2015 in spaceflight

In 2015, the maiden spaceflights of the Chinese Long March 6 and Long March 11 launch vehicles took place.

2015 in spaceflight

Highlights from spaceflight in 2015[a]
Orbital launches
First	10 January
Last	28 December
Total	87
Successes	82
Failures	4
Partial failures	1
Catalogued	83[b]
National firsts
Satellite	Turkmenistan  Laos
Space traveller	Denmark  Kazakhstan
Rockets
Maiden flights	Long March 3C/E / YZ-1 Long March 3B / YZ-1 Long March 6 Long March 11 Super Strypi Falcon 9 Full Thrust
Retirements	Dnepr-1
Crewed flights
Orbital	4
Total travellers	12
EVAs	7
v t e

2015 in spaceflight

Timeline of spaceflight ← 2014 2016 →

A total of 87 orbital launches were attempted in 2015, of which 82 were successful, one was partially successful and four were failures. The year also saw seven EVAs by ISS astronauts. The majority of the year's orbital launches were conducted by Russia, the United States and China, with 27, 20 and 19 launches respectively.

Overview

In February 2015, the European Space Agency's experimental lifting body spacecraft, the Intermediate eXperimental Vehicle, successfully conducted its first test flight.

In March 2015, Ceres became the first dwarf planet to be visited by a spacecraft when Dawn entered orbit. In July 2015, New Horizons visited the Pluto-Charon system after a 9-year voyage, returning a trove of pictures and information about the former "ninth planet" (now classified as a dwarf planet). Meanwhile, the MESSENGER probe was deliberately crashed into Mercury after 4 years of in-orbit observations.

On 23 November 2015, the Blue Origin New Shepard suborbital rocket achieved its first powered soft landing near the launch site, paving the way for full reuse of its propulsion stage. On 21 December, the maiden flight of the SpaceX Falcon 9 Full Thrust took place, ending with a successful landing of its first stage.

Two old weather satellites, NOAA-16 and DMSP 5D-2/F13, broke up in 2015, creating several hundred pieces of space debris. In both cases, a battery explosion is suspected as the root cause.

