1981 in spaceflight

The following is an outline of 1981 in spaceflight.

1981 in spaceflight

The launch of STS-1, the maiden flight of the Space Shuttle
Orbital launches
First	6 January
Last	23 December
Total	126
Successes	119
Failures	6
Partial failures	1
Catalogued	123
National firsts
Satellite	Bulgaria
Space traveller	Mongolia Romania
Rockets
Maiden flights	N-II Space Shuttle Columbia
Retirements	Feng Bao 1
Crewed flights
Orbital	5
Total travellers	10
v t e

1981 in spaceflight

Timeline of spaceflight ← 1980 1982 →

STS-1

This section is an excerpt from STS-1.[edit]

STS-1 lifts off from the Kennedy Space Center on April 12, 1981, the first orbital launch of the Space Shuttle program.

STS-1 (Space Transportation System-1) was the first orbital spaceflight of NASA's Space Shuttle program. The first orbiter, Columbia, launched on April 12, 1981,^[1] and returned on April 14, 1981, 54.5 hours later, having orbited the Earth 37 times. Columbia carried a crew of two—commander John W. Young and pilot Robert L. Crippen. It was the first American crewed space flight since the Apollo–Soyuz Test Project (ASTP) in 1975. STS-1 was also the maiden test flight of a new American spacecraft to carry a crew, though it was preceded by atmospheric testing (ALT) of the orbiter and ground testing of the Space Shuttle system.

The launch occurred on the 20th anniversary of Vostok 1, the first human spaceflight, performed by Yuri Gagarin for the USSR. This was a coincidence rather than a celebration of the anniversary; a technical problem had prevented STS-1 from launching two days earlier, as was planned.

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
6 January 12:15	Soyuz-U			Plesetsk Site 41/1		RVSN
		Kosmos 1237 (Zenit-6U)		Low Earth	Optical imaging	20 January	Successful
		Film capsule recovered
9 January 14:57	Molniya-M/ML			Plesetsk Site 41/1		RVSN
		Molniya-3 No.25		Molniya	Communications	3 July 1999	Successful
10 January 18:22	Nike-Tomahawk			Siple Station		NASA
			NASA	Suborbital	Ionospheric research	10 January	Successful
		Apogee: 198 kilometres (123 mi)
14 January 22:00	TT-500A			Tanegashima LA-T		NASDA
			NASDA	Suborbital	Test flight	14 January	Successful
		Apogee: 320 kilometres (200 mi)
16 January 09:00	Kosmos-3M			Plesetsk Site 132/1		RVSN
		Kosmos 1238 (Taifun-1)		Low Earth	Radar calibration	In orbit	Successful
16 January 12:00	Soyuz-U			Plesetsk Site 41/1		RVSN
		Kosmos 1239 (Zenit-4MT)		Low Earth	Optical imaging	28 January	Successful
		Film capsule recovered
19 January 03:37:27	Black Brant VB			Churchill		NRC
			NRC	Suborbital	Aeronomy	19 January	Successful
		Apogee: 263 kilometres (163 mi)
20 January 04:50	Astrobee-F			White Sands		NASA
			NASA	Suborbital	Ultraviolet astronomy	20 January	Successful
		Apogee: 209 kilometres (130 mi)
20 January 11:00	Soyuz-U			Baikonur Site 31/6		RVSN
		Kosmos 1240 (Yantar-2K No.975)		Low Earth	Optical imaging	17 February	Successful
		Returned three film capsules; two small and one large
21 January 00:25	Black Brant VIII-C			White Sands		NASA
		SPAR-9	NASA	Suborbital	Microgravity research	21 January	Successful
		Apogee: 209 kilometres (130 mi)
21 January 08:29	Kosmos-3M			Plesetsk Site 132/1		RVSN
		Kosmos 1241 (Lira)		Low Earth	ASAT Target	In orbit	Successful
		Target for Kosmos 1243 and Kosmos 1258; both interceptors failed
21 January 21:46	S-310			Kagoshima		ISAS
			ISAS	Suborbital	Aeronomy	21 January	Successful
		Apogee: 174 kilometres (108 mi)
23 January 11:20	Tsyklon-3			Plesetsk Site 32/1		RVSN
		Musson No.11		Intended: Low Earth	Geodesy	23 January	Launch failure
		Payload fairing failed to separate
24 January 14:18:02	Soyuz-U			Baikonur Site 1/5
		Progress 12		Low Earth (Salyut 6)	Station logistics	20 March	Successful
		Final resupply mission to Salyut 6
26 January 07:20:06	Black Brant IVB			Churchill		NRC
			NRC	Suborbital	Auroral research	26 January	Successful
		Apogee: 584 kilometres (363 mi)
27 January 14:58	Vostok-2M			Plesetsk Site 43/3		RVSN
		Kosmos 1242 (Tselina-D)		Low Earth	ELINT	8 May 2014	Successful
27 January	R-39 Rif			Nenoksa		RVSN
			RVSN	Suborbital	Test flight	27 January	Successful
		Apogee: 1,000 kilometres (620 mi), carried five reentry vehicles
29 January 04:12	Astrobee-F			Churchill		NASA
			NASA	Suborbital	Auroral research	29 January	Successful
		Apogee: 189 kilometres (117 mi)
29 January 07:00	S-520			Kagoshima LA-K		ISAS
		TPE-2	ISAS	Suborbital	Ionospheric research Technology	29 January	Successful
		Apogee: 323 kilometres (201 mi)
30 January 16:27	Molniya-M/ML			Plesetsk Site 43/3		RVSN
		Molniya 1-49		Molniya	Communications	In orbit	Successful
February
2 February 02:19	Tsyklon-2			Baikonur Site 90		RVSN
		Kosmos 1243 (IS-A)		Low Earth	ASAT test	2 February	Spacecraft failure
		Failed to intercept Kosmos 1241; passed within 50 metres (160 ft) of target but explosive charge failed to detonate
4 February 01:10	Aries			White Sands LC-36		US Air Force
			US Air Force	Suborbital	Technology	4 February	Successful
		Apogee: 387 kilometres (240 mi)
4 February 05:00	Centaure			Thumba
			ISRO	Suborbital	Ionospheric research	4 February	Successful
		Apogee: 150 kilometres (93 mi)
4 February 15:00	MGM-31A Pershing			Cape Canaveral LC-16		US Army
			US Army	Suborbital	Test flight	4 February
		Apogee: 180 kilometres (110 mi)
4 February 15:33	MGM-31A Pershing			Cape Canaveral LC-16		US Army
			US Army	Suborbital	Test flight	4 February
		Apogee: 180 kilometres (110 mi)
4 February 15:53	MGM-31A Pershing			Cape Canaveral LC-16		US Army
			US Army	Suborbital	Test flight	4 February
		Apogee: 180 kilometres (110 mi)
5 February 11:25	MGM-29 Sergeant			Poker Flat		US Air Force
			US Air Force	Suborbital	Auroral research	5 February	Successful
		Apogee: 130 kilometres (81 mi)
6 February 08:00	Kosmos-3M			Plesetsk Site 132/1
		Interkosmos 21	Interkosmos	Low Earth	Technology	7 July 1982	Successful
		Ceased operations on 2 June 1982
7 February 20:13:45	Petrel 2			Esrange
			SRC	Suborbital	Aeronomy	7 February	Successful
		Apogee: 171 kilometres (106 mi)
7 February 20:30:40	Nike-Orion			Esrange		SSC
			SSC	Suborbital	Aeronomy	7 February	Successful
		Apogee: 145 kilometres (90 mi)
9 February 14:31	LGM-30G Minuteman III			Vandenberg LF-08		US Air Force
			US Air Force	Suborbital	Test flight	9 February	Successful
		Apogee: 1,300 kilometres (810 mi)
9 February 16:38	LGM-30G Minuteman III			Vandenberg LF-09		US Air Force
			US Air Force	Suborbital	Test flight	9 February	Successful
		Apogee: 1,300 kilometres (810 mi)
11 February 08:30	N-II			Tanegashima Osaki		NASDA
		Kiku 3 (ETS-IV)	NASDA	Geostationary transfer	Technology	In orbit	Successful
		Maiden flight of N-II; satellite ceased operations on 24 December 1984
12 February 05:27	Centaure 2B			Thumba
			ISRO	Suborbital	Ionospheric research	12 February	Successful
		Apogee: 158 kilometres (98 mi)
12 February 18:21	Kosmos-3M			Plesetsk Site 132/1		RVSN
		Kosmos 1244 (Parus)		Low Earth	Navigation	In orbit	Successful
13 February 11:15	Soyuz-U			Plesetsk Site 43/3		RVSN
		Kosmos 1245 (Zenit-6U)		Low Earth	Optical imaging	27 February	Successful
		Film capsule recovered
13 February 17:15	Black Brant VIII-C			White Sands		NASA
			NASA	Suborbital	Solar research	13 February	Successful
		Apogee: 265 kilometres (165 mi)
17 February 17:15	MGM-31A Pershing			Cape Canaveral LC-16		US Army
			US Army	Suborbital	Test flight	17 February
		Apogee: 180 kilometres (110 mi)
17 February 17:51	MGM-31A Pershing			Cape Canaveral LC-16		US Army
			US Army	Suborbital	Test flight	17 February
		Apogee: 180 kilometres (110 mi)
17 February 19:17	MGM-31A Pershing			Cape Canaveral LC-16		US Army
			US Army	Suborbital	Test flight	17 February
		Apogee: 180 kilometres (110 mi)
18 February 09:00	Soyuz-U			Baikonur Site 31/6		RVSN
		Kosmos 1246 (Yantar-1KFT No.1)		Low Earth	Optical imaging	13 March	Successful
18 February	INTA-300			El Arenosillo		INTA
			INTA	Suborbital	Aeronomy	18 February	Successful
		Apogee: 285 kilometres (177 mi)
18 February	LGM-30B Minuteman IB			Vandenberg LF-06		United States Air Force
			US Air Force	Suborbital	REV test	18 February	Successful
		Apogee: 1,300 kilometres (810 mi)
19 February 10:00	Molniya-M/2BL			Plesetsk Site 16/2		RVSN
		Kosmos 1247 (US-K)		Molniya	Missile defence	In orbit	Successful
21 February 00:30	Mu-3S			Kagoshima LA-M		ISAS
		Hinotori (ASTRO-A)	ISAS	Low Earth	Astronomy	11 July 1991	Successful
21 February 23:23	Atlas SLV-3D Centaur-D1AR			Cape Canaveral LC-36A		NASA
		Comstar D4	COMSAT SSC Parallax TongaSat	Geostationary	Communications	In orbit	Operational
		Transferred to SSC Parallax as Parallax 1 in 2001, to TongaSat as Esiafi 1 in 2002.
