1969 in spaceflight

1969 in spaceflight

Humanity's first manned lunar landing
National firsts
Satellite
Rockets
Maiden flights	Delta L N-1 Thorad-SLV2H Agena-D Tsyklon-2
Retirements	Delta C1 Molniya M/Blok VL Tsyklon-2A
Crewed flights
Orbital	9
Total travellers	22

1969 saw humanity step onto another world for the first time. On 21 July 1969, the Apollo 11 Lunar Module, Eagle, landed on the moon's surface with two astronauts aboard. Days later the crew of three returned safely to Earth, satisfying U.S. President John F. Kennedy's 1962 challenge of 25 May 1961, that "this nation should commit itself to achieving the goal, before this decade is out, of landing a man on the Moon and returning him safely to the Earth."^[1][2]

There were four Apollo missions in total in 1969, three of which traveled to the moon, with Apollo 12 also landing on the surface. The success of the Apollo program was a testament to the efforts of over 500,000 American engineers, scientists and technicians.

In 1969, the Soviet Union's space program had success with the docking of two manned spacecraft as well as the success of their Venus and Lunar probes. The Soviets, however, suffered severe blows to their manned Lunar aspirations when their N1 rocket failed twice during two 1969 launches.

Orbital launches

Date and time (UTC)	Rocket		Launch site		LSP
	Payload (⚀ = CubeSat)	Operator	Orbit	Function	Decay (UTC)	Outcome
	Remarks
5 January 06:28[3]	Molniya-M/Blok VL		Baikonur Site 1/5
	Venera 5		Heliocentric	Venus lander	16 May 1969	Successful
	Lander operated for 53 minutes in the atmosphere of Venus.
10 January 05:51[3]	Molniya-M/Blok-VL		Baikonur Site 1/5
	Venera 6		Heliocentric	Venus lander	17 May 1969	Successful
	Lander operated for 51 minutes in the atmosphere of Venus.
12 January 12:10[4]	Voskhod		Plesetsk Site 41/1
	Kosmos 263 (Zenit-2)		Low Earth	Optical imaging	20 January 1969[5]	Successful
14 January 07:30	Soyuz		Baikonur LC-31		RVSN
	Soyuz 4	RVSN	Low Earth	Manned orbital flight	17 January 1969	Successful
	First docking between two manned spacecraft (with Soyuz 5)
14 January 07:04	Soyuz		Baikonur LC-1/5		RVSN
	Soyuz 5	RVSN	Low Earth	Manned orbital flight	In orbit	Successful
	First docking between two manned spacecraft (with Soyuz 4)
20 January 04:14[6]	Proton-K/D		Baikonur Site 81/23
	Soyuz 7K-L1 (Zond-1969A)		Selenocentric	Test flight	20 January 1969	Failure
	One of the RD-0210 engines in the second stage failed, resulting in automatic shutdown of the vehicle. Capsule was successfully recovered after successful launch abort.
22 January 16:48[7]	Delta C1		Cape Canaveral SLC-17
	OSO 5	NASA	Low Earth	Astronomy	2 April 1984[5]	Successful
22 January 16:48[8]	Titan IIIB		Vandenberg SLC-4W
	OPS 7585 (GAMBIT-3 4319)	NRO	Low Earth	Optical imaging	3 February 1969[5]	Partial failure
	Apogee was too high as the Agena rocket stage failed to switch off at a correct time.[9]
23 January 09:15[6]	Voskhod		Baikonur Site 1/5
	Kosmos 264 (Zenit-4M)		Low Earth	Optical imaging	5 February 1969[5]	Successful
23 January 09:15[6]	Tsyklon-2A		Baikonur Site 90/19
	Kosmos 265 (US-AO No.5)		Low Earth	Naval surveillance	23 January 1969	Failure
30 January 06:46[8]	Delta E1		Vandenberg SLC-2E
	ISIS 1	CSA	Medium Earth	Science	In orbit	Successful
← Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec →
1 February 12:11[4]	Vostok-2M		Plesetsk Site 41/1
	Kosmos 265 (Meteor-1)	RVSN	Low Earth	Meteorology	1 February 1969	Failure
5 February 06:46[8]	Thorad-SLV2G-Agena-D		Vandenberg SLC-3W
	KH-4B 6 (OPS 3890)	CIA	Low Earth	Optical imaging	24 February 1969[5]	Successful
	P-801 2 (OPS 2644)	USAF	Low Earth	Reconnaissance	In orbit	Successful
6 February 00:39[7]	Delta M		Cape Canaveral SLC-17A		NASA
	Intelsat III F-3	Intelsat	Geostationary	Communications	In orbit	Successful
7 February 13:59[4]	Kosmos-2I		Plesetsk Site 133/1
	Kosmos 265 (DS-P1-Yu No.21)	RVSN	Low Earth	Radar calibration	1 May 1969[5]	Successful
9 February 21:09[7]	Titan IIIC		Cape Canaveral SLC-41
	TACSAT-1 (OPS 0757)	USAF	Geostationary	Communications	In orbit	Successful
19 February 06:48[6]	Proton-K/D		Baikonur Site 81/24
	Luna 15a + Lunokhod 1A (Ye-8 №201)		Selenocentric	Lunar lander and rover	19 February 1969	Failure
	Engine failure in the first stage, rocket crashed 15 km from the pad.