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
10 January 09:47:10	Falcon 9 v1.1			Cape Canaveral SLC-40		SpaceX
		SpaceX CRS-5	NASA	Low Earth (ISS)	ISS resupply	11 February 2015 00:44	Successful
		⚀ AESP-14	ITA	Low Earth	Ionospheric research	11 May 2015	Successful
		⚀ Flock-1d' 1	Planet Labs	Low Earth	Earth observation	13 October 2015	Successful
		⚀ Flock-1d' 2	Planet Labs	Low Earth	Earth observation	27 December 2015	Successful
		SpaceX attempted to land the first stage on a platform in the Atlantic Ocean, but the first stage crash-landed on its landing platform.[1] The AESP-14 CubeSat was deployed from the space station on 5 February 2015,[2] while the Flock-1 CubeSats were deployed on 3 March 2015.[3]
21 January 01:04:00	Atlas V 551			Cape Canaveral SLC-41		United Launch Alliance
		MUOS-3	US Navy	Geosynchronous	Communications	In orbit	Operational
31 January 14:22:00	Delta II 7320			Vandenberg SLC-2W		United Launch Alliance
		SMAP	NASA	Low Earth (SSO)	Earth observation	In orbit	Operational
		⚀ ExoCube	Cal Poly	Low Earth (SSO)	Technology demonstration	In orbit	Operational
		⚀ FIREBIRD II A	Montana State	Low Earth (SSO)	Technology demonstration	2 August 2023[5]	Successful
		⚀ FIREBIRD II B	Montana State	Low Earth (SSO)	Technology demonstration	2 August 2023[7]	Successful
		⚀ GRIFEX	NASA / JPL	Low Earth (SSO)	Technology demonstration	In orbit	Operational
← Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec → February
1 February 01:21:00	H-IIA 202			Tanegashima LA-Y1		MHI
		IGS-Radar Spare	CSICE	Low Earth (SSO)	Reconnaissance	In orbit	Successful[8]
1 February 12:31:00	Proton-M/Briz-M			Baikonur Site 200/39		International Launch Services
		Inmarsat 5-F2	Inmarsat	Geosynchronous	Communications	In orbit	Operational
2 February 08:50	Safir-1B		LBS.2001	Semnan		ISA
		Fajr	ISA	Low Earth	Technology demonstration	26 February 2015	Successful
11 February 13:40:00	Vega			Kourou ELV		Arianespace
		IXV	ESA	Transatmospheric	Technology demonstration	11 February 2015 15:19	Successful
		Vega's 4th stage briefly entered low Earth orbit before de-orbiting; thus it did not get a COSPAR ID. This marked the first flight of the IXV
11 February 23:03:32	Falcon 9 v1.1			Cape Canaveral SLC-40		SpaceX
		DSCOVR	NOAA	Sun–Earth L1	Earth observation / Heliophysics	In orbit	Operational
		First SpaceX launch aimed beyond GTO. First stage soft landed on water.
17 February 11:00:17	Soyuz-U			Baikonur Site 1/5		Roscosmos
		Progress M-26M / 58P	Roscosmos	Low Earth (ISS)	ISS resupply	14 August 2015 14:17	Successful
27 February 11:01:35	Soyuz-2.1a			Plesetsk Site 43/4		RVSN RF
		Kosmos 2503 (Bars-M 1L)	VKO	Low Earth (SSO)	Reconnaissance	In orbit	Operational
← Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec → March
2 March 03:50:00	Falcon 9 v1.1			Cape Canaveral SLC-40		SpaceX
		Eutelsat 115 West B	Eutelsat	Geosynchronous	Communications	In orbit	Operational
		ABS-3A	ABS	Geosynchronous	Communications	In orbit	Operational
		First communication satellites to use all-electric propulsion to reach intended orbits from GTO.
13 March 02:44:00	Atlas V 421			Cape Canaveral SLC-41		United Launch Alliance
		MMS-1	NASA	Elliptical High Earth	Magnetospheric research	In orbit	Operational
		MMS-2	NASA	Elliptical High Earth	Magnetospheric research	In orbit	Operational
		MMS-3	NASA	Elliptical High Earth	Magnetospheric research	In orbit	Operational
		MMS-4	NASA	Elliptical High Earth	Magnetospheric research	In orbit	Operational
18 March 22:05:00	Proton-M / Briz-M			Baikonur Site 200/39		Khrunichev
		Ekspress AM7	RSCC	Geosynchronous	Communications	In orbit	Operational
25 March 18:36:00	Delta IV M+(4,2)			Cape Canaveral SLC-37B		United Launch Alliance
		USA-260 (GPS IIF-9)	US Air Force	Medium Earth	Navigation	In orbit	Operational
25 March 22:08:53	Dnepr			Dombarovsky Site 13		ISC Kosmotras
		KOMPSat-3A	KARI	Low Earth (SSO)	Earth observation	In orbit	Operational
		Final flight of Dnepr-1 rocket, due to the Russo-Ukrainian war.
26 March 01:21:00	H-IIA 202			Tanegashima LA-Y1		MHI
		IGS-Optical 5	CSICE	Low Earth (SSO)	Reconnaissance	In orbit	Operational
27 March 19:42:57	Soyuz-FG			Baikonur Site 1/5		Roscosmos
		Soyuz TMA-16M	Roscosmos	Low Earth (ISS)	Expedition 43/44/45/46	12 September 2015 00:51	Successful
		Crewed flight with three cosmonauts, including two on a year-long mission.
27 March 21:46:18	Soyuz-STB / Fregat			Kourou ELS		Arianespace
		Galileo FOC 3	ESA	Medium Earth	Navigation	In orbit	Operational
		Galileo FOC 4	ESA	Medium Earth	Navigation	In orbit	Operational
28 March 11:49:00	PSLV-XL			Satish Dhawan SLP		ISRO
		IRNSS-1D	ISRO	Geosynchronous	Navigation	In orbit	Operational
30 March 13:52:30	Long March 3C/E/YZ-1			Xichang LC-2		CASC
		BeiDou I1-S	CNSA	Geosynchronous	Navigation	In orbit	Operational
31 March 13:47:56	Rokot / Briz-KM			Plesetsk Cosmodrome Site 133/3		VKO
		Gonets-M 11	Gonets Satellite System	Low Earth	Communications	In orbit	Operational
		Gonets-M 12	Gonets Satellite System	Low Earth	Communications	In orbit	Operational
		Gonets-M 13	Gonets Satellite System	Low Earth	Communications	In orbit	Operational
		Kosmos 2504	VKO	Low Earth	Technology demonstration / Satellite inspection (?)	In orbit	Operational
← Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec → April
14 April 20:10:41	Falcon 9 v1.1			Cape Canaveral SLC-40		SpaceX
		SpaceX CRS-6	NASA	Low Earth (ISS)	ISS resupply	21 May 2015 16:42	Successful
		Arkyd 3 Reflight	Planetary Resources	Low Earth	Technology demonstration	23 December 2015	Successful
		⚀ Flock-1e × 14	Planet Labs	Low Earth	Earth observation	First: 8 February 2016 Last: 24 August 2016	Successful
		First stage recovery failed; the rocket stage landed on the target drone ship too fast, tipped over, and exploded.[9] All secondary payloads were deployed from an ISS airlock later. Arkyd 3 Reflight is a replacement for Arkyd 3, which was lost in the Cygnus CRS Orb-3 flight accident in 2014.
26 April 20:00:07	Ariane 5 ECA			Kourou ELA-3		Arianespace
		Thor 7	Telenor	Geosynchronous	Communications	In orbit	Operational
		SICRAL-2	MDD/DGA	Geosynchronous	Communications	In orbit	Operational
27 April 23:03:00	Falcon 9 v1.1			Cape Canaveral SLC-40		SpaceX
		TürkmenÄlem 52°E / MonacoSAT	Turkmen Telecom	Geosynchronous	Communications	In orbit	Operational
		First Turkmen satellite (not counting Turkmenistan Memorial Capsule).
28 April 07:09:50	Soyuz-2.1a			Baikonur Site 31/6		Roscosmos
		Progress M-27M / 59P	Roscosmos	Low Earth (ISS)	ISS resupply	8 May 2015	Failure
		Spacecraft lost communications and attitude control soon after separation failure during launch.[10] International Space Station docking attempt cancelled.[11] Mission declared a total loss.[12]
← Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec → May
16 May 05:47:39	Proton-M / Briz-M			Baikonur Site 200/39		International Launch Services
		Mexsat-1	SCT	Geosynchronous	Communications	16 May 2015	Launch failure
		Proton third stage vernier engine failed at T+497 seconds due to turbopump shaft coating degradation causing excess vibration.[13]
20 May 15:05:00	Atlas V 501			Cape Canaveral SLC-41		United Launch Alliance
		AFSPC-5 (X-37B OTV-4)	U.S. Air Force	Low Earth	Technology demonstration	7 May 2017	Operational
		ULTRASat	NASA	Low Earth	CubeSat Deployment	In orbit	Operational
		⚀ LightSail 1	The Planetary Society	Low Earth	Technology demonstration	14 June 2015 17:23	Successful
		⚀ USS Langley	U.S. Naval Academy	Low Earth	Technology demonstration	In orbit	Operational
		⚀ BRICSat-P	U.S. Naval Academy / George Washington	Low Earth	Technology demonstration	In orbit	Operational
		⚀ ParkinsonSat	U.S. Naval Academy	Low Earth	Technology demonstration	In orbit	Operational
		⚀ GEARRS-2	Taylor	Low Earth	Technology demonstration	In orbit	Operational
		⚀ AeroCube-8A	The Aerospace Corporation	Low Earth	Technology demonstration	11 October 2021[15]	Successful
		⚀ AeroCube-8B	The Aerospace Corporation	Low Earth	Technology demonstration	2 October 2021[17]	Successful
		⚀ OptiCube 1	CalPoly	Low Earth	Technology demonstration	In orbit	Operational
		⚀ OptiCube 2	CalPoly	Low Earth	Technology demonstration	In orbit	Operational
		⚀ OptiCube 3	CalPoly	Low Earth	Technology demonstration	In orbit	Operational
		The X-37B spaceplane landed autonomously at Kennedy Space Center's Shuttle Landing Facility after spending a record-breaking 718 days in orbit.[18]
27 May 21:16:07	Ariane 5 ECA			Kourou ELA-3		Arianespace
		DirecTV-15	DirecTV	Geosynchronous	Communications	In orbit	Operational
		Sky Mexico 1	SKY Mexico	Geosynchronous	Communications	In orbit	Operational
← Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec → June
5 June 15:23:54	Soyuz-2.1a			Plesetsk Site 43/4		RVSN RF
		Kosmos 2505 (Kobalt-M №10)	VKO	Low Earth	Reconnaissance	18 September 2015	Successful
23 June 01:51:58	Vega			Kourou ELV		Arianespace
		Sentinel-2A	ESA	Low Earth (SSO)	Earth observation	In orbit	Operational
23 June 16:44:00	Soyuz-2.1b			Plesetsk Site 43/4		RVSN RF
