Successful
September
2 September 13:40:40[13]	Proton-K/D			Baikonur 81/24
		Luna 18		Highly elliptical	Lunar sample return	11 September	Spacecraft failure
		Failed to achieve soft landing, instead impacting the moon[21]
7 September 01:15[8]	Kosmos-3M			Plesetsk 132/2
		Kosmos 436 (Tselina-OM)		Low Earth	ELINT	4 January 1980	Successful
10 September 03:37[8]	Kosmos-3M			Plesetsk 132/2
		Kosmos 437 (Tselina-OM)		Low Earth	ELINT	29 March 1980	Successful
10 September 21:33	Thorad SLV-2H Agena-D			Vandenberg SLC-3W		US Air Force
		OPS 5454 (KH-4B No.1115)	NRO	Low Earth	Optical imaging	5 October
		OPS 7681 (EHH-B)	NRO	Low Earth	ELINT	3 February 1976
14 September 13:00[1]	Voskhod			Plesetsk 43/4
		Kosmos 438 (Zenit-4MK)[17]		Low Earth	Optical imaging	23 June[3]	Successful
21 September 12:00[1]	Voskhod			Plesetsk 43/3
		Kosmos 439 (Zenit-2M)[7]		Low Earth	Optical imaging	2 October[3]	Successful
24 September 10:30:00[4]	Kosmos-2I			Plesetsk 133/1
		Kosmos 440 (DS-P1-I No.11)		Low Earth	Radar target	29 October 1972[3]	Successful
28 September 04:00:00	Mu-3S			Kagoshima LA-M		ISAS
		Shinsei	ISAS	Low Earth	Solar Ionospheric	In orbit	Successful
28 September 07:40[1]	Voskhod			Baikonur 31/6
		Kosmos 441 (Zenit-4M)[2]		Low Earth	Optical imaging	10 October[3]	Successful
28 September 10:00:22[13]	Proton-K/D			Baikonur 81/24
		Luna 19		Selenocentric	Lunar orbiter	In orbit	Successful
29 September 09:45:00	Delta N			Cape Kennedy LC-17A
		OSO-7	NASA	Low Earth	Solar	9 July 1974	Successful
		TETR-4	NASA	Low Earth	Tracking target	19 September 1978	Successful
29 September 11:30[1]	Voskhod			Plesetsk 43/3
		Kosmos 442 (Zenit-4M)[2]		Low Earth	Optical imaging	12 October[3]	Successful
October
7 October 12:30[1]	Voskhod			Plesetsk 43/3
		Kosmos 443 (Zenit-2M)[7]		Low Earth	Optical imaging	19 October[3]	Successful
		Nauka 8KS No.2[6]		Low Earth		30 October	Successful
13 October 13:41[8]	Kosmos-3M			Plesetsk 132/2
		Kosmos 444 (Strela-1M)		Low Earth	Communications	In orbit	Successful
		Kosmos 445 (Strela-1M)		Low Earth	Communications	In orbit	Successful
		Kosmos 446 (Strela-1M)		Low Earth	Communications	In orbit	Successful
		Kosmos 447 (Strela-1M)		Low Earth	Communications	In orbit	Successful
		Kosmos 448 (Strela-1M)		Low Earth	Communications	In orbit	Successful
		Kosmos 449 (Strela-1M)		Low Earth	Communications	In orbit	Successful
		Kosmos 450 (Strela-1M)		Low Earth	Communications	In orbit	Successful
		Kosmos 451 (Strela-1M)		Low Earth	Communications	In orbit	Successful
14 October 07:51:17	Thor LV-2F Burner IIA			Vandenberg SLC-10W		US Air Force
		OPS 4311 (DAPP-5B F-1)	US Air Force	Low Earth	Weather	In orbit	Successful
		Maiden flight of Thor LV-2F Burner IIA
14 October 09:00[1]	Voskhod			Baikonur 31/6
		Kosmos 452 (Zenit-4M)[2]		Low Earth	Optical imaging	27 October[3]	Successful
17 October 13:36	Thorad SLV-2G Agena-D			Vandenberg SLC-1W		US Air Force
		ASTEX (P71-2)	STP	Low Earth	Technology	In orbit	Successful
