French
Deutsch1997 in spaceflight
 | |
| Orbital launches | |
|---|---|
| First | 12 January |
| Last | 24 December |
| Total | 89 |
| Successes | 83 |
| Failures | 3 |
| Partial failures | 3 |
| Catalogued | 86 |
| National firsts | |
| Satellite |  Philippines |
| Rockets | |
| Maiden flights | M-V Titan IVB VLS-1 Taepodong-1 |
| Retirements | Atlas I |
| Crewed flights | |
| Orbital | 10 |
| Total travellers | 51 |
This article outlines notable events occurring in 1997 in spaceflight, including major launches and EVAs.
Cassini–Huygens launch[edit]
Launched aboard a Titan IVB/Centaur on October 15, 1997, Cassini was active in space for nearly 20 years, with 13 years spent orbiting Saturn and studying the planet and its system after entering orbit on July 1, 2004.[1]
Launches[edit]
| Date and time (UTC) | Rocket | Flight number | Launch site | LSP | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Payload (⚀ = CubeSat) | Operator | Orbit | Function | Decay (UTC) | Outcome | ||
| Remarks | |||||||
January[edit] | |||||||
| 12 January 09:27 |  Space Shuttle Atlantis | Kennedy LC-39B | United Space Alliance | ||||
| STS-81 | NASA | Low Earth (Mir) | Shuttle-Mir flight | 22 January 14:23 | Successful | ||
| SpaceHab LDM | NASA/SpaceHab | Low Earth (Atlantis) | Logistics | ||||
| Crewed orbital flight with six astronauts | |||||||
| 15 January |  R-29 | Submarine, Barents Sea | Russian Navy | ||||
| Russian Navy | Suborbital | Missile test | 15 January | Successful | |||
| 17 January 01:17 | LGM-30F Minuteman II | Vandenberg LF-03 | US Air Force | ||||
| IFT-1 (EKV) | US Air Force | Suborbital | ABM target | 17 January | Successful | ||
| 17 January 16:28 | Delta II 7925-9.5 | Cape Canaveral LC-17A | Boeing IDS | ||||
| GPS IIR-1 | US Air Force | Intended: Medium Earth | Navigation | +12 seconds | Launch Failure | ||
| SRB structural failure caused rocket to explode; First flight of GPS Block IIR satellite | |||||||
| 29 January | Storm-2 | White Sands LC-32 | Orbital Sciences | ||||
| MTTV | US Air Force | Suborbital | Target spacecraft | 29 January | Failure | ||
| MTD-2 | US Air Force | Suborbital | Weapons test | ||||
| 30 January | SR19 | C-130, NAS Point Mugu | US Air Force | ||||
| AltAir (Have Gold) | US Air Force | Suborbital | Test flight | +28 seconds | Launch Failure | ||
| Accidentally destroyed by range safety | |||||||
| 30 January 07:30 |  S-520 | Uchinoura Pad K | ISAS | ||||
| ISAS | Suborbital | Technology development | 30 January | Successful | |||
| 30 January 08:42 | LGM-30G Minuteman III | Vandenberg LF-26 | US Air Force | ||||
| FOT GT163GB | US Air Force | Suborbital | Missile test | 30 January | Successful | ||
| 30 January 22:04 |  Ariane 4 (44L) |  Kourou ELA-2 | Arianespace | ||||
| GE 2 | GE Americom | Geosynchronous | Communications | In orbit | Operational | ||
 Nahuel 1A | Nahuelsa | Geosynchronous | Communications | In orbit | Operational | ||
| 31 January 01:55 | MR-12 | Kapustin Yar | AN RF | ||||
| Flaksus-1 | APL | Suborbital | Plasma research | 31 January | Successful | ||
February[edit] | |||||||
| 5 February 02:16 | MR-12 | Kapustin Yar | AN RF | ||||
| Flaksus-2 | APL | Suborbital | Plasma research | 5 February | Successful | ||
| 7 February | R-17 Scud |  Bigen Island, Aur Atoll | US Air Force | ||||
| Willow Dune | US Air Force | Suborbital | Target | 7 February | Successful | ||
| 10 February 05:17 |  Black Brant XII | Poker Flat | NASA | ||||
| PHAZE 2 | NASA | Suborbital | Ionosphere research | 10 February | Successful | ||
| 10 February 06:30 | Castor- Orbus | Nevada Test Site LA-26 | Sandia | ||||