		Kosmos 2506 (Persona №3)	VKO	Low Earth (SSO)	Reconnaissance	In orbit	Operational
26 June 06:22:04	Long March 4B			Taiyuan LC-9		CASC
		Gaofen 8	CNSA	Low Earth (SSO)	Earth observation / Reconnaissance	In orbit	Operational
28 June 14:21:11	Falcon 9 v1.1			Cape Canaveral SLC-40		SpaceX
		SpaceX CRS-7	NASA	Low Earth (ISS)	ISS resupply	28 June 2015	Launch Failure
		⚀ Flock-1f × 8[20]	Planet Labs	Low Earth	Earth observation	28 June 2015	Launch Failure
		Vehicle disintegrated at T+139 seconds after second stage helium tank support strut failure caused helium tank to break through second stage tanks.[21] Attempted to deliver the IDA-1 segment of the NASA Docking System. CubeSats were to be deployed from the International Space Station at a later date. Planned first stage landing test not achieved.
← Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec → July
3 July 04:55:48	Soyuz-U			Baikonur Site 1/5		Roscosmos
		Progress M-28M / 60P	Roscosmos	Low Earth (ISS)	ISS resupply	19 December 2015	Successful
10 July 16:28:00	PSLV-XL			Satish Dhawan FLP		ISRO
		UK-DMC-3A	DMCii	Low Earth (SSO)	Earth observation	In orbit	Operational
		UK-DMC-3B	DMCii	Low Earth (SSO)	Earth observation	In orbit	Operational
		UK-DMC-3C	DMCii	Low Earth (SSO)	Earth observation	In orbit	Operational
		CBNT-1	SSTL	Low Earth (SSO)	Technology demonstration	In orbit	Operational
		⚀ DeOrbitSail	Surrey Space Centre	Low Earth (SSO)	Technology demonstration	In orbit	Operational
15 July 15:36:00	Atlas V 401			Cape Canaveral SLC-41		United Launch Alliance
		USA-262 (GPS IIF-10)	U.S. Air Force	Medium Earth	Navigation	In orbit	Operational
15 July 21:42:07	Ariane 5 ECA			Kourou ELA-3		Arianespace
		Star One C4	Star One	Geosynchronous	Communications	In orbit	Operational
		MSG-4	EUMETSAT	Geosynchronous	Meteorology	In orbit	Operational
22 July 21:02:44	Soyuz-FG			Baikonur Site 1/5		Roscosmos
		Soyuz TMA-17M	Roscosmos	Low Earth (ISS)	Expedition 44/45	11 December 2015 13:10	Successful
		Crewed flight with three cosmonauts.
24 July 00:07:00	Delta IV M+(5,4)			Cape Canaveral SLC-37B		United Launch Alliance
		USA-263 (WGS-7)	U.S. Air Force	Geosynchronous	Communications	In orbit	Operational
25 July 12:29:04	Long March 3B/YZ-1			Xichang LA-2		CASC
		BeiDou M1-S	CNSA	Medium Earth	Navigation	In orbit	Operational
		BeiDou M2-S	CNSA	Medium Earth	Navigation	In orbit	Operational
← Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec → August
19 August 11:50:49	H-IIB			Tanegashima LA-Y2		MHI
		HTV-5	JAXA	Low Earth (ISS)	ISS resupply	29 September 2015	Successful
		⚀ AAUSAT5	Aalborg	Low Earth	Technology demonstration	15 March 2016	Successful
		⚀ Flock-2b × 14[23]	Planet Labs	Low Earth	Earth observation	First: 22 May 2016 Last: 17 October 2016	Successful (12 deployed)
		⚀ GOMX-3	GomSpace	Low Earth	Technology demonstration	19 October 2016[25]	Successful
		⚀ S-CUBE	Chiba Institute of Technology	Low Earth	Meteor observation	23 November 2016[27]
		⚀ SERPENS	University of Brasília / Brazilian Space Agency	Low Earth	Technology demonstration	27 March 2016	Successful
		CubeSats to be deployed from the International Space Station at a later date. SERPENS and S-CUBE were deployed on 17 September. AAUSAT5, GOMX-3, and Dove Flocks were deployed on 5–7 October, but two out of the fourteen Dove Flocks failed to be deployed due to a malfunction of the deployer.[28]
20 August 20:34:08	Ariane 5 ECA			Kourou ELA-3		Arianespace
		Eutelsat 8 West B	Eutelsat	Geosynchronous	Communications	In orbit	Operational
		Intelsat 34	Intelsat	Geosynchronous	Communications	In orbit	Operational
27 August 02:31:35	Long March 4C			Taiyuan LC-9		CASC
		Yaogan 27	CNSA	Low Earth (SSO)	Reconnaissance	In orbit	Operational
27 August 11:22:00	GSLV Mk II			Satish Dhawan SLP		ISRO
		GSAT-6	Indian Armed Forces/ISRO	Geosynchronous	Communications	In orbit	Operational
28 August 11:44:00	Proton-M / Briz-M			Baikonur Site 200/39		International Launch Services
		Inmarsat 5-F3	Inmarsat	Geosynchronous	Communications	In orbit	Operational
← Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec → September
2 September 04:37:43	Soyuz-FG			Baikonur Site 1/5		Roscosmos
		Soyuz TMA-18M	Roscosmos	Low Earth (ISS)	Expedition 45/46/iriss[29]	2 March 2016 04:26	Successful
		Crewed flight with three cosmonauts: including ESA astronaut Andreas Mogensen, the first Dane in space, and Aidyn Aimbetov, the first cosmonaut from an independent Kazakhstan. Sarah Brightman was intended to fly this mission as a spaceflight participant, but withdrew from training on 13 May 2015 for personal reasons.[30] Japanese space tourist Satoshi Takamatsu was believed to be taking Brightman's place, but he declined and Roscosmos chose Aimbetov as an alternative instead.[31] Landed with the Year in Space crew of Scott Kelly and Mikhail Korniyenko
2 September 10:18:00	Atlas V 551			Cape Canaveral SLC-41		United Launch Alliance
		MUOS-4	U.S. Navy	Geosynchronous	Communications	In orbit	Operational
11 September 02:08:10	Soyuz-STB / Fregat			Kourou ELS		Arianespace
		Galileo FOC 5	ESA	Medium Earth	Navigation	In orbit	Operational
		Galileo FOC 6	ESA	Medium Earth	Navigation	In orbit	Operational
12 September 15:42:04	Long March 3B/E			Xichang LC-2		CASC
		TJS-1	CNSA	Geosynchronous	Communications	In orbit	Operational
14 September 04:42	Long March 2D			Jiuquan SLS-2		CASC
		Gaofen 9	CNSA	Low Earth (SSO)	Earth observation / Reconnaissance	In orbit	Operational
14 September 19:00:00	Proton-M / Blok DM-03			Baikonur Site 81/24		Khrunichev
		Ekspress AM8	RSCC	Geosynchronous	Communications	In orbit	Operational
19 September 23:01:14	Long March 6			Taiyuan LC-16		CASC
		LilacSat-2	HIT	Low Earth (SSO)	Technology demonstration	In orbit	Operational
		NS-2	Tsinghua University	Low Earth (SSO)	Technology demonstration	In orbit	Operational
		NUDT-PhoneSat	NUDT	Low Earth (SSO)	Technology demonstration	29 March 2023[33]	Successful
		Tiantuo-3	NUDT	Low Earth (SSO)	Technology demonstration	In orbit	Operational
		Xingchen 1	NUDT	Low Earth (SSO)	Technology demonstration	In orbit	Operational
		Xingchen 2	NUDT	Low Earth (SSO)	Technology demonstration	In orbit	Operational
		Xingchen 3	NUDT	Low Earth (SSO)	Technology demonstration	In orbit	Operational
		Xingchen 4	NUDT	Low Earth (SSO)	Technology demonstration	In orbit	Operational
		Xiwang-2A	CAMSAT	Low Earth (SSO)	Amateur radio	25 April 2023[35]	Successful
		Xiwang-2B	CAMSAT	Low Earth (SSO)	Amateur radio	In orbit	Operational
		Xiwang-2C	CAMSAT	Low Earth (SSO)	Amateur radio	In orbit	Operational
		Xiwang-2D	CAMSAT	Low Earth (SSO)	Amateur radio	In orbit	Operational
		Xiwang-2E	CAMSAT	Low Earth (SSO)	Amateur radio	In orbit	Operational
		Xiwang-2F	CAMSAT	Low Earth (SSO)	Amateur radio	In orbit	Operational
		XY-2	CASC	Low Earth (SSO)	Technology demonstration	In orbit	Operational
		ZDPS-2A	ZJU	Low Earth (SSO)	Technology demonstration	In orbit	Operational
		ZDPS-2B	ZJU	Low Earth (SSO)	Technology demonstration	In orbit	Operational
		ZJ-1	Tsinghua University	Low Earth (SSO)	Technology demonstration	In orbit	Operational
		ZJ-2	Tsinghua / Xidian	Low Earth (SSO)	Technology demonstration	In orbit	Operational
		⚀ DCBB	CAMSAT	Low Earth (SSO)	Education	In orbit	Operational
		Maiden flight of the Long March 6 vehicle.
23 September 21:59:38	Rokot / Briz-KM			Plesetsk Site 133/3		VKO
		Kosmos 2507 (Strela-3M)	VKO	Low Earth	Communications	In orbit	Operational
		Kosmos 2508 (Strela-3M)	VKO	Low Earth	Communications	In orbit	Operational
		Kosmos 2509 (Strela-3M)	VKO	Low Earth	Communications	In orbit	Operational
25 September 01:41:40	Long March 11			Jiuquan LS-95A		CASC
		Pujiang-1	SAST	Low Earth (SSO)	Technology demonstration	In orbit	Operational
		⚀ Tianwang 1A (Shankeda 2)	ShanghaiTech	Low Earth (SSO)	Technology demonstration	30 December 2022[37]	Successful
		⚀ Tianwang 1B (NJUST 2)	NJUST	Low Earth (SSO)	Technology demonstration	31 March 2021[39]	Successful
		⚀ Tianwang 1C (NJFA 1)	ShanghaiTech	Low Earth (SSO)	Technology demonstration	27 February 2021[41]	Successful
		Maiden flight of the Long March 11 vehicle.
28 September 04:30:00	PSLV-XL			Satish Dhawan FLP		ISRO
		Astrosat	ISRO	Low Earth	X-ray astronomy	In orbit	Operational
		LAPAN-A2	LAPAN	Low Earth	Earth observation	In orbit	Operational
		ExactView 9	exactEarth	Low Earth	Maritime observation	In orbit	Operational
		⚀ Lemur-2 1	NanoSatisfi	Low Earth	Earth observation	In orbit	Operational
		⚀ Lemur-2 2	NanoSatisfi	Low Earth	Earth observation	In orbit	Operational
		⚀ Lemur-2 3	NanoSatisfi	Low Earth	Earth observation	In orbit	Operational
		⚀ Lemur-2 4	NanoSatisfi	Low Earth	Earth observation	In orbit	Operational
29 September 23:13:04	Long March 3B/E			Xichang LA-3		CASC
		BeiDou I2-S	CNSA	Geosynchronous	Navigation	In orbit	Operational
30 September 20:30:07	Ariane 5 ECA			Kourou ELA-3		Arianespace
		NBN-Co 1A (Sky Muster)	NBN Co	Geosynchronous	Communications	In orbit	Operational
		ARSAT-2	ARSAT	Geosynchronous	Communications	In orbit	Operational
← Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec → October