19 October 12:40:01[4]	Kosmos-2I			Plesetsk 133/1
		Kosmos 453 (DS-P1-Yu No.44)		Low Earth	Calibration	19 March 1972[3]	Successful
21 October 11:32:00	Delta N6			Vandenberg SLC-2E
		ITOS-B	NOAA	Intended: Low Earth	Weather	21 October	Launch failure
		Final flight of Delta N6, oxidiser leak led to premature second stage cutoff. Debris reached orbit, however payload did not
23 October 17:01	Titan III(24)B			Vandenberg SLC-4W		US Air Force
		OPS 7616 (Gambit-3 4333)	NRO	Low Earth	Optical imaging	17 November	Successful
		OPS 7616 SRV-1	NRO	Low Earth	Film return	October/November	Successful
		OPS 7616 SRV-2	NRO	Low Earth	Film return	November	Successful
28 October 04:09:29	Black Arrow			Woomera LA-5B		RAE
		Prospero (X-3)	RAE	Low Earth	Technology	In orbit	Successful
		First and only successful British orbital launch, final flight of Black Arrow and last orbital launch from Woomera
November
2 November 14:25[1]	Voskhod			Plesetsk 41/1
		Kosmos 454 (Zenit-4M)[2]		Low Earth	Optical imaging	16 November[3]	Successful
3 November 03:09:06	Titan III(23)C			Cape Kennedy LC-40		US Air Force
		OPS 3431 (DSCS II A1)	US Air Force	Geosynchronous	Communications	In orbit	Successful
		OPS 9432 (DSCS II A2)	US Air Force	Geosynchronous	Communications	In orbit
5 November 13:00	Europa II			Kourou BEC		ELDO
		STV-4	ELDO	Intended: Geosynchronous transfer	Technology	5 November	Launch failure
		Third stage structural failure. Only flight of Europa II, and final flight of Europa family. Final launch conducted by ELDO, first launch from BEC (later ELA-1 and ELV)
15 November 05:52:00	Scout B			San Marco mobile range, Kenya		CRS
		Explorer 45 (SSS-A)	NASA	Medium Earth	Magnetospheric	10 January 1992	Successful
		Final flight of Scout B
17 November 11:09:48[4]	Kosmos-2I			Plesetsk 133/1
		Kosmos 455 (DS-P1-Yu No.54)		Low Earth	Calibration	9 April 1972[3]	Successful
19 November 12:00[1]	Voskhod			Plesetsk 43/3
		Kosmos 456 (Zenit-4M)[2]		Low Earth	Optical imaging	2 December[3]	Successful
20 November 18:00[8]	Kosmos-3M			Plesetsk 132/2
		Kosmos 457 (Sfera)		Low Earth	Geodesy	In orbit	Successful
24 November 09:30[1]	Molniya-M/ML			Plesetsk 43/4
		Molniya 2-01[22]		Molniya	Communications	10 May 1976[3]	Successful
29 November 10:09:56[4]	Kosmos-2I			Plesetsk 133/1
		Kosmos 458 (DS-P1-Yu No.53)		Low Earth	Calibration	20 April 1972[3]	Successful
29 November 17:30:00[8]	Kosmos-3M			Plesetsk 132/1
		Kosmos 459 (DS-P1-M No.5)		Low Earth	ASAT target	3 December (destroyed)	Successful
		Destroyed by Kosmos 462
30 November 16:39[8]	Kosmos-3M			Plesetsk 132/2
		Kosmos 460 (Tselina-OM)		Low Earth	ELINT	5 March 1980	Successful
December
2 December 08:25:14[4]	Kosmos-2I			Kapustin Yar 86/4
		Interkosmos 5 (DS-U2-IK No.2)	Interkosmos	Low Earth	Ionosphere and magnetosphere research	7 April 1972[3]	Successful
		Cooperative project of Czechoslovakia and the USSR
2 December 17:30:01[8]	Kosmos-3M			Plesetsk 132/1
