Home page >> Science & Technology (blog) >> Space missions Also see: 
Science & Tech photos Last updated:
*
| Year | Soviet / Russian manned missions | American manned missions | Chinese missions | ||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mission name | Launch dates, notes | Mission name | Launch dates, notes | Mission name | Launch date | ||||||||||||||
| # 1 | # 2 | # 3 | # 4 | # 5 | # 6 | # 1 | # 2 | # 3 | # 4 | # 5 | # 6 | # 7 | # 8 | # 9 | |||||
| 1961 | Vostok 1, * 2 | 12 Apr | 6 Aug | * Yuri Gargarin: 1st man in space (1 orbit) | Mercury 3, 4 | 5 May | 12 Jul | Alan Shepherd: 1st U.S. man in space (suborbital) | |||||||||||
| 1962 | Vostok 3, 4 | 11 Aug | 12 Aug | - | - | - | - | Mercury 6, 7, 8 | 20 Feb | 24 May | 3 Oct | John Glenn: 1st U.S. man in (3 orbits) | |||||||
| 1963 | Vostok 5, 6* | 14 Jun | 16 Jun | * Valentina Tereshkova: 1st woman in space | Mercury 9 | 15 May | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | |||||
| 1964 | Voshkod 1 | 12 Oct | * 1st crew of 3 | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||||
| 1965 | Voshkod 2 | 18 Mar | * 1st crew of 2 | - | - | Gemini 3 - 7 | 23 Mar | 3 Jun | 21 Aug | 4 Dec | 15 Dec | * 1st U.S. crews of 2 | |||||||
| 1966 | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | Gemini 8 - 12 | 16 Mar | 3 Jun | 18 Jul | 12 Sep | 11 Nov | ||||||
| 1967 | Soyuz 1 * | 23 Apr | * 1 died in reentry | - | Apollo 1 ** | ** burned on launch pad 27 Jan; 3 died. | |||||||||||||
| 1968 | Soyuz 3 | 26 Oct | - | - | - | - | - | Apollo 7, 8 * | 11 Oct | 21 Dec | * U.S. orbited moon. | ||||||||
| 1969 | Soyuz 4, 5, 6, 7, 8 | 14 Jan | 15 Jan | 11 Oct | 12 Oct | 13 Oct | - | Apollo 9, 10, 11, 12 | 3 Mar | 18 May | 16 Jul | 14 Nov | Moon landings! Neil Armstrong: 1st man on moon. | ||||||
| 1970 | Soyuz 9 | 1 Jun | - | - | - | - | - | Apollo 13** | 11 Apr | ** Explosion in Service Module; safe return using Lunar Module | |||||||||
| 1971 | Soyuz 10, 11* | 22 Apr | 6 Jun | *Salyut-1 space station; 3 died | Apollo 14, 15 | 31 Jan | 26 Jul | Moon landings | |||||||||||
| 1972 | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | Apollo 16, 17 | 16 Apr | 7 Dec | Moon landings | ||||||||
| 1973 | Soyuz 12, 13 | 27 Sep | 18 Dec | crews of just 2 | - | Skylab 2, 3, 4 | 25 May | 28 Jul | 16 Nov | 1st U.S. space station. | |||||||||
| 1974 | Soyuz 14, 15, 16 | 3 Jul | 26 Aug | 2 Dec | Salyut-3 military space station | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | |||||
| 1975 | Soyuz 17, 18, 19 * | 10 Jan | 24 May | 15 Jul | - | - | - | Apollo 18 * | 15 Jul | * joint USA-USSR mission | |||||||||
| 1976 | Soyuz 21, 22, 23 | 6 Jul | 15 Sep | 14 Oct | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 1977 | Soyuz 24, 25, 26 | 7 Feb | 9 Oct | 10 Dec | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 1978 | Soyuz 27-31 | 10 Jan | 2 Mar | 15 Jun | 27 Jun | 26 Aug | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 1979 | Soyuz 32, 33 | 25 Feb | 10 Apr | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 1980 | Soyuz 35-38,T2,T3 | 9 Apr | 26 May | 5 Jun | 23 Jul | 18 Sep | 27 Nov | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 1981 | Soyuz T4, 39, 40 | 12 Mar | 22 Mar | 14 May | "T": crews of 3 | STS 1, 2 | 12 Apr * | 12 Nov | * Space Shuttle Columbia 1st launch | ||||||||||