1 October 16:49:40	Soyuz-U			Baikonur Site 1/5		Roscosmos
		Progress M-29M / 61P	Roscosmos	Low Earth (ISS)	ISS resupply	8 April 2016	Successful
2 October 10:28:00	Atlas V 421			Cape Canaveral SLC-41		United Launch Alliance
		Mexsat-2	SCT	Geosynchronous	Communications	In orbit	Operational
7 October 04:13:04	Long March 2D			Jiuquan SLS-2		CASC
		Jilin-1 Smart Verification Satellite[43]	Chang Guang Satellite Technology	Low Earth (SSO)	Earth observation	In orbit	Operational
		Jilin-1 Optical-A[45]	Chang Guang Satellite Technology	Low Earth (SSO)	Earth observation	In orbit	Operational
		Jilin-1 Video-01 (Lingqiao 1-01)[46]	Chang Guang Satellite Technology	Low Earth (SSO)	Earth observation	In orbit	Operational
		Jilin-1 Video-02 (Lingqiao 1-02)[46]	Chang Guang Satellite Technology	Low Earth (SSO)	Earth observation	In orbit	Operational
8 October 12:49:30	Atlas V 401			Vandenberg SLC-3E		United Launch Alliance
		USA-264 (NOSS)	NRO	Low Earth	ELINT	In orbit	Operational
		USA-264 (NOSS)	NRO	Low Earth	ELINT	In orbit	Operational
		⚀ Aerocube-5c	The Aerospace Corporation	Low Earth	Technology demonstration	In orbit	Operational
		⚀ Aerocube-7	The Aerospace Corporation	Low Earth	Technology demonstration	In orbit	Operational
		⚀ AMSAT Fox-1	AMSAT	Low Earth	Amateur radio / Technology demonstration	In orbit	Operational
		⚀ ARC-1	UAF	Low Earth	Technology demonstration	In orbit	Operational
		⚀ BisonSat	SKC	Low Earth	Earth observation	In orbit	Operational
		⚀ LMRST-Sat	NASA / JPL	Low Earth	Technology demonstration	In orbit	Operational
		⚀ PropCube x 2	Tyvak Nano-Satellite Systems	Low Earth	Technology demonstration	In orbit	Operational
		⚀ SINOD-D x 2	SRI International	Low Earth	Technology demonstration	In orbit	Operational
		⚀ SNaP-3 x 3	U.S. Army SMDC	Low Earth	Technology demonstration	In orbit	Operational
		NRO Launch 55
16 October 16:16:04	Long March 3B/E			Xichang LC-2		CASC
		APStar-9	APT Satellite Holdings	Geosynchronous	Communications	In orbit	Operational
16 October 20:40:11	Proton-M / Briz-M			Baikonur Site 200/39		International Launch Services
		Türksat 4B	Türksat	Geosynchronous	Communications	In orbit	Operational
26 October 07:10:04	Long March 2D			Jiuquan SLS-2		CASC
		Tianhui 1C	CNSA	Low Earth (SSO)	Earth observation (Cartography)	In orbit	Operational
31 October 16:13:00	Atlas V 401			Cape Canaveral SLC-41		United Launch Alliance
		USA-265 (GPS IIF-11)	U.S. Air Force	Medium Earth	Navigation	In orbit	Operational
← Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec → November
3 November 16:25:04	Long March 3B/E			Xichang LC-3		CASC
		ChinaSat 2C	CNSA	Geosynchronous	Communications	In orbit	Operational
4 November 03:45:00	SPARK			Pacific Missile Range Facility LP-41		ORS
		HiakaSat	ORS	Low Earth	Technology demonstration	4 November 2015	Launch failure
		⚀ EDSN x 8	NASA	Low Earth	Technology demonstration	4 November 2015	Launch failure
		⚀ PrintSat	Montana State University	Low Earth	Technology demonstration	4 November 2015	Launch failure
		⚀ Argus	St. Louis University and Vanderbilt University	Low Earth	Technology demonstration	4 November 2015	Launch failure
		⚀ STACEM	Utah State University	Low Earth	Technology demonstration	4 November 2015	Launch failure
		⚀ Supernova-Beta	Pumpkin, Inc.	Low Earth	Technology demonstration	4 November 2015	Launch failure
		Maiden flight of the SPARK/Super Strypi launch vehicle. Vehicle lost attitude control at T+1 minute.
8 November 07:06:04	Long March 4B			Taiyuan LC-9		CASC
		Yaogan 28	CNSA	Low Earth (SSO)	Reconnaissance	In orbit	Operational
10 November 21:34:07	Ariane 5 ECA			Kourou ELA-3		Arianespace
		Arabsat 6B	Arabsat	Geosynchronous	Communications	In orbit	Operational
		GSAT-15	ISRO	Geosynchronous	Communications	In orbit	Operational
17 November 06:33:41	Soyuz-2.1b / Fregat			Plesetsk Site 43/4		RVSN RF
		Kosmos 2510 (EKS (Tundra))	VKO	Molniya[47]	Early warning	In orbit	Operational[48]
		First space component for Russia's new unified missile early warning network.[49]
20 November 16:07:04	Long March 3B/E			Xichang LC-2		CASC
		LaoSat-1	Laos National Authority for Science and Technology	Geosynchronous	Communications	In orbit	Operational
		First Laotian satellite[50]
24 November 06:50:00	H-IIA 204			Tanegashima LA-Y1		MHI
		Telstar 12V	Telesat	Geosynchronous	Communications	In orbit	Operational
26 November 21:24:04	Long March 4C			Taiyuan LC-9		CASC
		Yaogan 29	CNSA	Low Earth (SSO)	Reconnaissance	In orbit	Operational
← Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec → December
3 December 04:04:00	Vega			Kourou ELV		Arianespace
		LISA Pathfinder	ESA / NASA	Sun–Earth L1	Technology demonstration	In orbit	Operational
5 December 14:08:33	Soyuz-2-1v / Volga			Plesetsk Site 43/4		RVSN RF
		Kosmos 2511 (Kanopus-ST)	VKO	Low Earth (SSO)	Earth observation	8 December 2015 05:43	Launch failure
		Kosmos 2512 (KYuA-1)	Almaz-Antey	Low Earth (SSO)	Radar calibration	In orbit	Operational
		Kanopus-ST failed to separate from the Volga upper stage.[51][52]
6 December 21:44:57	Atlas V 401			Cape Canaveral SLC-41		United Launch Alliance
		Cygnus CRS OA-4 S.S. Deke Slayton II	Orbital ATK / NASA	Low Earth (ISS)	ISS resupply	20 February 2016	Successful
		SIMPL	NovaWurks	Low Earth	Technology demonstration	26 July 2022[54]	Successful
		⚀ Flock-2e x 12	Planet Labs	Low Earth	Earth observation	First: 25 July 2017[57] Last: 14 August 2018[58]	Successful
		⚀ CADRE	University of Michigan	Low Earth	Technology demonstration	3 January 2017[60]	Successful
		⚀ MinXSS 1	University of Colorado Boulder	Low Earth	Solar physics, Space weather	5 May 2017[62]	Successful
		⚀ Nodes x 2	NASA	Low Earth	Technology demonstration	23 September 2017[64]	Successful
		⚀ STMSat 1	St. Thomas More Cathedral School	Low Earth	Education	21 April 2017[66]	Successful
		Flight moved from Antares 130 rocket following launch failure of Cygnus CRS Orb-3. Originally scheduled for 1 April 2015.[67] MinXSS was deployed into orbit from ISS on 16 May 2016.[68]
9 December 16:46:04	Long March 3B/E			Xichang LC-3		CASC
		ChinaSat 1C	CNSA	Geosynchronous	Communications	In orbit	Operational
11 December 13:45:33	Zenit-3F			Baikonur Site 45/1		Roscosmos
		Elektro-L No.2	Roscosmos	Geosynchronous	Meteorology	In orbit	Operational
13 December 00:19:00	Proton-M / Briz-M			Baikonur Site 81/24		Khrunichev
		Kosmos 2513 (Garpun No. 12L)	VKO	Geosynchronous	Communications	In orbit	Operational
15 December 11:03:09	Soyuz-FG			Baikonur Site 1/5		Roscosmos
		Soyuz TMA-19M	Roscosmos	Low Earth (ISS)	Expedition 46/47	18 June 2016 09:15	Successful
		Crewed flight with three cosmonauts.
16 December 12:30:00	PSLV-CA			Satish Dhawan FLP		ISRO
		TeLEOS-1	AgilSpace	Low Earth	Earth observation	In orbit	Operational
		VELOX C1	NTU	Low Earth	Atmospheric science	In orbit	Operational
		⚀ VELOX 2	NTU	Low Earth	Technology demonstration	In orbit	Operational
		Kent Ridge 1	NUS	Low Earth	Earth observation	In orbit	Operational
		⚀ Galassia	NUS	Low Earth	Atmospheric science	In orbit	Operational
		⚀ Athenoxat-1	NTU	Low Earth	Earth observation	In orbit	Operational
17 December 00:12:04	Long March 2D			Jiuquan SLS-2		CASC
		DAMPE	CAS	Low Earth (SSO)	High-energy astronomy	In orbit	Operational
17 December 11:51:56	Soyuz ST-B / Fregat			Kourou ELS		Arianespace
		Galileo FOC 8	ESA	Medium Earth	Navigation	In orbit	Operational
		Galileo FOC 9	ESA	Medium Earth	Navigation	In orbit	Operational
21 December 08:44:39	Soyuz-2.1a			Baikonur Site 31/6		Roscosmos
		Progress MS-01 / 62P	Roscosmos	Low Earth (ISS)	ISS resupply	3 July 2016 07:50	Operational
		First launch of the new Progress-MS variant.
22 December 01:29:00	Falcon 9 Full Thrust			Cape Canaveral SLC-40		SpaceX
		Orbcomm-2 F2	Orbcomm	Low Earth	Communications	In orbit	Operational
		Orbcomm-2 F5	Orbcomm	Low Earth	Communications	In orbit	Operational
		Orbcomm-2 F8	Orbcomm	Low Earth	Communications	In orbit	Operational
		Orbcomm-2 F10	Orbcomm	Low Earth	Communications	In orbit	Operational
		Orbcomm-2 F12	Orbcomm	Low Earth	Communications	In orbit	Operational
		Orbcomm-2 F13	Orbcomm	Low Earth	Communications	In orbit	Operational
		Orbcomm-2 F14	Orbcomm	Low Earth	Communications	In orbit	Operational
		Orbcomm-2 F15	Orbcomm	Low Earth	Communications	In orbit	Operational
		Orbcomm-2 F16	Orbcomm	Low Earth	Communications	In orbit	Operational
		Orbcomm-2 F17	Orbcomm	Low Earth	Communications	In orbit	Operational
		Orbcomm-2 F18	Orbcomm	Low Earth	Communications	In orbit	Operational
		First flight of the upgraded "full thrust" version of Falcon 9, first Falcon 9 flight after launch failure in June. First successful return to launch site and vertical landing of a first stage, demonstrated as part of a controlled descent test.
24 December 21:31:19	Proton-M / Briz-M			Baikonur Site 200/39		Khrunichev
		Ekspress AMU1	RSCC	Geosynchronous	Communications	In orbit	Operational
28 December 16:04:04	Long March 3B/E			Xichang LC-2		CASC
		Gaofen 4	CNSA	Geosynchronous	Earth observation	In orbit	Operational