21 February 09:18	N1/L3		Baikonur LC-110/38		RVSN
	Zond L1S-1	RVSN	Selenocentric	Test flight	21 February	Failure
	Dummy LK	RVSN	Selenocentric	Mass simulator	21 February	Failure
25 February 01:29[7]	Atlas SLV-3C Centaur-D		Cape Canaveral LC-36
	Mariner 6	NASA	Heliocentric	Mars flyby	In orbit	Successful
25 February 10:20[4]	Voskhod		Plesetsk Site 41/1
	Kosmos 266 (Zenit-2)		Low Earth	Optical imaging	5 March 1969[5]	Successful
26 February 07:47[7]	Delta E1		Cape Canaveral LC-17B
	ESSA-9	ESSA	Low Earth (SSO)	Meteorology	In orbit	Successful
26 February 08:30[6]	Voskhod		Baikonur Site 31/6
	Kosmos 267 (Zenit-4)		Low Earth	Optical imaging	6 March 1969[5]	Successful
← Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec →
3 March 16:00	Saturn V		KSC LC-39A		NASA
	Apollo 9 CSM Gumdrop	NASA	Low Earth	Manned orbital flight	13 March 1969	Successful
	Apollo 9 LM Spider	NASA	Low Earth	Test flight	13 March 1969	Successful
	First manned orbital test of lunar module
4 March 16:48[8]	Titan IIIB		Vandenberg SLC-4W
	KH-8 Gambit 3 (OPS 4248)	USAF	Low Earth	Optical imaging	18 March 1969[5]	Successful
	Apogee was too high as the Agena rocket stage failed to switch off at a correct time.[9]
5 March 13:04[10]	Kosmos-2I		Kapustin Yar Site 86/4
	Kosmos 268 (DS-P1-Yu No.18)		Low Earth	Radar calibration	9 May 1970[5]	Successful
5 March 17:25[4]	Kosmos-3M		Plesetsk Site 132/2
	Kosmos 269 (Tselina-O-4)		Low Earth	ELINT	21 October 1978[5]	Successful
6 March 12:15[4]	Voskhod		Plesetsk Site 41/1
	Kosmos 270 (Zenit-4 No.52)		Low Earth	Optical imaging	14 March 1969[5]	Successful
15 March 12:15[4]	Voskhod		Plesetsk Site 41/1
	Kosmos 271 (Zenit-4 No.53)		Low Earth	Optical imaging	23 March 1969[5]	Successful
17 March 17:25[4]	Kosmos-3M		Plesetsk Site 132/2
	Kosmos 272 (Sfera No.4)		Low Earth	Geodesy	In orbit	Successful
18 March 07:40[8]	Atlas F-OV1		Vandenberg ABRES-A2
	OV1-17	USAF	Low Earth	Technology demonstration	5 March 1970[5]	Successful
	OV1-17A ORBISCAL	USAF	Low Earth	Technology demonstration	24 March 1969[5]	Successful
	OV1-18	USAF	Low Earth	Technology demonstration	28 August 1972[5]	Successful
	OV1-19	USAF	Low Earth	Technology demonstration	In orbit	Successful
19 March 21:38[8]	Thorad-SLV2G-Agena-D		Vandenberg SLC-3W
	KH-4A 50 (OPS 3722)	CIA	Low Earth	Optical imaging	24 March 1969[5]	Successful
	P-11 (OPS 2285)	USAF	Low Earth	Reconnaissance	6 December 1971[5]	Successful
22 March 12:15[4]	Voskhod		Plesetsk Site 41/1
	Kosmos 273 (Zenit-2 No.72)		Low Earth	Optical imaging	30 March 1969[5]	Successful
24 March 10:10[6]	Voskhod		Baikonur Site 31/6
	Kosmos 274 (Zenit-4 No.54)		Low Earth	Optical imaging	1 April 1969[5]	Successful
26 March 12:30[4]	Vostok-2M		Plesetsk Site 41/1
	Meteor-1 1		Low Earth	Meteorology	26 March 2012	Successful
27 March 10:40[6]	Proton-K/D		Baikonur Site 81/23
	Mars 2M No.521		Areocentric	Mars orbiter	27 March 1969	Failure
	Payload fairing failed at T+51. Third stage failed to ignite.
27 March 22:22[7]	Atlas SLV-3C Centaur-D		Cape Canaveral LC-36A
	Mariner 7	NASA	Heliocentric	Mars flyby	In orbit	Successful
28 March 16:00[4]	Kosmos-2I		Plesetsk Site 133/1
	Kosmos 275 (DS-P1-I No.5)	RVSN	Low Earth	Radar calibration	7 February 1970[5]	Successful
← Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec →
2 April 10:33[6]	Proton-K/D		Baikonur Site 81/24
	Mars 2M No.522		Areocentric	Mars orbiter and lander	2 April 1969	Failure
	Rocket crashed near pad after 1st stage engine failure.
4 April 10:20[4]	Voskhod		Plesetsk Site 41/1
	Kosmos 276 (Zenit-4 No.55)		Low Earth	Optical imaging	11 April 1969[5]	Successful
4 April 13:00[4]	Kosmos-2I		Plesetsk Site 133/1
	Kosmos 277 (DS-P1-Yu No.20)		Low Earth	Radar calibration	6 July 1969[5]	Successful
9 April 13:00[4]	Voskhod		Plesetsk Site 41/1
	Kosmos 278 (Zenit-2 No.73)		Low Earth	Optical imaging	17 April 1969[5]	Successful
11 April 02:30[6]	Molniya-M/Blok ML		Baikonur Site 1/5
	Molniya-1 No.11		Molniya	Communications	17 April 1974	Successful
13 April 02:24[7]	Atlas-SLV3A Agena-D		Cape Canaveral LC-13
	Canyon 2 (OPS 3148)	NRO	Geostationary	Reconnaissance	In orbit	Successful
14 April 07:54[8]	Thorad-SLV2G-Agena-D		Vandenberg SLC-2E
	Nimbus 3	NASA, NOAA	Low Earth	Meteorology	In orbit	Successful
	SECOR-13	US Army	Low Earth	Geodesy	In orbit	Successful
15 April 08:14[6]	Voskhod		Baikonur Site 31/6
	Kosmos 279 (Zenit-4 No.56)		Low Earth	Optical imaging	23 April 1969[5]	Successful
15 April 17:30[8]	Titan IIIB		Vandenberg SLC-4W
	KH-8 Gambit 3 (OPS 5310)	USAF	Low Earth	Optical imaging	30 April 1969[5]	Successful
23 April 09:55[6]	Voskhod		Baikonur Site 1/5
	Kosmos 280 (Zenit-4M No.3)		Low Earth	Optical imaging	6 May 1969[5]	Successful
← Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec →
2 May 01:46[8]	Thorad-SLV2G-Agena-D		Vandenberg SLC-3W
	KH-4A 51 (OPS 1101)	CIA	Low Earth	Optical imaging	23 May 1969[5]	Successful
	P-11 (OPS 1721)	USAF	Low Earth	Reconnaissance	16 February 1970[5]	Successful
13 May 09:15[4]	Voskhod		Plesetsk Site 41/1
	Kosmos 281 (Zenit-2 No.74)		Low Earth	Optical imaging	21 May 1969[5]	Successful
18 May 16:49	Saturn V		KSC LC-39B		NASA
	Apollo 10 CSM Charlie Brown	NASA	Selenocentric	Manned Lunar orbital flight	26 May 1969	Successful
	Apollo 10 LM Snoopy	NASA	Selenocentric	Test flight	In orbit	Successful
	First test of lunar module in lunar orbit. "Dress rehearsal" of Apollo 11 landing.