21 February	LGM-30G Minuteman III			Vandenberg LF-26		US Air Force
			US Air Force	Suborbital	Test flight	21 February	Successful
		Apogee: 1,300 kilometres (810 mi)
25 February 17:20	Sergeant-Hydac			Poker Flat		US Air Force
			US Air Force	Suborbital	Test flight	25 February	Successful
		Apogee: 400 kilometres (250 mi)
28 February 19:10	Titan III(24)B			Vandenberg SLC-4W		US Air Force
		OPS 1166 (KH-8)	NRO	Sun-synchronous	Optical imaging	20 June	Successful
March
1 March 09:20	OTRAG			Seba Oasis		OTRAG
			OTRAG	Suborbital	Test flight	1 March	Successful
		Apogee: 150 kilometres (93 mi)
5 March 15:00	Soyuz-U			Plesetsk Site 41/1		RVSN
		Kosmos 1248 (Yantar-2K No.940)		Low Earth	Optical imaging	4 April	Successful
		Returned three film capsules; two small and one large
5 March 16:48	Sergeant-Hydac			Poker Flat		US Air Force
			US Air Force	Suborbital	Test flight	5 March	Successful
		Apogee: 400 kilometres (250 mi)
5 March 18:09	Tsyklon-2			Baikonur Site 90		RVSN
		Kosmos 1249 (US-A)		Low Earth	Radar imaging	19 July	Successful
6 March 11:31	Kosmos-3M			Plesetsk Site 132/2		RVSN
		Kosmos 1250 (Strela-1M)		Low Earth	Communications	In orbit	Successful
		Kosmos 1251 (Strela-1M)		Low Earth	Communications	In orbit	Successful
		Kosmos 1252 (Strela-1M)		Low Earth	Communications	In orbit	Successful
		Kosmos 1253 (Strela-1M)		Low Earth	Communications	In orbit	Successful
		Kosmos 1254 (Strela-1M)		Low Earth	Communications	In orbit	Successful
		Kosmos 1255 (Strela-1M)		Low Earth	Communications	In orbit	Successful
		Kosmos 1256 (Strela-1M)		Low Earth	Communications	In orbit	Successful
		Kosmos 1257 (Strela-1M)		Low Earth	Communications	In orbit	Successful
7 March 08:09	Taurus-Orion			Poker Flat		US Air Force
			US Air Force	Suborbital	Auroral research	7 March	Successful
		Apogee: 156 kilometres (97 mi)
7 March 08:09	Taurus-Orion			Poker Flat		US Air Force
			US Air Force	Suborbital	Aeronomy Auroral research	7 March	Successful
		Apogee: 203 kilometres (126 mi)
7 March 08:26	Taurus-Orion			Poker Flat		US Air Force
			US Air Force	Suborbital	Auroral research	7 March	Successful
		Apogee: 169 kilometres (105 mi)
7 March 08:38	Paiute-Tomahawk			Poker Flat		US Air Force
			US Air Force	Suborbital	Auroral research	7 March	Successful
		Apogee: 187 kilometres (116 mi)
8 March 16:00	Nike-Orion			Churchill		NASA
		CWAS-1	NASA	Suborbital	Aeronomy	8 March	Successful
		Apogee: 140 kilometres (87 mi)
12 March 04:30	Sergeant-Hydac			Poker Flat		US Air Force
			US Air Force	Suborbital	Test flight	12 March	Successful
		Apogee: 400 kilometres (250 mi)
12 March 19:00:11	Soyuz-U			Baikonur Site 1/5		RVSN
		Soyuz T-4		Low Earth (Salyut 6)	Salyut 6 expedition	26 May 12:37:34	Successful
		Crewed flight with two cosmonauts, last long-duration crew of Salyut 6
13 March 16:00	Nike-Orion			Churchill		NASA
		CWAS-2	NASA	Suborbital	Aeronomy	13 March	Successful
		Apogee: 140 kilometres (87 mi)
14 March 16:55	Tsyklon-2			Baikonur Site 90		RVSN
		Kosmos 1258 (IS-A)		Low Earth	ASAT test	14 March	Spacecraft failure
		Failed to intercept Kosmos 1241
15 March	LGM-30B Minuteman IB			Vandenberg LF-03		US Air Force
			US Air Force	Suborbital	REV test	15 March	Successful
		Apogee: 1,300 kilometres (810 mi)
16 March 19:24:00	Titan III(23)C			Cape Canaveral LC-40		US Air Force
		OPS 7350 (DSP F-9)	US Air Force	Geostationary	Missile defence	In orbit	Successful
		Operated until 1992
17 March 08:40	Soyuz-U			Baikonur Site 31/6		RVSN
		Kosmos 1259 (Zenit-6U)		Low Earth	Optical imaging	31 March	Successful
		Film capsule recovered
18 March 04:40	Proton-K/DM			Baikonur Site 200/40		RVSN
		Gran' No.18L		Geosynchronous	Communications
20 March 23:45	Tsyklon-2			Baikonur Site 90		RVSN
		Kosmos 1260 (US-P)		Low Earth	ELINT	22 May 1982	Successful
22 March 14:58:55	Soyuz-U			Baikonur Site 31/6		RVSN
		Soyuz 39		Low Earth (Salyut 6)	Salyut 6 visit	30 March 11:40:58	Successful
		Crewed flight with two cosmonauts, carried first Mongolian in space
24 March 03:00	Black Brant VIII-C			White Sands		NASA
			NASA	Suborbital	Ultraviolet astronomy	24 March	Successful
		Apogee: 261 kilometres (162 mi)
24 March 03:31	Molniya-M/ML			Plesetsk Site 41/1		RVSN
		Molniya-3 No.24		Molniya	Communications	19 October 1992	Successful
25 March 08:05:16	Taurus Tomahawk			Poker Flat		NASA
			NASA	Suborbital	Plasma research	25 March	Successful
		Apogee: 500 kilometres (310 mi)
28 March 01:54:06	Black Brant VB			Churchill		NRC
			NRC	Suborbital	Ionospheric research	28 March	Successful
		Apogee: 327 kilometres (203 mi)
28 March 01:54	Black Brant IVB			Churchill		NRC
			NRC	Suborbital	Ionospheric research	28 March	Successful
		Apogee: 675 kilometres (419 mi)
28 March 09:30	Soyuz-U			Baikonur Site 31/6		RVSN
		Yantar-2K No.979		Intended: Low Earth	Optical imaging	28 March	Launch failure
		Failed to orbit
30 March 05:52:55	Nike-Orion			Poker Flat		DNA
			DNA	Suborbital	Aeronomy	30 March	Successful
		Apogee: 140 kilometres (87 mi)
31 March 09:40	Molniya-M/2BL			Plesetsk Site 41/1		RVSN
		Kosmos 1261 (US-K)		Molniya	Missile defence	In orbit	Successful
April
1 April 09:04:35	Taurus-Tomahawk			Poker Flat		NASA
			NASA	Suborbital	Plasma research	1 April	Successful
		Apogee: 500 kilometres (310 mi)
1 April 09:10	UGM-96 Trident I C4			USS Simon Bolivar, Eastern Test Range		US Navy
			US Navy	Suborbital	Test flight	1 April	Successful
		Apogee: 1,000 kilometres (620 mi)
1 April	LGM-30G Minuteman III			Vandenberg LF-04		US Air Force
			US Air Force	Suborbital	Test flight	1 April	Successful
		Apogee: 1,300 kilometres (810 mi)
1 April	R-39 Rif			Nenoksa		RVSN
			RVSN	Suborbital	Test flight	1 April	Launch failure
		Apogee: 100 kilometres (62 mi)
2 April 09:48	Taurus-Orion			Wallops		NASA
			NASA	Suborbital	Plasma research	2 April	Successful
		Apogee: 220 kilometres (140 mi)
3 April 06:20:55	Nike-Orion			Poker Flat		DNA
			DNA	Suborbital	Aeronomy	3 April	Successful
		Apogee: 140 kilometres (87 mi)
3 April 09:51	Taurus-Orion			Wallops		NASA
			NASA	Suborbital	Plasma research	3 April	Successful
		Apogee: 210 kilometres (130 mi)
4 April	LGM-30B Minuteman IB			Vandenberg LF-06		US Air Force
			US Air Force	Suborbital	REV test	4 April	Successful
