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The year 2012 saw a number of significant events in spaceflight . In May and October, the first Commercial Orbital Transportation Services resupply missions took place, during which the SpaceX Dragon became the first private spacecraft to dock with the International Space Station (ISS). In June, China launched the crewed Shenzhou 9 orbital mission, and North Korea achieved its first successful orbital launch in December. 2012 also saw China's first successful asteroid exploration mission , and the landing of NASA 's Curiosity rover on Mars . The Vega and Unha-3 rockets made their maiden flights in 2012, while the Proton-K made its last.
A total of 77 orbital launches were attempted in 2012, of which 72 were successful, three were partially successful and two were failures. Five crewed orbital missions were conducted over the course of the year, all successfully, carrying a total of 15 individuals into orbit. The year also saw five EVAs by ISS astronauts. The majority of the year's orbital launches were conducted by Russia , China and the United States , with 29, 19 and 13 launches respectively. A total of 139 payloads were launched during the year, including communication and navigation satellites, logistics spacecraft and scientific probes. Additionally, a large number of suborbital sounding rockets and ballistic missiles were launched by scientific and military organisations.
Overview of orbital spaceflight [ edit ] A total of 77 orbital launches were attempted in 2012, with 72 being reported as successful, and a total of 139 payloads launched.[ 1] The three most prolific spacefaring nations were Russia, with 29 launches and 27 successes; China, with 19 launches, all of which succeeded; and the United States, with 13 launches, of which 12 succeeded and one was a partial failure.[ 1] European nations conducted eight orbital launches, all successfully, while India and Japan conducted two each, also successfully. Iran and North Korea both achieved one successful orbital launch during 2012, but Iran also suffered one launch failures, while North Korea suffered one.[ 2] [ 3]
Five crewed orbital launches were conducted during 2012, all successfully, carrying a total of 15 astronauts into orbit. Four of these missions were flown using Russian Soyuz spacecraft , while the fifth was a Chinese Shenzhou launch.[ 4] All of the year's crewed missions rendezvoused with space stations – the four Soyuz missions docked with the International Space Station (ISS), while China's Shenzhou 9 docked with the Tiangong-1 orbital laboratory. Five spacewalks were also undertaken in 2012, all by ISS crewmembers.[ 5] [ 6] [ 7] [ 8] [ 9]
Robotic exploration [ edit ] Numerous significant milestones in robotic spaceflight occurred in 2012, including the landing of NASA's Curiosity rover on Mars in August,[ 10] and the first commercial resupply missions to the ISS in May and October.[ 11] [ 12] The latter also marked the first fully operational use of SpaceX 's Dragon spacecraft . Elsewhere in the Solar System , NASA's Dawn spacecraft completed its mission to 4 Vesta in September 2012,[ 13] while China achieved its first asteroid flyby in December.