20 May 08:40[4]	Voskhod		Plesetsk Site 41/1
	Kosmos 282 (Zenit-4 No.57)		Low Earth	Optical imaging	28 May 1969[5]	Successful
22 May 02:00[7]	Delta M		Cape Canaveral LC-17A		NASA
	Intelsat III F-4	Intelsat	Geostationary	Communications	In orbit	Successful
23 May 07:57[7]	Titan IIIC		Cape Canaveral SLC-41
	Vela 9, 10	USAF	High Earth	Nuclear detection	In orbit	Successful
	OV5 5, 6, 9	USAF	High Earth	Technology demonstration	In orbit	Successful
27 May 12:59[4]	Kosmos-2I		Plesetsk Site 133/1
	Kosmos 283 (DS-P1-Yu No.21)		Low Earth	Radar calibration	10 December 1969[5]	Successful
29 May 06:59[6]	Voskhod		Baikonur Site 31/6
	Kosmos 284 (Zenit-4 No.58)		Low Earth	Optical imaging	6 June 1969[5]	Successful
← Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec →
3 June 12:57[4]	Kosmos-2I		Plesetsk Site 133/1
	Kosmos 285 (DS-P1-Yu No.22)		Low Earth	Radar calibration	7 October 1969[5]	Successful
3 June 16:49[8]	Titan IIIB		Vandenberg SLC-4W
	KH-8 Gambit 3 (OPS 1077)	USAF	Low Earth	Optical imaging	14 June 1969[5]	Successful
5 June 14:42[8]	Thorad-SLV2H Agena-D		Vandenberg SLC-3W
	OGO 6	NASA	Low Earth	Research	12 October 1979[5]	Successful
14 June 04:00[6]	Proton-K/D		Baikonur Site 81/24
	Luna E-8-5 No. 402		Selenocentric	Lunar sample return	14 June 1969	Failure
	Blok D upper stage failed to ignite, thus leaving the payload on a suborbital trajectory.
15 June 08:59[4]	Voskhod		Plesetsk Site 41/1
	Kosmos 286 (Zenit-4 No.59)		Low Earth	Optical imaging	23 June 1969[5]	Successful
21 June 08:47[8]	Delta E1		Vandenberg SLC-2W
	Explorer 41 (IMP-G)	NASA	Highly elliptical	Magnetospheric research	In orbit	Successful
24 June 06:50[6]	Voskhod		Baikonur Site 31/6
	Kosmos 287 (Zenit-2 No.75)		Low Earth	Optical imaging	2 July 1969[5]	Successful
27 June 06:59[6]	Voskhod		Baikonur Site 1/5
	Kosmos 288 (Zenit-4 No.60)		Low Earth	Optical imaging	5 July 1969[5]	Successful
29 June 03:15[7]	Delta N		Cape Canaveral LC-17A
	Biosat 3	NASA	Low Earth	Life science	7 July 1969[5]	Successful
← Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec →
2 July 07:04	Europa-1		Woomera LA-6A		ELDO
	STV-2	ELDO		Test flight	2 July 1969	Failure
3 July 20:18	N1/L3		Baikonur LC-110/38
	Zond L1S-2		Selenocentric	Test flight	3 July 1969	Failure
	Dummy LK		Selenocentric	Mass simulator	3 July 1969	Failure
	Exploded due to faulty engines and a bolt that was sucked into a fuel pump.
10 July 09:00[4]	Voskhod		Plesetsk Site 41/1
	Kosmos 289 (Zenit-4 No.61)		Low Earth	Optical imaging	15 July 1969[5]	Successful
13 July 02:54[6]	Proton-K/D		Baikonur Site 81/24
	Luna 15 (Ye-8-5 №401)		Selenocentric	Lunar sample return	20 July 1969	Success
	Lander crashed to the surface of the Moon in an attempted landing.
16 July 13:32	Saturn V		KSC LC-39A		NASA
	Apollo 11 CSM Columbia	NASA	Selenocentric	Manned Lunar orbital flight	24 July 1969	Successful
	Apollo 11 LM Eagle	NASA	Selenocentric	Manned Lunar landing	In orbit	Successful
	First manned Moon landing.
22 July 12:30[4]	Voskhod		Plesetsk Site 41/1
	Kosmos 290 (Zenit-2 No.76)		Low Earth	Optical imaging	30 July 1969[5]	Successful
22 July 12:55[6]	Molniya-M/Blok ML		Baikonur Site 1/5
	Molniya-1 No.12		Molniya	Communications	18 June 1971[5]	Successful
23 July 04:39[8]	Thor-LV2F Burner-2		Vandenberg SLC-10W
	DSAP-4B F3 (OPS 1127)	USAF, NRO	Low Earth	Meteorology	In orbit	Successful
23 July 09:00[4]	Kosmos-2I		Plesetsk Site 133/1
	DS-P1-Yu No.23		Low Earth	Radar calibration	23 July 1969	Failure
	Second stage failed at T+267 seconds.