		Kosmos 461 (DS-U2-MT No.1)		Low Earth	Micrometeoroid detection gamma-ray astronomy	21 February 1979[3]	Successful
		Ceased operations on 14 December 1972
3 December 13:19[9]	Tsyklon-2			Baikonur 90/19
		Kosmos 462 (IS-A)		Low Earth	ASAT test	4 April 1975	Successful
		Intercepted and destroyed Kosmos 459
3 December	Voskhod			Plesetsk 43/4
		Zenit-2M[7]		Intended: Low Earth	Optical imaging	3 December[3]	Launch failure
		Nauka 5KS No.2[6]		Intended: Low Earth
4 December 22:33	Atlas SLV-3A Agena-D			Cape Kennedy LC-13		US Air Force
		Canyon	US Air Force	Intended: Geosynchronous	ELINT	4 December	Launch failure
		First stage malfunctioned, failed to orbit
5 December 16:20	Diamant B			Kourou ALD		CNES
		Polaire	CNES	Intended: Low Earth	Ionospheric	5 December	Launch failure
		Second stage malfunction, failed to orbit
6 December 09:50[1]	Voskhod			Baikonur 31/6
		Kosmos 463 (Zenit-4M)[2]		Low Earth	Optical imaging	11 December[3]	Successful
10 December 11:00[1]	Voskhod			Plesetsk 43/3
		Kosmos 464 (Zenit-4M)[2]		Low Earth	Optical imaging	16 December[3]	Successful
11 December 20:47:01	Scout B-1			Vandenberg SLC-5		NASA
		Ariel 4	SRC	Low Earth	Ionospheric	12 December 1978	Successful
14 December 12:13	Thorad SLV-2G Agena-D			Vandenberg SLC-1W		US Air Force
		OPS 7898 Payload 1 (Poppy)	NRO	Low Earth	ELINT	In orbit	Successful
		OPS 7898 Payload 2	NRO	Low Earth	ELINT	In orbit	Successful
		OPS 7898 Payload 3	NRO	Low Earth	ELINT	In orbit	Successful
		OPS 7898 Payload 4	NRO	Low Earth	ELINT	In orbit	Successful
		Final flight of Thorad SLV-2G Agena-D
15 December 04:31[8]	Kosmos-3M			Plesetsk 132/2
		Kosmos 465 (Tsyklon)		Low Earth	Navigation	In orbit	Successful
16 December 09:39[1]	Voskhod			Baikonur 31/6
		Kosmos 466 (Zenit-4M)[2]		Low Earth	Optical imaging	18 August[3]	Successful
17 December 10:39:58[4]	Kosmos-2I			Plesetsk 133/1
		Kosmos 467 (DS-P1-Yu No.45)		Low Earth	Calibration	18 April 1972[3]	Successful
17 December 13:00[8]	Kosmos-3M			Plesetsk 132/2
		Kosmos 468 (Strela-2M)		Low Earth	Communications	In orbit	Successful
19 December 22:50[1]	Molniya-M/ML			Plesetsk 41/1
		Molniya 1-19[20]		Molniya	Communications	13 April 1977[3]	Successful
20 December 01:10:04	Atlas SLV-3C Centaur-D			Cape Kennedy LC-36A
		Intelsat IV F-3	Intelsat	Geosynchronous	Communications	In orbit	Successful
25 December 11:30[9]	Tsyklon-2			Baikonur 90/20
		Kosmos 469 (US-A)		Low Earth	Ocean surveillance	9 February 1972	Successful
		BES-5 nuclear reactor ejected, and remains in orbit
27 December 14:04[1]	Soyuz-M			Plesetsk 43/4
		Kosmos 470 (Zenit-4MT)		Low Earth	Optical imaging	6 January 1972[3]	Successful
		Maiden flight of Soyuz-M
27 December 19:00:00[8]	Kosmos-3M			Plesetsk 132/2
		Oreol 1 (DS-U2-GKA No.1)	OKB-586/CNES	Medium Earth	Magnetospheric	In orbit	Successful
29 December 10:50:01[1]	Vostok-2M			Plesetsk 41/1
		Meteor 1-10 (Meteor-MV)[5][6]		Sun-synchronous	Weather	In orbit	Successful