Date and time (UTC ) Rocket Flight number Launch site LSP Payload (⚀ = CubeSat ) Operator Orbit Function Decay (UTC) Outcome Remarks 9 January 03:17:09 Long March 4B Taiyuan LC-9 SAST Ziyuan 3 MLR Low Earth (SSO ) Earth observation In orbit Operational[ 14] VesselSat-2 Luxspace Low Earth (SSO ) Communications 27 October 2016[ 15] Successful 13 January 00:56:04 Long March 3A Xichang LC-3 CALT Fengyun 2-07 [ 16] CMA Geosynchronous Meteorology In orbit Operational[ 17] 20 January 00:38:00 Delta IV -M+ (5,4) Cape Canaveral SLC-37B United Launch Alliance USA-233 (WGS-4 ) U.S. Air Force Geosynchronous Communications In orbit Operational[ 18] 25 January 23:06:40 Soyuz-U Baikonur Site 1/5 Roscosmos Progress M-14M / 46P Roscosmos Low Earth (ISS ) ISS logistics 28 April 13:46 Successful[ 19] 3 February 00:04 Safir-1B Semnan LP-1 ISA Navid ISA Low Earth Earth observation 1 April[ 20] Successful[ 21] 13 February 10:00:00 Vega Kourou ELV Arianespace LARES ASI Low Earth Geodesy In orbit Operational[ 22] ALMASat-1 [ 23] Università di Bologna Low Earth Technology demonstration In orbit Operational[ 22] ⚀ Xatcobeo [ 24] Vigo /INTA Low Earth Technology demonstration 31 August 2014 Successful[ 22] ⚀ UniCubeSat-GG [ 24] Rome Low Earth Atmospheric science 16 February 2015[ 25] Successful ⚀ Robusta [ 24] Montpellier Low Earth Technology demonstration 28 January 2015[ 26] Partial spacecraft failure ⚀ e-st@r [ 24] Torino Low Earth Technology demonstration 16 January 2015[ 27] Partial spacecraft failure ⚀ Goliat [ 24] Bucharest Low Earth Technology demonstration 31 December 2014 Partial spacecraft failure[ 22] ⚀ PW-Sat [ 24] Warsaw Low Earth Technology demonstration 28 October 2014 Successful[ 22] ⚀ MaSat-1 BME Low Earth Technology demonstration 9 January 2015[ 28] Successful Maiden flight of Vega rocket; all payloads CubeSats except LARES and ALMASat-1 . First Hungarian , Romanian and Polish satellites. 14 February 19:36:37 Proton-M / Briz-M Enhanced Baikonur Site 200/39 International Launch Services SES-4 SES World Skies Geosynchronous Communications In orbit Operational[ 29] 24 February 16:12:04 Long March 3C Xichang LC-2 CALT Compass-G5 CNSA Geosynchronous Navigation In orbit Operational[ 30] 24 February 22:15:00 Atlas V 551 Cape Canaveral SLC-41 United Launch Alliance MUOS-1 U.S. Navy Geosynchronous Communications In orbit Operational[ 31] 23 March 04:34:05 Ariane 5 ES Kourou ELA-3 Arianespace Edoardo Amaldi ATV ESA Low Earth (ISS ) ISS logistics 3 October 01:23 Successful[ 32] 25 March 12:10:32 Proton-M / Briz-M Enhanced Baikonur Site 200/39 International Launch Services Intelsat 22 Intelsat Geosynchronous Communications In orbit Operational[ 33] 30 March 05:49:32 Proton-K / DM-2 Baikonur Site 81/24 RVSN RF Kosmos 2479 (US-KMO ) VKO Geosynchronous Missile defense In orbit Operational[ 34] Final flight of Proton-K , final US-KMO satellite. 31 March 10:27:04 Long March 3B/E Xichang LC-2 CALT Apstar-7 APT Satellite Holdings Geosynchronous Communication In orbit Operational[ 35] 3 April 23:12:57 Delta IV-M+(5,2) Vandenberg SLC-6 United Launch Alliance USA-234 (FIA-R ) NRO Low Earth Reconnaissance In orbit Operational[ 36] NRO Launch 25 12 April 22:38:55 Unha-3 Sohae KCST Kwangmyŏngsŏng-3 [ 37] KCST Intended: Low Earth Technology demonstration 12 April Launch failure[ 3] Probable first stage failure, disintegrated over the Yellow Sea .