24 July 01:30[8]	Thorad-SLV2H-Agena-D		Vandenberg SLC-3W
	KH-4B 7 (OPS 3654)	CIA	Low Earth	Optical imaging	23 August 1969[5]	Successful
26 July 02:06[7]	Delta M		Cape Canaveral LC-17A
	Intelsat III F-5	Intelsat	Geostationary	Communications	14 October 1988[5]	Failure
	Third stage failure left the spacecraft in an unusable orbit.
31 July 10:19[8]	Thorad-SLV2G-Agena-D		Vandenberg SLC-1W
	Strawman-2 (OPS 8285)	USAF	Low Earth	ELINT	4 January 1973[5]	Successful
← Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec →
6 August 05:40[6]	Tsyklon-2		Baikonur Site 90/19
	Kosmos 291 (IS-GVM)		Low Earth	Mass simulator	8 September 1969	Successful
	First test flight of Tsyklon-2 booster. Flew with a dummy payload planned to be used as an ASAT target but the ASAT interceptor test flight was later cancelled.
7 August 23:48[6]	Proton-K/D		Baikonur Site 81/23
	Zond 7		High Earth	Lunar flyby	13 August 1969	Successful
	The only successful test flight of Soyuz 7K-L1 spacecraft. Circumlunar flight, perilune 1,984 km.
9 August 07:52[7]	Delta N		Cape Canaveral LC-17A
	OSO 6	NASA	Low Earth	Solar observatory	7 March 1981[5]	Successful
	PAC 1	NASA	Low Earth	Technology demonstration	28 April 1977[5]	Successful
12 August 11:01[7]	Atlas SLV-3C Centaur-D		Cape Canaveral LC-36A
	ATS-5	NASA	Geosynchronous	Communications	In orbit	Successful
13 August 22:00[4]	Kosmos-3M		Plesetsk Site 132/2
	Kosmos 292 (Zaliv No.3)		Low Earth	Navigation	In orbit	Successful
16 August 11:59[6]	Voskhod		Baikonur Site 31/6
	Kosmos 293 (Zenit-2M No.4) / Nauka 5KS L.1		Low Earth	Optical imaging	28 August 1969[5]	Successful
19 August 13:00[4]	Voskhod		Plesetsk Site 41/1
	Kosmos 294 (Zenit-4 No.62)		Low Earth	Optical imaging	27 August 1969[5]	Successful
22 August 14:14[4]	Kosmos-2I		Plesetsk Site 133/1
	Kosmos 295 (DS-P1-Yu No.24)		Low Earth	Radar calibration	1 December 1969[5]	Successful
23 August 16:00[8]	Titan IIIB		Vandenberg SLC-4W
	KH-8 Gambit 3 (OPS 7807)	USAF	Low Earth	Optical imaging	7 September 1969[5]	Successful
27 August 21:59[7]	Delta L		Cape Canaveral LC-17A
	Pioneer E	NASA	Heliocentric	Solar orbiter	27 August 1969	Failure
	TETR 3	NASA	Low Earth orbit	Technology demonstration	27 August 1969	Failure
	First flight of Delta L rocket. First stage hydraulics failure threw the second stage far off course and the vehicle was destroyed by range safety at T+383 seconds.
29 August 09:05[6]	Voskhod		Baikonur Site 31/6
	Kosmos 296 (Zenit-4 No.63)		Low Earth	Optical imaging	6 September 1969[5]	Successful
← Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec →
2 September 11:00[4]	Voskhod		Plesetsk Site 41/1
	Kosmos 297 (Zenit-4 No.64)		Low Earth	Optical imaging	10 September 1969[5]	Successful
15 September 08:40[6]	R-36O		Baikonur Site 191/66
	Kosmos 298 (OGCh No.21)		Low Earth	Weapon test	15 September 1969[5]	Successful
18 September 08:40[6]	Voskhod		Baikonur Site 31/6
	Kosmos 299 (Zenit-4 No.65)		Low Earth	Optical imaging	22 September 1969[5]	Successful
22 September 02:10[11]	Lambda 4S		Kagoshima L		ISAS
	Ōsumi-4	ISAS	Low Earth	Test flight	22 September 1969	Failure
22 September 21:11[8]	Thorad-SLV2G-Agena-D		Vandenberg SLC-3W
	KH-4A 52 (OPS 3531)	CIA	Low Earth	Optical imaging	13 October 1969[5]	Successful
	P-11 (OPS 4710)	USAF	Low Earth	Reconnaissance	16 May 1971[5]	Successful
23 September 14:07[6]	Proton-K/D		Baikonur Site 81/24
	Kosmos 300 (Luna 16a, Ye-8-5 №403)		Selenocentric	Lunar sample return	27 September 1969[5]	Failure
	Blok D stage failed due to valve defect and the probe failed to leave Earth orbit.
24 September 12:15[4]	Voskhod		Plesetsk Site 41/1
	Kosmos 301 (Zenit-2 No.77)		Low Earth	Optical imaging	2 October 1969[5]	Successful
30 September 13:40[8]	Thorad-SLV2G-Agena-D		Vandenberg SLC-3W
	Poppy 8A-D (NRL-PL 161-164)	NRL/US Navy	Low Earth	ELINT	In orbit	Successful
	NRL-PL 165	NRL/US Navy	Low Earth	Technology demonstration	In orbit	Successful
	Timation-2	NRL/US Navy	Low Earth	Navigation	In orbit	Successful
	Tempsat 2	NRL	Low Earth	Calibration	In orbit	Successful
	SOICAL Cone & Cylinder	USAF	Low Earth	Calibration	In orbit	Successful
	P-11 (OPS 7613)	USAF	Low Earth	Reconnaissance	In orbit	Successful
← Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec →
1 October 22:29[8]	Scout-B		Vandenberg SLC-5
	ESRO 1B	ESRO	Low Earth	Research	In orbit	Partial failure
	Orbit was lower than planned.