		Apogee: 1,300 kilometres (810 mi)
7 April 10:51	Soyuz-U			Plesetsk Site 43/3		RVSN
		Kosmos 1262 (Zenit-6U)		Low Earth	Optical imaging	21 April	Successful
		Film capsule recovered
7 April 14:00	MGM-31A Pershing			Cape Canaveral LC-16		US Army
			US Army	Suborbital	Test flight	7 April	Unknown
		Apogee: 180 kilometres (110 mi)
7 April 14:19	MGM-31A Pershing			Cape Canaveral LC-16		US Army
			US Army	Suborbital	Test flight	7 April	Unknown
		Apogee: 180 kilometres (110 mi)
7 April 14:40	MGM-31A Pershing			Cape Canaveral LC-16		US Army
			US Army	Suborbital	Test flight	7 April	Unknown
		Apogee: 180 kilometres (110 mi)
9 April 12:00	Kosmos-3M			Plesetsk Site 132/1		RVSN
		Kosmos 1263 (Taifun-1)		Low Earth	Radar calibration	In orbit	Successful
12 April 12:00:04	Space Shuttle Columbia			Kennedy LC-39A		NASA
		STS-1	NASA	Low Earth	Test flight	14 April	Successful
		DFI	NASA	Low Earth (Columbia)	Flight recorder		Successful
		Maiden flight of the Space Shuttle, carried two astronauts
15 April 10:30	Soyuz-U			Baikonur Site 31/6		RVSN
		Kosmos 1264 (Zenit-6U)		Low Earth	Optical imaging	29 April	Successful
		Film capsule recovered
16 April 11:30	Soyuz-U			Plesetsk Site 41/1		RVSN
		Kosmos 1265 (Zenit-6U)		Low Earth	Optical imaging	28 April	Successful
		Film capsule recovered
18 April	MR-UR-100U			Baikonur Site 172		RVSN
			RVSN	Suborbital	Test flight	18 April	Successful
		Apogee: 1,000 kilometres (620 mi)
21 April 03:45	Tsyklon-2			Baikonur Site 90		RVSN
		Kosmos 1266 (US-A)		Low Earth	Radar imaging	20 May
		Nuclear powered; reactor ejected and remains in orbit
22 April	R-39 Rif			Nenoksa		RVSN
			RVSN	Suborbital	Test flight	22 April	Launch failure
		Failed to reach space; apogee: 30 kilometres (19 mi)
24 April 21:32	Titan III(34)B			Vandenberg SLC-4W		US Air Force
		OPS 7225 (Quasar)	NRO	Molniya	Communications	In orbit	Successful
25 April 02:01	Proton-K			Baikonur Site 200/39		RVSN
		Kosmos 1267 (TKS No.16301)		Low Earth (Salyut 6)	Technology	29 July 1982	Successful
		Technology demonstration for modular space stations; permanently docked to Salyut 6 and used to deorbit station; return capsule separated prior to docking and recovered on 24 May 1981
27 April 23:15	Aries			White Sands LC-36		NASA
			NASA	Suborbital	Ultraviolet astronomy	27 April	Successful
		Apogee: 263 kilometres (163 mi)
28 April 09:00	Soyuz-U			Baikonur Site 31/6		RVSN
		Kosmos 1268 (Zenit-6U)		Low Earth	Optical imaging	12 May	Successful
		Film capsule recovered
30 April 06:00	Skylark 7			Esrange
		TEXUS IIIB	DFVLR	Suborbital	Microgravity research	30 April	Successful
		Apogee: 253 kilometres (157 mi)
April	R-17 Elbrus
				Suborbital	Missile strike
		Apogee: 100 kilometres (62 mi), launched as part of the Iran–Iraq War
April	R-17 Elbrus
				Suborbital	Missile strike		Successful
		Apogee: 100 kilometres (62 mi), launched as part of the Iran–Iraq War
April	R-17 Elbrus
				Suborbital	Missile strike		Successful
		Apogee: 100 kilometres (62 mi), launched as part of the Iran–Iraq War
April	R-17 Elbrus
				Suborbital	Missile strike		Successful
		Apogee: 100 kilometres (62 mi), launched as part of the Iran–Iraq War
April	R-17 Elbrus
				Suborbital	Missile strike		Successful
		Apogee: 100 kilometres (62 mi), launched as part of the Iran–Iraq War
May
4 May 07:55	Black Brant VIII-C			White Sands		NASA
			NASA	Suborbital	X-ray astronomy	4 May	Successful
		Apogee: 294 kilometres (183 mi)
6 May 08:00	Black Brant VIII-C			White Sands		NASA
			NASA	Suborbital	Aeronomy	6 May	Successful
		Apogee: 322 kilometres (200 mi)
7 May 13:21	Kosmos-3M			Plesetsk Site 132/1		RVSN
		Kosmos 1269 (Strela-2M)		Low Earth	Communications	In orbit	Successful
8 May 05:27	Skylark 7			Esrange
		TEXUS IV	DFVLR	Suborbital	Microgravity research	8 May	Successful
		Apogee: 258 kilometres (160 mi)
14 May 17:16:38	Soyuz-U			Baikonur Site 1/5		RVSN
		Soyuz 40		Low Earth	Salyut 6 visit	22 May 13:58:30	Successful
		Crewed mission with two cosmonauts, carried first Romanian in space. Final crewed flight to Salyut 6, final flight of Soyuz 7K-T spacecraft
14 May 21:45	Vostok-2M			Plesetsk Site 43/3		RVSN
		Meteor-2 No.8		Low Earth	Weather	In orbit	Successful
15 May 06:07:17	Scout G-1			Vandenberg SLC-5
		Nova-1 (NNS-30480)	US Navy	Low Earth	Navigation	In orbit	Successful
18 May 11:50	Soyuz-U			Baikonur Site 31/6		RVSN
		Kosmos 1270 (Yantar-2K No.980)		Low Earth	Optical imaging	17 June	Successful
19 May 03:49	Vostok-2M			Plesetsk Site 43/3		RVSN
		Kosmos 1271 (Tselina-D)		Low Earth	ELINT	In orbit	Successful
21 May 09:10	Soyuz-U			Baikonur Site 31/6		RVSN
		Kosmos 1272 (Zenit-6U)		Low Earth	Optical imaging	4 June	Successful
22 May 07:10	Soyuz-U			Plesetsk Site 41/1		RVSN
		Kosmos 1273 (Zenit-4MKT No.17)		Low Earth	Optical imaging	4 June	Successful
22 May 22:29	Delta 3914			Cape Canaveral LC-17A		NASA
		GOES 5 (GOES-E)	NOAA	Geostationary	Weather	In orbit	Partial spacecraft failure
		Primary instrument failed in 1984, satellite remained partially operable until decommissioned on 18 July 1990
23 May 22:42	Atlas SLV-3D Centaur-D1AR			Cape Canaveral LC-36B		NASA
		Intelsat V F-1	Intelsat	Geostationary	Communications	In orbit	Successful
27 May 04:25	Black Brant VC			White Sands LC-36		NASA
			JHU	Suborbital	Ultraviolet astronomy	27 May	Successful
		Apogee: 225 kilometres (140 mi)
31 May 05:00	Satellite Launch Vehicle			Sriharikota SLV Pad		ISRO
		Rohini RS-D1	ISRO	Low Earth	Technology	8 June	Launch failure
		Reached lower-than-planned orbit and quickly decayed
May	MR-12			Professor Zubov, Atlantic Ocean
				Suborbital	Aeronomy		Successful
		Apogee: 150 kilometres (93 mi)
May	MR-12			Professor Zubov, Atlantic Ocean
				Suborbital	Aeronomy		Successful
		Apogee: 150 kilometres (93 mi)
May	MR-12			Professor Zubov, Atlantic Ocean
				Suborbital	Aeronomy		Successful
		Apogee: 150 kilometres (93 mi)
May	MR-12			Professor Zubov, Atlantic Ocean
				Suborbital	Aeronomy		Successful
		Apogee: 150 kilometres (93 mi)
June
3 June 14:00	Soyuz-U			Plesetsk Site 41/1		RVSN
		Kosmos 1274 (Yantar-2K No.942)		Low Earth	Optical imaging	3 July	Successful
3 June	S3			Biscarosse		DGA
			DGA	Suborbital	Test flight	3 June	Successful