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

Suborbital flights

Date and time (UTC)	Rocket		Flight number	Launch site		LSP
		Payload (⚀ = CubeSat)	Operator	Orbit	Function	Decay (UTC)	Outcome
		Remarks
26 January 09:13	Terrier-Improved Malemute			Poker Flat		NASA
		M-TEX	Alaska	Suborbital	Auroral	26 January	Successful
		Apogee: ~160 kilometres (99 mi)?
26 January 09:14	Terrier-Orion			Poker Flat		NASA
		MIST	Clemson	Suborbital	Auroral	26 January	Successful
		Apogee: ~130 kilometres (81 mi)?
26 January 09:46	Terrier-Improved Malemute			Poker Flat		NASA
		M-TEX	Alaska	Suborbital	Auroral	26 January	Successful
		Apogee: ~160 kilometres (99 mi)?
26 January 09:47	Terrier-Orion			Poker Flat		NASA
		MIST	Clemson	Suborbital	Auroral	26 January	Successful
		Apogee: ~130 kilometres (81 mi)?
28 January 10:41	Talos Terrier Oriole Nihka			Poker Flat		NASA
		ASSP	USU	Suborbital	Auroral	28 January	Successful
		Apogee: ~590 kilometres (370 mi)?
31 January 02:36:00[69]	Agni V			Integrated Test Range Launch Complex IV		DRDO
			DRDO	Suborbital	Missile test	31 January	Successful
		Apogee: ~800 kilometres (500 mi)
19 February	Prithvi II			Integrated Test Range Launch Complex 3		DRDO
			DRDO	Suborbital	Missile test	19 February	Successful
		Apogee: ~100 kilometres (62 mi)
19 February 22:06	VS-30/Improved Orion			Andøya		Andøya
		ICI-4 (CanoRock 4)	Oslo/Andøya	Suborbital	Technology	19 February	Successful
		Apogee: 365 kilometres (227 mi)
22 February 07:52	VSB-30			Esrange		CNES
		Cryofenix	CNES	Suborbital	Microgravity	22 February	Successful
		Apogee: 265 kilometres (165 mi)
22 February	UGM-133 Trident II D5			Submarine, Pacific Ocean		US Navy
			US Navy	Suborbital	Missile test	22 February	Successful
22 February	UGM-133 Trident II D5			Submarine, Pacific Ocean		US Navy
			US Navy	Suborbital	Missile test	22 February	Successful
24 February 07:30	Terrier-Oriole			Wallops Island		TBD
			DOD	Suborbital	Missile Defense Test	24 February	Successful
		FTX-19 target, apogee: ~150 kilometres (93 mi)?
24 February 07:30	Terrier-Oriole			Wallops Island		TBD
			DOD	Suborbital	Missile Defense Test	24 February	Successful
		FTX-19 target, apogee: ~150 kilometres (93 mi)?
24 February 07:30	Terrier-Oriole			Wallops Island		TBD
			DOD	Suborbital	Missile Defense Test	24 February	Successful
		FTX-19 target, apogee: ~150 kilometres (93 mi)?
25 February 12:26	Black Brant IX			White Sands		NASA
		MOSC 2	AFRL	Suborbital	Ionospheric research	25 February	Successful
		Apogee: 300 kilometres (190 mi)?
26 February	UR-100NU			Yasniy		RVSN
			RVSN	Suborbital	Missile test	26 February	Launch failure[70]
		Yu-71 Hypersonic Vehicle Test
1 March[71]	Hwasong-6			Nampo		Korean People's Army Strategic Force
			Korean People's Army Strategic Force	Suborbital	Missile test	1 March	Successful
		Apogee: 134 kilometres (83 mi). 1 of 2.
1 March[71]	Hwasong-6			Nampo		Korean People's Army Strategic Force
			Korean People's Army Strategic Force	Suborbital	Missile test	1 March	Successful
		Apogee: 134 kilometres (83 mi). 2 of 2.
5 March 01:44	VS-30			Andøya		DLR
		WADIS-2	DLR	Suborbital	Atmospheric	5 March	Successful
		Apogee: 126 kilometres (78 mi), 13 Super Loki meteorological rockets were also launched
9 March	Shaheen-III			Sonmiani		ASFC
			ASFC	Suborbital	Missile test	9 March	Successful
		Apogee: 500 kilometres (310 mi)?
18 March	RS-26 Rubezh			Kapustin Yar		RVSN
			RVSN	Suborbital	Missile test	18 March	Successful
23 March 10:36	LGM-30G Minuteman III			Vandenberg LF-10		US Air Force
			US Air Force	Suborbital	Test flight	23 March	Successful
		GT214GM, Apogee: ~1,300 kilometres (810 mi) ?
27 March 10:54	LGM-30G Minuteman III			Vandenberg LF-04		US Air Force
			US Air Force	Suborbital	Test flight	27 March	Successful
		GT215GM, Apogee: ~1,300 kilometres (810 mi) ?
30 March	VSB-30			Andøya		DSTO
		HiFire-7	DSTO	Suborbital	Technology demonstration	30 March	Successful
9 April	Dhanush			Ship, Indian Ocean		DRDO
			DRDO	Suborbital	Target	9 April	Successful
		Apogee: ~100 kilometres (62 mi)
15 April	Ghauri			Tilla		Army of Pakistan
		Haft-5	Army of Pakistan	Suborbital	Missile test	15 April	Successful
		Apogee: 100 kilometres (62 mi)
16 April 04:22	Agni-III			ITR IC-4		Indian Army
			Indian Army	Suborbital	Missile test	16 April	Successful
		Apogee: 350 kilometres (220 mi)
18 April 11:01	Terrier-Improved Malemute			Wallops Island		NASA
		Rocksat-X	University of Colorado Boulder	Suborbital	Student Research	18 April	Successful
		Apogee: ~174 kilometres (108 mi)
23 April 07:35	VSB-30			Esrange		EuroLaunch
		/ TEXUS-51	DLR/ESA	Suborbital	Microgravity	23 April	Successful
		Apogee: 261 kilometres (162 mi)
27 April 04:55	VSB-30			Esrange		EuroLaunch
		/ TEXUS-52	DLR/ESA	Suborbital	Microgravity	27 April	Successful
		Apogee: 255 kilometres (158 mi)
2 May 08:30:01	Black Brant IX			White Sands		NASA
		OGRESS	University of Iowa	Suborbital	X-Ray Astronomy	2 May	Successful
		Apogee: 272 kilometres (169 mi)
20 May 10:37	LGM-30G Minuteman III			Vandenberg LF-09		US Air Force
			US Air Force	Suborbital	Test flight	20 May	Successful
		GT212GM, Apogee: ~1,300 kilometres (810 mi) ?
21 May 19:15	Black Brant IX			White Sands		NASA
		EVE	CU Boulder	Suborbital	SDO calibration	21 May	Launch failure
		Second stage failure, flight was terminated safety officials about four seconds into the second stage burn after data showed the vehicle was flying off-course. The payload carrying the experiment separated from the rocket and descended via parachute.
6 June	SM-3-IIA			San Nicolas Island		US Navy
			US Navy	Suborbital	ABM test	6 June	Successful
		Maiden flight of SM-3 Block IIA Cooperative Development Controlled Test Vehicle-01 (SCD CTV-01)
25 June 10:00	Terrier-Improved Orion			Wallops Island		NASA
		RockOn	CU Boulder	Suborbital	Student experiments	25 June	Successful
		Apogee: 118 kilometres (73 mi)
26 June	ARAV ?			Kauai		MDA
			MDA	Suborbital	ABM target	26 June	Launch failure
		Aegis radar target
30 June 04:55	VSB-30			Esrange		EuroLaunch
		MAPHEUS-5	DLR	Suborbital	Technology demonstration	30 June	Successful
		Apogee: 252 kilometres (157 mi)
7 July 10:15	Black Brant IX			Wallops Island		NASA
		SOAREX-8	NASA	Suborbital	Technology demonstration	7 July	Successful
		Apogee: 350 kilometres (220 mi)
29 July 08:30	ARAV ?		MMW E1	Kauai		MDA
			MDA	Suborbital	ABM target	29 July	Successful
		Apogee: 100 kilometres (62 mi)?, Aegis MMW E1 target, successful intercept by SM-6 Dual I missile
30 July 06:15	ARAV ?		MMW E2	Kauai		MDA
			MDA	Suborbital	ABM target	30 July	Successful
		Apogee: 100 kilometres (62 mi)?, Aegis MMW E2 target, successful intercept by SM-2 Block IV missile
12 August 10:14	Terrier-Improved Malemute			Wallops Island		NASA
		Rocksat-X	Various universities	Suborbital	Student Research	12 August	Successful
		Apogee: ~156km (97 miles).[72]
19 August 10:03	LGM-30G Minuteman III			Vandenberg LF-10		US Air Force
			US Air Force	Suborbital	Test flight	19 August	Successful
		GT213GM, Apogee: ~1,300 kilometres (810 mi) ?
22 August 15:13	RS-12M Topol			Kapustin Yar		RVSN
			RVSN	Suborbital	Missile test	22 August	Successful
27 August 17:45	Black Brant IX			White Sands		NASA
		MOSES-2	MSU	Suborbital	Solar astronomy	27 August	Successful
		Apogee: 185 miles (298 km)[73]
3 September 17:01	Black Brant IX			White Sands		NASA
		CLASP	NASA / JAXA / IAC / IAS	Suborbital	Solar astronomy	3 September	Successful
		Apogee: 167 miles (269 km)[74]
11 September 11:00:00	S-520			Uchinoura		JAXA
			HU/UT/TU/JAXA	Suborbital	Microgravity	11 September	Successful
		Apogee: 312 km[75]
