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The year 2011 saw a number of significant events in spaceflight, including the retirement of NASA 's Space Shuttle after its final flight in July 2011, and the launch of China 's first space station module, Tiangong-1 , in September. A total of 84 orbital launches were conducted over the course of the year, of which 78 were successful. Russia , China and the United States conducted the majority of the year's orbital launches, with 35, 19 and 18 launches respectively; 2011 marked the first year that China conducted more successful launches than the United States.[ 1] International Space Station . Additionally, the Zenit-3F and Long March 2F/G carrier rockets made their maiden flights in 2011, while the Delta II Heavy made its last.
Overview of orbital spaceflight [ edit ] A total of 84 orbital launches were attempted in 2011, with 78 being reported as successful; 80 launches reached orbit. 35 launches were conducted using Russian and former Soviet rockets, whilst China launched 19 rockets, and the United States launched 18. Europe conducted five launches, India and Japan launched three rockets each, and Iran conducted one launch.
Seven crewed spaceflights – four Soyuz and three Space Shuttle missions – were launched in 2011, carrying a total of 28 astronauts and cosmonauts into orbit. At the beginning of the year, the Expedition 26 crew was aboard the International Space Station (ISS). The first crewed flight of 2011 was STS-133 , the final flight of the Space Shuttle Discovery Kennedy Space Center on 24 February. STS-133 carried Leonardo Discovery returned to Earth on 9 March.
On 16 March, Expedition 27 began aboard the ISS with the departure of the Soyuz TMA-01M spacecraft, which had been docked since October 2010. On 4 April, Soyuz TMA-21 launched to the space station, delivering a further three crewmembers. On 16 May, Space Shuttle Space Shuttle Endeavour STS-134 , delivering and installing the Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer , before returning to Earth on 1 June. Expedition 28 began aboard the ISS on 23 May with the departure of Soyuz TMA-20 , which had been launched in December 2010, and landed in the early morning of 24 May. Three more crewmembers were launched to the space station aboard Soyuz TMA-02M on 7 June.
The final Space Shuttle mission, STS-135 , began on 8 July with the launch of Space Shuttle Atlantis Raffaello Multi-Purpose Logistics Module (MPLM). After resupplying the space station, Atlantis returned to Earth, landing at Kennedy Space Center 's Shuttle Landing Facility at 09:57 UTC on 21 July, and concluding thirty years of Space Shuttle operations. Two days before landing, Atlantis deployed PSSC-2 , the last satellite to be launched from a Space Shuttle.
On 29 September, China launched its first space station module, Tiangong-1 , which was placed into orbit by a Long March 2F/G carrier rocket flying from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Centre . Although no crewed missions to Tiangong-1 were conducted in 2011, the uncrewed Shenzhou 8 spacecraft, which was launched on 31 October, docked twice with the module to test its systems in preparation for a successful 2012 crewed docking .
ISS Expedition 28 ended, and Expedition 29 began, with the undocking of Soyuz TMA-21 on 16 September. The launch of Soyuz TMA-22 did not take place until 14 November, having been delayed by reliability concerns surrounding the Soyuz rocket after an uncrewed launch failure in August. A week later, Soyuz TMA-02M undocked, beginning Expedition 30 , with the Soyuz spacecraft landing on 22 November. The final crewed launch of the year took place on 21 December, when Soyuz TMA-03M was launched to bring a further three crewmembers to the ISS.
Ten spacewalks were conducted in 2011, all of them by ISS or Space Shuttle astronauts. The final spacewalk by a Space Shuttle crew was conducted on 27 May, during the STS-134 mission.
Robotic exploration [ edit ] Numerous scientific exploration missions were begun in 2011. In March 2011, the MESSENGER Mercury . In July, the Dawn asteroid 4 Vesta . The Mars Science Laboratory – at the time, the largest Mars rover ever constructed – was launched in November, conducting a successful landing on Mars in August 2012.[ 2]
Six orbital launches failed in 2011, four of which failed to achieve orbit and the remaining two reached lower orbits than expected. The first failure occurred on 1 February, when a Rokot with a Briz-KM upper stage placed Kosmos 2470 into a useless orbit, from which it could not recover. The failure was later traced to a software problem on the Briz-KM.
The next failure occurred on 4 March, when the payload fairing of a Taurus-XL failed to separate, resulting in the rocket being too heavy to reach orbit. The Glory climate research satellite was lost in the failure, along with the KySat-1 , Hermes and Explorer-1 [PRIME] CubeSats . The previous Taurus-XL launch, carrying the Orbiting Carbon Observatory in February 2009, also failed due to the fairing not separating.