| Sandia | Suborbital | Rocket test | 10 February | Successful | |||
| 10 February 14:09 | Soyuz-U |  Baikonur Site 1/5 | Roskosmos | ||||
| Soyuz TM-25 | Roskosmos | Low Earth (Mir) | Mir EO-23 | 14 August 12:17 | Successful | ||
| Crewed orbital flight with three cosmonauts | |||||||
| 11 February 08:36 | Black Brant XII | Poker Flat | NASA | ||||
| Auroral Turbulance 2 | NASA | Suborbital | Auroral/Ionosphere research | 11 February | Successful | ||
| 11 February 08:55 | Space Shuttle Discovery | Kennedy LC-39A | United Space Alliance | ||||
| STS-82 | NASA | Low Earth (HST) | Hubble Servicing Mission 2 | 21 February 08:32 | Successful | ||
| Crewed orbital flight with seven astronauts | |||||||
| 12 February 04:50 | M-V | Uchinoura | ISAS | ||||
| HALCA (MUSES-B) | ISAS | Medium Earth | Astronomy | In orbit | Successful | ||
| Maiden flight of M-V; Mission concluded in November 2005 | |||||||
| 12 February 21:00 | LCLV | Wallops Island | Orbital Sciences | ||||
| MDT IV | Suborbital | Target | 12 February | Successful | |||
| 14 February 03:47 |  Tsyklon-3 | Plesetsk Site 32 | | ||||
| Gonets-D1 | Gonets SatCom | Low Earth | Communications | In orbit | Operational | ||
| Gonets-D1 | Gonets SatCom | Low Earth | Communications | In orbit | Operational | ||
| Gonets-D1 | Gonets SatCom | Low Earth | Communications | In orbit | Operational | ||
| Kosmos 2337 (Strela-3) | MO RF | Low Earth | Communications | In orbit | Operational | ||
| Kosmos 2338 (Strela-3) | MO RF | Low Earth | Communications | In orbit | Operational | ||
| Kosmos 2339 (Strela-3) | MO RF | Low Earth | Communications | In orbit | Operational | ||
| 17 February 01:42 | Atlas IIAS | Cape Canaveral LC-36B | International Launch Services | ||||
| JCSAT-4 | JSAT | Geosynchronous | Communications | In orbit | Operational | ||
| 20 February | UGM-96 Trident I | Submarine, Eastern Range | US Navy | ||||
| US Navy | Suborbital | Missile test | 20 February | Successful | |||
| 20 February | UGM-96 Trident I | Submarine, Eastern Range | US Navy | ||||
| US Navy | Suborbital | Missile test | 20 February | Successful | |||
| 20 February | UGM-96 Trident I | Submarine, Eastern Range | US Navy | ||||
| US Navy | Suborbital | Missile test | 20 February | Successful | |||
| 20 February | UGM-96 Trident I | Submarine, Eastern Range | US Navy | ||||
| US Navy | Suborbital | Missile test | 20 February | Successful | |||
| 22 February | Castor 4B | Wake Island | Orbital Sciences | ||||
| TCMP II | Suborbital | Re-entry vehicle test | 22 February | Successful | |||
| 23 February |  Prithvi | Balasore | DRDO | ||||
| DRDO | Suborbital | Missile test | 23 February | Successful | |||
| 23 February 10:06 | LCLV | Wallops Island | Orbital Sciences | ||||
| MDT III | Suborbital | Target | 23 February | Successful | |||
| 23 February 20:20 | Titan IVB (402)/IUS | Cape Canaveral LC-40 | Lockheed Martin | ||||
| USA-130 (DSP F18) | US Air Force | Geosynchronous | Early warning | In orbit | Operational | ||
| Maiden flight of Titan IVB | |||||||
| 26 February 20:00 | Black Brant IX | White Sands | NASA | ||||
| NASA | Suborbital | Rocket test | 26 February | Successful | |||
March[edit] | |||||||
| 1 March | Castor 4B | Wake Island | OrbitalSciences | ||||
| TCMP II | Suborbital | Re-entry vehicle test | 1 March | Successful | |||
| 1 March 01:07 | Ariane 4 (44P) | Kourou ELA-2 | Arianespace | ||||
 Intelsat 801 | Intelsat | Geosynchronous | Communications | In orbit | Operational | ||
| 4 March 02:00 | Start-1 | Svobodniy Site 5 | | ||||