		Apogee: 1,000 kilometres (620 mi)
4 June 15:41	Kosmos-3M			Plesetsk Site 132/2		RVSN
		Kosmos 1275 (Parus)		Low Earth	Navigation	In orbit	Successful
9 June 03:33	Molniya-M/ML			Plesetsk Site 41/1		RVSN
		Molniya-3 No.30		Molniya	Communications	10 February 1998	Successful
12 June	LGM-30G Minuteman III			Vandenberg LF-09		US Air Force
			US Air Force	Suborbital	Test flight	12 June	Successful
		Apogee: 1,300 kilometres (810 mi)
12 June	Castor I			Roi-Namur		US Air Force
		DOT-4	US Air Force	Suborbital	Technology	12 June	Successful
		Apogee: 303 kilometres (188 mi)
16 June 07:00	Soyuz-U			Plesetsk Site 43/3		RVSN
		Kosmos 1276 (Zenit-4MKT No.18)		Low Earth	Optical imaging	29 June	Successful
17 June 09:30	Soyuz-U			Baikonur Site 31/6		RVSN
		Kosmos 1277 (Zenit-6U)		Low Earth	Optical imaging	1 July	Successful
19 June 01:15	UGM-73 Poseidon C3			USS Lewis and Clark, Eastern Test Range		US Navy
			US Navy	Suborbital	Test flight	19 June	Successful
		Apogee: 500 kilometres (310 mi)
19 June 01:15	UGM-73 Poseidon C3			USS Lewis and Clark, Eastern Test Range		US Navy
			US Navy	Suborbital	Test flight	19 June	Successful
		Apogee: 500 kilometres (310 mi)
19 June 01:16	UGM-73 Poseidon C3			USS Lewis and Clark, Eastern Test Range		US Navy
			US Navy	Suborbital	Test flight	19 June	Successful
		Apogee: 500 kilometres (310 mi)
19 June 01:16	UGM-73 Poseidon C3			USS Lewis and Clark, Eastern Test Range		US Navy
			US Navy	Suborbital	Test flight	19 June	Successful
		Apogee: 500 kilometres (310 mi)
19 June 12:32:59	Ariane 1			Kourou ELA-1		Arianespace
		Meteosat 2	EUMETSAT	Geosynchronous	Weather	In orbit	Successful
		APPLE	ISRO	Geosynchronous	Communications Technology	In orbit	Successful
		CAT-3	European Space Agency	Geosynchronous transfer	Vehicle monitoring	In orbit	Successful
19 June 19:37:04	Molniya-M/2BL			Plesetsk Site 43/3		RVSN
		Kosmos 1278 (US-K)		Molniya	Missile defence	2 September 2000	Successful
23 June 10:52:59	Atlas E/F Star-37S-ISS			Vandenberg SLC-3W		US Air Force
		NOAA-7 (NOAA-C)	NOAA	Sun-synchronous	Weather	In orbit	Successful
24 June 17:47	Molniya-M/ML			Plesetsk Site 43/3		RVSN
		Molniya 1-50		Molniya	Communications	14 December 1991	Successful
25 June 23:55	Proton-K/DM			Baikonur Site 200/40		RVSN
		Ekran No.21L		Geostationary	Communications	In orbit	Successful
26 June	LGM-30G Minuteman III			Vandenberg LF-26		US Air Force
			US Air Force	Suborbital	Test flight	26 June	Successful
		Apogee: 1,300 kilometres (810 mi)
June	MR-12			Professor Zubov, Atlantic Ocean
				Suborbital	Aeronomy		Successful
		Apogee: 150 kilometres (93 mi)
June	MR-12			Professor Zubov, Atlantic Ocean
				Suborbital	Aeronomy		Successful
		Apogee: 150 kilometres (93 mi)
June	MR-12			Professor Zubov, Atlantic Ocean
				Suborbital	Aeronomy		Successful
		Apogee: 150 kilometres (93 mi)
June	MR-12			Professor Zubov, Atlantic Ocean
				Suborbital	Aeronomy		Successful
		Apogee: 150 kilometres (93 mi)
June	R-17 Elbrus
				Suborbital	Missile strike		Successful
		Apogee: 100 kilometres (62 mi)
June	R-17 Elbrus
				Suborbital	Missile strike		Successful
		Apogee: 100 kilometres (62 mi)
June	R-17 Elbrus
				Suborbital	Missile strike		Successful
		Apogee: 100 kilometres (62 mi)
July
1 July 09:30	Soyuz-U			Baikonur Site 31/6		RVSN
		Kosmos 1279 (Zenit-6U)		Low Earth	Optical imaging	15 July	Successful
2 July 07:10	Soyuz-U			Plesetsk Site 43/3		RVSN
		Kosmos 1280 (Resurs-F1 No.15L)		Low Earth	Optical imaging	16 July	Successful
7 July 12:30	Soyuz-U			Plesetsk Site 43/3		RVSN
		Kosmos 1281 (Zenit-6U)		Low Earth	Optical imaging	21 July	Successful
10 July 05:14	Vostok-2M			Baikonur		RVSN
		Meteor-Priroda 2-4		Sun-synchronous	Weather	In orbit	Successful
		Iskra 1		Sun-synchronous	Microgravity research	16 April 1990	Successful
11 July 14:48	UGM-73 Poseidon C3			USS George C. Marshall, Eastern Test Range		US Navy
			US Navy	Suborbital	Test flight	11 July	Successful
		Apogee: 500 kilometres (310 mi)
11 July 14:48	UGM-73 Poseidon C3			USS George C. Marshall, Eastern Test Range		US Navy
			US Navy	Suborbital	Test flight	11 July	Successful
		Apogee: 500 kilometres (310 mi)
11 July 14:49	UGM-73 Poseidon C3			USS George C. Marshall, Eastern Test Range		US Navy
			US Navy	Suborbital	Test flight	11 July	Successful
		Apogee: 500 kilometres (310 mi)
11 July 14:49	UGM-73 Poseidon C3			USS George C. Marshall, Eastern Test Range		US Navy
			US Navy	Suborbital	Test flight	11 July	Successful
		Apogee: 500 kilometres (310 mi)
15 July 13:00	Soyuz-U			Baikonur Site 31/6		RVSN
		Kosmos 1282 (Yantar-2K No.951)		Low Earth	Optical imaging	14 August	Successful
17 July 08:00	Soyuz-U			Plesetsk Site 41/1		RVSN
		Kosmos 1283 (Zenit-6U)		Low Earth	Optical imaging	31 July	Successful
29 July 11:55	Soyuz-U			Plesetsk Site 41/1		RVSN
		Kosmos 1284 (Zenit-6U)		Low Earth	Optical imaging	12 August	Successful
30 July 21:38	Proton-K/DM			Baikonur Site 200/39		RVSN
		Gran' No.19L		Geostationary	Communications	In orbit	Successful
		Operated until May 1986
31 July 10:50	Aries			White Sands LC-36		US Air Force
			US Air Force	Suborbital	Infrared astronomy	31 July	Successful
		Apogee: 395 kilometres (245 mi)
July	MR-12			Professor Zubov, Atlantic Ocean
				Suborbital	Aeronomy		Successful
		Apogee: 150 kilometres (93 mi)
July	MR-12			Professor Zubov, Atlantic Ocean
				Suborbital	Aeronomy		Successful
		Apogee: 150 kilometres (93 mi)
July	MR-12			Professor Zubov, Atlantic Ocean
				Suborbital	Aeronomy		Successful
		Apogee: 150 kilometres (93 mi)
August
1 August 22:00	TT-500A			Tanegashima LA-T		NASDA
			NASDA	Suborbital	Test flight	1 August	Successful
		Apogee: 320 kilometres (200 mi)
3 August 09:56	Delta 3913			Vandenberg SLC-2W		NASA
		Dynamics Explorer 1 (Explorer 62)	NASA	Highly elliptical	Magnetospheric	In orbit	Partial launch failure
		Dynamics Explorer 2 (Explorer 63)	NASA	Low Earth	Magnetospheric	19 February 1983	Partial launch failure
		Both payloads deployed into low Earth orbit, with DE-1 raising itself into its operational orbit. Premature first-stage cutoff resulted in slightly lower orbit than had been planned, spacecraft were able to compensate and complete their missions.
