1985 in spaceflight
| National firsts | |
|---|---|
| Space traveller | Mexico Saudi Arabia |
| Rockets | |
| Maiden flights | Space Shuttle Atlantis M-3SII |
| Crewed flights | |
| Orbital | 11 |
| Total travellers | 63 |
The following is an outline of 1985 in spaceflight.
Overview
First Atlantis flight
Space Shuttle Atlantis (Orbiter Vehicle designation: OV‑104) is a retired Space Shuttle orbiter vehicle which belongs to NASA, the spaceflight and space exploration agency of the United States.[1] Atlantis was manufactured by the Rockwell International company in Southern California and was delivered to the Kennedy Space Center in Eastern Florida in April 1985. Atlantis is the fourth operational and the second-to-last Space Shuttle built.[2][3] Its maiden flight was STS-51-J made from October 3 to 7, 1985.
Orbital launches
| Date and time (UTC) | Rocket | Flight number | Launch site | LSP | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Payload (⚀ = CubeSat) |
Operator | Orbit | Function | Decay (UTC) | Outcome | |||
| Remarks | ||||||||
January | ||||||||
| 7 January 19:26 |
M-3SII / KM-P | M-3SII-1 | Kagoshima LP-M | ISAS | ||||
| Sakigake (MS-T5) | ISAS | Heliocentric | 1P/Halley comet flyby | 8 January 1999 | Successful | |||
| Maiden flight of M-3SII. First Japanese deep space probe. | ||||||||
| 9 January 10:45 |
Soyuz U | Baikonur Site 31/6 | ||||||
| Kosmos 1616 (Yantar-4K2 №12/Kobalt №12) | GRU | Low Earth | Reconnaissance | In orbit | Operational | |||
| 15 January 14:50 |
Tsyklon-3 | Plesetsk Site 32/1 | ||||||
| Kosmos 1617 (Strela-3 №1) | VKS | Low Earth | Military communications | In orbit | Operational | |||
| Kosmos 1618 (Strela-3 №2) | VKS | Low Earth | Military communications | In orbit | Operational | |||
| Kosmos 1619 (Strela-3 №3) | VKS | Low Earth | Military communications | In orbit | Operational | |||
| Kosmos 1620 (Strela-3 №4) | VKS | Low Earth | Military communications | In orbit | Operational | |||
| Kosmos 1621 (Strela-3 №5) | VKS | Low Earth | Military communications | In orbit | Operational | |||
| Kosmos 1622 (Strela-3 №6) | VKS | Low Earth | Military communications | In orbit | Operational | |||
| 16 January | Molniya-M / Blok-ML | Plesetsk Site 43/4 | ||||||
| Molniya-3 36L | NPO PM | Molniya | Communications | In orbit | Operational | |||
| 16 January | Soyuz U | Baikonur Site 1/5 | ||||||
| Kosmos 1623 (Zenit-8 №10/Oblik №10) | GRU | Low Earth | Reconnaissance | In orbit | Operational | |||
| 17 January | Kosmos-3M | Plesetsk Site 132/1 | ||||||
| Kosmos 1624 (Strela-2M №36) | Low Earth | Military communications | In orbit | Operational | ||||
| 18 January | Proton-K / Blok-DM | Baikonur Site 200/39 | ||||||
| Gorizont 11 (Gorizont 21L) | Geosynchronous | Communications | In orbit | Operational | ||||
| 23 January | Tsyklon-2 | Baikonur LC-90 | ||||||
| Kosmos 1625 (US-P №20) | Low Earth | In orbit | Operational | |||||
| 24 January | Tsyklon-3 | Plesetsk Site 32/2 | ||||||
| Kosmos 1626 (Tselina-D №47) | Low Earth | SIGINT | In orbit | Operational | ||||
| 24 January 19:50 |
Space Shuttle Discovery / IUS | Kennedy LC-39A | United Space Alliance | |||||
| STS-51-C | NASA | Low Earth | Satellite deployment | 27 January 21:23 |
Successful | |||
| Orion 1 (USA-8/Magnum 1) | NRO | Geosynchronous | ELINT | In orbit | Successful | |||
| Crewed orbital flight with five astronauts | ||||||||
February | ||||||||
| 1 February 19:36 |
Kosmos-3M | Plesetsk Site 132/2 | ||||||
| Kosmos 1627 (Parus №48) | Low Earth | Navigation | In orbit | Operational | ||||
| 6 February | Soyuz U | Plesetsk Site 41/1 | ||||||
| Kosmos 1628 (Zenit-8 №11/Oblik №11) | GRU | Low Earth | Reconnaissance | In orbit | Operational | |||
| 6 February | Tsyklon-3 | Plesetsk Site 32/1 | ||||||
| Meteor-2 12 | Low Earth | Meteorology | In orbit | Operational | ||||
| 8 February 06:10 |
Titan 34B / Agena-D | Vandenberg SLC-4W | ||||||
| Quasar 6 (SDS 6/USA-9) | NRO | Molniya | Communications | In orbit | Successful | |||
| 8 February 23:22 |
Ariane 3 | Kourou ELA-1 | Arianespace | |||||