[ 3] 20 April 12:50:24 Soyuz-U Baikonur Site 31/6 Roscosmos Progress M-15M / 47P Roscosmos Low Earth (ISS ) ISS logistics 20 August 2012 Successful[ 38] 23 April 22:18:13 Proton-M / Briz-M Enhanced Baikonur Site 200/39 International Launch Services Yahsat 1B Yahsat Geosynchronous Communications In orbit Operational[ 39] 26 April 00:17 PSLV-XL Satish Dhawan Space Centre FLP ISRO RISAT-1 ISRO Low Earth (SSO ) Earth observation [ 40] In orbit Operational[ 41] 29 April 20:50:03[ 42] Long March 3B Xichang LC-2 CALT Compass-M3 CNSA Medium Earth Navigation In orbit Operational[ 42] Compass-M4 CNSA Medium Earth Navigation In orbit Operational[ 42] 4 May 18:42:00 Atlas V 531 Cape Canaveral SLC-41 United Launch Alliance USA-235 (AEHF-2) U.S. Air Force Geosynchronous Communications In orbit Operational[ 43] 6 May 07:10:04[ 44] Long March 2D Jiuquan SLS-2 SAST Tianhui 1B CNSA Low Earth (SSO ) Earth observation In orbit Operational[ 44] 10 May 07:06:04[ 45] Long March 4B Taiyuan LC-9 SAST Yaogan 14 CNSA Low Earth (SSO ) Reconnaissance In orbit Operational[ 45] Tiantuo 1 NUDT Low Earth (SSO ) Technology demonstration 3 November 2014 Successful 15 May 03:01:23 Soyuz-FG Baikonur Site 1/5 Roscosmos Soyuz TMA-04M Roscosmos Low Earth (ISS ) Expedition 31 /32 17 September 02:53 Successful[ 46] Crewed flight 15 May 22:13:07 Ariane 5 ECA Kourou ELA-3 Arianespace JCSAT-13 SKY Perfect JSAT Group Geosynchronous Communications In orbit Operational[ 47] Vinasat-2 VNPT Geosynchronous Communications In orbit Operational[ 48] 17 May 14:05 Soyuz-U Plesetsk Site 16/2 VKO Kosmos 2480 (Kobalt-M No.8) VKO Low Earth Reconnaissance 24 September Successful[ 49] Final Soyuz-U launch from Plesetsk. 17 May 16:39 H-IIA Tanegashima LA-Y1 MHI GCOM-W 1 JAXA / NASA Low Earth (SSO ) Earth observation In orbit Operational[ 50] Arirang-3 KARI Low Earth (SSO ) Earth observation In orbit Operational[ 50] SDS-4 JAXA Low Earth (SSO ) Technology demonstration In orbit Successful Horyu-2 KIT Low Earth (SSO ) Technology demonstration Amateur radio In orbit Successful[ 51] 17 May 19:12:14 Proton-M / Briz-M Baikonur Site 81/24 International Launch Services Nimiq 6 Telesat Geosynchronous Communications In orbit Operational[ 52] 22 May 07:44:38[ 11] Falcon 9 v1.0 Cape Canaveral SLC-40 SpaceX Dragon C2+ SpaceX / NASA Low Earth (ISS ) Flight test ISS logistics 31 May 16:42 Successful[ 56] New Frontier Celestis Low Earth Space burial 27 June Successful COTS Demo 2+,[ 53] orbital test manoeuvres and ISS rendezvous , berthing and cargo delivery. First commercial spacecraft to visit the ISS.[ 54] Celestis payload, containing cremated remains of 308 people including Gordon Cooper and James Doohan , remained intentionally attached to the upper stage.[ 55] 23 May[ 2] Safir-1B Semnan ISA Fajr ISA Planned: Low Earth [ 2] Earth observation 23 May Launch failure Probable launch failure;[ 2] identity of launch attempt, rocket, satellite and launch time not confirmed. 26 May 15:56:04 Long March 3B/E Xichang LC-2 CALT Chinasat-2A China Satcom Geosynchronous Communications In orbit Operational[ 57] 29 May 07:31:05 Long March 4C Taiyuan LC-9 SAST Yaogan 15 CNSA Low Earth (SSO ) Reconnaissance In orbit Operational[ 58] 1 June 05:22:59 Zenit-3SL Ocean Odyssey Sea Launch Intelsat 19 Intelsat Geosynchronous Communications In orbit Partial spacecraft failure Second solar panel initially failed to deploy after launch.[ 59] It eventually deployed, but was damaged. 