| Zeya | MO RF | Low Earth | Communications | 25 October 1999 | Successful | ||
| 6 March | Hera | White Sands LC-94 | US Air Force | ||||
| US Air Force | Suborbital | ABM Target | 6 March | Successful | |||
| 6 March | THAAD | White Sands | US Air Force | ||||
| US Air Force | Suborbital | ABM Interceptor | 6 March | Successful | |||
| 8 March 06:01 | Atlas IIA | Cape Canaveral LC-36A | International Launch Services | ||||
| Tempo 2 | TCI | Current: Graveyard Operational: Geosynchronous | Communications | In orbit | Successful | ||
| Suffered damage from a solar flare in April 1997 and was retired on 15 August 2006. | |||||||
| 13 March 10:20 | Black Brant IX | Poker Flat | NASA | ||||
| NASA | Suborbital | Ionosphere research | 13 March | Successful | |||
| 18 March 00:16 | UGM-133 Trident II | Submarine, Eastern Range | US Navy | ||||
| US Navy | Suborbital | Missile test | 18 March | Successful | |||
| 18 March | UGM-133 Trident II | Submarine, Eastern Range | US Navy | ||||
| US Navy | Suborbital | Missile test | 18 March | Successful | |||
| 19 March | R-17 Scud | Bigen Island, Aur Atoll | US Air Force | ||||
| Willow Dune | US Air Force | Suborbital | Target | 19 March | Successful | ||
| 25 March 03:15 | Black Brant IX | White Sands LC-36 | NASA | ||||
| NASA | Suborbital | Ultraviolet astronomy | 25 March | Successful | |||
| Studied Hale-Bopp comet | |||||||
| 30 March 03:25 | Black Brant IX | White Sands LC-36 | NASA | ||||
| EUVS | NASA | Suborbital | Ultraviolet astronomy | 30 March | Successful | ||
April[edit] | |||||||
| 4 April 16:47 | Titan 23G | Vandenberg SLC-4W | Lockheed Martin | ||||
| USA-131 (DMSP 5D2 F14) | US Air Force/NOAA | Sun-synchronous | Meteorology | In orbit | Successful | ||
| 4 April 19:20 | Space Shuttle Columbia | Kennedy LC-39A | United Space Alliance | ||||
| STS-83 | NASA | Low Earth | Microgravity research | 8 April 18:33 | Partial Failure | ||
| Spacelab Long Module 1 | NASA | Low Earth (Columbia) | Spacelab MSL-1 | ||||
| EDO Pallet | NASA | Low Earth (Columbia) | Cryogenic mission extension pallet | ||||
| Crewed orbital flight with seven astronauts Fuel cell failure caused the flight to be aborted. Re-flown as STS-94 later the same year. | |||||||
| 6 April 03:25 | Black Brant IX | White Sands LC-36 | NASA | ||||
| NASA | Suborbital | 6 April | Successful | ||||
| 6 April 16:04 | Soyuz-U | Baikonur Site 1/5 | Roskosmos | ||||
| Progress M-34 | Roskosmos | Low Earth (Mir) | Logistics | 2 July 06:31 | Partial Failure | ||
| Collided with Mir during rendezvous tests on 25 June, heavily damaging the station and permanently depressurizing the Spektr module. | |||||||
| 8 April 03:55 | Black Brant IX | White Sands LC-36 | NASA | ||||
| WISP | NASA | Suborbital | Ultraviolet astronomy | 8 April | Successful | ||
| 9 April 08:58 | Molniya-M | Plesetsk Site 16/2 | | ||||
| Kosmos 2340 (Oko) | MO RF | Molniya | Early warning | In orbit | Operational | ||
| 16 April 23:08 | Ariane 4 (44LP) | Kourou ELA-2 | Arianespace | ||||
 Thaicom 3 | Thaicom | Geosynchronous | Communications | 2 October 2006 | Successful | ||
| BSAT-1A | BSAT | Geosynchronous | Communications | In orbit | Operational | ||
| Thaicom 3 deorbited after suffering severe power degradation.[2] | |||||||
| 17 April | R-36M | Baikonur | RVSN | ||||
| RVSN | Suborbital | Missile test | 17 April | Successful | |||
| 17 April 13:03 | Kosmos-3M | Plesetsk Site 132/1 | | ||||
| Kosmos 2341 (Parus) | MO RF | Low Earth | Navigation | In orbit | Operational | ||
| 21 April 11:59 | Pegasus-XL |  Stargazer, Gando | Orbital Sciences | ||||