| Arabsat-1A | Arabsat | Geosynchronous | Communications | March 1992 | Successful | |||
| Brasilsat-A1 | Embratel | Geosynchronous | Communications | In orbit | Successful | |||
| Arabsat 1A failed in March 1992 | ||||||||
| 21 February | Proton-K Blok-DM | Baikonur Site 200/39 | ||||||
| Kosmos 1629 (US-KS №3) | Geosynchronous | Early warning | In orbit | Operational | ||||
| 27 February | Soyuz U | Baikonur Site 31/6 | ||||||
| Kosmos 1630 (Yantar-4K2 №13/Kobalt №13) | GRU | Low Earth | Reconnaissance | In orbit | Operational | |||
| 27 February | Kosmos-3M | Plesetsk Site 132/1 | ||||||
| Kosmos 1631 (Taifun-1 №18/Vektor №18) | Low Earth | Radar Calibration | In orbit | Operational | ||||
March | ||||||||
| 1 March | Soyuz U | Plesetsk Site 41/1 | ||||||
| Kosmos 1632 (Zenit-8 №12/Oblik №12) | GRU | Low Earth | Reconnaissance | In orbit | Operational | |||
| 5 March | Tsyklon-3 | Plesetsk Site 32/2 | ||||||
| Kosmos 1633 (Tselina-D №48) | Low Earth | SIGINT | In orbit | Operational | ||||
| 13 March 02:00 |
Atlas E / OIS | Vandenberg SLC-3W | ||||||
| Geosat | US Navy | Sun-synchronous | Earth observation | In orbit | Successful | |||
| Mission ended in January 1990 | ||||||||
| 14 March | Kosmos-3M | Plesetsk Site 132/2 | ||||||
| Kosmos 1634 (Parus №49) | Low Earth | Navigation | In orbit | Operational | ||||
| 21 March | Kosmos-3M | Plesetsk Site 132/2 | ||||||
| Kosmos 1635 (Strela-1M №289) | Low Earth | Military communications | In orbit | Operational | ||||
| Kosmos 1636 (Strela-1M №290) | Low Earth | Military communications | In orbit | Operational | ||||
| Kosmos 1637 (Strela-1M №291) | Low Earth | Military communications | In orbit | Operational | ||||
| Kosmos 1638 (Strela-1M №292) | Low Earth | Military communications | In orbit | Operational | ||||
| Kosmos 1639 (Strela-1M №293) | Low Earth | Military communications | In orbit | Operational | ||||
| Kosmos 1640 (Strela-1M №294) | Low Earth | Military communications | In orbit | Operational | ||||
| Kosmos 1641 (Strela-1M №295) | Low Earth | Military communications | In orbit | Operational | ||||
| Kosmos 1642 (Strela-1M №296) | Low Earth | Military communications | In orbit | Operational | ||||
| 22 March | Proton-K Blok-DM | Baikonur Site 200/40 | ||||||
| Ekran 14 (Ekran 28L) | NPO PM | Geosynchronous | Communications | In orbit | Operational | |||
| 22 March 23:55:00 |
Atlas G / Centaur-D1AR | AC-63 | Cape Canaveral LC-36B | |||||
| Intelsat VA F-10 (Intelsat 510) | Intelsat | Geosynchronous | Communications | July 1999 | Successful | |||
| 25 March | Soyuz U | Baikonur Site 1/5 | ||||||
| Kosmos 1643 (Yantar-4KS1 №3/Terilen №3) | GRU | Low Earth | Reconnaissance | In orbit | Operational | |||
April | ||||||||
| 3 April | Soyuz U | Baikonur Site 31/6 | ||||||
| Kosmos 1644 (Zenit-8 №13/Oblik №13) | GRU | Low Earth | Reconnaissance | In orbit | Operational | |||
| 12 April 13:59 |
Space Shuttle Discovery / PAM-D | Kennedy LC-39A | United Space Alliance | |||||
| STS-51-D | NASA | Low Earth | Satellite deployment | 19 April 13:54 |
Successful | |||
| Anik C1 | Telesat Canada | Current: Graveyard Operational: Geosynchronous |
Communications | In orbit | Successful | |||
| Leasat 3 (Syncom-4 3) | US Navy | Current: Graveyard Operational: Geosynchronous |
Communications | In orbit | Successful | |||
| Crewed orbital flight with seven astronauts including the first sitting member of the United States Congress to fly in space (Senator Jake Garn). Anik C1 was retired on 5 May 2003. Leasat 3 failed to maneuver to geosynchronous orbit and was re-captured by mission STS-51-I in August, repaired and subsequently maneuvered to geosynchronous orbit. Discovery suffered extensive brake and tyre damage upon landing at Kennedy Space Center. | ||||||||
| 13 April | Zenit-2 | Baikonur Site 45 | ||||||
| Kosmos (EPN 03.0694 №1) | Low Earth | Vehicle Evaluation | In orbit | Failure | ||||
| 16 April | Soyuz U | Plesetsk Site 41/1 | ||||||
| Kosmos 1645 (Foton №1) | Low Earth | Microgravity | In orbit | Operational | ||||