13 June 16:00:37 Pegasus-XL Stargazer , Kwajalein Atoll Orbital Sciences NuSTAR NASA Low Earth X-ray astronomy In orbit Operational[ 60] 16 June 10:37:24[ 63] Long March 2F Y9 Jiuquan LA-4/SLS-1 CALT Shenzhou 9 CMSA Low Earth (Tiangong-1 ) Technology demonstration 29 June 02:01[ 64] Successful[ 4] Shenzhou-9-GC (Orbital Module) [ 65] CMSA Low Earth (Tiangong-1 ) Space rendezvous 2 December Successful Crewed flight; first Chinese woman in space,[ 61] [ 62] and first crewed mission to Tiangong-1 . 20 June 12:28 Atlas V 401 Cape Canaveral SLC-41 United Launch Alliance USA-236 / SDS-3 NRO Geosynchronous Communications In orbit Operational[ 66] NROL-38 mission. 29 June 13:15 Delta IV Heavy Cape Canaveral SLC-37B United Launch Alliance USA-237 / Orion 8 NRO Geosynchronous ELINT In orbit Operational[ 67] NROL-15 mission. First flight of Delta IV with RS-68A engines. 5 July 21:36:07[ 68] Ariane 5 ECA Kourou ELA-3 Arianespace Echostar XVII Hughes Network Systems Geosynchronous Communications In orbit Operational MSG 3 EUMETSAT Geosynchronous Meteorology In orbit Operational 9 July 18:38:30 Proton-M / Briz-M Enhanced Baikonur Site 81/24 International Launch Services SES-5 SES Geosynchronous Communications In orbit Operational[ 69] 15 July 02:40:03 Soyuz-FG Baikonur Site 1/5 Roscosmos Soyuz TMA-05M Roscosmos Low Earth (ISS ) Expedition 32 /33 19 November 01:56 Successful[ 70] Crewed flight 21 July 02:06:18[ 71] H-IIB Tanegashima LA-Y2 JAXA [ 72] [ 73] Kounotori 3 JAXA Low Earth (ISS ) ISS logistics 14 September Successful[ 74] ⚀ Raiko Wakayama /Tohuku Low Earth Technology demonstration 6 August 2013[ 75] Successful ⚀ FITSAT-1 (Niwaka) FIT Low Earth Technology demonstration 4 July 2013[ 76] Successful ⚀ We-Wish Meisei Electric Low Earth Technology demonstration 11 March 2013[ 77] Successful ⚀ F-1 FPT Low Earth Technology demonstration May 2013[ 78] Successfully deployed, but no signal was received.[ 79] ⚀ TechEdSat San Jose Low Earth Technology demonstration 5 May 2013[ 80] Successful All payloads CubeSats other than Kounotori 3. CubeSats carried aboard Kounotori and deployed from the ISS. 22 July 06:41:39 Soyuz-FG / Fregat Baikonur Site 31/6 Roscosmos Kanopus V-1 Roscosmos Low Earth (SSO ) Earth observation In orbit Operational[ 81] BelKA-2 NASRB Low Earth (SSO ) Earth observation In orbit Operational[ 81] Zond-PP Roscosmos Low Earth (SSO ) Technology demonstration Earth observation In orbit Spacecraft failure[ 82] TET-1 DLR Low Earth (SSO ) Technology demonstration 18 November 2022[ 83] Successful exactView 1 exactEarth Low Earth (SSO ) AIS ship tracking In orbit Operational[ 81] First Belarusian satellite. 25 July 15:43:04 Long March 3C Xichang LC-2 CALT Tianlian I-03 CNSA Geosynchronous Communications In orbit Operational[ 84] 28 July 01:35:34[ 85] Rokot / Briz-KM Plesetsk Site 133/3 VKO Gonets M-3 Gonets Satellite System Low Earth Communications In orbit Operational Gonets M-4 Gonets Satellite System Low Earth Communications In orbit Operational Kosmos 2481 (Strela-3M ) VKO Low Earth Communications In orbit Operational MiR (Yubileiny 2) NPO PM Low Earth Amateur radio Technology demonstration In orbit Operational 1 August 19:35:13 Soyuz-U Baikonur Site 1/5 Roscosmos Progress M-16M / 48P Roscosmos Low Earth (ISS ) ISS logistics 9 February 2013 Successful[ 87] Sfera-53 Roscosmos Low Earth Atmospheric density 24 November[ 88] Successful[ 89] Fast rendezvous test;[ 86] Sfera-53 deployed from ISS at 18:29 UTC on 20 August during a spacewalk. 