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

Launches from the Moon

Date and time (UTC)	Rocket		Flight number	Launch site		LSP
		Payload (⚀ = CubeSat)	Operator	Orbit	Function	Decay (UTC)	Outcome
		Remarks
6 February 18:48	Lunar Module Ascent Stage			Fra Mauro (Luna)		NASA
		Apollo 14 LM	NASA	Selenocentric (CSM)	Crewed	7 February 00:46	Successful
		Carrying two astronauts back to CSM after lunar landing
2 August 17:11	Lunar Module Ascent Stage			Hadley-Apennine (Luna)		NASA
		Apollo 15 LM	NASA	Selenocentric (CSM)	Crewed	3 August 03:04	Successful
		Carrying two astronauts back to CSM after lunar landing

Suborbital launches

Date and time (UTC)	Rocket		Flight number	Launch site		LSP
		Payload	Operator	Orbit	Function	Decay (UTC)	Outcome
		Remarks
January-March
13 January 20:10	Black Brant II			Churchill		NRC
			NRC	Suborbital	Aeronomy	13 January	Successful
21 January 02:32	Black Brant VB			Churchill		NRC
			NRC	Suborbital	Auroral/Ionospheric	21 January	Successful
22 January 04:44	Black Brant VB			Churchill		NRC
			NRC	Suborbital	Auroral/Ionospheric	22 January	Successful
26 January 17:23	Black Brant VB			Churchill		NRC
			NRC	Suborbital	Solar/Ionospheric	26 January	Successful
5 February 22:46	Black Brant IVB			Churchill		NRC
			NRC	Suborbital	Auroral/Ionospheric	5 February	Successful
5 February 22:46	Black Brant IVB			Churchill		NRC
			NRC	Suborbital	Auroral/Ionospheric	5 February	Successful
20 February 03:33	Black Brant IVA			Churchill		NRC
			NRC	Suborbital	Auroral/Ionospheric	20 February	Successful
25 February 01:13	Black Brant VB			Wallops Island		NASA
			NASA	Suborbital	Aeronomy	25 February	Successful
3 March 06:52	Black Brant IVA			Churchill		NRC
			NRC	Suborbital	Auroral	3 March	Successful
20 March 03:24	Black Brant II			Churchill		NRC
			NRC	Suborbital	Test flight Auroral/Ionospheric	20 March	Successful
20 March 03:24	Black Brant II			Churchill		NRC
			NRC	Suborbital	Test flight Auroral/Ionospheric	20 March	Successful
April-June
5 April	Atlas E/F			Vandenberg ABRES A-1		US Air Force
		LAR-1	US Air Force	Suborbital	REV test	5 April	Successful
22 April 04:22[23]	K63D			Vladimirovka test range, near Kapustin Yar
		BOR-2 No.103		Suborbital	Re-entry test for Spiral program	22 April	Successful
		Subscale model of the Spiral spaceplane.[24] Apogee: 100 km
7 June 05:26	Black Brant IVA			Churchill		AFCRL
			AFCRL	Suborbital	Ionospheric	7 June	Successful
20 June 22:45	LGM-25C Titan II			Vandenberg LC-395C		US Air Force
		SSTTP M1-17	US Air Force	Suborbital	Target	20 June	Successful
29 June 10:12	Atlas E/F-Trident			Vandenberg ABRES A-3		US Air Force
		RVTO-2A-3	US Air Force	Suborbital	REV test	29 June	Successful
July-September
21 July 16:00	Black Brant VC			Wallops Island		NASA
			NASA	Suborbital	Test flight	21 July	Launch failure
28 August 02:22	LGM-25C Titan II			Vandenberg LC-395C		US Air Force
		SSTTP M2-1	US Air Force	Suborbital	Target	28 August	Successful
1 September	Atlas E/F			Vandenberg BMRS A-1		US Air Force
		LAR-2	US Air Force	Suborbital	REV test	1 September	Successful
4 September 13:52	Black Brant IIIB			Resolute Bay		NASA
			NASA	Suborbital	Plasma physics	4 September	Successful
5 September 13:44	Black Brant IIIB			Resolute Bay		NASA
			NASA	Suborbital	Plasma physics	5 September	Successful
10 September	Dongfeng 5			Jiuquan LA-2B		CALT
			CALT	Suborbital	Test flight	10 September	Successful
		Maiden flight of Dongfeng 5
20 September 23:31	Scout B		166CR	Wallops Island, LA-3A		NASA
		Barium Ion Cloud (BIC)	MPE, NASA	Suborbital	Magnetosphere research	21 September	Successful
		Apogee: 31479 km[25]
October-December
15 November	Dongfeng 4			Jiuquan		People's Liberation Army 2nd Artillery Corps
			PLA	Suborbital	Missile test	15 November	Successful