16 September 19:06	Black Brant XI			Andøya		NASA
		CARE II	NRL	Suborbital	Aeronomy	16 September	Successful
		Apogee: 299 kilometres (186 mi)
30 September 08:28	M51			Landes		DGA/Marine nationale
			DGA/Marine nationale	Suborbital	Test flight	30 September	Successful
		Apogee: 500 kilometres (310 mi), apparently launched from the land test pad, rather than from a submarine.
2 October 05:39:00	/ VSB-30/Improved Orion			Esrange		Swedish Space Corporation
		O-STATES 1	SNSB	Suborbital	Atmospheric Research	2 October	Successful
		Apogee: 246 kilometres (153 mi)
7 October 23:07:00	Black Brant IX			Wallops Island		NASA
		Technology Test Flight	NASA GSFC	Suborbital	Rocket motor test	7 October	Successful
		LEO-1	Orbital ATK	Suborbital	Materials Testing	7 October	Successful
		NNS	NASA	Suborbital	Materials Testing	7 October	Successful
		Apogee: 257.5 kilometers (160mi).[76] Test flight of the new Black Brant Mk4 sustainer motor. Other payloads included a cloud of barium and strontium, which was deployed to test the rocket's payload ejection system and was visible for miles along the East Coast of the United States.
19 October 14:09:00	/ VSB-30/Improved Orion			Esrange		Swedish Space Corporation
		O-STATES 2	SNSB	Suborbital	Atmospheric Research	19 October	Successful
		Apogee: 244 kilometres (152 mi)
20 October	Terrier-Orion		ADS-15 E2	South Uist, Hebrides		MDA
			DOD	Suborbital	Target	20 October	Successful
		SM-3 Target, apogee: ~100 kilometres (62 mi)?
20 October	SM-3		ADS-15 E2	USS Ross (DDG-71), Hebrides Range		US Navy
			US Navy	Suborbital	ABM test	20 October	Successful
		First Aegis-Test in the North Atlantic, successful intercept, apogee: ~100 kilometres (62 mi)?
21 October 12:45:00	LGM-30G Minuteman III			Vandenberg LF-04		US Air Force
			US Air Force	Suborbital	Test flight	21 October	Successful
		GT216GM, Apogee: ~1,300 kilometres (810 mi) ?
28 October 11:30	RS-24 Yars			Plesetsk		RVSN
			RVSN	Suborbital	Missile test	28 October	Successful
30 October	RS-12M Topol			Plesetsk		RVSN
			RVSN	Suborbital	Missile test	30 October	Successful
30 October	R-29RMU Sineva			K-117 Bryansk, Barents Sea		VMF
			VMF	Suborbital	Missile test	30 October	Successful
30 October	R-29R Volna			K-223 Podolsk, Sea of Okhotsk		VMF
			VMF	Suborbital	Missile test	30 October	Successful
31 October 23:00 ?	B-611			Shuangchengzi		PLA
			PLA	Suborbital	ABM target	31 October	Successful
		Target
31 October 23:00 ?	SC-19			Korla		PLA
			PLA	Suborbital	ABM test	31 October	Successful
		Interceptor, successful intercept
1 November 03:05	SRALT		FTO-02 E2a	C-17, Pacific Ocean		MDA
			MDA	Suborbital	THAAD target	1 November	Successful
		Apogee: 300 kilometres (190 mi), successful intercepted
1 November 03:07	THAAD		FTO-02 E2a	Wake Island		US Army
			US Army/MDA	Suborbital	ABM test	1 November	Successful
		Intercepted target missile, apogee: 100 kilometres (62 mi)
1 November 03:10	eMRBM		FTO-02 E2a	C-17, Pacific Ocean		MDA
			MDA	Suborbital	THAAD target	1 November	Successful
		Apogee: 300 kilometres (190 mi), successful intercepted
1 November 03:12	THAAD		FTO-02 E2a	Wake Island		US Army
			US Army/MDA	Suborbital	ABM test	1 November	Successful
		Intercepted target missile, apogee: 100 kilometres (62 mi)
6 November 15:01	SpaceLoft XL			Spaceport America		UP Aerospace
		FOP-4	NASA	Suborbital	Four technology demonstration experiments	6 November	Successful
		Mission SL-10, Apogee: 120.7 kilometers (74.98 miles). First private suborbital rocket to demonstrate ejection of recoverable payloads.[77]
8 November 02:00	UGM-133 Trident II D5			USS Kentucky, Pacific Ocean		US Navy
			US Navy	Suborbital	Missile test	8 November	Successful
		Demonstration and Shakedown Operation 26 (DASO-26)
9 November 04:15	Agni-IV			Integrated Test Range		DRDO
			DRDO	Suborbital	Missile Test	9 November	Successful
		Apogee: ~850 kilometres (530 mi)?
9 November 20:00	UGM-133 Trident II D5			USS Kentucky, Pacific Ocean		US Navy
			US Navy	Suborbital	Missile test	9 November	Successful
		Demonstration and Shakedown Operation 26 (DASO-26)
14 November	RSM-56 Bulava			K-551 Vladimir Monomakh, White Sea		VMF
			VMF	Suborbital	Missile test	14 November	Successful
14 November	RSM-56 Bulava			K-551 Vladimir Monomakh, White Sea		VMF
			VMF	Suborbital	Missile test	14 November	Successful
		Missile did not hit its targets at the Kura test site. The warheads did reach the Kamchatka region, but the miss was fairly large, but that was still not significant enough to abort the flight
17 November 12:12	RS-12M Topol			Kapustin Yar		RVSN
			RVSN	Suborbital	Missile test	17 November	Successful
21 November	Ghadr-1			Semnan ?		IRGC
			IGRC	Suborbital	Missile test	21 November	Successful
		apogee: 150 kilometres (93 mi)
23 November 17:21	New Shepard			Corn Ranch		Blue Origin
		New Shepard	Blue Origin	Suborbital	Test flight	23 November	Successful
		Apogee: 100.5 kilometres (62.4 mi). Second test flight of the New Shepard launch system, first to cross the Kármán line, and first to achieve a powered landing of its propulsion stage.
25 November 04:17	Black Brant IX			White Sands		NASA
		PICTURE-B	UMass	Suborbital	Astronomy	25 November	Successful
		apogee: 217 kilometres (135 mi)
30 November 07:25	Talos Terrier Oriole Nihka			Andøya		NASA
		CAPER	Dartmouth College	Suborbital	Auroral research	30 November	Launch failure
		Third stage failure, payload recovered
1 December 05:00	VSB-30			Esrange		EuroLaunch
		MASER-13	SSC	Suborbital	Microgravity	1 December	Successful
		apogee: 270 kilometres (170 mi)
5 December 04:45	Black Brant IX			White Sands		NASA
		DXL-2	U of M	Suborbital	Astronomy	5 December	Successful
		apogee: 224 kilometres (139 mi)
8 December	SM-3-IIA			San Nicolas Island		US Navy
			US Navy	Suborbital	ABM test	8 December	Successful
		Second flight of SM-3 Block IIA Cooperative Development Controlled Test Vehicle-02 (SCD CTV-02)
10 December 06:12	Silver Sparrow			F-15 Eagle, Israel		IAF
			IAI/IDF	Suborbital	ABM target	10 December	Successful
		Arrow-3 target, successfully intercepted, apogee: ~150 kilometres (93 mi)
10 December 06:15	Arrow III			Negev		IAF
			IAI/IDF	Suborbital	ABM Test	10 December	Successful
		First test of the Arrow-III against a target, successful intercept over the Mediterranean
10 December	SRALT		FTO-02 E1a	C-17, Pacific Ocean		MDA
			MDA	Suborbital	SM-3-IB target	10 December	Successful
		Apogee: 300 kilometres (190 mi), successful intercepted
10 December	SM-3-IB		FTO-02 E1a	Kauai		US Navy
			US Navy	Suborbital	ABM test	10 December	Successful
		First intercept flight test of a land-based Aegis Ballistic Missile Defense (BMD) weapon system
10 December 13:55	Juno			Fort Wingate LC-96		US Army
			US Army	Suborbital	Target	10 December	Successful
		Target for MIM-104 Patriot PAC-3 MSE test, successfully intercepted
11 December	Shaheen-III			Sonmiani		ASFC
			ASFC	Suborbital	Missile test	11 December	Successful
		Apogee: 500 kilometres (310 mi)?
12 December	R-29RMU Sineva			K-51 Verkhoturye, Barents Sea		VMF
			VMF	Suborbital	Missile test	12 December	Successful
13 December 04:32	Black Brant XIIA			Andøya		NASA
		RENU 2	New Hampshire	Suborbital	Geospace	13 December	Successful
		Apogee: 447 kilometres (278 mi)
15 December	Shaheen-IA			Sonmiani		ASFC
			ASFC	Suborbital	Missile test	15 December	Successful
18 December 06:52	Black Brant IX			White Sands		NASA
		FORTIS	JHU	Suborbital	UV Astronomy	18 December	Successful
		apogee: 282 kilometres (175 mi)
24 December 17:55	RS-12M Topol			Kapustin Yar		RVSN
			RVSN	Suborbital	Missile test	24 December	Successful