| 1982 | Soyuz T5, T6, T7 | 13 May | 24 Jun | 19 Aug | Salyut-7 space station | STS 3, 4, 5 | 22 Mar | 27 Jun | 11 Nov | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||||
| 1983 | Soyuz T8, T9 | 20 Apr | 28 Jun | - | - | - | - | STS 6, 7, 8, 9 | 4 Apr * | 18 Jun # | 30 Aug | 28 Nov | * Challenger 1st launch; # 1st U.S. woman in space: Sally Ride |
||||||
| 1984 | Soyuz T10-T12 | 8 Feb | 3 Apr | 17 Jul | - | - | - | STS 41B,C,D,G, 51A | 3 Feb | 6 Apr | 30 Aug * | 5 Oct | 8 Nov | * Discovery 1st launch | |||||
| 1985 | Soyuz T13*, T14 | 5 Jun * | 17 Sep | * Salyut-7 fixed | STS 51C,D,B,G,F,I,J,61A,B | 24 Jan | 12 Apr | 29 Apr | 17 Jun | 29 Jul | 27 Aug | 3 Oct* | 30 Oct | 26 Nov | * Atlantis 1st launch | ||||
| 1986 | Soyuz T15 | 13 Mar | - | - | Mir space station. | STS 61C, 51L | 12 Jan | 28 Jan * | * Challenger blew up during launch, 7 died. | ||||||||||
| 1987 | Soyuz TM2-4 | 5 Feb | 22 Jul | 21 Dec | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 1988 | Soyuz TM5-7 | 7 Jun | 29 Aug | 26 Nov | - | - | - | STS 26, 27 | 29 Sep | 2 Dec | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 1989 | Soyuz TM8 | 5 Sep | - | - | - | - | - | STS 29,30,28,34,33 | 13 Mar | 4 May | 8 Aug | 18 Oct | 22 Nov | - | - | - | - | ||
| 1990 | Soyuz TM9,10,11 | 11 Feb | 1 Aug | 2 Dec | - | - | - | STS 32,36,31*,41,38,35 | 9 Jan | 28 Feb | 24 Apr* | 6 Oct | 15 Nov | 2 Dec | * Hubble telescope deployed; flawed lens. | ||||
| 1991 | Soyuz TM-12,13 | 18 May | 2 Oct | USSR is dissolved Dec. 31. (German astronaut) | STS 37,39,40,43,48,44 | 5 Apr | 28 Apr | 5 Jun | 2 Aug | 12 Sep | 24 Nov | - | - | - | |||||
| 1992 | Soyuz TM-14,15 | 17 Mar | 27 Jul | Russian Federation repl. USSR. (French astronauts) | STS 42,45,49,50,46,47,52,53 | 22 Jan | 24 Mar | 7 May* | 25 Jun | 31 Jul | 12 Sep | 22 Oct | 2 Dec | * Endeavor 1st launch | |||||
| 1993 | Soyuz TM-16,17 | 24 Jan | 1 Jul | - | - | " " | - | STS 54,56,55,57,51,58,61 | 13 Jan | 8 Apr | 26 Apr | 21 Jun | 12 Sep | 18 Oct | 2 Dec* | * Hubble repair | |||
| 1994 | Soyuz TM-18,19,20 | 8 Jan | 1 Jul | 3 Oct | (German astronaut) | STS 60,62,59,65,64,68,66 | 3 Feb | 4 Mar | 9 Apr | 8 Jul | 9 Sep | 30 Sep | 3 Nov | - | - | ||||
| 1995 | Soyuz TM-21,22 | 14 Mar | 3 Sep | (American astronaut) | STS 63,67,71,70,69,73,74 | 3 Feb | 2 Mar | 27 Jun* | 13 Jul | 7 Sep | 20 Oct | 12 Nov | * Docks at Mir space station. | ||||||
| 1996 | Soyuz TM-23,24 | 21 Feb | 17 Aug | (routine foreign astronauts) | STS 72,75,76,77,78,79,80 | 11 Jan | 22 Feb | 22 Mar | 19 May | 20 Jun | 16 Sep | 19 Nov | - | - | |||||
| 1997 | Soyuz TM-25,26 | 10 Feb | 5 Aug | Fire on Mir space station. | STS 81,82,83,84,94,85,86,87 | 12 Jan | 11 Feb | 4 Apr | 15 May | 1 Jul | 7 Aug | 25 Sep | 19 Nov | - | |||||