| Minisat-01 | INTA | Low Earth | Technology development | 26 February 2002 | Successful | ||
| Celestis Founders | Celestis | Low Earth | Space burial | 20 May 2002 | Successful | ||
| 25 April 05:49 | Atlas I | Cape Canaveral LC-36B | International Launch Services | ||||
| GOES 10 (GOES-K) | NOAA | Geosynchronous Graveyard (after retirement) | Meteorology | In orbit | Successful | ||
| Final flight of Atlas I, satellite retired and boosted to graveyard orbit on 1 December 2009.[3] | |||||||
| 28 April 16:42 |  VS-30 | Alcântara | INPE | ||||
 AL-VS30-223 | DLR | Suborbital | Test rocket | 28 April | Successful | ||
| 30 April | RH-560/300 Mk.II | Sriharikota | ISRO | ||||
| ISRO | Suborbital | Test rocket | 30 April | Successful | |||
May[edit] | |||||||
| 2 May 07:30 | Black Brant IX | White Sands LC-36 | NASA | ||||
| NASA | Suborbital | X-ray Astronomy | 2 May | Successful | |||
| 5 May 14:55 | Delta II (7920-10C) | Vandenberg SLC-2W | Boeing IDS | ||||
| Iridium 8 | Iridium | Low Earth | Communications | 24 November 2017[4] | Successful | ||
| Iridium 7 | Iridium | Low Earth | Communications | In orbit | Operational | ||
| Iridium 6 | Iridium | Low Earth | Communications | 23 December 2017[5] | Successful | ||
| Iridium 5 | Iridium | Low Earth | Communications | In orbit | Operational | ||
| Iridium 4 | Iridium | Low Earth | Communications | In orbit | Operational | ||
| 8 May 07:10 | Black Brant IX | White Sands LC-36 | NASA | ||||
| NASA | Suborbital | Astronomy | 8 May | Successful | |||
| 8 May 08:01 | LGM-118 Peacekeeper | Vandenberg LF-05 | US Air Force | ||||
| 9 re-entry vehicles | US Air Force | Suborbital | Missile test | 8 May | Successful | ||
| 11 May 16:17 |  Long March 3A | Xichang LC-2 | | ||||
| Zhongxing-6 (Chinasat-6) | Chinasat | Geosynchronous | Communications | In orbit | Operational | ||
| 14 May 00:33 | Molniya-M | Plesetsk Site 43/4 | | ||||
| Kosmos 2342 (Oko) | MO RF | Molniya | Early warning | In orbit | Operational | ||
| 15 May 08:07 | Space Shuttle Atlantis | Kennedy LC-39A | United Space Alliance | ||||
| STS-84 | NASA | Low Earth (Mir) | Shuttle-Mir flight | 24 May 13:27 | Successful | ||
| SpaceHab LDM | NASA/SpaceHab | Low Earth (Atlantis) | Logistics | ||||
| Crewed orbital flight with seven astronauts | |||||||
| 15 May 12:10 | Soyuz-U | Baikonur Site 31/6 | | ||||
| Kosmos 2343 | MO RF | Low Earth | Reconnaissance | 18 September | Successful | ||
| 15 May 19:16 | Black Brant IX | White Sands LC-36 | NASA | ||||
| NCAR/CU-6 | NASA | Suborbital | Ultraviolet astronomy/Solar observation | 15 May | Successful | ||
| 20 May 07:07 | Zenit-2 | Baikonur Site 45/1 | | ||||
| Tselina-2 | VKS | Intended: Low Earth | ELINT | + 48 seconds | Launch Failure | ||
| Stage 1 engine failure | |||||||
| 20 May 22:39 | Delta II 7925-9.5 | Cape Canaveral LC-17A | Boeing IDS | ||||
 Thor-2 | Telenor | Geosynchronous | Communications | In orbit | Operational | ||
| 21 May 08:27 | LGM-30G Minuteman III | Vandenberg LF-04 | US Air Force | ||||
| FOT GT164GM/SHARP | US Air Force | Suborbital | Missile and re-entry vehicle test | 21 May | Successful | ||
| 23 May 21:44 | Terrier- Orion | Wallops Island | NASA | ||||
| MSX | SMDC | Suborbital | Target | 23 May | Successful | ||
| 24 May 17:00 | Proton-K/DM-2M | Baikonur Site 81/23 | International Launch Services | ||||
| Telstar 5 | Loral Skynet | Geosynchronous | Communications | In orbit | Operational | ||
| 29 May 04:56 | Black Brant IX | White Sands LC-36 | NASA | ||||
| NASA | Suborbital | Radio astronomy | 29 May | Successful | |||
| 30 May | UGM-133 Trident II | Submarine, Eastern Range | US Navy | ||||