4 August 00:13	Molniya-M/2BL			Plesetsk Site 16/2		RVSN
		Kosmos 1285 (US-K)		Molniya	Missile defence	In orbit	Successful
4 August 08:28	Tsyklon-2			Baikonur Site 90		RVSN
		Kosmos 1286 (US-PM)		Low Earth	ELINT	16 October 1982	Successful
6 August 08:16:00	Atlas SLV-3D Centaur-D1AR			Cape Canaveral LC-36A
		FLTSATCOM 5	US Navy	Geosynchronous	Communications	In orbit	Launch failure
		Payload fairing collapsed during ascent, resulting in damage which left satellite unusable after arrival in geosynchronous orbit
6 August 11:49	Kosmos-3M			Plesetsk Site 132/2		RVSN
		Kosmos 1287 (Strela-1M)		Low Earth	Communications	In orbit	Successful
		Kosmos 1288 (Strela-1M)		Low Earth	Communications	In orbit	Successful
		Kosmos 1289 (Strela-1M)		Low Earth	Communications	In orbit	Successful
		Kosmos 1290 (Strela-1M)		Low Earth	Communications	In orbit	Successful
		Kosmos 1291 (Strela-1M)		Low Earth	Communications	In orbit	Successful
		Kosmos 1292 (Strela-1M)		Low Earth	Communications	In orbit	Successful
		Kosmos 1293 (Strela-1M)		Low Earth	Communications	In orbit	Successful
		Kosmos 1294 (Strela-1M)		Low Earth	Communications	In orbit	Successful
7 August 13:35	Vostok-2M			Plesetsk Site 43/3
		Bulgaria 1300 (Interkosmos 22)	IKIT	Low Earth	Operational	In orbit	Successful
		First Bulgarian satellite, launched as part of the Interkosmos programme
9 August	Taurus-Orion			Wallops		NASA
			NASA	Suborbital	Plasma research	9 August	Successful
		Apogee: 160 kilometres (99 mi)
10 August 20:03	N-II			Tanegashima Osaki		NASDA
		Himawari 2	JMA	Geostationary	Weather	In orbit	Successful
		Operated until February 1988
12 August 05:46	Kosmos-3M			Plesetsk Site 132/2		RVSN
		Kosmos 1295 (Parus)		Low Earth	Navigation	In orbit	Successful
13 August 02:26	UGM-96 Trident I C4			USS John C. Calhoun, Eastern Test Range		US Navy
			US Navy	Suborbital	Test flight	13 August	Successful
		Apogee: 1,000 kilometres (620 mi)
13 August 02:46	UGM-96 Trident I C4			USS John C. Calhoun, Eastern Test Range		US Navy
			US Navy	Suborbital	Test flight	13 August	Successful
		Apogee: 1,000 kilometres (620 mi)
13 August 03:32	UGM-96 Trident I C4			USS John C. Calhoun, Eastern Test Range		US Navy
			US Navy	Suborbital	Test flight	13 August	Successful
		Apogee: 1,000 kilometres (620 mi)
13 August 03:32	UGM-96 Trident I C4			USS John C. Calhoun, Eastern Test Range		US Navy
			US Navy	Suborbital	Test flight	13 August	Successful
		Apogee: 1,000 kilometres (620 mi)
13 August 16:20	Soyuz-U			Plesetsk Site 41/1		RVSN
		Kosmos 1296 (Yantar-2K No.943)		Low Earth	Optical imaging	13 September	Successful
14 August 07:43	Black Brant X			Wallops		NASA
			NASA	Suborbital	Test flight	14 August	Successful
		Apogee: 625 kilometres (388 mi)
18 August 09:30	Soyuz-U			Plesetsk Site 41/1		RVSN
		Kosmos 1297 (Zenit-6U)		Low Earth	Optical imaging	30 August	Successful
18 August	R-36MUTTKh			Uzhur Site 2/2		RVSN
			RVSN	Suborbital	Test flight	18 August	Successful
		Apogee: 1,000 kilometres (620 mi)
21 August 10:20	Soyuz-U			Baikonur Site 1/5		RVSN
		Kosmos 1298 (Yantar-4K2)		Low Earth	Optical imaging	2 October	Successful
22 August 01:00	UGM-73 Poseidon C3			USS Nathanael Greene, Eastern Test Range		US Navy
			US Navy	Suborbital	Test flight	22 August	Successful
		Apogee: 500 kilometres (310 mi)
24 August 12:00	S-310			Kagoshima		ISAS
			ISAS	Suborbital	Aeronomy Auroal research	24 August	Successful
		Apogee: 187 kilometres (116 mi)
24 August 16:37	Tsyklon-2			Baikonur Site 90		RVSN
		Kosmos 1299 (US-A)		Low Earth	Radar imaging	27 September
		Nuclear-powered satellite, reactor ejected at end of mission and remains in orbit
24 August 21:40	Tsyklon-3			Plesetsk Site 32/1		RVSN
		Kosmos 1300 (Tselina-D)		Low Earth	ELINT	In orbit	Successful
25 August	Taurus-Orion			White Sands LC-36		NASA
			NASA	Suborbital	Aeronomy	25 August	Successful
		Apogee: 200 kilometres (120 mi)
27 August 10:30	Soyuz-U			Plesetsk Site 41/1		RVSN
		Kosmos 1301 (Resurs-F1 No.16L)		Low Earth	Optical imaging	10 September	Successful
28 August 00:03	UGM-96 Trident I C4			USS Simon Bolivar, Eastern Test Range		US Navy
			US Navy	Suborbital	Test flight	28 August	Successful
		Apogee: 1,000 kilometres (620 mi)
28 August 00:04	UGM-96 Trident I C4			USS Simon Bolivar, Eastern Test Range		US Navy
			US Navy	Suborbital	Test flight	28 August	Successful
		Apogee: 1,000 kilometres (620 mi)
28 August 00:04	UGM-96 Trident I C4			USS Simon Bolivar, Eastern Test Range		US Navy
			US Navy	Suborbital	Test flight	28 August	Successful
		Apogee: 1,000 kilometres (620 mi)
28 August 00:04	UGM-96 Trident I C4			USS Simon Bolivar, Eastern Test Range		US Navy
			US Navy	Suborbital	Test flight	28 August	Successful
		Apogee: 1,000 kilometres (620 mi)
28 August 02:40	R-5 Vertikal			Kapustin Yar
		Vertikal 9		Suborbital	Solar research	28 August	Successful
		Apogee: 500 kilometres (310 mi)
28 August 16:18	Kosmos-3M			Plesetsk Site 132/1		RVSN
		Kosmos 1302 (Strela-2M)		Low Earth	Communications	In orbit	Successful
August	MR-12			Professor Zubov, Atlantic Ocean
				Suborbital	Aeronomy		Successful
		Apogee: 150 kilometres (93 mi)
August	MR-12			Professor Zubov, Atlantic Ocean
				Suborbital	Aeronomy		Successful
		Apogee: 150 kilometres (93 mi)
August	MR-12			Professor Zubov, Atlantic Ocean
				Suborbital	Aeronomy		Successful
		Apogee: 150 kilometres (93 mi)
August	MR-12			Professor Zubov, Atlantic Ocean
				Suborbital	Aeronomy		Successful
		Apogee: 150 kilometres (93 mi)
September
3 September 18:29	Titan III(32)D			Vandenberg SLC-4E		US Air Force
		OPS 3984 (KH-11)	NRO	Sun-synchronous	Optical imaging	23 November 1984	Successful
4 September 08:00	Soyuz-U			Baikonur Site 31/6		RVSN
		Kosmos 1303 (Zenit-6U)		Low Earth	Optical imaging	18 September	Successful
4 September 11:06	Kosmos-3M			Plesetsk Site 132/1		RVSN
		Kosmos 1304 (Tsikada)		Low Earth	Navigation	In orbit	Successful
5 September 01:00	S-520			Kagoshima LA-K		ISAS
			ISAS	Suborbital	Technology	5 September	Successful
		Apogee: 224 kilometres (139 mi), payload recovered
7 September 09:38	S-310			Kagoshima		ISAS
			ISAS	Suborbital	Aeronomy	7 September	Successful
		Apogee: 193 kilometres (120 mi)
8 September	UR-100N			Baikonur		RVSN
			RVSN	Suborbital	Test flight	8 September	Launch failure
11 September 08:43	Molniya-M/ML			Plesetsk Site 43/3		RVSN
		Kosmos 1305 (Molniya-3 No.28)		Intended: Molniya Achieved: Medium Earth	Communications	In orbit	Launch failure
		Placed into unusable, lower-than-planned, orbit due to upper stage malfunction
12 September	LGM-30B Minuteman IB			Vandenberg LF-06		US Air Force
			US Air Force	Suborbital	REV test	12 September	Successful
		Apogee: 1,300 kilometres (810 mi)
14 September 20:31	Tsyklon-2			Baikonur Site 90		RVSN
		Kosmos 1306 (US-PM)		Low Earth	ELINT	12 July 1982	Successful
15 September 11:30	Soyuz-U			Plesetsk Site 43/3		RVSN