| 18 April | Tsyklon-2 | Baikonur Site 90 | ||||||
| Kosmos 1646 (US-P №21) | GRU | Low Earth | In orbit | Operational | ||||
| 19 April | Soyuz U | Plesetsk Site 41/1 | ||||||
| Kosmos 1647 (Yantar-4K2 №14/Kobalt №14) | GRU | Low Earth | Reconnaissance | In orbit | Operational | |||
| 25 April | Soyuz U | Plesetsk Site 43/4 | ||||||
| Kosmos 1648 (Zenit-8 №14/Oblik №14) | GRU | Low Earth | Reconnaissance | In orbit | Operational | |||
| 26 April | Molniya-M / Blok-SO-L | Baikonur Site 31/6 | ||||||
| Interkosmos 23 (Prognoz №10) | Interkosmos/NPO Lavochkin | Molniya | Magnetosphere research | In orbit | Operational | |||
| 29 April 16:02 |
Space Shuttle Challenger | Kennedy LC-39A | United Space Alliance | |||||
| STS-51-B | NASA | Low Earth | Microgravity research | 6 May 16:11 |
Successful | |||
| Spacelab Long Module 1 | NASA/ESRO | Low Earth (Challenger) | Microgravity research | Successful | ||||
| GLOMAR | Intended: Low Earth | Getaway Special | Deployment failure | |||||
| NUSAT | Low Earth | Getaway Special | 15 December | Successful | ||||
| Crewed orbital flight with seven astronauts; GLOMAR failed to deploy from its GAS canister | ||||||||
May | ||||||||
| 8 May 01:15 |
Ariane 3 | Kourou ELA-1 | Arianespace | |||||
| GStar 1 | GTE Spacenet | Geosynchronous | Communications | In orbit | Successful | |||
| Télécom 1B | France Télécom | Geosynchronous | Communications | In orbit | Successful | |||
| 15 May | Soyuz U | Plesetsk Site 43/4 | ||||||
| Kosmos 1649 (Zenit-8 №15/Oblik №15) | GRU | Low Earth | Reconnaissance | In orbit | Operational | |||
| 17 May | Proton-K Blok-DM-2 | Baikonur Site 200/39 | ||||||
| Kosmos 1650 (GLONASS №10) | NPO PM | Medium Earth | Navigation | In orbit | Operational | |||
| Kosmos 1651 (GLONASS №11) | NPO PM | Medium Earth | Navigation | In orbit | Operational | |||
| Kosmos 1652 (GLONASS-GVM №7) | Medium Earth | Dummy satellite | In orbit | Operational | ||||
| 22 May | Soyuz U | Plesetsk Site 41/1 | ||||||
| Kosmos 1653 (Resurs-F1 №22) | Low Earth (SSO) | Earth Observation | In orbit | Operational | ||||
| 23 May | Soyuz U | Baikonur Site 31/6 | ||||||
| Kosmos 1654 (Yantar-4K2 №15/Kobalt №15) | GRU | Low Earth | Reconnaissance | In orbit | Operational | |||
| 29 May | Molniya-M / Blok-ML | Plesetsk Site 43/4 | ||||||
| Molniya-3 39L | NPO PM | Molniya | Communications | In orbit | Operational | |||
| 30 May | Kosmos-3M | Plesetsk Site 132/1 | ||||||
| Kosmos 1655 (Tsikada №12) | NPO PM | Low Earth | Navigation | In orbit | Operational | |||
| 30 May | Proton-K Blok-DM-2 | Baikonur Site 200/40 | ||||||
| Kosmos 1656 (Tselina-2 №2) | Low Earth | SIGINT | In orbit | Operational | ||||
June | ||||||||
| 6 June 06:39 |
Soyuz-U2 | Baikonur Site 1/5 | ||||||
| Soyuz T-13 | Low Earth (Salyut 7) | Salyut 7 EO-4 | 26 September 09:51 |
Successful | ||||
| Crewed orbital flight with two cosmonauts | ||||||||
| 7 June | Soyuz U | Plesetsk Site 43/4 | ||||||
| Kosmos 1657 (Resurs-F1 №23) | Low Earth | Earth Observation | In orbit | Operational | ||||
| 11 June | Molniya-M / Blok-2BL | Plesetsk Site 41/1 | ||||||
| Kosmos 1658 (US-K №39) | Molniya | Early warning | In orbit | Operational | ||||
| 13 June | Soyuz U | Plesetsk Site 16/2 | ||||||
| Kosmos 1659 (Zenit-8 №16/Oblik №16) | GRU | Low Earth | Reconnaissance | In orbit | Operational | |||
| 14 June | Tsyklon-3 | Baikonur Site 32/1 | ||||||
| Kosmos 1660 (Geo-IK №6/Musson №6) | NPO PM | Low Earth | Geodesy | In orbit | Operational | |||
| 17 June 11:33 |
Space Shuttle Discovery / PAM-D | Kennedy LC-39A | United Space Alliance | |||||
| STS-51-G | NASA | Low Earth | Satellite deployment | 24 June 13:11 |
Successful | |||
| Morelos 1 | Morelos | Geosynchronous | Communications | In orbit | Successful | |||
| Arabsat-1B | Arabsat | Geosynchronous | Communications | In orbit | Successful | |||
| Telstar 303 | AT&T | Geosynchronous | Communications | In orbit | Successful | |||
| Spartan 101 | NASA | Low Earth | Astronomy | 24 June 13:11 |
Successful | |||