Deep space rendezvous in 1971

Date (UTC)	Spacecraft	Event	Remarks
4 February	Apollo 14	Entered selenocentric orbit
5 February 09:18:11	Apollo 14 LM	Landing on the Moon	Landed in Fra Mauro region, returned 43 kg of rocks
29 July	Apollo 15	Entered selenocentric orbit
30 July 22:16:29	Apollo 15 LM	Landing on the Moon; first crewed lunar rover	Landed in Hadley Rille region, returned 77 kg of rocks
11 September	Luna 18	Impacted the Moon	In Mare Fecunditatis, failed lander
3 October	Luna 19	Entered selenocentric orbit
14 November	Mariner 9	Entered areocentric orbit	First orbiter of Mars and of another planet
27 November	Mars 2 orbiter	Entered areocentric orbit
	Mars 2 lander	First Mars impact	Failed soft lander
27 November	Mars 3 orbiter	Entered areocentric orbit
	Mars 3 lander	First soft landing on Mars

EVAs

Start Date/Time	Duration	End Time	Spacecraft	Crew	Remarks
5 February 14:42	4 hours 48 minutes[26]	19:30	Apollo 14 Apollo LM-8 Antares	Alan Shepard Edgar Mitchell	Shepard and Mitchell deployed several experiments on the lunar surface near the landing site, such as the Solar Wind Composition Experiment and the Apollo Lunar Surface Experiments Package (ALSEP). The crew also took a contingency sample and planted a U.S. flag at the site.[27]
6 February 8:11	4 hours 34 minutes	12:45	Apollo 14 Apollo LM-8 Antares	Alan Shepard Edgar Mitchell	Planned as a traverse to Cone Crater, however the astronauts were unable to find the rim of the crater amid rolling terrain. The crew also took panoramic pictures and set up additional experiments. Shepard famously hit a golf ball on the lunar surface, using a six iron golf club head attached to the handle of an excavation tool.
31 July 00:16	33 minutes	00:49	Apollo 15 Apollo LM-10 Falcon	David Scott	Scott stood on the lander's ascent engine cover to survey the landing site through the vehicle's docking hatch and take panoramic photography.
31 July 13:13	6 hours 32 minutes[28]	19:45	Apollo 15 Apollo LM-10 Falcon	David Scott James Irwin	Scott and Irwin visited Elbow Crater near the rim of Hadley Rille using the Lunar Roving Vehicle (LRV), marking the first time humans traveled in a wheeled vehicle on another world. The crew also deployed an ALSEP on their return to the landing site.[29]
1 August 11:48	7 hours 12 minutes	19:01	Apollo 15 Apollo LM-10 Falcon	David Scott James Irwin	Scott and Irwin drove the LRV 12.5 miles along the base of the Apennine Mountains, visiting several craters, collecting samples and taking panoramic photography. The crew also took a deep core sample of lunar soil and planted a U.S. flag.
2 August 08:52	4 hours 49 minutes	13:42	Apollo 15 Apollo LM-10 Falcon	David Scott James Irwin	Scott and Irwin traveled to Scarp Crater then northwest along the rille, collecting samples. The crew also retrieved the core sample drilled during the previous EVA.
5 August 15:31	39 minutes	16:10	Apollo 15 Apollo CSM-112 Endeavour	Alfred Worden James Irwin	First spacewalk in deep space, conducted during the return trip to Earth. Worden retrieved exposed film from the Scientific Instrument Module (SIM) bay of the Service Module, while Irwin stood in the hatch.

