1986 in spaceflight
The year 1986 saw the destruction of Space Shuttle Challenger shortly after lift-off, killing all seven aboard,[1] the first in-flight deaths of American astronauts. This accident followed the successful flight of Columbia just weeks earlier,[2] and dealt a major setback to the U.S. crewed space program, suspending the Shuttle program for 32 months.[3]
 | |
| National firsts | |
|---|---|
| Satellite |  |
| Rockets | |
| Maiden flights | Ariane 2 |
| Retirements | Ariane 1 Space Shuttle Challenger |
| Crewed flights | |
| Orbital | 2 |
| Total travellers | 9 |
The year also saw numerous fly-bys of Halley's Comet as well as other successes.
Launches
| Date and time (UTC) | Rocket | Flight number | Launch site | LSP | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Payload (⚀ = CubeSat) |
Operator | Orbit | Function | Decay (UTC) | Outcome | ||
| Remarks | |||||||
January | |||||||
| 12 January 11:55 |
 |
|
| ||||
|
NASA | Low Earth | Satellite deployment | 18 January 13:58 | Successful | ||
|
RCA Americom | Geosynchronous | Communications | In orbit | Successful | ||
|
NASA | Low Earth (Columbia) | Microgravity experiments | 18 January 13:58 | Successful | ||
|
NASA | Low Earth (Columbia) | Getaway Special carrier | 18 January 13:58 | Successful | ||
| Crewed orbital flight with seven astronauts; Maiden flight of the Getaway Special Bridge | |||||||
| 28 January 16:38 |
|
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| ||||
|
NASA | Intended: Low Earth | Satellite deployment | + 73 seconds | Launch failure | ||
|
NASA | Intended: Geosynchronous | Communications | ||||
|
NASA | Intended: Low Earth | Examine Halley's Comet | ||||
| Space Shuttle Challenger disaster; Vehicle disintegrated at + 73 seconds from an O-ring failure in the right SRB. All seven astronauts were killed, including Christa McAuliffe, the intended first Teacher in Space. First Shuttle launch from LC-39B. | |||||||
February | |||||||
| 9 February 10:06 |
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|
| ||||
|
US Navy | Low Earth | SIGINT | In orbit | Successful | ||
|
US Navy | Low Earth | SIGINT | In orbit | Successful | ||
|
US Navy | Low Earth | SIGINT | In orbit | Successful | ||
|
US Navy | Low Earth | SIGINT | In orbit | Successful | ||
| 19 February 21:28 |
 |
|
| ||||
|
Low Earth (Mir) | Space station | 23 March 2001 05:07 | Successful | |||
| Core module of the Mir space station | |||||||
| 22 February 01:44 |
 |
 |
| ||||
|
CNES | Sun-synchronous | Earth observation | In orbit | Successful | ||
|
SSC | Sun-synchronous | Plasma research | In orbit | Successful | ||
| Final flight of Ariane 1 SPOT 1 retired on 31 December 1990 and orbit was lowered to a disposal orbit in 2003 Viking is the first Swedish satellite, and operations concluded on 12 May 1987 | |||||||
March | |||||||
| 13 March 12:33 |
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|
| ||||
|
Low Earth (Salyut 7 and Mir) |
Salyut 7 EO-5 Mir EO-1 | 16 July 12:34 | Successful | |||
| Crewed orbital flight with two cosmonauts; Final crewed spaceflight to Salyut 7 and the first to Mir. Final flight of the Soyuz-T spacecraft. Only spacecraft to dock with two space stations during one flight. | |||||||
| 19 March 10:08 |
|
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| ||||
|
Low Earth (Mir) | Logistics | 21 April 00:48 | Successful | |||
| 28 March 23:30 |
|
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| ||||
|
GTE Spacenet | Geosynchronous | Communications | In orbit | Successful | ||
 |
Embratel | Current: Graveyard Operational: Geosynchronous |
Communications | In orbit | Successful | ||
| Brasilsat-A2 was retired on 6 March 2004 and moved 200 kilometres (120 mi) higher to a graveyard orbit | |||||||
April | |||||||