| Crewed orbital flight with seven astronauts including the first Saudi Arabian space traveller and member of royalty to fly in space (Sultan bin Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud) Arabsat 1B retired in 1993. | ||||||||
| 18 June | Molniya-M / Blok-2BL | Plesetsk Site 16/2 | ||||||
| Kosmos 1661 (US-K №40) | Molniya | Early warning | In orbit | Operational | ||||
| 19 June | Kosmos-3M | Plesetsk Site 132/2 | ||||||
| Kosmos 1662 (Taifun-2 №20) | Low Earth | Radar calibration | In orbit | Operational | ||||
| 23 Romb | Low Earth | In orbit | Operational | |||||
| 21 June 00:39 |
Soyuz-U | Baikonur Site 1/5 | ||||||
| Progress 24 | Low Earth (Salyut 7) | Logistics | 15 July 22:33 |
Successful | ||||
| 21 June | Soyuz U | Plesetsk Site 41/1 | ||||||
| Kosmos 1663 (Resurs-F1 №24) | Low Earth (SSO) | Earth Observation | In orbit | Operational | ||||
| 21 June | Zenit-2 | Baikonur Site 45 | ||||||
| Kosmos (EPN 03.0694 №2) | Low Earth | Vehicle Evaluation | In orbit | Partial Failure | ||||
| 26 June | Soyuz U | Plesetsk Site 43/4 | ||||||
| Kosmos 1664 (Zenit-8 №17/Oblik №17) | GRU | Low Earth | Reconnaissance | In orbit | Operational | |||
| 30 June 00:44 |
Atlas G / Centaur-D1AR | AC-64 | Cape Canaveral LC-36B | |||||
| Intelsat VA F-11 (Intelsat 511) | Intelsat | Geosynchronous | Communications | In orbit | Successful | |||
July | ||||||||
| 2 July 11:23 |
Ariane 1 | Kourou ELA-1 | Arianespace | |||||
| Giotto | ESA | Heliocentric | Flyby of Halley's Comet | In orbit | Successful | |||
| Closest approach of Halley's Comet (596 kilometres (370 mi)) achieved on 13 March 1986 Closest approach of 26P/Grigg-Skjellerup (200 kilometres (120 mi)) achieved on 10 July 1992 | ||||||||
| 3 July | Soyuz U | Plesetsk Site 16/2 | ||||||
| Kosmos 1665 (Zenit-8 №18/Oblik №18) | GRU | Low Earth | Reconnaissance | In orbit | Operational | |||
| 8 July | Tsyklon-3 | Plesetsk Site 32/2 | ||||||
| Kosmos 1666 (Tselina-D №49) | Low Earth | SIGINT | In orbit | Operational | ||||
| 10 July | Soyuz U | Plesetsk Site 41/1 | ||||||
| Kosmos 1667 (Bion №7) | Low Earth | Life Science | In orbit | Operational | ||||
| 15 July | Soyuz U | Baikonur Site 31/6 | ||||||
| Kosmos 1668 (Zenit-8 №19/Oblik №19) | GRU | Low Earth | Reconnaissance | In orbit | Operational | |||
| 17 July | Molniya-M / Blok-ML | Plesetsk Site 43/4 | ||||||
| Molniya-3 37L | NPO PM | Molniya | Communications | In orbit | Operational | |||
| 19 July 13:05 |
Soyuz-U | Baikonur Site 1/5 | ||||||
| Kosmos 1669 (Progress) | Low Earth (Salyut 7) | Logistics | 30 August 01:20 |
Successful | ||||
| 29 July 21:00 |
Space Shuttle Challenger | Kennedy LC-39A | United Space Alliance | |||||
| STS-51-F | NASA | Low Earth | Astronomical experiments | 6 August 19:45 |
Successful | |||
| PDP | NASA | Low Earth | Plasma research | Successful | ||||
| Spacelab 2 (three pallets) | NASA/ESRO | Low Earth (Challenger) | Astronomy | Successful | ||||
| Crewed orbital flight with seven astronauts; A main engine shut-down during ascent caused an Abort to Orbit, the first (and only) abort of the Space Shuttle program. | ||||||||
August | ||||||||
| 1 August | Tsyklon-2 | Baikonur Site 90 | ||||||
| Kosmos 1670 (US-A №26) | Low Earth | Ocean Surveillance | In orbit | Operational | ||||
| 2 August | Soyuz U | Plesetsk Site 16/2 | ||||||
| Kosmos 1671 (Zenit-8 №20/Oblik №20) | GRU | Low Earth | Reconnaissance | In orbit | Operational | |||
| 3 August | Scout-G 1 | Vandenberg SLC-5 | ||||||
| Transit-O 24 | US Navy | Low Earth | Navigation | In orbit | Operational | |||
| Transit-O 30 | US Navy | Low Earth | Navigation | In orbit | Operational | |||
| 7 August | Soyuz U | Plesetsk Site 43/4 | ||||||
| Kosmos 1672 (Resurs-F1 №25) | Low Earth (SSO) | Earth observation | In orbit | Operational | ||||
| 8 August | Soyuz U | Baikonur Site 1/5 | ||||||
| Kosmos 1673 (Yantar-1KFT №5/Kometa №5) | GRU | Low Earth | Reconnaissance | In orbit | Operational | |||
| 8 August | Tsyklon-3 | Plesetsk Site 32/1 | ||||||
| Kosmos 1674 (Tselina-D №50) | Low Earth | SIGINT | In orbit | Operational | ||||
| 8 August | Proton-K Blok-DM | Baikonur Site 200/39 | ||||||