2 August 20:54 Ariane 5 ECA Kourou ELA-3 Arianespace Intelsat 20 Intelsat Geosynchronous Communications In orbit Operational[ 90] HYLAS-2 Avanti Geosynchronous Communications In orbit Operational[ 90] 6 August 19:31:00 [ 92] Proton-M / Briz-M Enhanced Baikonur Site 81/24 Khrunichev Telkom-3 PT Telkom Planned: Geosynchronous Achieved: Medium Earth Communications 5 February 2021 [ 93] Launch failure[ 94] Ekspress-MD2 RSCC Planned: Geosynchronous Achieved: Medium Earth Communications In orbit Briz-M stage failure 7 seconds into its third burn.[ 91] Stage exploded on 16 October, generating over 500 pieces of orbital debris . 19 August 06:54:59 Zenit-3SL Ocean Odyssey Sea Launch Intelsat 21 Intelsat Geosynchronous Communications In orbit Operational[ 95] 30 August 08:05:27[ 98] Atlas V 401 Cape Canaveral SLC-41 United Launch Alliance Van Allen Probe A (RBSP-A) NASA Highly elliptical Magnetospheric research In orbit Successful Van Allen Probe B (RBSP-B) NASA Highly elliptical Magnetospheric research In orbit Successful Launch of the two Van Allen Probes , formerly known as the Radiation Belt Storm Probes . Van Allen Probe B ceased operations on 19 July 2019;[ 96] Van Allen Probe A was deactivated on 18 October 2019.[ 97] 9 September 04:23 PSLV-CA Satish Dhawan FLP ISRO SPOT 6 CNES Low Earth (SSO ) Earth observation In orbit Operational[ 99] PROITERES Osaka Institute of Technology Low Earth (SSO ) Amateur radio Technology demonstration In orbit Operational[ 99] 13 September 21:39:00[ 100] Atlas V 401 Vandenberg SLC-3E United Launch Alliance USA-238 (NOSS ) NRO Low Earth ELINT In orbit Operational USA-238 (NOSS ) NRO Low Earth ELINT In orbit Operational ⚀ CINEMA 1 UCB Low Earth Magnetospheric research In orbit Operational ⚀ CXBN Morehead Low Earth X-ray astronomy In orbit Operational ⚀ CP 5 CalPoly Low Earth Technology demonstration In orbit Operational ⚀ CSSWE CU-Boulder Low Earth Magnetospheric research In orbit Operational ⚀ Aeneas USC / NRO Low Earth Technology demonstration In orbit Operational ⚀ STARE A Lawrence Livermore Low Earth Technology demonstration In orbit Operational ⚀ SMDC-ONE 2.1 U.S. Army Low Earth Technology demonstration In orbit Operational ⚀ SMDC-ONE 2.2 U.S. Army Low Earth Technology demonstration In orbit Operational ⚀ AeroCube 4 The Aerospace Corporation Low Earth Technology demonstration In orbit Operational ⚀ AeroCube 4.5A The Aerospace Corporation Low Earth Technology demonstration In orbit Operational ⚀ AeroCube 4.5B The Aerospace Corporation Low Earth Technology demonstration In orbit Operational NRO Launch 36 17 September 16:28:40 Soyuz-2.1a / Fregat Baikonur Site 31/6 Starsem MetOp-B EUMETSAT Low Earth (SSO ) Meteorology In orbit Operational[ 101] 18 September 19:10:04 Long March 3B/E Xichang LC-2 CALT Compass-M5 CNSA Medium Earth Navigation In orbit Operational[ 102] Compass-M6 CNSA Medium Earth Navigation In orbit Operational[ 102] 28 September 21:18:07 Ariane 5 ECA Kourou ELA-3 Arianespace Astra 2F SES Geosynchronous Communications In orbit Operational[ 103] GSAT-10 ISRO Geosynchronous Communications In orbit Operational[ 104] 29 September[ 105] 04:12:04 Long March 2D Jiuquan SLS-2 SAST VRSS-1 MPPCTII Low Earth (SSO ) Earth observation In orbit Operational[ 106] 4 October 12:10:00 Delta IV M+(4,2) Cape Canaveral SLC-37B United Launch Alliance USA-239 (GPS IIF-3 ) U.S. Air Force Medium Earth Navigation In orbit Operational[ 107] 8 October 00:35:07[ 109] Falcon 9 v1.0 Cape Canaveral SLC-40 SpaceX SpaceX CRS-1 NASA Low Earth (ISS ) ISS logistics 28 October 19:22[ 12] Successful[ 12] Orbcomm-2 F1 Orbcomm Low Earth Communications 10 October Launch failure[ 110] [ 111] First flight of Commercial Resupply Services programme.