No more launch failures occurred until mid-August when, over the space of a week, three consecutive orbital launches failed. On 17 August, a Proton-M /Briz-M launched from the Baikonur Cosmodrome , carrying the Ekspress-AM4 communications satellite. In the morning of 18 August, the rocket's upper stage failed to conduct the fourth of five planned burns due to an attitude control system malfunction, leaving the spacecraft in a parking orbit. Later that same day, a Long March 2C launched from Jiuquan carrying the Shijian XI-04 satellite. The second stage vernier engine's mounting suffered a structural failure, resulting in a loss of control, and the rocket failed to reach orbit. Finally, on 24 August, a Soyuz-U carrying the Progress M-12M cargo spacecraft to the International Space Station suffered a third-stage engine failure and also failed to attain orbit.
The final launch failure of 2011 occurred on 23 December, when a Soyuz-2-1b /Fregat carrying the Meridian 5 satellite failed to achieve orbit due to a third-stage malfunction. Debris fell over Novosibirsk Oblast , with one piece hitting a house; however, no casualties were reported.
In November 2011, Russia's Fobos-Grunt Martian sample return probe launched successfully, but experienced a malfunction post-launch and became stranded in orbit. The spacecraft, which was Russia's first attempt at an interplanetary mission since the 1996 Mars 96 mission, disintegrated over the Pacific Ocean on 15 January 2012.[ 3] [ 4] Yinghuo-1 , which was being carried by the same rocket as Fobos-Grunt, was also lost in the incident.
Date and time (UTC ) Rocket Flight number Launch site LSP Payload CubeSat ) Operator Orbit Function Decay (UTC) Outcome Remarks 20 January Zenit-3F Baikonur Site 45/1 Roscosmos Elektro-L No.1 Roscosmos Geostationary Meteorology In orbit Operational[ 5] Maiden flight of Zenit-3F. 20 January [ 7] Delta IV-H Vandenberg SLC-6 United Launch Alliance USA-224 (KH-11 ) NRO Low Earth Earth observation In orbit Operational NRO Launch 49, first Delta IV Heavy launch from Vandenberg.[ 6] 22 January [ 8] H-IIB Tanegashima LA-Y2 JAXA [ 9] Kounotori 2 (HTV-2 ) JAXA Low Earth (ISS ) ISS logistics 30 March Successful 28 January Soyuz-U Baikonur Site 1/5 Roscosmos Progress M-09M / 41P Roscosmos Low Earth (ISS ) ISS logistics 26 April 13:22:53 Successful Kedr RKK Energia Low Earth Amateur radio 4 January 2012[ 10] Successful 1 February Rokot / Briz-KM Plesetsk Site 133/3 VKS Kosmos 2470 (Geo-IK-2 No.11) VKS Low Earth Geodesy 15 July 2013[ 12] Launch failure Upper stage malfunctioned due to problems with the flight software,[ 11] 6 February Minotaur I Vandenberg SLC-8 Orbital Sciences USA-225 (RPP) NRO Low Earth Technology demonstration In orbit Operational[ 13] NRO Launch 66 16 February [ 14] Ariane 5 ES Kourou ELA-3 Arianespace Johannes Kepler ATV ESA Low Earth (ISS ) ISS logistics 21 June Successful 24 February Space Shuttle Discovery Kennedy LC-39A United Space Alliance STS-133 NASA Low Earth (ISS ) ISS logistics 9 March 16:57:17 Successful Leonardo [ 15] ASI / NASA Low Earth (ISS ) ISS assembly In orbit Operational ExPRESS-4 NASA Low Earth (ISS ) ISS logistics In orbit Operational Crewed flight, final flight of Discovery . 26 February Soyuz-2.1b / Fregat Plesetsk Site 43/4 RVSN RF Kosmos 2471 (Glonass-K 701 ) VKS Medium Earth Navigation 12 November 2021 Successful[ 16] 4 March Taurus-XL 3110 Vandenberg LC-576E Orbital Sciences Glory NASA Intended: Low Earth (SSO ) Climatology 4 March Launch failure ⚀ KySat-1 Kentucky Space Intended: Low Earth Technology demonstration ⚀ Hermes Colorado Intended: Low Earth Technology demonstration ⚀ Explorer-1 [PRIME] Montana State Intended: Low Earth Radiation All payloads CubeSats except Glory, which would have been part of the A-train constellation. Fairing failed to separate. 