Deep space rendezvous

Date (GMT)	Spacecraft	Event	Remarks
10 January	Chang'e 5-T1	Injection into Selenocentric orbit	Departed from Earth–Moon L2 on 4 January.
11 January[78]	Cassini	109th flyby of Titan	Closest approach: 970 kilometres (603 mi).
12 February	Cassini	110th flyby of Titan	Closest approach: 1,200 kilometres (746 mi).
6 March[79]	Dawn	Enters orbit of Ceres	1st visit to a dwarf planet.
16 March	Cassini	111th flyby of Titan	Closest approach: 2,275 kilometres (1,413 mi).
30 April	MESSENGER	Impact to Mercury[80]	The crash occurred on the side of the planet not visible from Earth.
7 May	Cassini	112th flyby of Titan	Closest approach: 2,722 kilometres (1,691 mi).
16 June	Cassini	4th flyby of Dione	Closest approach: 516 kilometres (321 mi).
7 July	Cassini	113th flyby of Titan	Closest approach: 10,953 kilometres (6,806 mi).
14 July	New Horizons	First flyby of Pluto and Charon	2nd visit to a dwarf planet. Closest approach: 12,500 km (7,800 mi).
17 August	Cassini	5th flyby of Dione	Closest approach: 474 kilometres (295 mi).
28 September	Cassini	114th flyby of Titan	Closest approach: 1,036 kilometres (643 mi).
14 October	Cassini	Flyby of Enceladus	Closest approach: 1,839 kilometres (1,142 mi).
28 October	Cassini	Flyby of Enceladus	Closest approach: 49 kilometres (30 mi).
12 November	Cassini	115th flyby of Titan	Closest approach: 11,920 kilometres (7,407 mi).
3 December[81]	Hayabusa2	Flyby of Earth	Gravity assist
3 December[82]	PROCYON	Flyby of Earth	Gravity assist en route to cancelled asteroid flyby.
4 December[83]	Shin'en 2	Flyby of Earth	Gravity assist
7 December[84]	Akatsuki	Venus orbit insertion	Akatsuki's 2nd flyby of Venus and 2nd (successful) attempt at orbit insertion.
19 December	Cassini	Flyby of Enceladus	Closest approach: 4,999 kilometres (3,106 mi).

Extra-Vehicular Activities (EVAs)

Start Date/Time	Duration	End Time	Spacecraft	Crew	Remarks
21 February 12:45	6 hours 41 minutes	19:26	Expedition 42/43 ISS Quest	Barry E. Wilmore Terry W. Virts	Rigged and routed power and data cables at the forward end of the Harmony module as part of preparations for the installation of the International Docking Adapter at PMA-2.[85]
25 February 11:51	6 hours 43 minutes	18:34	Expedition 42/43 ISS Quest	Barry E. Wilmore Terry W. Virts	Completed power and data cable routing at the forward end of the Harmony module. Removed launch locks from forward and aft berthing ports of Tranquility to prepare for relocation of the Permanent Multipurpose Module and the installation of the Bigelow Expandable Activity Module. Lubricated end effector of Canadarm2.[86][87]
1 March 11:52	5 hours 38 minutes	17:30	Expedition 42/43 ISS Quest	Terry W. Virts Barry E. Wilmore	Finished cable routing, antenna and retro-reflector installation on both sides of the ISS truss and on other modules in preparation for the installation of the International Docking Adapter at PMA-2 and 3.[88][89]
10 August 14:20	5 hours 31 minutes	19:51	Expedition 44/45 ISS Pirs	Gennady Padalka Mikhail Korniyenko	Installed gap spanners on the hull of the station for facilitating movement of crew members on future spacewalks, cleaned windows of the Zvezda Service Module, install fasteners on communications antennas, replaced an aging docking antenna, photographed various locations and hardware on Zvezda and nearby modules, and retrieved a space environment experiment.[90][91]
28 October 12:03	7 hours 16 minutes	19:19	Expedition 45 ISS Quest	Scott Kelly Kjell N. Lindgren	Prepared a Main Bus Switching Unit for repair, installed a thermal cover on the Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer, lubricated elements of the Space Station Remote Manipulator System, and routed data and power cables to prepare for the installation of the International Docking Adaptor at PMA-2 and 3.[92]
6 November 11:22	7 hours 48 minutes	19:10	Expedition 45 ISS Quest	Scott Kelly Kjell N. Lindgren	Worked to restore a portion of the ISS's cooling system to its primary configuration, returning ammonia coolant levels to normal in the primary and backup radiator arrays.[93]
21 December 13:45	3 hours 16 minutes	16:01	Expedition 46 ISS Quest	Scott Kelly Timothy Kopra	Released a brake on the Mobile Servicing System to allow it to be properly stowed prior to the arrival of a visiting Progress vehicle. Routed cables in preparation for the installation of the Nauka module and the International Docking Adapter, and retrieved tools from a toolbox.[94]

Space debris events

Date/Time (UTC)	Source object	Event type	Pieces tracked	Remarks
3 February 17:40[95]	DMSP 5D-2/F13 (USA-109)	Satellite breakup	159[96]	The breakup was most likely caused by a battery explosion.[95][97] This satellite had been launched in 1995. Another satellite from the same series, DMSP 5D-2/F11, had broken up in 2004.[95] Debris are expected to remain in orbit for decades.[98]
25 November 7:20[99]	NOAA-16	Satellite breakup	275[100]	As this weather satellite, launched in 2000, had a similar construction to the DMSP satellite which broke up in February 2015, the same cause is suspected (battery overheating and explosion).[101]
22 December 16:00[102]	Briz-M upper stage	Booster explosion	9[102]	A Briz-M upper-stage booster, having subsisted in geosynchronous transfer orbit since launching the Canadian Nimiq 6 commsat in 2012, was seen to have broken up into 9 pieces as of 26 January 2016. Orbital analysis of the debris allowed to time the explosion within one minute of 16:00 UTC on 22 December 2015.[102] Three other Briz-M upper stages had exploded earlier in 2007, 2010 and 2012.[103]

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. For example, Soyuz launches by Arianespace in Kourou are counted under Russia because Soyuz-2 is a Russian rocket.