[ 108] First stage engine failure resulted in a too-low orbit for Orbcomm payload; CRS-1 nonetheless placed into correct orbit. 12 October 18:15:01 Soyuz ST-B / Fregat-MT Kourou ELS Arianespace Galileo IOV 3 ESA Medium Earth Navigation In orbit Operational[ 112] Galileo IOV 4 ESA Medium Earth Navigation In orbit Operational[ 112] 14 October 03:25:05 Long March 2C /SMA Taiyuan LC-9 CALT Shijian 9A CNSA Low Earth (SSO ) Technology demonstration In orbit Operational[ 113] Shijian 9B CNSA Low Earth (SSO ) Technology demonstration In orbit Operational[ 113] 14 October 08:37:00 Proton-M / Briz-M Enhanced Baikonur Site 81/24 International Launch Services Intelsat 23 Intelsat Geosynchronous Communications In orbit Operational[ 114] 23 October 10:51:11[ 115] Soyuz-FG Baikonur Site 31/6 Roscosmos Soyuz TMA-06M Roscosmos Low Earth (ISS )[ 116] Expedition 33 /34 16 March 2013 03:06 Successful[ 117] Crewed flight 25 October 15:33:04 Long March 3C Xichang LC-2 CALT Compass-G6 CNSA Geosynchronous Navigation In orbit Operational[ 119] Compass navigation system became commercially operational in Asia-Pacific region in December 2012.[ 118] 31 October 07:41:18 Soyuz-U Baikonur Site 1/5 Roscosmos Progress M-17M / 49P[ 120] Roscosmos Low Earth (ISS ) ISS logistics 21 April 2013 Successful[ 121] 2 November 21:04:00 Proton-M / Briz-M Enhanced Baikonur Site 81/24 Roscosmos Luch 5B Gonets Satellite System Geosynchronous Communications In orbit Operational[ 122] Yamal-300K Gazprom Geosynchronous Communications In orbit Operational[ 122] 10 November 21:05:07 Ariane 5 ECA Kourou ELA-3 Arianespace Eutelsat 21B Eutelsat Geosynchronous Communications In orbit Operational[ 123] Star One C3 Star One Geosynchronous Communications In orbit Operational[ 123] 14 November 11:42:46 Soyuz-2.1a / Fregat Plesetsk Site 43/4 VKO Meridian 6 VKO Molniya Communications In orbit Operational[ 124] 18 November 22:53:04[ 125] Long March 2C Taiyuan LC-9 CALT Huanjing 1C CNSA Low Earth (SSO ) Earth observation 1 March 2023[ 126] Successful Xinyan 1 CASC Low Earth (SSO ) Technology demonstration 5 October 2019[ 127] Successful Fengniao 1 SAST Low Earth (SSO ) Technology demonstration 11 January 2024[ 128] Successful Fengniao 1A SAST Low Earth (SSO ) Technology demonstration 11 January 2024[ 129] Deployment failure 20 November 18:31:00 Proton-M / Briz-M Enhanced Baikonur Site 200/39 International Launch Services EchoStar XVI EchoStar Geosynchronous Communications In orbit Operational[ 130] 25 November 04:06:04 Long March 4C Jiuquan SLS-2 SAST Yaogan 16A CNSA Low Earth ELINT In orbit Operational[ 131] Yaogan 16B CNSA Low Earth ELINT In orbit Operational[ 131] Yaogan 16C CNSA Low Earth ELINT In orbit Operational[ 131] 27 November 10:13:03[ 132] Long March 3B/E Xichang LC-2 CALT ChinaSat 12 / SupremeSAT-I China Satcom / SupremeSAT Geosynchronous Communications In orbit Operational[ 132] Part of satellite's communications payload was leased to SupremeSAT , a Sri Lankan satellite operator, as SupremeSAT-I . 