6 October 01:45[4]	Vostok-2M		Plesetsk Site 41/1
	Meteor-1 2		Low Earth	Meteorology	20 August 2002[5]	Successful
11 October 11:10	Soyuz		Baikonur LC-31/6		RVSN
	Soyuz 6	RVSN	Low Earth	Manned orbital flight	16 October 1969	Partial failure
	Rendezvous with Soyuz 7 and 8 unsuccessful due to electronic failure.
12 October 10:44	Soyuz		Baikonur LC-1/5		RVSN
	Soyuz 7	RVSN	Low Earth	Manned orbital flight	16 October 1969	Partial failure
	Rendezvous with Soyuz 6 and 8 unsuccessful due to electronic failure.
13 October 10:19	Soyuz		Baikonur LC-31/6		RVSN
	Soyuz 8	RVSN	Low Earth	Manned orbital flight	16 October 1969	Partial failure
	Rendezvous with Soyuz 6 and 7 unsuccessful due to electronic failure.
14 October[12]	Kosmos-2I		Plesetsk Site 133/1
	Interkosmos 1 (DS-U3-IK No.1)	Interkosmos	Low Earth	Solar research	2 January 1970[5]	Successful
17 October 11:45[4]	Voskhod		Plesetsk Site 41/1
	Kosmos 302 (Zenit-4 No.66)		Low Earth	Optical imaging	25 October 1969[5]	Successful
18 October 10:00[4]	Kosmos-2I		Plesetsk Site 133/1
	Kosmos 303 (DS-P1-Yu No.25)		Low Earth	Radar calibration	23 January 1970[5]	Successful
21 October 12:49[4]	Kosmos-3M		Plesetsk Site 132
	Kosmos 304 (Zaliv No.4)		Low Earth	Navigation	In orbit	Successful
22 October 14:09[6]	Proton-K/D		Baikonur Site 81/24
	Kosmos 305 (Luna 16b, Ye-8-5 №404)		Selenocentric	Lunar sample return	In orbit	Failure
	Control system of the Blok D stage failed and the probe failed to leave Earth orbit.
24 October 09:40[6]	Voskhod		Baikonur Site 1/5
	Kosmos 306 (Zenit-2M No.5)		Low Earth	Optical imaging	5 November 1969[5]	Successful
24 October 13:01[10]	Kosmos-2I		Kapustin Yar Site 86/4
	Kosmos 307 (DS-P1-Yu No.26)		Low Earth	Radar calibration	30 December 1970[5]	Successful
24 October 18:10[8]	Titan IIIB		Vandenberg SLC-4W
	KH-8 Gambit 3 (OPS 8455)	USAF	Low Earth	Optical imaging	8 November 1969[5]	Successful
← Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec →
4 November 11:59[4]	Kosmos-2I		Plesetsk Site 133/1
	Kosmos 308 (DS-P1-I No.6)		Low Earth	Radar calibration	4 January 1970[5]	Successful
8 November 01:52[8]	Scout-B		Vandenberg SLC-5
	Azur	BMWF/DLR	Medium Earth	Ionospheric research	In orbit	Successful
12 November 11:30[4]	Voskhod		Plesetsk Site 41/1
	Kosmos 309 (Zenit-2 No.78) / Nauka 3KS L.1		Low Earth	Optical imaging	20 November 1969[5]	Successful
14 November 16:22	Saturn V		KSC LC-39A		NASA
	Apollo 12 CSM Yankee Clipper	NASA	Selenocentric	Manned Lunar orbital flight	24 November 1969	Successful
	Apollo 12 LM Intrepid	NASA	Selenocentric	Manned Lunar landing	In orbit	Successful
	Second manned Moon landing.
15 November 08:30[6]	Voskhod		Baikonur Site 31/6
	Kosmos 310 (Zenit-4 No.67)		Low Earth	Optical imaging	23 November 1969[5]	Successful
22 November 02:00[7]	Delta M		Cape Canaveral LC-17A
	Skynet 1A	MoD	Geostationary	Communications (military)	In orbit	Successful
24 November 11:00[4]	Kosmos-2I		Plesetsk Site 133/1
	Kosmos 311 (DS-P1-Yu No.27)		Low Earth	Radar calibration	10 March 1970[5]	Successful
24 November 16:49[4]	Kosmos-3M		Plesetsk Site 132
	Kosmos 312 (Sfera No.5)		Low Earth	Geodesy	In orbit	Successful
28 November 09:00[6]	Proton-K/D		Baikonur Site 81/23
	Soyuz 7K-L1E		Medium Earth	Flight test	In orbit	Failure
	First stage failure
← Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec →
3 December 13:20[4]	Voskhod		Plesetsk Site 41/1
	Kosmos 313 (Zenit-2M No.6) / Gektor No.6		Low Earth	Optical imaging	15 December 1969[5]	Successful
4 December 21:37[8]	Thorad-SLV2H-Agena-D		Vandenberg SLC-3W
	KH-4B 8 (OPS 6617)	CIA	Low Earth	Optical imaging	10 January 1970[5]	Successful
11 December 12:58[4]	Kosmos-2I		Plesetsk Site 133/1
	Kosmos 314 (DS-P1-Yu No.28)		Low Earth	Radar calibration	22 March 1970[5]	Successful
20 December 03:26[4]	Kosmos-3M		Plesetsk Site 132
	Kosmos 315 (Tselina-O No.5)		Low Earth	ELINT	25 March 1979[5]	Successful
23 December 09:25[6]	Tsyklon-2		Baikonur Site 90/19
	Kosmos 316 (I2P No.3)		Low Earth	Dummy ASAT warhead	28 August 1970[5]	Successful
23 December 13:50[4]	Voskhod		Plesetsk Site 41/1
	Kosmos 317 (Zenit-4MK No.1 / Germes No.1)		Low Earth	Optical imaging	5 January 1970[5]	Successful
25 December 09:59[10]	Kosmos-2I		Kapustin Yar Site 86/4
	Interkosmos 2 (DS-U1-IK No.1)	Interkosmos	Low Earth	Ionosphere research	7 June 1970[5]	Successful
27 December[4]	Kosmos-3M		Plesetsk Site 132
	Ionosfernaya No.1		Low Earth	Ionosphere research	In orbit	Failure
← Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec →

Suborbital flights

Date and time (UTC)	Rocket		Launch site		LSP
	Payload (⚀ = CubeSat)	Operator	Orbit	Function	Decay (UTC)	Outcome
	Remarks
17 January[13]	Nike-Cajun		Esrange		NASA
	/ RTG SNC 2A / 1 Aeronomy mission	NASA/RTG	Suborbital	Aeronomy	17 January	Successful
	Apogee: 117 kilometres (73 mi).