Orbital launch statistics

By country

Country		Launches	Successes	Failures	Partial failures
	Europe	1	0	1	0
	Japan	2	2	0	0
	People's Republic of China	1	1	0	0
	Soviet Union	91	82	9	0
	United Kingdom	1[a]	1	0	0
	United States	35	31	4	0
World		131	117	14	0

By rocket

By family

Family	Country	Launches	Successes	Failures	Partial failures	Remarks
Atlas	United States	6	4	2	0
Black Arrow	United Kingdom	1	1	0	0	Final flight
Diamant	France	2	1	1	0
Europa	ELDO Members  Belgium  France  West Germany  Netherlands  United Kingdom  Australia	1	0	1	0	Final flight
Kosmos (R-12/14)	Soviet Union	34	31	3	0
Long March	People's Republic of China	1	1	0	0
Mu	Japan	2	2	0	0
N	Soviet Union	1	0	1	0
R-7	Soviet Union	44	40	4	0
R-36	Soviet Union	6	6	0	0
Saturn	United States	2	2	0	0
Titan	United States	8	8	0	0
Thor	United States	14	12	2	0
Scout	United States	5	5	0	0
Universal Rocket	Soviet Union	6	5	1	0

By type

Rocket	Country	Family	Launches	Successes	Failures	Partial failures	Remarks
Atlas E/F	United States	Atlas	1	1	0	0
Atlas-Agena	United States	Atlas	1	0	1	0
Atlas-Centaur	United States	Atlas	4	3	1	0
Black Arrow	United Kingdom	Black Arrow	1	1	0	0	Final flight
Diamant B	France	Diamant	2	1	1	0
Delta	United States	Delta	5	4	1	0
Europa	ELDO Members  Belgium  France  West Germany  Netherlands  United Kingdom  Australia	Europa	1	0	1	0	Final flight
Kosmos-2	Soviet Union	Kosmos	14	12	2	0
Kosmos-3	Soviet Union	Kosmos	20	19	1	0
Long March 1	People's Republic of China	Long March	1	1	0	0
Molniya	Soviet Union	R-7	3	3	0	0
Mu-3	Japan	Mu	2	2	0	0
N1	Soviet Union	N	1	0	1	0
Proton	Soviet Union	Universal Rocket	3	3	0	0
R-36OM	Soviet Union	R-36	1	1	0	0	Final flight
Saturn V	United States	Saturn	2	2	0	0
Scout B	United States	Scout	5	5	0	0
Soyuz	Soviet Union	R-7	5	5	0	0
Thor-Burner	United States	Thor	3	3	0	0
Thorad-Agena	United States	Thor	6	5	1	0
Titan IIIB	United States	Titan	5	5	0	0
Titan IIIC	United States	Titan	2	2	0	0
Titan IIID	United States	Titan	1	1	0	0	Maiden flight
Tsyklon	Soviet Union	R-36	5	5	0	0
Voskhod	Soviet Union	R-7	31	27	4	0
Vostok	Soviet Union	R-7	5	5	0	0