2 December 02:02:51 Soyuz ST-A / Fregat Kourou ELS Arianespace Pléiades-HR 1B CNES Low Earth (SSO ) Earth observation In orbit Operational[ 133] 3 December 20:43:59 Zenit-3SL Ocean Odyssey Sea Launch Eutelsat 70B Eutelsat Geosynchronous Communications In orbit Operational[ 134] 8 December 13:13:43 Proton-M / Briz-M Enhanced Baikonur Site 200/39 International Launch Services Yamal-402 Gazprom Geosynchronous Communications In orbit Operational; partial launch failure[ 136] Briz-M stage failure 4 minutes before scheduled shut down on its fourth burn.[ 135] 11 December 18:03 Atlas V 501 Cape Canaveral SLC-41 United Launch Alliance USA-240 (X-37B OTV-3 ) U.S. Air Force Low Earth Technology demonstration 17 October 2014 Successful[ 137] [ 138] 270-day X-37B endurance mission ultimately extended to over 680 days.[ 137] 12 December 00:49:46[ 141] [ 142] Unha-3 Sohae KCST Kwangmyŏngsŏng-3 Unit 2 KCST Low Earth Technology demonstration In orbit Spacecraft failure[ 140] First successful North Korean orbital launch, first North Korean satellite;[ 139] satellite reached orbit but malfunctioned thereafter.[ 140] 18 December 16:13:04[ 143] Long March 2D Jiuquan SLS-2 SAST Göktürk-2 MSB Low Earth (SSO ) Earth observation In orbit Operational[ 144] 19 December 12:12:35 Soyuz-FG Baikonur Site 1/5 Roscosmos Soyuz TMA-07M Roscosmos Low Earth (ISS ) Expedition 34 /35 14 May 2013 02:31 Successful[ 145] Crewed flight 19 December 21:49:07 Ariane 5 ECA Kourou ELA-3 Arianespace Skynet 5D Astrium Geosynchronous Communications In orbit Operational[ 146] Mexsat-3 SCT Geosynchronous Communications In orbit Operational[ 146] Skynet 5D military communications satellite operated by Astrium Services on behalf of the British Ministry of Defence .
Date and time (UTC ) Rocket Flight number Launch site LSP Payload (⚀ = CubeSat ) Operator Orbit Function Decay (UTC) Outcome Remarks 11 January 13:25 Terrier-Improved Malemute [ 147] Wallops Island NASA NASA Suborbital Test flight 11 January Successful[ 148] 11 January 20:51 S-520 Uchinoura JAXA JAXA/HU /TU /TU /TPU /KU /KUT Suborbital Atmospheric science 11 January Successful[ 149] 24 January Arrow III Negev IAI IAI/IDF Suborbital ABM Test 24 January Successful[ 150] First test flight of the Arrow-III 10 February 04:40 Prithvi ITR IC-4 DRDO DRDO Suborbital Target 10 February Successful[ 151] Target for ABM test, successfully intercepted 10 February Blue Sparrow F-15 Eagle , Israel IAF Israeli Air Force Suborbital ABM target 10 February Successful[ 152] Arrow-3 tracking target 13 February 09:32 VSB-30 Esrange EuroLaunch MASER-12 SSC Suborbital Microgravity 13 February Successful[ 153] 19 February 05:41 Black Brant IX Poker Flat NASA UNH Suborbital Auroral research 19 February Successful[ 154] 22 February UGM-133 Trident II D5 USS Tennessee , ETR US Navy US Navy Suborbital Missile test 22 February Successful[ 155] Demonstration and Shakedown Operation 23 (DASO-23) 25 February 10:46 LGM-30G Minuteman III Vandenberg LF-09 US Air Force US Air Force Suborbital Test flight 25 February Successful[ 156] 22 March 09:00 Black Brant IX White Sands NASA CIBER Caltech Suborbital Astronomy 22 March Successful[ 157] 27 March 08:58 Terrier-Oriole Wallops Island NASA ATREX Clemson Suborbital