		Kosmos 1307 (Zenit-6U)		Low Earth	Optical imaging	29 September	Successful
18 September 03:34	Kosmos-3M			Plesetsk Site 132/1		RVSN
		Kosmos 1308 (Parus)		Low Earth	Navigation	In orbit	Successful
18 September 09:30	Soyuz-U			Plesetsk Site 43/3		RVSN
		Kosmos 1309 (Zenit-4MT)		Low Earth	Optical imaging	1 October	Successful
18 September 17:59:58	Vertikal-4			Kapustin Yar Site 107		RVSN
			RVSN	Suborbital	Plasma research	18 September	Successful
		Apogee: 1,514 kilometres (941 mi)
19 September 21:28:40	Feng Bao 1			Jiuquan LA-2B (Site 138)
		Shijian 2		Low Earth	Micrometeoroid research, electromagnetic background research	17 August 1982	Successful
		Shijian 2A		Low Earth	Ionosphere research	6 October 1982	Successful
		Shijian 2B		Low Earth	Radar calibration	26 September	Successful
		Final flight of the Feng Bao 1
21 September 13:10	Tsyklon-3			Plesetsk Site 32/1
		Oreol 3		Low Earth	Magnetospheric research	In orbit	Successful
22 September 16:15	MGM-31A Pershing			Fort Bliss		United States Army
			US Army	Suborbital	Test flight	22 September	Successful
		Apogee: 180 kilometres (110 mi)
22 September 16:48	MGM-31A Pershing			Fort Bliss		US Army
			US Army	Suborbital	Test flight	22 September	Successful
		Apogee: 180 kilometres (110 mi)
23 September 08:00	Kosmos-3M			Plesetsk Site 132/2		RVSN
		Kosmos 1310 (Taifun-1)		Low Earth	Radar calibration	3 April 1989	Successful
24 September 23:09	Delta 3910/PAM-D			Cape Canaveral LC-17A		NASA
		SBS-2	SBS	Geosynchronous	Communications	In orbit	Successful
		Operated until September 1996
28 September 21:00	Kosmos-3M			Plesetsk Site 132/2		RVSN
		Kosmos 1311 (Taifun-2)		Low Earth	Radar calibration	28 August 1983	Successful
		Kosmos 1311 Subsatellite 1		Low Earth	Radar calibration	27 February 1982	Successful
		Kosmos 1311 Subsatellite 2		Low Earth	Radar calibration	26 February 1982	Successful
		Kosmos 1311 Subsatellite 3		Low Earth	Radar calibration	5 December 1982	Successful
		Kosmos 1311 Subsatellite 4		Low Earth	Radar calibration	5 December 1982	Successful
		Kosmos 1311 Subsatellite 5		Low Earth	Radar calibration	17 December 1982	Successful
		Kosmos 1311 Subsatellite 6		Low Earth	Radar calibration	16 December 1982	Successful
		Kosmos 1311 Subsatellite 7		Low Earth	Radar calibration	22 December 1982	Successful
		Kosmos 1311 Subsatellite 8		Low Earth	Radar calibration	23 December 1982	Successful
		Kosmos 1311 Subsatellite 9		Low Earth	Radar calibration	24 December 1982	Successful
		Kosmos 1311 Subsatellite 10		Low Earth	Radar calibration	18 December 1982	Successful
		Kosmos 1311 Subsatellite 11		Low Earth	Radar calibration	17 December 1982	Successful
		Kosmos 1311 Subsatellite 12		Low Earth	Radar calibration	17 December 1982	Successful
		Kosmos 1311 Subsatellite 13		Low Earth	Radar calibration	16 December 1982	Successful
		Kosmos 1311 Subsatellite 14		Low Earth	Radar calibration	31 December 1982	Successful
		Kosmos 1311 Subsatellite 15		Low Earth	Radar calibration	31 December 1982	Successful
		Kosmos 1311 Subsatellite 16		Low Earth	Radar calibration	31 December 1982	Successful
		Kosmos 1311 Subsatellite 17		Low Earth	Radar calibration	28 February 1983	Successful
		Kosmos 1311 Subsatellite 18		Low Earth	Radar calibration	28 February 1983	Successful
		Kosmos 1311 Subsatellite 19		Low Earth	Radar calibration	28 February 1983	Successful
		Kosmos 1311 Subsatellite 20		Low Earth	Radar calibration	28 February 1983	Successful
		Kosmos 1311 Subsatellite 21		Low Earth	Radar calibration	28 February 1983	Successful
		Kosmos 1311 Subsatellite 22		Low Earth	Radar calibration	28 February 1983	Successful
		Kosmos 1311 Subsatellite 23		Low Earth	Radar calibration	28 February 1983	Successful
		Kosmos 1311 Subsatellite 24		Low Earth	Radar calibration	28 February 1983	Successful
29 September	RT-2PM Topol			Plesetsk Site 167		RVSN
			RVSN	Suborbital	Test flight	29 September	Successful
		Maiden flight of Topol missile, apogee: 1,000 kilometres (620 mi)
29 September	MGM-31A Pershing			Fort Bliss		US Army
			US Army	Suborbital	Test flight	29 September	Unknown
		Apogee: 180 kilometres (110 mi)
29 September	MGM-31A Pershing			Fort Bliss		US Army
			US Army	Suborbital	Test flight	29 September	Unknown
		Apogee: 180 kilometres (110 mi)
30 September 08:00	Tsyklon-3			Plesetsk Site 32/1		RVSN
		Kosmos 1312 (Musson No.12)		Low Earth	Geodesy	In orbit	Successful
30 September 23:20:00	Black Brant VIII-C			Esrange		SSC
			SSC	Suborbital	Infrared astronomy	30 September	Successful
		Apogee: 270 kilometres (170 mi)
30 September	Black Brant VC			White Sands LC-36		NASA
			NASA	Suborbital	Solar research	30 September	Successful
		Apogee: 243 kilometres (151 mi)
October
1 October 09:00	Soyuz-U			Baikonur Site 31/6		RVSN
		Kosmos 1313 (Zenit-6U)		Low Earth	Optical imaging	15 October	Successful
4 October	LGM-30B Minuteman IB			Vandenberg LF-03		US Air Force
			US Air Force	Suborbital	REV test	4 October	Successful
		Apogee: 1,300 kilometres (810 mi)
6 October 11:27	Delta 2310			Vandenberg SLC-2W		NASA
		Solar Mesosphere Explorer (Explorer 64)	NASA	Sun-synchronous	Atmospheric research	5 March 1991	Successful
		UoSAT-1	Surrey	Sun-synchronous	Technology Amateur radio	13 October 1989	Successful
9 October 10:40	Soyuz-U			Plesetsk Site 41/1		RVSN
		Kosmos 1314 (Zenit-4MKT)		Low Earth	Optical imaging	22 October	Successful
9 October 16:59	Proton-K/DM			Baikonur Site 200/39		RVSN
		Gran' No.20L		Geostationary	Communications	In orbit	Successful
13 October 23:01	Vostok-2M			Plesetsk Site 43/3		RVSN
		Kosmos 1315 (Tselina-D)		Low Earth	ELINT	In orbit	Successful
13 October	MGM-31A Pershing			Fort Bliss		US Army
			US Army	Suborbital	Test flight	13 October	Successful
		Apogee: 180 kilometres (110 mi)
13 October	MGM-31A Pershing			Fort Bliss		US Army
			US Army	Suborbital	Test flight	13 October	Successful
		Apogee: 180 kilometres (110 mi)
14 October 05:47	Nike-Orion			Wallops		NASA
			NASA	Suborbital	Plasma research	14 October	Successful
		Apogee: 197 kilometres (122 mi)
15 October 09:15	Soyuz-U			Baikonur Site 31/6		RVSN
		Kosmos 1316 (Zenit-6U)		Low Earth	Optical imaging	29 October	Successful
16 October	Nike-Tomahawk			White Sands		NASA
			NASA	Suborbital	Aeronomy	16 October	Successful
		Apogee: 270 kilometres (170 mi)
17 October 05:59	Molniya-M/ML			Plesetsk Site 41/1		RVSN
		Molniya-3 No.31		Molniya	Communications	9 January 1997	Successful
17 October	Astrobee-F			White Sands		NASA
			NASA	Suborbital	X-ray astronomy	17 October	Successful
		Apogee: 200 kilometres (120 mi)
21 October	MGM-31A Pershing			Fort Bliss		US Army
			US Army	Suborbital	Test flight	21 October	Successful
		Apogee: 180 kilometres (110 mi)
21 October	MGM-31A Pershing			Fort Bliss		US Army
			US Army	Suborbital	Test flight	21 October	Unknown
		Apogee: 180 kilometres (110 mi)
25 October 19:01:00	Nike-Tomahawk			Andøya		NDRE
			NDRE	Suborbital	Auroral research	25 October	Successful