5 March Atlas V 501 Cape Canaveral SLC-41 United Launch Alliance USA-226 (X-37B FLT-2 ) U.S. Air Force Low Earth Technology demonstration 16 June 2012 12:48[ 17] [ 18] Successful 11 March Delta IV-M+ (4,2) Cape Canaveral SLC-37B United Launch Alliance USA-227 (SDS-3 ) NRO Geosynchronous Communications In orbit Operational NRO Launch 27 4 April [ 19] [ 20] Soyuz-FG Baikonur Site 1/5 Roscosmos Soyuz TMA-21 Roscosmos Low Earth (ISS ) Expedition 27 /28 16 September 03:59:39 Successful 9 April Long March 3A Xichang LC-3 CNSA Compass-IGSO3 CNSA IGSO Navigation In orbit Operational 14 April Atlas V 411[ 21] Vandenberg SLC-3E United Launch Alliance USA-229 (NOSS ) NRO Low Earth ELINT In orbit Operational USA-229 (NOSS ) NRO Low Earth ELINT In orbit Operational NRO Launch 34 20 April [ 22] [ 23] [ 24] PSLV Satish Dhawan FLP ISRO Resourcesat-2 ISRO Low Earth (SSO ) Earth observation In orbit Operational YouthSat ISRO / MGU Low Earth (SSO ) Education In orbit Operational X-Sat CREST Low Earth (SSO ) Technology demonstration In orbit Operational 22 April [ 25] [ 26] [ 27] Ariane 5 ECA [ 28] Kourou ELA-3 Arianespace Yahsat 1A Yahsat Geosynchronous Communications In orbit Operational New Dawn [ 29] Intelsat Geosynchronous Communications In orbit Partial spacecraft failure New Dawn's C-Band antenna failed to deploy. 27 April Soyuz-U Baikonur Site 1/5 Roscosmos Progress M-10M / 42P Roscosmos Low Earth (ISS ) ISS logistics 29 October 13:00:31 Successful 4 May [ 30] Soyuz-2.1a / Fregat Plesetsk Site 43/4 RVSN RF Meridian 4 VKS Medium Earth Communications In orbit Operational 7 May Atlas V 401 Cape Canaveral SLC-41 United Launch Alliance USA-230 (SBIRS-GEO 1) U.S. Air Force Geosynchronous Missile defense In orbit Operational 16 May Space Shuttle Endeavour Kennedy LC-39A United Space Alliance STS-134 NASA Low Earth (ISS ) ISS logistics 1 June 06:35 Successful AMS-02 [ 15] NASA Low Earth (ISS ) Cosmic-ray observatory In orbit Operational ExPRESS-3 NASA Low Earth (ISS ) ISS logistics In orbit Operational Crewed flight, final flight of Endeavour . 20 May [ 32] Proton-M /Briz-M Enhanced Baikonur Site 200/39 International Launch Services Telstar 14R Telesat Geosynchronous Communications In orbit Partial spacecraft failure Second solar panel failed to deploy due to tangled cable[ 31] 20 May [ 33] Ariane 5 ECA Kourou ELA-3 Arianespace ST-2 SingTel / Chunghwa Geosynchronous Communications In orbit Operational INSAT-4G/GSAT-8 [ 34] ISRO Geosynchronous Communications In orbit Operational 7 June Soyuz-FG Baikonur Site 1/5 Roscosmos Soyuz TMA-02M Roscosmos Low Earth (ISS ) Expedition 28 /29 22 November 02:26 Successful 10 June Delta II 7320 Vandenberg SLC-2W United Launch Alliance SAC-D CONAE / NASA Low Earth (SSO ) Oceanography In orbit Operational Final scheduled flight of Delta II 7300 series; spacecraft carrying NASA's Aquarius instrument. 15 June [citation needed Safir-1A UIS.0001 Semnan LP-1 ISA Rasad 1 ISA Low Earth Earth observation 6 July 2011 Successful 20 June [ 35] Long March 3B Xichang LC-2 CNSA ChinaSat 10 China Satellite Communications Geosynchronous Communications In orbit Operational 21 June Soyuz-U Baikonur Site 1/5 Roscosmos Progress M-11M / 43P Roscosmos Low Earth (ISS ) ISS logistics 1 September 10:21:41 Successful 27 June [ 36] Soyuz-U Plesetsk Site 16/2 VKS Kosmos 2472 (Kobalt-M No.7) VKS Low Earth Reconnaissance 24 October Successful 30 June Minotaur I MARS LP-0B Orbital Sciences USA-231 (ORS-1) ORSO Low Earth Reconnaissance 12 March 2018[ 37] Successful 6 July [ 38] Long March 2C Jiuquan SLS-2 CNSA Shijian 11-03 CNSA Low Earth (SSO ) Technology demonstration In orbit Operational 8 July Space Shuttle Atlantis Kennedy LC-39A United Space Alliance STS-135 NASA Low Earth (ISS ) ISS logistics 21 July 2011 09:57 Successful Raffaelo MPLMNASA Low Earth (ISS ) ISS logistics Successful PSSC-2 U.S. Air Force Low Earth Technology demonstration 8 December Successful Crewed flight, final flight of Atlantis and of Space Shuttle programme . 