Geospace 27 March Successful[ 158] 27 March 08:59 Terrier-Improved Malemute Wallops Island NASA ATREX Clemson Suborbital Geospace 27 March Successful[ 158] 27 March 09:00 Terrier-Orion Wallops Island NASA ATREX Clemson Suborbital Geospace 27 March Successful[ 158] 27 March 09:02 Terrier-Improved Malemute Wallops Island NASA ATREX Clemson Suborbital Geospace 27 March Successful[ 158] 27 March 09:03 Terrier-Orion Wallops Island NASA ATREX Clemson Suborbital Geospace 27 March Successful[ 158] 5 April 14:18 SpaceLoft XL Spaceport America UP Aerospace ORS Suborbital Technology demonstration 5 April Successful[ 159] Apogee: 117 kilometres (73 mi), successfully recovered 14 April UGM-133 Trident II D5 USS Maryland , ETR US Navy US Navy Suborbital Test flight 14 April Successful[ 160] Follow-on Commander's Evaluation Test 45 14 April UGM-133 Trident II D5 USS Maryland , ETR US Navy US Navy Suborbital Test flight 14 April Successful[ 160] Follow-on Commander's Evaluation Test 45 16 April UGM-133 Trident II D5 USS Maryland , ETR US Navy US Navy Suborbital Test flight 16 April Successful[ 160] Follow-on Commander's Evaluation Test 46 16 April UGM-133 Trident II D5 USS Maryland , ETR US Navy US Navy Suborbital Test flight 16 April Successful[ 160] Follow-on Commander's Evaluation Test 46 19 April 02:37 Agni-V Integrated Test Range DRDO DRDO Suborbital Test flight 19 April Successful[ 161] Apogee: 800 kilometres (500 mi), maiden flight of Agni-V 23 April VS-30 /Orion Andøya DSTO HiFire-5 DSTO Suborbital Technology demonstration 23 April Launch failure Hypersonic research experiment, second stage of launch vehicle failed to ignite 25 April Shaheen-I A Sonmiani ASFC ASFC Suborbital Test flight 25 April Successful[ 162] 10 May 06:18 Terrier Orion (ARAV-A) FTM-16 E2a Kauai MDA MDA Suborbital ABM target 10 May Successful[ 163] SM-3 Block 1B target 10 May 06:21 RIM-161C SM-3 Block 1B FTM-16 E2a USS Lake Erie , Pacific Ocean US Navy US Navy Suborbital ABM test 10 May Successful[ 163] ARAV-A interceptor, successful intercept 23 May 06:15 RS-26 Rubezh Plesetsk RVSN RVSN Suborbital Missile test 23 May Successful[ 164] 7 June 17:39 RS-12M Topol Kapustin Yar RVSN RVSN Suborbital Missile test 7 June Successful[ 165] 21 June 10:40 Terrier Improved Orion Wallops Island NASA RockOn Colorado Suborbital Student experiments 21 June Successful[ 166] 22 June 19:18 VS-40 Andøya Andøya SHEFEX II DLR Suborbital Technology demonstration 22 June Successful[ 167] 23 June 19:30 Black Brant IX White Sands NASA EVE CU Boulder Suborbital SDO calibration 23 June Successful[ 168] 27 June 09:15 Castor 4B FTM-18 Kauai MDA MDA Suborbital ABM target 27 June Successful[ 169] SM-3 Block 1B target 27 June 09:18 RIM-161C SM-3 Block 1B FTM-18 USS Lake Erie , Pacific Ocean US Navy US Navy Suborbital ABM test 27 June Successful[ 169] Castor 4B interceptor, successful intercept 3 July Shahab-1 Iran IRGC IGRC Suborbital Missile test 3 July Successful[ 170] Apogee: ~100 kilometres (62 mi) 3 July Shahab-2 Iran IGRC IRGC Suborbital Missile test 3 July Successful[ 170] Apogee: ~100 kilometres (62 mi) 3 July Shahab-3 Iran IRGC IRGC Suborbital Missile test 3 July Successful[ 170] Apogee: ~150 kilometres (93 mi) 5 July 18:50 Black Brant IX White Sands NASA SUMI NASA/MSFC Suborbital Solar research 5 July Successful[ 171] 11 July 18:50 Black Brant IX White Sands >