| US Navy | Suborbital | Missile test | 30 May | Successful | |||
June[edit] | |||||||
| 3 June 23:20 | Ariane 4 (44L) | Kourou ELA-2 | Arianespace | ||||
 Inmarsat 3F4 | Inmarsat | Geosynchronous | Communications | In orbit | Operational | ||
| INSAT 2D | ISRO | Geosynchronous | Communications | In orbit | Spacecraft Failure | ||
| Insat 2D declared a total loss on 4 October 1997. | |||||||
| 6 June 16:56 | Proton-K/17S40 | Baikonur Site 200/39 | | ||||
| Kosmos 2344 (Arkon) | MO RF | Medium Earth | Reconnaissance | In orbit | Operational | ||
| 10 June | UR-100NU | Baikonur | RVSN | ||||
| RVSN | Suborbital | Missile test | 10 June | Successful | |||
| 10 June 12:01 | Long March 3 | Xichang LC-1 | | ||||
| Feng Yun 2A | CASC | Geosynchronous | Meteorology | In orbit | Spacecraft Failure | ||
| Halted transmitting data in April 1998, resumed transmission but imaging system failed later that year in September. | |||||||
| 18 June 14:02 | LGM-30G Minuteman III | Vandenberg LF-10 | US Air Force | ||||
| FOT GT165GM | US Air Force | Suborbital | Missile test | 18 June | Successful | ||
| 18 June 14:02 | Proton-K/17S40 | Baikonur Site 81/23 | | ||||
| Iridium 14 | Iridium | Low Earth | Communications | In orbit | Spacecraft Failure | ||
| Iridium 12 | Iridium | Low Earth | Communications | 2 September 2018[6] | Successful | ||
| Iridium 9 | Iridium | Low Earth | Communications | 11 March 2003 | Spacecraft Failure | ||
| Iridium 10 | Iridium | Low Earth | Communications | 6 October 2018[7] | Successful | ||
| Iridium 13 | Iridium | Low Earth | Communications | 29 April 2018[8] | Successful | ||
| Iridium 16 | Iridium | Low Earth | Communications | In orbit | Operational | ||
| Iridium 11 | Iridium | Low Earth | Communications | In orbit | Spacecraft Failure | ||
| 24 June 03:39 | LGM-30F Minuteman II | Vandenberg LF-03 | US Air Force | ||||
| MSLS IFT-1A | US Air Force | Suborbital | ABM target | 24 June | Partial Failure | ||
| Some decoys failed to deploy | |||||||
| 24 June 04:00 | Payload Launch Vehicle | Meck Island, Kwajalein | Orbital Sciences | ||||
| IFT-1A EKV | US Air Force | Suborbital | ABM Test | 24 June | Partial Failure | ||
| Poor system performance; Non-destructive flyby | |||||||
| 25 June 23:44 | Ariane 4 (44P) | Kourou ELA-2 | Arianespace | ||||
| Intelsat 802 | Intelsat | Geosynchronous | Communications | In orbit | Operational | ||
July[edit] | |||||||
| 1 July 18:02 | Space Shuttle Columbia | Kennedy LC-39A | United Space Alliance | ||||
| STS-94 | NASA | Low Earth | Microgravity research | 17 July 10:40 | Successful | ||
| Spacelab Long Module 1 | NASA | Low Earth (Columbia) | Spacelab MSL-1 | ||||
| EDO Pallet | NASA | Low Earth (Columbia) | Cryogenic mission extension pallet | ||||
| Crewed orbital flight with seven astronauts, reflight of STS-83 Final flight of Spacelab Long Module 1 | |||||||
| 5 July 04:11 | Soyuz-U | Baikonur Site 1/5 | Roskosmos | ||||
| Progress M-35 | Roskosmos | Low Earth (Mir) | Logistics | 7 October 17:23 | Successful | ||
| 8 July 12:25 | RT-2PM Topol | Plesetsk Site 158 | RVSN | ||||
| RVSN | Suborbital | Missile test | 8 July | Successful | |||
| 9 July |  KSR-II | Anhueng | KARI | ||||
| KARI | Suborbital | X-ray astronomy/Ionosphere research | 9 July | Successful | |||
| 9 July 13:04 | Delta II 7920-10C | Vandenberg SLC-2W | Boeing IDS | ||||
| Iridium 15 | Iridium | Low Earth | Communications | 14 October 2018[9] | Successful | ||
| Iridium 17 | Iridium | Low Earth | Communications | In orbit | Operational | ||