11 July [ 39] [ 40] Long March 3C Xichang LC-2 CNSA Tianlian I-02 (1B) CNSA Geosynchronous Communications In orbit Operational 13 July [ 41] [ 42] Soyuz-2.1a / Fregat Baikonur Site 31/6 Starsem Globalstar M081 Globalstar Low Earth Communications In orbit Operational Globalstar M083 Globalstar Low Earth Communications In orbit Operational Globalstar M085 Globalstar Low Earth Communications In orbit Operational Globalstar M088 Globalstar Low Earth Communications In orbit Operational Globalstar M089 Globalstar Low Earth Communications In orbit Operational Globalstar M091 Globalstar Low Earth Communications In orbit Operational 15 July PSLV-XL Satish Dhawan FLP ISRO GSAT-12 ISRO Geosynchronous Communications In orbit Operational 15 July Proton-M / Briz-M Enhanced Baikonur Site 200/39 International Launch Services SES-3 SES World Skies (July–September)SES S.A. (September—) Geosynchronous Communications In orbit Operational KazSat-2 JSC KazSat Geosynchronous Communications In orbit Operational 16 July Delta IV -M+ (4,2) Cape Canaveral SLC-37B United Launch Alliance USA-232 (GPS-IIF-2 ) U.S. Air Force Medium Earth Navigation In orbit Operational 18 July [ 43] Zenit-3F Baikonur Site 45/1 Roscosmos Spektr-R (RadioAstron) Roscosmos High Earth Radio astronomy 30 May 2019 Successful Russian scientific satellite with a 10 m (33 ft) radio telescope on board. Together with some of the largest ground-based radio telescopes, the Spektr-R formed interferometric baselines extending up to 350,000 km (220,000 mi). 26 July [ 44] Long March 3A Xichang LC-3 CNSA Compass-IGSO4 CNSA IGSO Navigation In orbit Operational 29 July [ 45] Long March 2C Jiuquan SLS-2 CNSA Shijian 11-02 CNSA Low Earth (SSO ) Technology demonstration In orbit Operational 5 August [ 46] Atlas V 551 Cape Canaveral SLC-41 United Launch Alliance Juno NASA Jovicentric Jupiter orbiter In orbit Operational 6 August [ 47] Ariane 5 ECA Kourou ELA-3 Arianespace Astra 1N SES Astra (August–September)SES S.A. (September—) Geosynchronous Communications In orbit Operational BSAT-3c / JCSAT-110R BSAT / JSAT Geosynchronous Communications In orbit Operational 11 August [ 48] Long March 3B/E Xichang LC-2 CNSA Paksat-1R SUPARCO Geosynchronous Communications In orbit Operational 15 August [ 49] Long March 4B Taiyuan LC-2 CNSA Hai Yang 2A CAST Low Earth (SSO ) Oceanography In orbit Operational 17 August [ 50] Dnepr Dombarovsky Site 13 ISC Kosmotras Sich-2 NKAU Low Earth (SSO ) Earth observation In orbit Operational NigeriaSat-2 NASRDA Low Earth (SSO ) Earth observation In orbit Operational NigeriaSat-X NASRDA Low Earth (SSO ) Technology demonstration In orbit Operational RASAT TÜBİTAK Low Earth (SSO ) Earth observation In orbit Successful EduSAT GAUSS Srl Low Earth (SSO ) Technology demonstration In orbit Operational AprizeSat-5 exactEarth Low Earth (SSO ) Communications In orbit Operational AprizeSat-6 exactEarth Low Earth (SSO ) Communications In orbit Operational BPA-2 Hartron-Arkos Low Earth (SSO ) Technology demonstration In orbit Successful 17 August [ 52] Proton-M / Briz-M Enhanced Baikonur Site 200/39 Khrunichev Ekspress AM-4 RSCC Intended: Geosynchronous GTO Communications 25 March 2012 Launch failure Briz-M upper stage failed before the planned fourth burn. An insufficient time slot was allocated for re-setting the gyroscopes of the upper stage control system before launch, which led to loss of adequate attitude control in flight.