21 January[14]	Skylark 6		Woomera LA-2 SL		British Aerospace
	UK SL781 Solar x-ray mission	RAE/WRE	Suborbital	Astronomy	21 January	Failure
23 January 20:00[14]	Skylark		Woomera LA-2 SL		British Aerospace
	/ Ion / Te Ionosphere mission	RAE/WRE	Suborbital	Astronomy	23 January	Successful
	Apogee: 149 kilometres (93 mi).
23 January 23:00[13]	Nike-Cajun		Esrange		NASA
	/ RTG SNC 2A / 3 Aeronomy mission	NASA/RTG	Suborbital	Aeronomy	23 January	Successful
	Apogee: 116 kilometres (72 mi).
25 January 21:00[13]	Nike-Cajun		Esrange		NASA
	/ RTG SNC 2A / 4 Aeronomy mission	NASA/RTG	Suborbital	Aeronomy	25 January	Successful
	Apogee: 118 kilometres (73 mi).
3 February 21:05[13]	Petrel		Esrange		Bristol Aerospace
	Electrons Ionosphere mission	SRC	Suborbital	Ionosphere research	3 February	Successful
	Apogee: 157 kilometres (98 mi).
11 February 21:09[13]	Petrel		Esrange		Bristol Aerospace
	Electrons Ionosphere mission	SRC	Suborbital	Ionosphere research	11 February	Successful
	Apogee: 157 kilometres (98 mi).
14 February 22:15[13]	Petrel		Esrange		Bristol Aerospace
	Small scale structure Ionosphere mission	SRC	Suborbital	Ionosphere research	14 February	Successful
	Apogee: 149 kilometres (93 mi).
15 February 21:20[13]	Petrel		Esrange		Bristol Aerospace
	Small scale structure Ionosphere mission	SRC	Suborbital	Ionosphere research	15 February	Successful
	Apogee: 153 kilometres (95 mi).
20 February 11:48[15]	Véronique		Kourou ALFS		LRBA
	FU-170 CIRCE	CNES	Suborbital	Ionosphere research	20 February	Successful
	Apogee: 107 kilometres (66 mi)
25 February 16:33[16]	Centaure 2B		Andøya Rocket Range
	ESRO C49 / 1 (R3) Aurora mission	ESRO	Suborbital		25 February	Successful
	Apogee: 136 kilometres (85 mi).
25 February 21:37[16]	Sidewinder Arcas		Andøya Rocket Range
	ESRO A40 / 4 Ionosphere / plasma / field mission	ESRO	Suborbital		25 February	Failure
25 February 23:50[16]	Centaure 2B		Andøya Rocket Range
	ESRO C49 / 2 Aurora mission	ESRO	Suborbital		25 February	Successful
	Apogee: 128 kilometres (80 mi).
15 March 17:55[13]	Nike-Apache		Esrange		Sandia
	DLR K-NA-11	DFVLR	Suborbital	Ionosphere research, Aeronomy	15 March	Successful
	Apogee: 226 kilometres (140 mi).
15 March 20:54[13]	Skylark 2		Esrange		British Aerospace
	ESRO S43 / 2 Aurora mission	ESRO	Suborbital		15 March	Successful
	Apogee: 211 kilometres (131 mi).
15 March 22:31[13]	Centaure 2B		Esrange
	ESRO C52 / 1 Aurora mission	ESRO	Suborbital		15 March	Successful
	Apogee: 211 kilometres (131 mi).
16 March 18:05[13]	Nike-Apache		Esrange		Sandia
	DLR K-NA-17	DFVLR	Suborbital	Ionosphere research, Aeronomy	16 March	Successful
	Apogee: 233 kilometres (145 mi).
17 March 00:04[13]	Petrel		Esrange		Bristol Aerospace
	Particles Ionosphere mission	SRC	Suborbital	Ionosphere research	17 March	Successful
	Apogee: 151 kilometres (94 mi).
17 March 18:10[13]	Nike-Apache		Esrange		Sandia
	DLR K-NA-18	DFVLR	Suborbital	Ionosphere research, Aeronomy	17 March	Successful
	Apogee: 231 kilometres (144 mi).
17 March 18:23[13]	Petrel		Esrange		Bristol Aerospace
	E field gradient Ionosphere mission	SRC	Suborbital	Ionosphere research	17 March	Successful
	Apogee: 148 kilometres (92 mi).
18 March 18:16[13]	Petrel		Esrange		Bristol Aerospace
	E-region E field Ionosphere mission	SRC	Suborbital	Ionosphere research	18 March	Successful
	Apogee: 170 kilometres (110 mi).
20 March 05:37[17]	Terrier Sandhawk		Poker Flat Research Range		Sandia
	HEMLOCK	DARPA	Suborbital	Aeronomy	20 March	Successful
	Apogee: 176 kilometres (109 mi)
29 March 20:00[13]	Petrel		Esrange		Bristol Aerospace
	Small scale structure Ionosphere mission	SRC	Suborbital	Ionosphere research	29 March	Successful
	Apogee: 150 kilometres (93 mi).