| Raduga 16 (Gran 26L) | NPO PM | Geosynchronous | Communications | In orbit | Operational | |||
| 12 August | Molniya-M / Blok-2BL | Plesetsk Site 16/2 | ||||||
| Kosmos 1675 (US-K №41) | Molniya | Early warning | In orbit | Operational | ||||
| 16 August | Soyuz U | Plesetsk Site 41/1 | ||||||
| Kosmos 1676 (Yantar-4K2 №16/Kobalt №16) | GRU | Low Earth | Reconnaissance | In orbit | Operational | |||
| 18 August 23:33 |
M-3SII / KM-P | M-3SII-2 | Kagoshima LP-M | ISAS | ||||
| Suisei (Planet A) | ISAS | Heliocentric | 1P/Halley comet flyby | 22 February 1991 | Successful | |||
| 22 August | Molniya-M / Blok-ML | Plesetsk Site 41/1 | ||||||
| Molniya-1T 64 (Molniya-1T 74L) | NPO PM | Molniya | Communications | In orbit | Operational | |||
| 23 August | Tsyklon-2 | Baikonur Site 90 | ||||||
| Kosmos 1677 (US-A №27) | Low Earth | Reconnaissance | In orbit | Operational | ||||
| 27 August 10:58 |
Space Shuttle Discovery / PAM-D | Kennedy LC-39A | United Space Alliance | |||||
| STS-51-I | NASA | Low Earth | Satellite deployment and repair | 3 September 13:15 |
Successful | |||
| Aussat A1 | Aussat Pty Ltd | Geosynchronous | Communications | In orbit | Successful | |||
| ASC-1 | ASC | Geosynchronous | Communications | In orbit | Successful | |||
| Leasat 4 (Syncom-4 4) | US Navy | Geosynchronous | Communications | In orbit | Spacecraft failure | |||
| Crewed orbital flight with five astronauts Leasat 4 failed in orbit after becoming operational for a short period Retrieved Leasat 3, deployed by STS-51-D in April and repaired the malfunctioning perigee motor to allow the satellite to reach geosynchronous orbit. | ||||||||
| 28 August 21:20 |
Titan 34D | Vandenberg SLC-4E | ||||||
| KH-11 7 (Crystal 7) | NRO | Intended: Sun-synchronous | Reconnaissance | 28 August | Launch Failure | |||
| First stage propellant feed malfunction | ||||||||
| 29 August | Soyuz U | Plesetsk Site 41/1 | ||||||
| Kosmos 1678 (Resurs-F1 №26) | Low Earth (SSO) | Earth observation | In orbit | Operational | ||||
| 29 August | Soyuz U | Baikonur Site 31/6 | ||||||
| Kosmos 1679 (Yantar-4K2 №17/Kobalt №17) | GRU | Low Earth | Reconnaissance | In orbit | Operational | |||
September | ||||||||
| 4 September | Kosmos-3M | Plesetsk Site 132/1 | ||||||
| Kosmos 1680 (Strela-2M №27) | NPO PM | Low Earth | Military communications | In orbit | Operational | |||
| 6 September | Soyuz U | Plesetsk Site 41/1 | ||||||
| Kosmos 1681 (Zenit-4MKT №27/Fram №27) | GRU | Low Earth | Reconnaissance | In orbit | Operational | |||
| 12 September 23:26 |
Ariane 3 | Kourou ELA | Arianespace | |||||
| Eutelsat I F-3 (ECS-3) | Eutelsat | Intended: Geosynchronous | Communications | 12 September | Launch Failure | |||
| Spacenet F3 | Spacenet | Intended: Geosynchronous | Communications | |||||
| Third stage failed to ignite | ||||||||
| 17 September 12:38 |
Soyuz-U2 | Baikonur Site 1/5 | ||||||
| Soyuz T-14 | Low Earth (Salyut 7) | Salyut 7 EP-5 | 21 November 10:31 |
Successful | ||||
| Crewed orbital flight with three cosmonauts | ||||||||
| 19 September | Tsyklon-2 | Baikonur Site 90 | ||||||
| Kosmos 1682 (US-P №22) | Low Earth | Reconnaissance | In orbit | Operational | ||||
| 19 September | Soyuz U | Plesetsk Site 41/1 | ||||||
| Kosmos 1683 (Zenit-8 №21/Oblik №21) | GRU | Low Earth | Reconnaissance | In orbit | Operational | |||
| 24 September | Molniya-M / Blok-2BL | Plesetsk Site 43/4 | ||||||
| Kosmos 1684 (US-K №42) | Molniya | Early warning | In orbit | Operational | ||||
| 26 September | Soyuz U | Baikonur Site 16/2 | ||||||
| Kosmos 1685 (Zenit-8 №22/Oblik №22) | GRU | Low Earth | Reconnaissance | In orbit | Operational | |||
| 27 September 08:41 |
Proton-K | Baikonur Site 200/39 | ||||||
| Kosmos 1686 (TKS-M №1) | Low Earth (Salyut 7) | Logistics | 7 February 1991 | Successful | ||||
| TKS-4; remained docked with Salyut 7 through that station's re-entry | ||||||||
| 28 September 23:17 |
Atlas G | Cape Canaveral LC-36B | ||||||
| Intelsat VA F-11 (Intelsat 512) | Intelsat | Geosynchronous | Communications | In orbit | Successful | |||