[ 51] 18 August [ 54] Long March 2C Jiuquan SLS-2 CNSA Shijian 11-04 CNSA Intended: Low Earth (SSO ) Technology demonstration 18 August Launch failure Failed to reach orbit. Second stage's vernier engine support structure failed in flight, led to loss of attitude control.[ 53] 24 August [ 56] Soyuz-U Baikonur Site 1/5 Roscosmos Progress M-12M / 44P Roscosmos Intended: Low Earth (ISS ) ISS logistics 24 August Launch failure Third stage engine failure 325 seconds after launch due to the gas generator fuel supply pipeline being blocked by contaminants.[ 55] 10 September 13:08:52 [ 57] Delta II 7920H Cape Canaveral SLC-17B United Launch Alliance GRAIL-A (Ebb) NASA Selenocentric Lunar orbiter 17 December 2012 22:28:51[ 58] Successful GRAIL-B (Flow) NASA Selenocentric Lunar orbiter 17 December 2012 22:29:21[ 58] Successful Final launch of Delta II Heavy, final Delta II launch from Cape Canaveral, and last launch from SLC-17. 18 September [ 59] Long March 3B/E Xichang LC-2 CNSA Chinasat-1A China Satcom Geosynchronous Communications In orbit Operational 20 September Proton-M / Briz-M Baikonur Site 81/24 Khrunichev Kosmos 2473 (Garpun #1 ) VKS Geosynchronous Communications In orbit Operational 21 September Ariane 5 ECA Kourou ELA-3 Arianespace Arabsat 5C Arabsat Geosynchronous Communications In orbit Operational SES-2 SES S.A. Geosynchronous Communications In orbit Operational 23 September H-IIA Tanegashima LA-Y1 MHI IGS Optical 4 CSICE Low Earth (SSO ) Reconnaissance In orbit Successful[ 60] 24 September Zenit-3SL Ocean Odyssey Sea Launch Atlantic Bird 7 Eutelsat Geosynchronous Communications In orbit Operational 27 September Minotaur IV+ Kodiak LP-1 Orbital Sciences TacSat-4 U.S. Air Force Highly elliptical Technology demonstration In orbit Operational 29 September [ 61] Long March 2F/G T1 Jiuquan SLS-1 CNSA Tiangong-1 CMSA Low Earth Space station 2 April 2018 00:16[ 62] Successful Maiden flight of Long March 2F/G, first Chinese space station prototype. 29 September [ 63] Proton-M / Briz-M Enhanced Baikonur Site 200/39 International Launch Services QuetzSat 1 SES Satellite Leasing Geosynchronous Communications In orbit Operational Intended for lease to QuetzSat . 2 October Soyuz-2.1b / Fregat Plesetsk Site 43/4 RVSN RF Kosmos 2474 (Glonass-M 742 ) VKS Medium Earth Navigation In orbit Operational 5 October Zenit-3SLB Baikonur Site 45/1 Land Launch Intelsat 18 Intelsat Geosynchronous Communications In orbit Operational 7 October Long March 3B/E Xichang LC-2 CNSA Eutelsat W3C Eutelsat Geosynchronous Communications In orbit Operational 12 October PSLV-CA Satish Dhawan FLP ISRO Megha-Tropiques [ 64] ISRO / CNES Low Earth Climatology 7 March 2023[ 65] Successful SRMSAT SRM Low Earth Climatology In orbit Operational VesselSat-1 Luxspace Low Earth Communications In orbit Operational ⚀ Jugnu IITK Low Earth Earth observation In orbit Operational 19 October Proton-M / Briz-M Enhanced Baikonur Site 200/39 International Launch Services ViaSat-1 ViaSat -IOM / ManSat Geosynchronous Communications In orbit Operational 21 October[ 66] [ 67] Soyuz ST-B / Fregat-MT Kourou ELS Arianespace Galileo IOV 1 ESA Medium Earth Navigation / Technology demonstration In orbit Operational Galileo IOV 2 ESA Medium Earth Navigation / Technology demonstration In orbit Operational First Soyuz launch from Kourou. 