1 April 09:54[14]	Skylark		Woomera LA-2 SL		British Aerospace
	X-ray Survey X-ray astronomy mission	BAC	Suborbital	Astronomy	1 April	Successful
	Apogee: 192 kilometres (119 mi).
3 April 00:35[14]	Skylark 6 AC		Woomera LA-2 SL		British Aerospace
	UK SL502 Ionosphere / solar x-rays mission	BAC	Suborbital	Astronomy	3 April	Successful
	Apogee: 192 kilometres (119 mi).
9 April 20:38[16]	Nike-Apache		Andøya Rocket Range		Sandia
	Ferdinand 20 Aeronomy / ionosphere / plasma mission	NTNF	Suborbital	Ionosphere research, Aeronomy	9 April	Successful
	Apogee: 139 kilometres (86 mi).
13 April 00:33[16]	Dragon 2B		Andøya Rocket Range
	FU-182 Ions / Electric field Ionosphere mission	CNES	Suborbital	Ionosphere research	13 April	Successful
	Apogee: 139 kilometres (86 mi).
14 April 18:15[13]	Centaure 2B		Esrange C
	ESRO C39 / 1 Aurora mission	ESRO	Suborbital		14 April	Failure
15 April 11:03[13]	Centaure 2B		Esrange C
	ESRO C39 / 2 Aurora mission	ESRO	Suborbital		15 April	Successful
	Apogee: 134 kilometres (83 mi).
16 April[18]	Canopus 2		CELPA		CONAE
		CONAE	Suborbital	Test flight	16 April	Successful
	First flight of Canopus 2 sounding rocket. Apogee: 150 kilometres (93 mi).
17 April 05:05[14]	Skylark 3 AC		Woomera LA-2 SL		British Aerospace
	UK SL606 Solar ultraviolet and x-ray mission	BAC	Suborbital	Astronomy	17 April	Successful
	Apogee: 202 kilometres (126 mi).
17 April 21:48[16]	Dragon 2B		Andøya Rocket Range
	FU-190 E field / Barium release / Ionosphere mission	CNES	Suborbital		17 April	Successful
	Apogee: 329 kilometres (204 mi).
22 April 03:31[14]	Skylark 3 AC		Woomera LA-2 SL		British Aerospace
	UK SL604 Solar ultraviolet mission	BAC	Suborbital	Astronomy	22 April	Successful
	Apogee: 181 kilometres (112 mi).
1 May[19]	Sandhawk Tomahawk		Pacific Missile Range Facility		Sandia
		Sandia National Laboratories	Suborbital	Test flight	1 May	Successful
	First flight of the Sandhawk Tomahawk configuration. Apogee: 528 kilometres (328 mi).
14 May 02:44[14]	Skylark 3 AC		Woomera LA-2 SL		British Aerospace
	UK SL404 Solar ultraviolet and x-ray mission	BAC	Suborbital	Astronomy	14 May	Successful
	Apogee: 178 kilometres (111 mi).
24 May 05:52[20]	Terrier Tomahawk		Pacific Missile Range Facility		Sandia
	LRL BOX-16 TT-9	Sandia National Laboratories	Suborbital	Astronomy	24 May	Successful
	Apogee: 159 kilometres (99 mi)
5 June 19:28[13]	Centaure 2B		Esrange C
	ESRO C35 / 2 X-ray astronomy mission	ESRO	Suborbital		5 June	Successful
	Apogee: 130 kilometres (81 mi).
27 June 22:58[21]	Black Arrow		Woomera LA-5B		RAE
		RAE	Suborbital	Test flight	27 June	Failure
	Lost control 50 seconds into the flight, destroyed by range safety.
5 July 19:45[22]	Skylark		Salto di Quirra		British Aerospace
	ESRO S38 / 1 Ionosphere mission	ESRO	Suborbital	Ionosphere research	5 July	Successful
	Apogee: 200 kilometres (120 mi).
6 July 19:50[22]	Skylark 3		Salto di Quirra		British Aerospace
	ESRO S64 / 1 Aeronomy mission	ESRO	Suborbital	Aeronomy	6 July	Successful
	Apogee: 275 kilometres (171 mi).
11 July 19:42[22]	Skylark		Salto di Quirra		British Aerospace
	ESRO S38 / 2 Ionosphere mission	ESRO	Suborbital	Ionosphere research	11 July	Successful
	Apogee: 203 kilometres (126 mi).
13 July 19:41[22]	Skylark 3		Salto di Quirra		British Aerospace
	ESRO S64 / 2 Aeronomy mission	ESRO	Suborbital	Aeronomy	13 July	Successful
	Apogee: 280 kilometres (170 mi).
14 July 23:53[14]	Skylark		Woomera LA-2 SL		British Aerospace
	Electron profile Ionosphere mission	BAC	Suborbital	Ionosphere research	14 July	Successful
	Apogee: 216 kilometres (134 mi).
16 July 22:33[14]	Skylark		Woomera LA-2 SL		British Aerospace
	Dayglow / electrons Ionosphere mission	BAC	Suborbital	Ionosphere research	16 July	Successful
	Apogee: 244 kilometres (152 mi).
24 July[23]	HAD		Woomera LA-1		WRE
		WRE	Suborbital	Test flight	24 July	Successful
	Apogee: 115 kilometres (71 mi)
25 July 04:10[14]	Skylark		Woomera LA-2 SL		British Aerospace
	Electron profile Ionosphere mission	BAC	Suborbital	Ionosphere research	25 July	Successful
	Apogee: 244 kilometres (152 mi).
29 July 22:57[14]	Skylark 3		Woomera LA-2 SL		British Aerospace
	Dayglow / electrons Ionosphere mission	BAC	Suborbital	Ionosphere research	29 July	Successful
	Apogee: 262 kilometres (163 mi).