| 30 September | Molniya-M / Blok-2BL | Plesetsk Site 16/2 | ||||||
| Kosmos 1687 (US-K №43) | Molniya | Early warning | In orbit | Operational | ||||
October | ||||||||
| 2 October | Kosmos-3M | Kapustin Yar Site 107 | ||||||
| Kosmos 1688 (Taifun-2 №21) | Low Earth | Radar calibration | In orbit | Operational | ||||
| O Romb | Low Earth | In orbit | Operational | |||||
| 3 October | Vostok-2M | Baikonur Site 31/6 | ||||||
| Kosmos 1689 (Resurs-O1 №1) | NPO Planeta | Low Earth | Earth observation | In orbit | Operational | |||
| 3 October | Molniya-M / Blok-ML | Plesetsk Site 43/4 | ||||||
| Molniya-3 38L | NPO PM | Molniya | Communications | In orbit | Operational | |||
| 3 October 15:15 |
Space Shuttle Atlantis / IUS | Kennedy LC-39A | United Space Alliance | |||||
| STS-51-J | NASA | Low Earth | Satellite deployment | 7 October 17:00 |
Successful | |||
| DSCS-III 2 (USA-11) | US Air Force | Geosynchronous | Communications | In orbit | Successful | |||
| DSCS-III 3 (USA-12) | US Air Force | Geosynchronous | Communications | In orbit | Successful | |||
| Crewed orbital flight with five astronauts; Maiden flight of Space Shuttle Atlantis | ||||||||
| 9 October 02:53 |
Atlas E/SGS-2 | Vandenberg SLC-3W | ||||||
| GPS-11 (USA-10) | US Air Force | Medium Earth | Navigation | In orbit | Successful | |||
| 9 October | Tsyklon-3 | Plesetsk Site 32/1 | ||||||
| Kosmos 1690 (Strela-3 №7) | VKS | Low Earth | Military communications | In orbit | Operational | |||
| Kosmos 1691 (Strela-3 №8) | VKS | Low Earth | Military communications | In orbit | Operational | |||
| Kosmos 1692 (Strela-3 №9) | VKS | Low Earth | Military communications | In orbit | Operational | |||
| Kosmos 1693 (Strela-3 №10) | VKS | Low Earth | Military communications | In orbit | Operational | |||
| Kosmos 1694 (Strela-3 №11) | VKS | Low Earth | Military communications | In orbit | Operational | |||
| Kosmos 1695 (Strela-3 №12) | VKS | Low Earth | Military communications | In orbit | Operational | |||
| 16 October | Soyuz U | Baikonur Site 31/6 | ||||||
| Kosmos 1696 (Zenit-8 №23/Oblik №23) | GRU | Low Earth | Reconnaissance | In orbit | Operational | |||
| 21 October | Long March 2C | 2C-Y4 | Jiuquan LA-2B | CASC | ||||
| FSW-0 7 | CAST | Low Earth | Reconnaissance | In orbit | Operational | |||
| 22 October | Zenit-2 | Baikonur Site 45/1 | ||||||
| Kosmos 1697 (EPN 03.0694 №3) | Low Earth | Vehicle Evaluation | In orbit | Operational | ||||
| 22 October | Molniya-M / Blok-2BL | Plesetsk Site 43/4 | ||||||
| Kosmos 1698 (US-K №44) | Molniya | Early warning | In orbit | Operational | ||||
| 23 October | Molniya-M / Blok-ML | Baikonur Site 1/5 | ||||||
| Molniya-1T 65 (Molniya-1T 73L) | NPO PM | Molniya | Communications | In orbit | Operational | |||
| 23 October | Kosmos-3M | Plesetsk Site 133/3 | ||||||
| Kosmos (Parus №50) | NPO PM | Low Earth | Navigation | In orbit | Failure | |||
| 24 October | Tsyklon-3 | Plesetsk Site 32/1 | ||||||
| Meteor-3 1 | VNIEM | Low Earth | Meteorology | In orbit | Operational | |||
| 25 October | Soyuz U | Plesetsk Site 16/2 | ||||||
| Kosmos 1699 (Yantar-4K2 №18/Kobalt №18) | GRU | Low Earth | Reconnaissance | In orbit | Operational | |||
| 25 October | Proton-K / Blok-DM-2 | Baikonur Site 200/40 | ||||||
| Kosmos 1700 (Luch №1/Altair 11L) | NPO PM | Geosynchronous | Communications | In orbit | Operational | |||
| 28 October | Molniya-M / Blok-ML | Plesetsk Site 43/4 | ||||||
| Molniya-1T 66 (Molniya-1T 76L) | NPO PM | Molniya | Communications | In orbit | Operational | |||
| 30 October 17:00 |
Space Shuttle Challenger | Kennedy LC-39A | United Space Alliance | |||||
| STS-61-A | NASA | Low Earth | Microgravity research | 6 November 17:44 |
Successful | |||
| Spacelab Long Module 2 | NASA | Low Earth (Challenger) | Spacelab D1 | Successful | ||||
| GLOMAR | DLR | Low Earth | Getaway Special | 26 December 1986 | Successful | |||
| Crewed orbital flight with eight astronauts Maiden flight of Spacelab Long Module #2 | ||||||||
November | ||||||||