| 1998 | Soyuz TM-27,28 | 29 Jan | 13 Aug | - | - | - | - | STS 89,90,91,95,88 | 22 Jan | 17 Apr | 2 Jun | 29 Oct | 4 Dec | International Space Station assembly | |||||
| 1999 | Soyuz TM-29 | 20 Feb | - | - | - | - | - | STS 96, 93, 103 | 27 May | 23 Jul | 19 Dec | ISS assembly | |||||||
| 2000 | Soyuz TM30,31 | 4 Apr | 31 Oct | Last visit to Mir. First visit to Intl. Space Station (ISS). | STS 99,101,106,92,97 | 11 Feb | 19 May | 8 Sep | 11 Oct | 30 Nov | ISS assembly | ||||||||
| 2001 | Soyuz TM-32,33 | 28 Apr | 21 Oct | - | - | - | - | STS 98,102,100,104,105,108 | 7 Feb | 8 Mar | 19 Apr | 12 Jul | 10 Aug | 5 Dec | ISS | ||||
| 2002 | Soyuz TM-34,TMA-1 | 25 Apr | 30 Oct | - | - | - | - | STS 109,110,111,112,113 | 16 Jan | ISS | |||||||||
| 2003 | Soyuz TMA-2,3 | 26 Apr | 18 Oct | - | - | - | - | STS 107** | 16 Jan | ** Columbia burned in reentry; 7 died. | Shenzhou 5 | 5 Oct | |||||||
| 2004 | Soyuz TMA-4,5 | 19 Apr | 14 Oct | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | First Chinese man in space. | |
| 2005 | Soyuz TMA-6,7 | 15 Apr | 1 Oct | - | - | - | - | STS 114 * | 26 Jul | * Discovery 1st launch | Shenzhou 6 | 5 Oct | |||||||
| 2006 | Soyuz TMA-8,9 | 30 Mar | 18 Sep | - | - | - | - | STS 121,115,116 | 4 Jul | 9 Sep | 9 Dec | ISS | - | - | - | - | 2-man crew. | ||
| 2007 | Soyuz TMA-10,11 | 7 Apr | 10 Oct | - | - | - | - | STS 117,118,120 | 8 Jun | 8 Aug | 23 Oct | ISS | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| 2008 | Soyuz TMA-12,13 | 8 Apr | 12 Oct | - | - | - | - | STS 122,123,124,126 | 7 Feb | 11 Mar | 31 May | 14 Nov | ISS | - | - | - | Shenzhou 7 | 25 Sep | |
| 2009 | Soyuz TMA-14,15,16,17 | 26 Mar | 27 May | 30 Sep | 20 Dec | - | - | STS 119,125,127,128,129 | 15 Mar | 11 May | 15 Jul | 28 Aug | 16 Nov | ISS, Hubble | First Chinese woman in space; crew of 3. | ||||
| 2010 | Soyuz TMA-18,19,01M,20 | 2 Apr | 15 Jun | 7 Oct | 15 Dec | - | - | STS 130,131,132 | 8 Feb | 5 Apr | 14 May | ISS | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| 2011 | Soyuz TMA-21,02M,22,03M | 4 Apr | 7 Jun | 14 Nov | 21 Dec | - | - | STS 133,134,135 | 24 Feb | 16 May | 8 Jul | U.S. Space Shuttles are retired: Discovery, Endeavor, Atlantis; ISS |
- | - | |||||
| 2012 | Soyuz TMA-04M,05M,06M,07M | 15 May | 15 July | 23 Oct | 19 Dec | - | - | - | - | - | - | Shenzhou 9 | 16 Jun | ||||||
| 2013 | Soyuz TMA-08M,09M,10M,11M | 28 Mar | 28 May | 25 Sep | 07 Nov | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | Shenzhou 10 | 11 Jun |
| 2014 | Soyuz TMA-12M,13M,14M,15M | 25 Mar | 28 May | 25 Sep | 23 Nov | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | First visits to China's Tiangong-1 space station. | |
| 2015 | Soyuz TMA-16M,17M,18M,19M | 27 Mar | 22 Jul | 02 Sep | 15 Dec | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| 2016 | Soyuz TMA-20M; MS-01,02,03 | 18 Mar | 7 Jul | 19 Oct | 17 Nov | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | Shenzhou 11 | 16 Oct |
| 2017 | Soyuz MS-04,05,06,07 | 20 Apr | 28 Jul | 12 Sep | 17 Dec | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | First visit to Tiangong-2 space station. | |