By configuration

Rocket	Country	Type	Launches	Successes	Failures	Partial failures	Remarks
Atlas E/F-OV1-PM	United States	Atlas E/F	1	1	0	0
Atlas SLV-3A Agena-D	United States	Atlas-Agena	1	0	1	0
Atlas SLV-3C Centaur-D	United States	Atlas-Centaur	4	3	1	0
Black Arrow	United Kingdom	Black Arrow	1	1	0	0	Final flight
Diamant B	France	Diamant B	2	1	1	0
Delta E1	United States	Delta	1	1	0	0	Final flight
Delta M	United States	Delta	1	1	0	0	Final flight
Delta M6	United States	Delta	1	1	0	0	Only flight
Delta N	United States	Delta	1	1	0	0
Delta N6	United States	Delta	1	0	1	0	Final flight
Europa II	ELDO Members  Belgium  France  West Germany  Netherlands  United Kingdom  Australia	Europa	1	0	1	0	Only flight
Kosmos-2I	Soviet Union	Kosmos-2	14	12	2	0
Kosmos-3M	Soviet Union	Kosmos-3	20	19	1	0
Long March 1	People's Republic of China	Long March	1	1	0	0	Final flight
Molniya-M/ML	Soviet Union	Molniya	3	3	0	0
Mu-3S	Japan	Mu-3	2	2	0	0
N1	Soviet Union	N1	1	0	1	0
Proton-K	Soviet Union	Proton	1	1	0	0
Proton-K/D	Soviet Union	Proton	5	4	1	0
R-36OM	Soviet Union	R-36O	1	1	0	0	Final flight
Saturn V	United States	Saturn V	2	2	0	0
Scout B	United States	Scout B	3	3	0	0
Scout B-1	United States	Scout B	2	2	0	0
Soyuz	Soviet Union	Soyuz	2	2	0	0
Soyuz-L	Soviet Union	Soyuz	2	2	0	0	Final flight
Soyuz-M	Soviet Union	Soyuz	1	1	0	0	Maiden flight
Thor LV-2F Burner II	United States	Thor-Burner	2	2	0	0	Final flight
Thor LV-2F Burner IIA	United States	Thor-Burner	1	1	0	0	Maiden flight
Thorad SLV-2G Agena-D	United States	Thorad-Agena	2	2	0	0	Final flight
Thorad SLV-2H Agena-D	United States	Thorad-Agena	4	3	1	0
Titan III(23)B	United States	Titan III	2	2	0	0	Final flight
Titan III(24)B	United States	Titan III	2	2	0	0	Maiden flight
Titan III(33)B	United States	Titan III	1	1	0	0	Maiden flight
Titan III(23)C	United States	Titan III	2	2	0	0
Titan III(23)D	United States	Titan III	1	1	0	0	Maiden flight
Tsyklon-2	Soviet Union	Tsyklon	5	5	0	0
Voskhod	Soviet Union	Voskhod	31	27	4	0
Vostok-2M	Soviet Union	Vostok	5	5	0	0

By launch site

Site	Country	Launches	Successes	Failures	Partial failures	Remarks
Cape Kennedy	United States	10	5	2	0
Baikonur	Soviet Union	31	28	3	0
Jiuquan	People's Republic of China	1	1	0	0
Kapustin Yar	Soviet Union	2	1	1	0
Kennedy	United States	2	2	0	0
Kagoshima	Japan	2	2	0	0
Kourou	France	3	1	2	0
Plesetsk	Soviet Union	58	53	5	0
San Marco	Kenya	2	2	0	0	Operated by Italy
Vandenberg	United States	19	17	2	0
Wallops	United States	2	2	0	0
Woomera	Australia	1	1	0	0	Final orbital launch

By orbit

Orbital regime	Launches	Achieved	Not Achieved	Accidentally achieved	Remarks
Failed to orbit	0 N/A	0 N/A	0 N/A	12
Low Earth	109	100	9	1	Two to Salyut 1
Medium Earth	2	2	0	0
Geosynchronous/transfer	7	5	2
High Earth	10	9	1	0	Including highly elliptical and Molniya orbits and trans-lunar trajectories.
Heliocentric	5	3	2	0