| 9 November | Molniya-M / Blok-2BL | Plesetsk Site 41/1 | ||||||
| Kosmos 1701 (US-K №45) | NPO PM | Molniya | Early warning | In orbit | Operational | |||
| 13 November | Soyuz U | Plesetsk Site 16/2 | ||||||
| Kosmos 1702 (Zenit-8 №24/Oblik №24) | GRU | Low Earth | Reconnaissance | In orbit | Operational | |||
| 15 November | Proton-K / Blok-DM | Baikonur Site 200/39 | ||||||
| Raduga 17 (Gran 28L) | NPO PM | Geosynchronous | Communications | In orbit | Operational | |||
| 22 November | Tsyklon-3 | Plesetsk Site 32/2 | ||||||
| Kosmos 1703 (Tselina-D №51) | Yuzhnoye | Low Earth | SIGINT | In orbit | Operational | |||
| 27 November 00:29 |
Space Shuttle Atlantis / IUS | Kennedy LC-39A | United Space Alliance | |||||
| STS-61-B | NASA | Low Earth | Satellite deployment | 2 December 21:33 |
Successful | |||
| Morelos 2 | Morelos | Geosynchronous | Communications | In orbit | Successful | |||
| Aussat A2 | Aussat Pty Ltd | Geosynchronous | Communications | In orbit | Successful | |||
| Satcom K2 | RCA Americom | Geosynchronous | Communications | In orbit | Successful | |||
| OEX Target | NASA | Low Earth | 2 March 1987 | Successful | ||||
| EASE/ACCESS | NASA | Low Earth (Atlantis) | Structure assembly experiment | 2 December 21:33 |
Successful | |||
| Crewed orbital flight with seven astronauts including the first Mexican space traveller. | ||||||||
| 28 November | Kosmos-3M | Plesetsk Site 133/3 | ||||||
| Kosmos 1704 (Parus №51) | NPO PM | Low Earth | Navigation | In orbit | Operational | |||
December | ||||||||
| 3 December | Soyuz U | Plesetsk Site 16/2 | ||||||
| Kosmos 1705 (Zenit-8 №25/Oblik №25) | GRU | Low Earth | Reconnaissance | In orbit | Operational | |||
| 11 December | Soyuz U | Plesetsk Site 16/2 | ||||||
| Kosmos 1706 (Yantar-4K2 №19/Kobalt №19) | GRU | Low Earth | Reconnaissance | In orbit | Operational | |||
| 12 December | Tsyklon-3 | Plesetsk Site 32/1 | ||||||
| Kosmos 1707 (Tselina-D №52) | Yuzhnoye | Low Earth | SIGINT | In orbit | Operational | |||
| 13 December | Scout-G 1 | Wallops LA-3 | ||||||
| ITV 1 (USA-13) | USAF | Low Earth | ASAT Target | In orbit | Operational | |||
| ITV 2 (USA-14) | USAF | Low Earth | ASAT Target | In orbit | Operational | |||
| 13 December | Soyuz U | Plesetsk Site 43/4 | ||||||
| Kosmos 1708 (Resurs-F1 №) | Low Earth (SSO) | Earth observation | In orbit | Operational | ||||
| 19 December | Kosmos-3M | Plesetsk Site 132/1 | ||||||
| Kosmos 1709 (Parus №52) | NPO PM | Low Earth | Navigation | In orbit | Operational | |||
| 24 December | Molniya-M / Blok-ML | Plesetsk Site 43/4 | ||||||
| Molniya-3 40L | NPO PM | Molniya | Communications | In orbit | Operational | |||
| 24 December | Proton-K / Blok-DM-2 | Baikonur Site 200/39 | ||||||
| Kosmos 1710 (GLONASS №12) | NPO PM | Medium Earth | Navigation | In orbit | Operational | |||
| Kosmos 1711 (GLONASS №13) | NPO PM | Medium Earth | Navigation | In orbit | Operational | |||
| Kosmos 1712 (GLONASS-GVM №8) | Medium Earth | Dummy Satellite | In orbit | Operational | ||||
| 26 December | Tsyklon-3 | Plesetsk Site 32/1 | ||||||
| Meteor-2 13 | VNIEM | Low Earth | Meteorology | In orbit | Operational | |||
| 27 December | Soyuz U | Plesetsk Site 41/1 | ||||||
| Kosmos 1713 (Efir №2) | Low Earth | Cosmic radiation | In orbit | Operational | ||||
| 28 December | Zenit-2 | Baikonur Site 45 | ||||||
| Kosmos 1714 (Tselina-2 №3) | Yuzhnoye | Low Earth | SIGINT | In orbit | Partial Failure | |||
|
| ||||||||
Suborbital flights
| Date and time (UTC) | Rocket | Flight number | Launch site | LSP | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Payload (⚀ = CubeSat) |
Operator | Orbit | Function | Decay (UTC) | Outcome | ||
| Remarks | |||||||
| 13 September | ASM-135 ASAT | Celestial Eagle, Vandenberg | US Air Force | ||||
| US Air Force | Suborbital | Anti-satellite weapon | 13 September | Successful | |||
| Successful intercept and destruction of Solwind P78-1. | |||||||
Deep Space Rendezvous
| Date (GMT) | Spacecraft | Event | Remarks |
|---|---|---|---|
| 11 June | Vega 1 | delivered lander and balloon on Venus | |