28 October Delta II 7920-10 Vandenberg SLC-2W United Launch Alliance NPP NASA / NOAA Low Earth Meteorology In orbit Operational ⚀ AubieSat 1 Auburn University Low Earth Technology demonstration In orbit Operational ⚀ DICE-1 Space Dynamics Laboratory Low Earth Magnetospheric research In orbit Operational ⚀ DICE-2 Space Dynamics Laboratory Low Earth Magnetospheric research In orbit Operational ⚀ E1P-U2 Montana State Low Earth Radiation In orbit Operational ⚀ M-Cubed University of Michigan Low Earth Technology demonstration In orbit Operational ⚀ RAX-2 University of Michigan Low Earth Auroral In orbit Operational 30 October Soyuz-U Baikonur Site 1/5 Roscosmos Progress M-13M / 45P Roscosmos Low Earth (ISS ) ISS logistics 25 January 2012 Successful Chibis-M (RS-39) IKI Low Earth Ionospheric research 15 October 2014 Successful 31 October Long March 2F Y8 Jiuquan SLS-1 CNSA Shenzhou 8 CMSA Low Earth (Tiangong-1 ) Technology demonstration 17 November 11:36 Successful Shenzhou-8-GC CMSA Low Earth (Tiangong-1 ) Technology demonstration 2 April 2012 Successful Uncrewed flight, first Chinese orbital docking. 4 November [ 68] Proton-M / Briz-M Baikonur Site 81/24 Khrunichev Kosmos 2475 (Glonass-M 743 ) VKS Medium Earth Navigation In orbit Operational Kosmos 2476 (Glonass-M 744 ) VKS Medium Earth Navigation In orbit Operational Kosmos 2477 (Glonass-M 745 ) VKS Medium Earth Navigation In orbit Operational 8 November Zenit-2M Baikonur Site 45/1 Roscosmos Fobos-Grunt Roscosmos Intended: Areocentric Low Earth Phobos sample return 15 January 2012 Spacecraft failure Yinghuo-1 CNSA Intended: Areocentric Low Earth Mars orbiter First Russian attempt at an interplanetary mission since 1996.[ 69] [ 70] 9 November [ 71] Long March 4B Taiyuan LC-2 CNSA Yaogan 12 CNSA Low Earth (SSO ) Reconnaissance In orbit Operational Tian Xun 1 Nanjing University of Aeronautics and Astronautics Low Earth (SSO ) Technology demonstration 7 February 2016[ 72] Successful 14 November [ 73] Soyuz-FG Baikonur Site 1/5 Roscosmos Soyuz TMA-22 Roscosmos Low Earth (ISS ) Expedition 29 /30 27 April 2012 Successful 20 November [ 74] Long March 2D Jiuquan SLS-2 CNSA Shiyan 4 CNSA Low Earth (SSO ) Technology demonstration In orbit Operational Chuang Xin 1C CNSA Low Earth (SSO ) Technology demonstration In orbit Operational 25 November Proton-M / Briz-M Enhanced Baikonur Site 200/39 International Launch Services AsiaSat 7 AsiaSat Geosynchronous Communications In orbit Operational 26 November Atlas V 541 Cape Canaveral SLC-41 United Launch Alliance Mars Science Laboratory (Curiosity NASA TMI to Martian Surface Mars rover 6 August 2012 05:18 Successful[ 2] Maiden flight of Atlas V 541, largest Mars rover yet launched. 28 November Soyuz-2.1b / Fregat Plesetsk Site 43/4 RVSN RF Kosmos 2478 (Glonass-M 746 ) VKS Medium Earth Navigation In orbit Operational 29 November [ 75] Long March 2C Taiyuan LC-2 CNSA Yaogan 13 CNSA Low Earth (SSO ) Reconnaissance In orbit Operational 1 December [ 76] Long March 3A Xichang LC-3 CNSA Compass-IGSO5 CNSA IGSO Navigation In orbit Operational 11 December Proton-M / Briz-M Enhanced Baikonur Site 81/24 Roscosmos Luch 5A Gonets Satellite System Geosynchronous Communications In orbit Operational Amos-5 SCL Geosynchronous Communications In orbit Operational 12 December H-IIA Tanegashima LA-Y1 MHI IGS Radar 3 CSICE Low Earth (SSO ) Reconnaissance (radar)In orbit Operational 17 December Soyuz ST-A / Fregat Kourou ELS Arianespace Pléiades-HR 1A CNES Low Earth (SSO ) Earth observation /ReconnaissanceIn orbit Operational FASat-Charlie (SSOT) MDN Low Earth (SSO ) Earth observation /ReconnaisanceIn orbit Operational ELISA 1 CNES / DGA Low Earth (SSO ) ELINT In orbit Operational ELISA 2 CNES / DGA Low Earth (SSO ) ELINT In orbit Operational ELISA 3 CNES / DGA Low Earth (SSO ) ELINT In orbit Operational ELISA 4 CNES / DGA Low Earth (SSO ) ELINT In orbit Operational 19 December [ 77] Long March 3B/E Xichang LC-2 CNSA NigComSat-1R NIGCOMSAT / NASRDA Geosynchronous Communications In orbit Operational 21 December Soyuz-FG Baikonur Site 1/5 Roscosmos Soyuz TMA-03M Roscosmos Low Earth (ISS ) Expedition 30 /31 1 July 2012 