5 August 09:08[24]	Aero High		Woomera LA-1		WRE
		WRE	Suborbital		5 August	Successful
	Apogee: 208 kilometres (129 mi)
11 August 01:30[13]	Centaure 2B		Esrange C
	ESRO C51 / 1 Aeronomy mission	ESRO	Suborbital	Aeronomy	11 August	Successful
	Apogee: 112 kilometres (70 mi).
14 August 02:01[13]	Centaure 2B		Esrange C
	ESRO C58 / 1 Meteorites mission	ESRO	Suborbital		11 August	Successful
	Apogee: 112 kilometres (70 mi).
21 August 01:57[14]	Skylark 3 AC		Woomera LA-2 SL		British Aerospace
	HRCS / PHC Solar x-ray mission	BAC	Suborbital	Astronomy	29 July	Successful
	Apogee: 197 kilometres (122 mi).
12 September[18]	Rigel		CELPA		CONAE
		CONAE	Suborbital	Test flight	12 September	Successful
	First test flight of Rigel sounding rocket. Apogee: 250 kilometres (160 mi)
5 October 22:28[13]	Skylark 2		Esrange		British Aerospace
	ESRO S29 / 1 Aurora mission	ESRO	Suborbital		5 October	Successful
	Apogee: 225 kilometres (140 mi).
10 October 20:01[13]	Centaure 2B		Esrange C
	ESRO C52 / 2 Aurora mission	ESRO	Suborbital		10 October	Successful
	Apogee: 135 kilometres (84 mi).
15 October 18:46[14]	Skylark 3		Woomera LA-2 SL		British Aerospace
	Grenades / TMA/Barium release Aeronomy / ionosphere mission	BAC	Suborbital	Ionosphere research	15 October	Successful
	Apogee: 318 kilometres (198 mi).
17 October 09:15[14]	Skylark 3		Woomera LA-2 SL		British Aerospace
	Grenades / TMA/Barium release Aeronomy / ionosphere mission	BAC	Suborbital	Ionosphere research	17 October	Successful
	Apogee: 318 kilometres (198 mi).
17 October 22:27[13]	Skylark 2		Esrange		British Aerospace
	ESRO S29 / 2 Aurora mission	ESRO	Suborbital		17 October	Successful
	Apogee: 225 kilometres (140 mi).
20 October 07:28[14]	Skylark 3 AC		Woomera LA-2 SL		British Aerospace
	UK SL586 test	BAC	Suborbital	Technology demonstration	20 October	Successful
	Apogee: 223 kilometres (139 mi).
22 October 06:10[14]	Skylark 3		Woomera LA-2 SL		British Aerospace
	X-ray survey / Solar X X-ray astronomy mission	BAC	Suborbital	Astronomy	22 October	Successful
	Apogee: 216 kilometres (134 mi).
23 October[18]	Canopus 2		CELPA		CONAE
		CONAE	Suborbital	Test flight	23 October	Successful
	Apogee: 150 kilometres (93 mi).
24 October 05:44[22]	Skylark		Salto di Quirra		British Aerospace
	ESRO S68 / 1 X-ray astronomy mission	ESRO	Suborbital	Astronomy	13 July	Successful
	Apogee: 184 kilometres (114 mi).
8 November[25]	Vesta		Kourou ALFS		LRBA
	FU-189 Star pointing test	CNES	Suborbital	Technology demonstration	8 November	Successful
	Last flight of the Vesta sounding rocket. Apogee: 204 kilometres (127 mi).
10 November 21:00[13]	Skylark 2		Esrange		British Aerospace
	ESRO S46 / 1 Aurora mission	ESRO	Suborbital		10 November	Successful
	Apogee: 214 kilometres (133 mi).
18 November 02:17[14]	Skylark 3 AC		Woomera LA-2 SL		British Aerospace
	Fresnel shadowgraph X-ray astronomy mission	BAC	Suborbital	Astronomy	18 November	Failure
	Apogee: 208 kilometres (129 mi).
20 November 00:30[14]	Skylark 3 AC		Woomera LA-2 SL		British Aerospace
	Solar ultraviolet Spectrum / PHC Solar ultraviolet and x-ray mission	BAC	Suborbital	Astronomy	20 November	Successful
	Apogee: 242 kilometres (150 mi).
26 November 00:38[16]	Nike-Cajun		Andøya Rocket Range		NASA
	Ferdinand 21 Aeronomy / ionosphere mission	NTNF	Suborbital	Ionosphere research, Aeronomy	26 November	Successful
	Apogee: 107 kilometres (66 mi).
26 November 23:32[14]	Skylark 3 AC		Woomera LA-2 SL		British Aerospace
	Solar ultraviolet FP / PHC Solar ultraviolet mission	BAC	Suborbital	Astronomy	26 November	Successful
	Apogee: 180 kilometres (110 mi).
27 November 05:29[13]	Centaure 2B		Esrange C
	ESRO C62 / 1 Aurora mission	ESRO	Suborbital		27 November	Successful
	Apogee: 160 kilometres (99 mi).
27 November 06:31[13]	Centaure 2B		Esrange C
	ESRO C62 / 2 Aurora mission	ESRO	Suborbital		27 November	Successful
	Apogee: 164 kilometres (102 mi).
30 November 02:58[16]	Sparrow-Arcas		Andøya Rocket Range		NASA
	Arcas VII Aeronomy / ionosphere / plasma mission	NTNF	Suborbital	Ionosphere research, Aeronomy	30 November	Successful
	Apogee: 100 kilometres (62 mi).
9 December[23]	HAD		Woomera LA-1		WRE
		WRE	Suborbital	Test flight	9 December	Successful
	Last flight of HAD rocket. Apogee: 115 kilometres (71 mi).
22 December[18]	Rigel		CELPA		CONAE
		CONAE	Suborbital	Test flight	22 December	Successful
	Apogee: 250 kilometres (160 mi)
23 December[18]	Canopus 2		CELPA		CONAE
		CONAE	Suborbital	Test flight	23 December	Successful
	Apogee: 150 kilometres (93 mi).