Country		Launches	Successes	Failures	Partial failures
	China	19	19	0	0
	France	6	6	0	0
	India	5	5	0	0
	Iran	1	1	0	0
	Italy	3	3	0	0
	Japan	4	4	0	0
	Russia	27[c]	24	2	1
	Ukraine	2[d]	2	0	0
	United States	20	18	2	0
World		87	82	4	1

By rocket

5

10

15

20

Ariane

Atlas

Delta

Falcon

H-II

Long March

PSLV

R-7

UR

Vega

Others

•   Ariane 5
•   Atlas V
•   Delta II
•   Delta IV
•   Delta IV Heavy
•   Falcon 9
•   H-IIA
•   H-IIB
•   Long March 2
•   Long March 3
•   Long March 4
•   Long March 6
•   Long March 11
•   PSLV
•   Soyuz-U
•   Soyuz-FG
•   Soyuz-2 (Russia)
•   Soyuz-ST (Europe)
•   Proton-M
•   Rokot
•   Vega
•   Others

By family

Family	Country	Launches	Successes	Failures	Partial failures	Remarks
Ariane	France	6	6	0	0
Atlas	United States	9	9	0	0
Delta	United States	3	3	0	0
Falcon	United States	7	6	1	0
GSLV	India	1	1	0	0
H-II	Japan	4	4	0	0
Long March	China	19	19	0	0
PSLV	India	4	4	0	0
R-7	Russia	17	15	1	1
R-36	Ukraine	1	1	0	0
Safir	Iran	1	1	0	0
Strypi	United States	1	0	1	0
Universal Rocket	Russia	10	9	1	0
Vega	Italy	3	3	0	0
Zenit	Ukraine	1	1	0	0

By type

Rocket	Country	Family	Launches	Successes	Failures	Partial failures	Remarks
Ariane 5	France	Ariane	6	6	0	0
Atlas V	United States	Atlas	9	9	0	0
Delta II	United States	Delta	1	1	0	0
Delta IV	United States	Delta	2	2	0	0
Dnepr	Ukraine	R-36	1	1	0	0	Final flight
Falcon 9	United States	Falcon	7	6	1	0
GSLV	India	GSLV	1	1	0	0
H-IIA	Japan	H-II	3	3	0	0
H-IIB	Japan	H-II	1	1	0	0
Long March 2	China	Long March	4	4	0	0
Long March 3	China	Long March	9	9	0	0
Long March 4	China	Long March	4	4	0	0
Long March 6	China	Long March	1	1	0	0	Maiden flight
Long March 11	China	Long March	1	1	0	0	Maiden flight
Proton	Russia	Universal Rocket	8	7	1	0
PSLV	India	PSLV	4	4	0	0
Safir	Iran	Safir	1	1	0	0
Soyuz	Russia	R-7	7	7	0	0
Soyuz-2	Russia	R-7	10	8	1	1
Super Strypi	United States	Strypi	1	0	1	0	Maiden flight
UR-100	Russia	Universal Rocket	2	2	0	0
Vega	Italy	Vega	3	3	0	0
Zenit	Ukraine	Zenit	1	1	0	0

By configuration

Rocket	Country	Type	Launches	Successes	Failures	Partial failures	Remarks
Ariane 5 ECA	France	Ariane 5	6	6	0	0
Atlas V 401	United States	Atlas V	4	4	0	0
Atlas V 421	United States	Atlas V	2	2	0	0
Atlas V 501	United States	Atlas V	1	1	0	0
Atlas V 551	United States	Atlas V	2	2	0	0
Delta II 7320	United States	Delta II	1	1	0	0
Delta IV Medium+ (4,2)	United States	Delta IV	1	1	0	0
Delta IV Medium+ (5,4)	United States	Delta IV	1	1	0	0
Dnepr	Ukraine	R-36	1	1	0	0	Final flight
Falcon 9 v1.1	United States	Falcon 9	6	5	1	0
Falcon 9 Full Thrust	United States	Falcon 9	1	1	0	0	Maiden flight
GSLV Mk II	India	GSLV	1	1	0	0
H-IIA 202	Japan	H-IIA	2	2	0	0
H-IIA 204	Japan	H-IIA	1	1	0	0
H-IIB	Japan	H-IIB	1	1	0	0
Long March 2D	China	Long March 2	4	4	0	0
Long March 3B/E	China	Long March 3	7	7	0	0
Long March 3B / YZ-1	China	Long March 3	1	1	0	0	Maiden flight
Long March 3C/E / YZ-1	China	Long March 3	1	1	0	0	Maiden flight
Long March 4B	China	Long March 4	2	2	0	0
Long March 4C	China	Long March 4	2	2	0	0
Long March 6	China	Long March 5	1	1	0	0	Maiden flight
Long March 11	China	Long March 11	1	1	0	0	Maiden flight
Proton-M / Blok DM-03	Russia	Proton	1	1	0	0
Proton-M / Briz-M	Russia	Proton	7	6	1	0
PSLV-CA	India	PSLV	1	1	0	0
PSLV-XL	India	PSLV	3	3	0	0
Rokot / Briz-KM	Russia	UR-100	2	2	0	0
Safir-1B	Iran	Safir	1	1	0	0
Soyuz-2.1a	Russia	Soyuz-2	4	3	1	0
Soyuz-2.1b	Russia	Soyuz-2	1	1	0	0
Soyuz-2.1b / Fregat-M	Russia	Soyuz-2	1	1	0	0
Soyuz ST-B / Fregat-MT	Russia	Soyuz-2	3	3	0	0
Soyuz-2-1v / Volga	Russia	Soyuz-2	1	0	0	1
Soyuz-FG	Russia	Soyuz	4	4	0	0
Soyuz-U	Russia	Soyuz	3	3	0	0
Super Strypi	United States	Strypi	1	0	1	0	Maiden flight
Vega	Italy	Vega	3	3	0	0
Zenit-3F	Ukraine	Zenit	1	1	0	0

By spaceport

5

10

15

20

China

France

India

Iran

Japan

Kazakhstan

Russia

United States

•   Jiuquan
•   Taiyuan
•   Xichang
•   Kourou
•   Satish Dhawan
•   Semnan
•   Tanegashima
•   Uchinoura
•   Baikonur
•   Dombarovsky
•   Plesetsk
•   Barking Sands
•   Cape Canaveral
•   Kennedy
•   MARS
•   Vandenberg

Site	Country	Launches	Successes	Failures	Partial failures	Remarks
Baikonur	Kazakhstan	18	16	2	0
Barking Sands	United States	1	0	1	0
Cape Canaveral	United States	17	16	1	0
Dombarovsky	Russia	1	1	0	0
Kourou	France	12	12	0	0
Jiuquan	China	5	5	0	0
Plesetsk	Russia	7	6	0	1
Satish Dhawan	India	5	5	0	0
Semnan	Iran	1	1	0	0
Taiyuan	China	5	5	0	0
Tanegashima	Japan	4	4	0	0
Vandenberg	United States	2	2	0	0
Xichang	China	9	9	0	0
Total		87	82	4	1

By orbit

10

20

30

40

50

Transatmospheric

Low Earth

Geosynchronous / transfer

Medium Earth

High Earth

Heliocentric orbit

•   Transatmospheric
•   Low Earth
•   Low Earth (ISS)
•   Low Earth (SSO)
•   Low Earth (retrograde)
•   Geosychronous
  (transfer)
•   Medium Earth
•   High Earth
•   Heliocentric

Orbital regime	Launches	Achieved	Not achieved	Accidentally achieved	Remarks
Transatmospheric	1	1	0	0
Low Earth	45	42	2	1	14 to ISS (1 launch failure, 1 failure post-separation)
Geosynchronous/transfer	32	31	1	0
Medium Earth	7	7	0	0
High Earth	2	2	0	0
Total	87	83	3	1

Gallery

• 
  Soyuz TMA-16M launches carrying ISS year long mission crew members Scott Kelly and Mikhail Korniyenko and Soyuz commander Gennady Padalka.
• 
  Photo of Ceres taken by the Dawn spacecraft at a distance of 13,600 km (8,500 mi).
• 
  First stage of the Falcon 9 Flight 20 rocket immediately before touching down at Landing Zone 1.
• 
  Scott Kelly working outside of the International Space Station

Notes

1. Clockwise from top:

   • The first ever vertical landing of an orbital-class launch vehicle, during the Falcon 9's twentieth flight in December. The vehicle landed at Cape Canaveral LZ-1.
   • A close-up view of one of many high albedo regions on the dwarf planet Ceres spotted by the Dawn spacecraft upon its arrival in March. Ceres was the second world to be visited by Dawn after the main belt asteroid 4 Vesta.
   • Commander Scott Kelly is pulled from the Soyuz TMA-M Eridan following its landing in Kazakhstan in March. The landing signalled the conclusion of Kelly's and Mikhail Kornienko's year in space.
   • A true colour view of Pluto, photographed by the New Horizons spacecraft during its historic flyby in July. Launched in 2006, the spacecraft traversed a distance of nearly 5 billion kilometres (3.1 billion miles) before performing the first ever reconnaissance of a Kuiper belt object (KBO).
2. The European experimental spaceplane IXV was briefly in orbit but did not receive a COSPAR catalog number.
3. Includes three European Soyuz launches from Kourou, French Guiana by Arianespace
4. Zenit and Dnepr rockets were launched from Russia and/or Kazakhstan