| 18 April 17:45 |
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NRO | Intended: Sun-synchronous | Reconnaissance | + 8.5 seconds | Launch Failure | ||
|
NRO | Intended: Sun-synchronous | ELINT | ||||
| SRM burnthrough, exploded 8.5 seconds after launch Final flight of the KH-9 spacecraft | |||||||
| 23 April 19:40 |
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Low Earth (Mir) | Logistics | 23 June 18:41 | Successful | |||
May | |||||||
| 3 May 22:18 |
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NOAA, NASA | Geostationary | Weather satellite | 3 May | Launch Failure | ||
| Rocket destroyed 71 sec. after liftoff due to engine shutdown; First launch from CCAFS after Space Shuttle Challenger disaster | |||||||
| 21 May 08:21 |
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|
| ||||
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Low Earth (Mir) | Test flight | 30 May 04:26 | Successful | |||
| Maiden flight of Soyuz-TM spacecraft; Uncrewed test flight | |||||||
| 31 May 00:53 |
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| ||||
 |
Intelsat | Intended: Geosynchronous | Communications | 31 May | Launch Failure | ||
| Maiden flight of Ariane 2; Third stage failed to ignite | |||||||
August | |||||||
| 28 August 08:02 |
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Molniya | Missile defence | 2 November 2010 15:14 | Successful | |||
September | |||||||
| 17 September 15:52 |
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NOAA | Sun-synchronous | Meteorology | In orbit | Successful | ||
November | |||||||
| 14 November 00:23 |
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US Air Force/STP | Low Earth (Polar) | In orbit | Successful | |||
December | |||||||
| 5 December 02:30 |
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US Navy | Geosynchronous | Communications | In orbit | Successful | ||
Deep space rendezvous
| Date (GMT) | Spacecraft | Event | Remarks |
|---|---|---|---|
| 24 January | Voyager 2 | Flyby of Uranus | Closest approach: 71,000 kilometres (44,000 mi) |
| 6 March | Vega 1 | Flyby of Halley's Comet | Closest approach: 8,890 kilometres (5,520 mi) |
| 8 March | Suisei | Flyby of Halley's Comet | Closest approach: 151,000 kilometres (94,000 mi) |
| 9 March | Vega 2 | Flyby of Halley's Comet | Closest approach: 8,030 kilometres (4,990 mi) |
| 11 March | Sakigake | Distant flyby of Halley's Comet | Closest approach: 6,990,000 kilometres (4,340,000 mi) |
| 14 March | Giotto | Flyby of Halley's Comet | Closest approach: 595 kilometres (370 mi) |
EVAs
| Start date/time | Duration | End time | Spacecraft | Crew | Remarks |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 28 May 05:43 |
3 hours 50 minutes |
09:33 | Salyut 7 EO-5 | |
Retrieved test panels from the outside of Salyut 7 and assembled a test "girder-constructor" apparatus in preparation for work on Mir. |
| 31 May 04:57 |
5 hours | 09:57 | Salyut 7 EO-5 | |
Conducted additional tests on the experimental construction equipment, including the welding of several girders joints. |
References
- "NASA - STS-51L Mission Profile". NASA.gov. NASA. Retrieved 3 March 2017.
- "Mission Archives: STS-61-C". NASA.gov. NASA. Retrieved 3 March 2017.
- "Mission Archives: STS-26". NASA.gov. NASA. Retrieved 19 February 2017.
Generic 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".
- McDowell, Jonathan. "Jonathan's Space Report".
- 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.
- "Space Calendar". NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory.
- "Space Information Center". JAXA.
- "Хроника освоения космоса" [Chronicle of space exploration]. CosmoWorld (in Russian).
| Preceded by 1985 |
Timeline of spaceflight 1986 |
Succeeded by 1987 |
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