| 15 June | Vega 2 | delivered lander and balloon on Venus | |
| 11 September | ISEE-3/ICE | Flyby of 21P/Giacobini-Zinner |
EVAs
| Start Date/Time | Duration | End Time | Spacecraft | Crew | Remarks |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 16 April | 3 hours 6 minutes |
STS-51-D Discovery |
Jeffrey A. Hoffman S. David Griggs |
Installed an improvised switch-pulling tool, called the Flyswatter, on the RMS robotic arm. The Flyswatter was used in an effort to push the sequencer start lever on the Leasat-3 in the proper position for deployment.[4] This attempted repair was the first unplanned spacewalk in NASA history.[5] | |
| 2 August 07:15 |
5 hours | 12:15 | Salyut 7 EO-4 | Vladimir Dzhanibekov Viktor Savinykh |
Installed a third pair of solar arrays on exterior of Salyut 7. |
| 31 August | 7 hours 20 minutes |
STS-51-I Discovery |
William Fisher James van Hoften |
Van Hoften rode the RMS to capture the Leasat 3 satellite and pulled it into payload bay. Fisher and Van Hoften secured and started repairs on the satellite in the payload bay. The retrieval was complicated by a malfunction of the RMS that made operation of the arm more complicated.[6] | |
| 1 September | 4 hours 26 minutes |
STS-51-I Discovery |
William Fisher James van Hoften |
Completed repairs on the Leasat 3 satellite. Then Van Hoften, riding the RMS, heaved the satellite out of the payload bay, imparting the required spin needed to fire the perigee motor.[6] | |
| 29 November | 5 hours 32 minutes |
STS-61-B Atlantis |
Jerry L. Ross Sherwood C. Spring |
Practiced construction techniques in the payload bay and assembled and disassembled the two experimental EASE/ACCESS structures.[7] | |
| 1 December | 6 hours 41 minutes |
STS-61-B Atlantis |
Jerry L. Ross Sherwood C. Spring |
Conducted supplementary experiments on the EASE and ACCESS structures, including a test of the RMS to aid in the construction experiments.[7] |
References
- Bergin, Chris. "NASASpaceFlight.com".
- Clark, Stephen. "Spaceflight Now".
- Kelso, T.S. "Satellite Catalog (SATCAT)". CelesTrak.
- Krebs, Gunter. "Chronology of Space Launches".
- Kyle, Ed. "Space Launch Report". Archived from the original on 5 October 2009. Retrieved 13 August 2022.
- McDowell, Jonathan. "GCAT Orbital Launch Log".
- Pietrobon, Steven. "Steven Pietrobon's Space Archive".
- Wade, Mark. "Encyclopedia Astronautica".
- Webb, Brian. "Southwest Space Archive".
- Zak, Anatoly. "Russian Space Web".
- "ISS Calendar". Spaceflight 101.
- "NSSDCA Master Catalog". NASA Space Science Data Coordinated Archive. NASA Goddard Space Flight Center.
- "Хроника освоения космоса" [Chronicle of space exploration]. CosmoWorld (in Russian).
- "Rocket Launch Manifest". Next Spaceflight.
- "Space Launch Plans". Novosti Kosmonavtiki.
Footnotes
- ^ "Space Shuttle Overview: Atlantis (OV-104)". NASA. 2007. Archived from the original on 3 September 2019. Retrieved 6 November 2007. This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
- ^ Justin Ray (11 May 2010). "Respecting Atlantis as the shuttle faces retirement". Spaceflight Now. Archived from the original on 3 February 2019. Retrieved 13 May 2010.
- ^ Peter W. Merlin (20 May 2010). "Space Shuttle Atlantis Wraps Up 25-year Career". NASA. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 25 July 2010. This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
- ^ "Space Shuttle Mission Archives". NASA. 2007. Archived from the original on 2 March 2009. Retrieved 20 February 2009.
- ^ Becker, Joachim; Janssen, Heinz Hermann (2009). "Human Spaceflights - STS-51D". Space Facts. Archived from the original on 29 July 2009. Retrieved 20 February 2009.
- ^ a b "Space Shuttle Flight 20 (STS-51A)". Space Shuttle Video Library. National Space Society. July 2008. Archived from the original on 18 July 2012. Retrieved 21 February 2009.
- ^ a b Rumerman, Judith; Gamble, Chris; Okolski, Gabriel (2007). "Human Spaceflight" (PDF). NASA History Division. p. 45. Archived (PDF) from the original on 27 February 2009. Retrieved 23 February 2009.