| 2018 | Soyuz MS-08,09,10,11 | 21 Mar | 6 Jun | 11 Oct # | 3 Dec | # Mission aborted safely soon after launch. | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 2019 | Soyuz MS-12,13,15 | 14 Mar | 20 Jul | 25 Sep | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| 2020 | Soyuz MS-16,17 | 9 Apr | 14 Oct | New Soyuz-2.1a launcher replaced Soyuz-FG. | SpaceX Demo-2, Crew-1 | 30 May | 15 Nov | Dragon capsule & Falcon-9 booster. Demo-2 crew: 2; Crew-1 crew: 4,ISS, returned 2 May 2021 | - | - | |||||||||
| 2021 | Soyuz MS-18 | 9 Apr | - | SpaceX Crew-2 | 23 Apr | crew: 4; ISS | - | - | - | ||||||||||
| Launch date | Country | Name of mission |
Accomplishments |
|---|---|---|---|
| Dec. 1942 | Germany | A4 / V2 | first large guided rocket (50 miles high) |
| Oct. 1957 | U.S.S.R. | Sputnik 1 | first satellite in orbit |
| Jan. 1958 | U.S.A. | Explorer 1 | first U.S. satellite in orbit |
| Jan. 1959 | U.S.S.R. | Luna 1 | first probe to fly by the moon |
| Sept. 1959 | U.S.S.R. | Luna 2 | first probe to impact the moon |
| Sept. 1960 | U.S.A. | Pioneer 4 | first U.S. probe to impact the moon |
| Aug. 1962 | U.S.A. | Mariner 2 | first probe to fly by Venus |
| Nov. 1964 | U.S.A. | Mariner 4 | first probe to fly by Mars (July 1965) |
| Nov. 1965 | U.S.S.R. | Venera 3 | first probe to impact Venus (Mar. 1966) |
| Jan. 1966 | U.S.S.R. | Luna 9 | first probe to land softly on the moon |
| June 1966 | U.S.A. | Surveyor 1 | first U.S. probe to land softly on the moon |
| Aug. 1970 | U.S.S.R. | Venera 7 | first probe to land softly on Venus (Dec. 1970) |
| May 1971 | U.S.S.R. | Mars 3 | first probe to land softly on Mars (Dec. 1971) |
| Mar. 1972 | U.S.A. | Pioneer 10 | first probe to fly by Jupiter (Dec. 1973) & first to exit solar system (1983) |
| Apr. 1973 | U.S.A. | Pioneer 11 | first probe to fly by Saturn (Sept. 1979); also Jupiter |
| Nov. 1973 | U.S.A. | Mariner 10 | first probe to fly by Mercury (Mar. 1974); also Venus |
| Oct. 1975 | U.S.A. | Viking 1 | first U.S. probe to land softly on Mars (July 1976) |
| Aug. 1977 | U.S.A. | Voyager 2 | first probe to fly by Uranus (Jan. 1986) & Neptune (Aug. 1989); also Jupiter & Saturn |
| Dec. 1996 | U.S.A. | Mars Pathfinder | first rover ("Sojourner") to operate on another planet (July-Sept. 1997) |
| Jan. 2006 | U.S.A. | New Horizons | first probe to fly by Pluto (July 2015) |
| July 2020 | U.S.A. | Mars 2020 | ("Perseverance"); first helicopter ("Ingenuity") to fly on another planet (April 2021) |
SOURCES: Valerie Neal, Cathleen S. Lewis, and Frank H. Winter, Spaceflight: A Smithsonian Guide (New York: Macmillan USA, 1995); World Almanac and Book of Facts: 2012; www.nasa.gov, www.russianspaceweb.com, www.cracked.com, wikipedia.org: Russian missions (1994 to date), Chinese missions
In addition, chimpanzees were used to test the American space capsules during Project Mercury, hence the missing sequence numbers. January 31, 1961 ("Ham"); and November 29, 1961: ("Enos"). See spacechimps.com. The Russians used a dog ("Laika") for that purpose; see space.com.