		Apogee: 184 kilometres (114 mi)
30 October 06:04	Proton-K/D-1			Baikonur Site 200/40		RVSN
		Venera 13		Heliocentric	Venus lander	1 March 1982 03:20	Successful
31 October 09:22:00	Titan III(23)C			Cape Canaveral LC-40		US Air Force
		OPS 4029 (Vortex)	NRO	High Earth	SIGINT	In orbit	Successful
31 October 22:54	Molniya-M/2BL			Plesetsk Site 16/2		RVSN
		Kosmos 1317 (US-K)		Molniya	Missile defence	In orbit	Successful
November
3 November 13:00	Soyuz-U			Plesetsk Site 41/1		RVSN
		Kosmos 1318 (Yantar-2K No.944)		Low Earth	Optical imaging	4 December	Successful
4 November 05:31	Proton-K/D-1			Baikonur Site 200/39		RVSN
		Venera 14		Heliocentric	Venus lander	5 March 1982	Partial spacecraft failure
		Surface sampler failed due to ejection of camera lens cap into its path
7 November 12:03:40	MGM-29 Sergeant			Poker Flat		US Air Force
			US Air Force	Suborbital	Auroral research	7 November	Successful
		Apogee: 130 kilometres (81 mi)
9 November	Taurus-Orion			White Sands LC-36		NASA
			NASA	Suborbital	Aeronomy	9 November	Successful
		Apogee: 200 kilometres (120 mi)
12 November 15:10:00	Space Shuttle Columbia			Kennedy LC-39A		NASA
		STS-2	NASA	Low Earth	Test flight	14 November	Partial spacecraft failure
		DFI	NASA	Low Earth (Columbia)	Vehicle monitoring	Unknown	Successful
		OFTP		Low Earth (Columbia)	Remote sensing	Successful
		OSTA-1		Low Earth (Columbia)	Technology	Successful
		Crewed flight with two astronauts, first spacecraft to make two orbital flights. Mission truncated due to fuel cell failure
13 November 09:30	Soyuz-U			Baikonur Site 31/6		RVSN
		Kosmos 1319 (Zenit-6U)		Low Earth	Optical imaging	27 November	Successful
15 November 17:50	UGM-96 Trident I C4			USS Benjamin Franklin, Eastern Test Range		US Navy
			US Navy	Suborbital	Test flight	15 November	Launch failure
		Apogee: 20 kilometres (12 mi), failed to reach space
17 November 15:25	Molniya-M/ML			Plesetsk Site 41/1		RVSN
		Molniya 1-51		Molniya	Communications	2 November 1993	Successful
17 November	Black Brant VIII-B			White Sands		NASA
			NASA	Suborbital	X-ray astronomy	17 November	Successful
		Apogee: 253 kilometres (157 mi)
17 November	Black Brant VIII-B			White Sands		NASA
			NASA	Suborbital	X-ray astronomy	17 November	Successful
		Apogee: 253 kilometres (157 mi)
20 November 01:37	Delta 3910/PAM-D			Cape Canaveral LC-17A		NASA
		Satcom 3R	RCA Satcom	Geostationary	Communications	In orbit	Successful
		Decommissioned on 10 April 1991
20 November 08:30	Kosmos-3M			Kapustin Yar Site 107/2
		Bhaskara 2	ISRO	Low Earth	Remote sensing	30 November 1991	Successful
23 November 18:35	Black Brant VIII-C			White Sands		NASA
			NASA	Suborbital	Solar research	23 November	Successful
		Apogee: 322 kilometres (200 mi)
24 November	LGM-30G Minuteman III			Vandenberg LF-09		US Air Force
			US Air Force	Suborbital	Test flight	24 November	Successful
		Apogee: 1,300 kilometres (810 mi)
27 November	R-39 Rif			Nenoksa		RVSN
			RVSN	Suborbital	Test flight	27 November	Successful
		Apogee: 1,000 kilometres (620 mi)
28 November 18:08	Kosmos-3M			Plesetsk Site 132/2		RVSN
		Kosmos 1320 (Strela-1M)		Low Earth	Communications	In orbit	Successful
		Kosmos 1321 (Strela-1M)		Low Earth	Communications	In orbit	Successful
		Kosmos 1322 (Strela-1M)		Low Earth	Communications	In orbit	Successful
		Kosmos 1323 (Strela-1M)		Low Earth	Communications	In orbit	Successful
		Kosmos 1324 (Strela-1M)		Low Earth	Communications	In orbit	Successful
		Kosmos 1325 (Strela-1M)		Low Earth	Communications	In orbit	Successful
		Kosmos 1326 (Strela-1M)		Low Earth	Communications	In orbit	Successful
		Kosmos 1327 (Strela-1M)		Low Earth	Communications	In orbit	Successful
November	R-17 Elbrus
				Suborbital	Missile strike		Successful
		Apogee: 100 kilometres (62 mi)
November	R-17 Elbrus
				Suborbital	Missile strike		Successful
		Apogee: 100 kilometres (62 mi)
December
1 December 01:38	Black Brant X			Cape Parry		NASA
			NASA	Suborbital	Plasma research	1 December	Successful
		Apogee: 612 kilometres (380 mi)
1 December 15:50:00	Petrel 1			Esrange		SRC
			SRC	Suborbital	Aeronomy	1 December	Successful
		Apogee: 187 kilometres (116 mi)
3 December 11:47	Tsyklon-3			Plesetsk Site 32/1		RVSN
		Kosmos 1328 (Tselina-D)		Low Earth	ELINT	In orbit	Successful
4 December 09:50	Soyuz-U			Baikonur Site 31/6		RVSN
		Kosmos 1329 (Zenit-6U)		Low Earth	Optical imaging	18 December	Successful
6 December 23:14:58	Black Brant IVB			Cape Parry		NRC
			NRC	Suborbital	Auroral research	6 December	Successful
		Apogee: 615 kilometres (382 mi)
7 December 00:00:40	Terrier-Malemute			Cape Parry		NASA
			NASA	Suborbital	Plasma research	7 December	Successful
		Apogee: 451 kilometres (280 mi)
7 December	Dongfeng 5			Jiuquan LA-2/138
				Suborbital	Test flight	7 December	Successful
		Apogee: 1,000 kilometres (620 mi)
8 December	Aerobee-150			White Sands LC-35		NASA
			NASA	Suborbital	Magnetospheric research	8 December	Successful
		Apogee: 200 kilometres (120 mi)
9 December 17:17:00	Petrel 2			Esrange		SRC
			SRC	Suborbital	Aeronomy	9 December	Successful
		Apogee: 188 kilometres (117 mi)
9 December 21:25:35	Skylark 7			Esrange		DFVLR
			DFVLR	Suborbital	Ionospheric research	9 December	Successful
		Apogee: 237 kilometres (147 mi)
9 December	LGM-30G Minuteman III			Vandenberg LF-26		US Air Force
			US Air Force	Suborbital	Test flight	9 December	Successful
		Apogee: 1,300 kilometres (810 mi)
10 December	Sonda 3			Barreira do Inferno		IAE
			IAE	Suborbital	Ionospheric research	10 December	Successful
		Apogee: 239 kilometres (149 mi)
13 December 21:31:38	Black Brant IVB			Cape Parry		NRC
			NRC	Suborbital	Auroral research	13 December	Launch failure
		Apogee: 50 kilometres (31 mi), failed to reach space
13 December 22:54:25	Black Brant X			Cape Parry		NASA
			NASA	Suborbital	Plasma research	13 December	Successful
		Apogee: 662 kilometres (411 mi)
15 December 23:35	Atlas SLV-3D Centaur-D1AR			Cape Canaveral LC-36A		NASA
		Intelsat V F-3	Intelsat	Geostationary	Communications	In orbit	Successful
16 December 14:10:00	Petrel 1			Esrange		SRC
			SRC	Suborbital	Aeronomy	16 December	Successful
		Apogee: 187 kilometres (116 mi)
17 December 11:00	Kosmos-3M			Plesetsk Site 132/2		RVSN
		Radio Sputnik 3		Low Earth	Amateur radio	In orbit	Successful
		Radio Sputnik 4		Low Earth	Amateur radio	In orbit	Successful
		Radio Sputnik 5		Low Earth	Amateur radio	In orbit	Successful
		Radio Sputnik 6		Low Earth	Amateur radio	In orbit	Successful
		Radio Sputnik 7		Low Earth	Amateur radio	In orbit	Successful
		Radio Sputnik 8		Low Earth	Amateur radio	In orbit	Successful
19 December 01:10	Atlas E/F SVS-1			Vandenberg SLC-3E		US Air Force
		Navstar 7	US Air Force	Intended: Medium Earth	Navigation	+20 seconds	Launch failure
		Incorrect repair to booster unit engine resulted in coolant line blockage. Rocket lost thrust within eight seconds of launch, destroyed by range safety.