08:14[ 78] Successful 22 December Long March 4B Taiyuan LC-2 CNSA Ziyuan 1-02C CNSA Low Earth (SSO ) Earth observation In orbit Operational 23 December Soyuz-2.1b / Fregat Plesetsk Site 43/4 VKO Meridian 5 VKO Intended: Molniya Communications 23 December Launch failure Third stage engine malfunctioned 421 seconds after launch, failed to reach orbit; first launch conducted by the Russian Aerospace Defence Forces 28 December Soyuz-2.1a / Fregat Baikonur Site 31/6 Starsem Globalstar M080 Globalstar Low Earth Communications In orbit Operational Globalstar M082 Globalstar Low Earth Communications In orbit Operational Globalstar M084 Globalstar Low Earth Communications In orbit Operational Globalstar M086 Globalstar Low Earth Communications In orbit Operational Globalstar M090 Globalstar Low Earth Communications In orbit Operational Globalstar M092 Globalstar Low Earth Communications In orbit Operational
Date and time (UTC ) Rocket Flight number Launch site LSP Payload CubeSat ) Operator Orbit Function Decay (UTC) Outcome Remarks 22 January [ 79] Terrier-Oriole MDA MDA Suborbital Radar target 22 January Successful Aegis Radar target, not intercepted, Apogee: 100 kilometres (62 mi) 28 January [ 80] Black Brant IX Poker Flat NASA Colorado Suborbital Astronomy 28 January Spacecraft failure[ 80] 5 February [ 80] Polar NOx VPI Suborbital Geospace 5 February Spacecraft failure[ 80] February[ 79] Shahab-3 IRGC IGRC Suborbital Missile test February Successful Two missiles with a range of 1,900 kilometres were fired into the Indian Ocean prior to 19 February[citation needed February[ 79] Sejjil-2 IGRC Suborbital Missile test February Successful Two missiles with a range of 1,900 kilometres were fired into the Indian Ocean prior to 19 February[citation needed 1 March [ 79] UGM-133 Trident II D5 USS Nevada , Pacific Ocean US Navy Suborbital Missile test 1 March Successful Demonstration and Shakedown Operation 22 (DASO-22) 2 March [ 79] Juno Fort Wingate LC-96 U.S. Army U.S. Army Suborbital Target 2 March Successful Target for MIM-104 Patriot PAC-3 MSE test, successfully intercepted 9 March[ 79] MDA MDA Suborbital Radar target 9 March Successful Tracked by STSS satellites 11 March Dhanush Indian Ocean DRDO DRDO Suborbital Target 11 March Successful Apogee: 100 kilometres (62 mi) 11 March Prithvi II DRDO DRDO Suborbital Missile test 11 March Successful Apogee: 100 kilometres (62 mi) 15 March[ 79] Kavoshgar (Zelzal -based) Semnan Space Center ISA Kavoshgar-4 ISA Suborbital Test flight 15 March Successful Test of biological capsule. Apogee: 120 kilometres (75 mi) 16 March[ 79] MDA MDA Suborbital Radar target 16 March Successful Tracked by both STSS Demo satellites 23 March [ 80] CU Boulder Suborbital SDO calibration[ 81] 23 March Successful[ 80] 29 March [ 82] VSB-30 Esrange EuroLaunch TEXUS -49 DLR/ESA Suborbital Microgravity 29 March Successful Apogee: 268 kilometres (167 mi) 15 April [ 79] UGM-96 Trident I C4 (LV-2)[ 83] FTM-15 Meck MDA MDA Suborbital ABM target 15 April Successful 15 April [ 79] RIM-161 Standard Missile 3 FTM-15 USS O'Kane , Pacific Ocean FTM-15 US Navy Suborbital ABM test 15 April Successful First intercept of an IRBM by an SM-3 (FTM-15 Stellar Charon ) 26 April[ 79] R-29RMU Sineva Ekaterinburg , Barents Sea VMF Suborbital Missile test 26 April Successful 27 April [ 80] Poker Flat NASA WFF Suborbital Test flight 27 April Successful[ 80] 6 May[ 84] [ 85] Tianying 3C Hainan CNSA Kunpeng-1 CSSAR Suborbital Environment monitoring 23:09 Successful Apogee: 196.6 kilometres (122.2 mi). 11 May [ 79] Improved Orion Barreira do Inferno AEB INPE Suborbital Microgravity 11 May Successful 20 May [citation needed SpaceLoft XL Spaceport America UP Aerospace Suborbital Technology demonstration 20 May Successful Goddard Celestis Suborbital Space burial Successful Apogee: 118.3 kilometres (73.5 mi), successfully recovered. 