19 December 11:50	Soyuz-U			Baikonur Site 31/6		RVSN
		Kosmos 1330 (Yantar-2K No.952)		Low Earth	Optical imaging	19 January 1982	Successful
19 December 20:00	Petrel 1			El Arenosillo		INTA
			INTA	Suborbital	Aeronomy	19 December	Successful
		Apogee: 106 kilometres (66 mi)
20 December 01:29:00	Ariane 1			Kourou ELA-1		Arianespace
		MARECS-1	Inmarsat	Geosynchronous	Communications	In orbit	Successful
		CAT-4 (Thesee)	ESA	Geosynchronous transfer	Vehicle monitoring Technology	In orbit	Successful
21 December 18:37	Vertikal-4			Kapustin Yar Site 107		RVSN
		Vertikal-10	RVSN	Suborbital	Aeronomy Ionospheric research	21 December	Successful
		Apogee: 1,500 kilometres (930 mi)
22 December	R-39 Rif			Nenoksa		RVSN
			RVSN	Suborbital	Test flight	22 December	Successful
		Apogee: 1,000 kilometres (620 mi)
23 December 13:15	Molniya-M/ML			Baikonur Site 1/5		RVSN
		Molniya-1 No.55		Molniya	Communications	In orbit	Successful
27 December	R-39 Rif			Nenoksa		RVSN
			RVSN	Suborbital	Test flight	27 December	Successful
		Apogee: 1,000 kilometres (620 mi)
December	R-17 Elbrus
				Suborbital	Missile strike		Successful
		Apogee: 100 kilometres (62 mi)
December	R-17 Elbrus
				Suborbital	Missile strike		Successful
		Apogee: 100 kilometres (62 mi)
Unknown date
Unknown	Perimetr			Baikonur		RVSN
			RVSN	Suborbital	Test flight	Unknown	Successful
		Apogee: 1,000 kilometres (620 mi)
Unknown	M4			Biscarosse		DGA
			DGA	Suborbital	Test flight	Unknown	Successful
		Apogee: 800 kilometres (500 mi)
Unknown	M4			Biscarosse		DGA
			DGA	Suborbital	Test flight	Unknown	Successful
		Apogee: 800 kilometres (500 mi)
Unknown	M4			Biscarosse		DGA
			DGA	Suborbital	Test flight	Unknown	Successful
		Apogee: 800 kilometres (500 mi)
Unknown	M4			Biscarosse		DGA
			DGA	Suborbital	Test flight	Unknown	Launch failure
Unknown	Kosmos-3MR			Kapustin Yar Site 107		RVSN
			RVSN	Suborbital	REV test	Unknown	Unknown
		Apogee: 675 kilometres (419 mi)
Unknown	Kosmos-3MR			Kapustin Yar Site 107		RVSN
			RVSN	Suborbital	REV test	Unknown	Unknown
		Apogee: 675 kilometres (419 mi)
Unknown	Kosmos-3MR			Kapustin Yar Site 107		RVSN
			RVSN	Suborbital	REV test	Unknown	Unknown
		Apogee: 675 kilometres (419 mi)
Unknown	Kosmos-3MR			Kapustin Yar Site 107		RVSN
			RVSN	Suborbital	REV test	Unknown	Unknown
		Apogee: 675 kilometres (419 mi)
Unknown	Kosmos-3MR			Kapustin Yar Site 107		RVSN
			RVSN	Suborbital	REV test	Unknown	Unknown
		Apogee: 675 kilometres (419 mi)
Unknown	Kosmos-3MR			Kapustin Yar Site 107		RVSN
			RVSN	Suborbital	REV test	Unknown	Unknown
		Apogee: 675 kilometres (419 mi)
Unknown	Kosmos-3MR			Kapustin Yar Site 107		RVSN
			RVSN	Suborbital	REV test	Unknown	Unknown
		Apogee: 675 kilometres (419 mi)
Unknown	Kosmos-3MR			Kapustin Yar Site 107		RVSN
			RVSN	Suborbital	REV test	Unknown	Unknown
		Apogee: 675 kilometres (419 mi)
Unknown	Kosmos-3MR			Kapustin Yar Site 107		RVSN
			RVSN	Suborbital	REV test	Unknown	Unknown
		Apogee: 675 kilometres (419 mi)
Unknown	Kosmos-3MR			Kapustin Yar Site 107		RVSN
			RVSN	Suborbital	REV test	Unknown	Unknown
		Apogee: 675 kilometres (419 mi)
Unknown	Kosmos-3MR			Kapustin Yar Site 107		RVSN
			RVSN	Suborbital	REV test	Unknown	Unknown
		Apogee: 675 kilometres (419 mi)
Unknown	Kosmos-3MR			Kapustin Yar Site 107		RVSN
			RVSN	Suborbital	REV test	Unknown	Unknown
		Apogee: 675 kilometres (419 mi)
Unknown	Vertikal-4			Kapustin Yar Site 107		RVSN
			RVSN	Suborbital	Ionospheric research	Unknown	Unknown
		Apogee: 1,500 kilometres (930 mi)
Unknown	R-27 Zyb			Submarine, Okhotsk		RVSN
			RVSN	Suborbital	Test flight	Unknown	Successful
		Apogee: 620 kilometres (390 mi)
Unknown	R-27 Zyb			Submarine, Okhotsk		RVSN
			RVSN	Suborbital	Test flight	Unknown	Successful
		Apogee: 620 kilometres (390 mi)
Unknown	R-27 Zyb			Submarine, Okhotsk		RVSN
			RVSN	Suborbital	Test flight	Unknown	Successful
		Apogee: 620 kilometres (390 mi)
Unknown	R-27 Zyb			Submarine, Okhotsk		RVSN
			RVSN	Suborbital	Test flight	Unknown	Successful
		Apogee: 620 kilometres (390 mi)
Unknown	R-27 Zyb			Submarine, Okhotsk		RVSN
			RVSN	Suborbital	Test flight	Unknown	Successful
		Apogee: 620 kilometres (390 mi)
Unknown	R-27 Zyb			Submarine, Okhotsk		RVSN
			RVSN	Suborbital	Test flight	Unknown	Successful
		Apogee: 620 kilometres (390 mi)
Unknown	R-27 Zyb			Submarine, Okhotsk		RVSN
			RVSN	Suborbital	Test flight	Unknown	Successful
		Apogee: 620 kilometres (390 mi)
Unknown	R-27 Zyb			Submarine, Okhotsk		RVSN
			RVSN	Suborbital	Test flight	Unknown	Successful
		Apogee: 620 kilometres (390 mi)
Unknown	R-29R Volna			Submarine, Okhotsk		VMF
			VMF	Suborbital	Test flight	Unknown	Successful
		Apogee: 1,000 kilometres (620 mi)
Unknown	R-29R Volna			Submarine, Okhotsk		VMF
			VMF	Suborbital	Test flight	Unknown	Successful
		Apogee: 1,000 kilometres (620 mi)
Unknown	R-29R Volna			Submarine, Okhotsk		VMF
			VMF	Suborbital	Test flight	Unknown	Successful
		Apogee: 1,000 kilometres (620 mi)
Unknown	R-29 Vysota			Submarine, Okhotsk		VMF
			VMF	Suborbital	Test flight	Unknown	Successful
		Apogee: 1,000 kilometres (620 mi)
Unknown	R-29 Vysota			Submarine, Okhotsk		VMF
			VMF	Suborbital	Test flight	Unknown	Successful
		Apogee: 1,000 kilometres (620 mi)
Unknown	R-29 Vysota			Submarine, Okhotsk		VMF
			VMF	Suborbital	Test flight	Unknown	Successful
		Apogee: 1,000 kilometres (620 mi)
Unknown	R-29 Vysota			Submarine, Okhotsk		VMF
			VMF	Suborbital	Test flight	Unknown	Successful
		Apogee: 1,000 kilometres (620 mi)
Unknown	R-36MUTTKh			Baikonur		RVSN
			RVSN	Suborbital	Test flight	Unknown	Successful
		Apogee: 1,000 kilometres (620 mi)
Unknown	R-36MUTTKh			Baikonur		RVSN
			RVSN	Suborbital	Test flight	Unknown	Successful
		Apogee: 1,000 kilometres (620 mi)
Unknown	R-36MUTTKh			Baikonur		RVSN
			RVSN	Suborbital	Test flight	Unknown	Successful
		Apogee: 1,000 kilometres (620 mi)
Unknown	R-36MUTTKh			Baikonur		RVSN
			RVSN	Suborbital	Test flight	Unknown	Successful
		Apogee: 1,000 kilometres (620 mi)
Unknown	UR-100N			Baikonur		RVSN
			RVSN	Suborbital	Test flight	Unknown	Successful
		Apogee: 1,000 kilometres (620 mi)
Unknown	UR-100N			Baikonur		RVSN
			RVSN	Suborbital	Test flight	Unknown	Successful
		Apogee: 1,000 kilometres (620 mi)
Unknown	UR-100N			Baikonur		RVSN
			RVSN	Suborbital	Test flight	Unknown	Successful
		Apogee: 1,000 kilometres (620 mi)
Unknown	UR-100N			Baikonur		RVSN
			RVSN	Suborbital	Test flight	Unknown	Successful
		Apogee: 1,000 kilometres (620 mi)
Unknown	UR-100N			Baikonur		RVSN
			RVSN	Suborbital	Test flight	Unknown	Successful
		Apogee: 1,000 kilometres (620 mi)
Unknown	UR-100NUTTKh			Baikonur		RVSN
			RVSN	Suborbital	Test flight	Unknown	Successful
		Apogee: 1,000 kilometres (620 mi)
Unknown	UR-100NUTTKh			Baikonur		RVSN
			RVSN	Suborbital	Test flight	Unknown	Successful
		Apogee: 1,000 kilometres (620 mi)
Unknown	UR-100NUTTKh			Baikonur		RVSN
			RVSN	Suborbital	Test flight	Unknown	Successful
		Apogee: 1,000 kilometres (620 mi)
Unknown	UR-100NUTTKh			Baikonur		RVSN
			RVSN	Suborbital	Test flight	Unknown	Successful
		Apogee: 1,000 kilometres (620 mi)
Unknown	UR-100NUTTKh			Baikonur		RVSN
			RVSN	Suborbital	Test flight	Unknown	Successful
		Apogee: 1,000 kilometres (620 mi)
Unknown	UR-100NUTTKh			Baikonur		RVSN
			RVSN	Suborbital	Test flight	Unknown	Successful
		Apogee: 1,000 kilometres (620 mi)

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

Deep-space rendezvous

Date (UTC)	Spacecraft	Event	Remarks
26 August	Voyager 2	Flyby of Saturn	Gravity assist; Closest approach: 101,000 kilometres (63,000 mi)