20 May [ 79] R-29RMU2.1 Layner Ekaterinburg , Barents Sea VMF Suborbital Missile test 20 May Successful Maiden flight of Layner missile 10 June [ 80] Terrier-Orion SubTec IV [ 79] GSFC Suborbital Technology demonstration 10 June Successful[ 80] 22 June LGM-30G Minuteman III Vandenberg LF-10 U.S. Air Force U.S. Air Force Suborbital Test flight 22 June Successful 23 June [ 80] RockOn Colorado Suborbital Student experiments 23 June Successful[ 80] 28 June [ 79] RSM-56 Bulava Yuri Dolgorukiy , White Sea VMF Suborbital Missile test 28 June Successful 28 June[ 79] Shahab-1 IGRC Suborbital Missile test 28 June Successful Part of an exercise with 14 missile launches, apogee: 100 kilometres (62 mi) 28 June[ 79] IRGC Suborbital Missile test 28 June Successful Part of an exercise with 14 missile launches, apogee: 100 kilometres (62 mi) 28 June[ 79] Shahab-2 IRGC Suborbital Missile test 28 June Successful Part of an exercise with 14 missile launches, apogee: 100 kilometres (62 mi) 28 June[ 79] IRGC Suborbital Missile test 28 June Successful Part of an exercise with 14 missile launches, apogee: 100 kilometres (62 mi) 28 June[ 79] Ghadr-1 [ 79] IRGC Suborbital Missile test 28 June Successful Part of an exercise with 14 missile launches, apogee: 500 kilometres (310 mi) 9 July [ 79] SRALT C-17 , Pacific Ocean MDA MDA Suborbital Radar target 9 July Successful Tracked by STSS Demo satellites 9 July [ 80] LA-2 [ 79] NASA Suborbital Geospace 9 July Successful[ 80] 9 July [ 80] [ 79] NASA Suborbital Geospace 9 July Successful[ 80] 11 July [ 79] Gradicom II Chamical CITEFA CITEFA Suborbital Test flight 11 July Successful Apogee: 100 kilometres (62 mi) 21 July [ 86] Nike-Improved Orion PHOCUS Stockholm /SSC Suborbital Atmospheric 21 July Successful 21 July [ 80] RockSat-X Wallops Flight Facility Suborbital Student experiments 21 July Successful[ 80] 27 July [ 79] Vandenberg LF-04 U.S. Air Force U.S. Air Force Suborbital Test flight 27 July Launch failure An anomaly was detected five minutes after launch and the flight was terminated. 27 July[ 79] Ekaterinburg , Barents Sea VMF Suborbital Missile test 27 July Successful 11 August [ 79] Minotaur IV Lite Vandenberg SLC-8 HTV-2b U.S. Air Force Suborbital Technology demonstration 11 August Spacecraft failure Second flight of the HTV-2, loss of contact approximately 20 minutes after launch at Mach 20. 27 August [ 79] Yuri Dolgorukiy , White Sea VMF Suborbital Missile test 27 August Successful 1 September [ 79] FTM-16 E2 MDA MDA Suborbital ABM target 1 September Successful SM-3 Block 1B target 1 September [ 79] FTM-16 E2 USS Lake Erie , Pacific Ocean US Navy Suborbital ABM test 1 September Spacecraft failure First launch of SM-3 Block 1B, intercept failed 3 September [ 79] RS-12M Topol Plesetsk RVSN Suborbital Missile test 3 September Successful 15 September[ 87] Kavoshgar-5 ISA Suborbital Biological 15 September Launch failure First Iranian attempt to launch a monkey into space; failed, resulting in death of the monkey 26 September[ 88] [ 79] Prithvi II IC-3 [ 79] DRDO DRDO Suborbital Missile test 27 September Successful 27 September [ 87] RS-26 Rubezh Plesetsk RVSN Suborbital Missile test 27 September Launch failure 29 September[citation needed Tula , Barents Sea VMF Suborbital Missile test 30 September Successful 30 September [ 89] Agni-II ITR IC-4 [ 79] Indian Army Indian Army Suborbital Missile test 30 September Successful Travelled 2,500 kilometres (1,600 mi) downrange 5 October [ 79] FTT-12
Isle of Man
Terrier-Oriole 
Black Brant IX 
Shahab-3 
Dhanush 
VSB-30 
Esrange 
TEXUS-49 
Meck 
R-29RMU Sineva 
Tianying 3C 
Gradicom II