| Iridium 20 | Iridium | Low Earth | Communications | In orbit | Spacecraft Failure | ||
| Iridium 18 | Iridium | Low Earth | Communications | 19 August 2018[10] | Successful | ||
| Iridium 21 | Iridium | Low Earth | Communications | In orbit | Spacecraft Failure | ||
| 23 July | R-29 | Submarine, Barents Sea | Russian Navy | ||||
| Russian Navy | Suborbital | Missile test | 23 July | Successful | |||
| 23 July 03:42 | Delta II 7925-9.5 | Cape Canaveral LC-17A | Boeing IDS | ||||
| USA-132 (GPS IIR-2) | US Air Force | Medium Earth | Navigation | In orbit | Operational | ||
| 28 July 01:15 | Atlas IIAS | Cape Canaveral LC-36B | International Launch Services | ||||
| Superbird C | SCC | Geosynchronous | Communications | In orbit | Operational | ||
August[edit] | |||||||
| 1 August 20:20 | Pegasus-XL | Stargazer, Vandenberg | Orbital Sciences | ||||
| Orbview-2 | GeoEye | Low Earth | Earth imaging | In orbit | Operational | ||
| 5 August 15:35 | Soyuz-U | Baikonur Site 1/5 | Roskosmos | ||||
| Soyuz TM-26 | Roskosmos | Low Earth (Mir) | Mir EO-24 | 19 February 1998 09:10 | Successful | ||
| Crewed orbital flight with two cosmonauts | |||||||
| 7 August 14:41 | Space Shuttle Discovery | Kennedy LC-39A | United Space Alliance | ||||
| STS-85 | NASA | Low Earth | Space sciences | 19 August 11:08 | Successful | ||
| CRISTA-SPAS-2 | DLR/NASA | Low Earth | Atmospheric research | ||||
| MFD | NASDA | Low Earth (Discovery) | Dextrous RMS demonstration | ||||
| Crewed orbital flight with six astronauts CRISTA-SPAS deployed 7 August and retrieved 16 August | |||||||
| 8 August 06:46 | Ariane 4 (44LP) | Kourou ELA-2 | Arianespace | ||||
| PAS 6 | PanAmSat | Geosynchronous | Communications | In orbit | Spacecraft Failure | ||
| Spacecraft failure occurred in April 2004 | |||||||
| 8 August 13:19 | Super Loki | Wallops Island | NASA | ||||
| NASA | Suborbital | Aeronomy research | 8 August | Successful | |||
| 8 August 13:24 | Terrier-Orion | Wallops Island | NASA | ||||
| COORS | NASA | Suborbital | Ionosphere/Aeronomy research | 8 August | Failure | ||
| 8 August 16:29 | Black Brant VC | White Sands | NASA | ||||
| NASA | Suborbital | Ionosphere/Aeronomy research | 8 August | Successful | |||
| 9 August 13:29 | Super Loki | Wallops Island | NASA | ||||
| NASA | Suborbital | Aeronomy research | 9 August | Successful | |||
| 9 August 22:57 | Super Loki | Wallops Island | NASA | ||||
| NASA | Suborbital | Aeronomy research | 9 August | Successful | |||
| 10 August 13:36 | Viper | Wallops Island | NASA | ||||
| NASA | Suborbital | Aeronomy research | 10 August | Successful | |||
| 10 August 21:30 | Super Loki | Wallops Island | NASA | ||||
| NASA | Suborbital | Aeronomy research | 10 August | Successful | |||
| 11 August 13:38 | Super Loki | Wallops Island | NASA | ||||
| NASA | Suborbital | Aeronomy research | 11 August | Successful | |||
| 11 August 13:43 | Viper | Wallops Island | NASA | ||||
| NASA | Suborbital | Aeronomy research | 11 August | Successful | |||
| 11 August 18:18 | Black Brant IX | White Sands | NASA | ||||
| NASA | Suborbital | Ultraviolet astronomy | 11 August | Successful | |||
| 11 August 21:34 | Super Loki | Wallops Island | NASA | ||||
| NASA | Suborbital | Aeronomy research | 11 August | Successful | |||
| 12 August 12:10 | Super Loki | Wallops Island | NASA | ||||
| NASA | Suborbital | Aeronomy research | 12 August | Successful | |||
| 12 August 12:15 | Viper | Wallops Island | NASA | ||||
| NASA | Suborbital | Aeronomy research | 12 August | Successful | |||
| 12 August 12:26 | Super Loki | Wallops Island | NASA | ||||
| NASA | Suborbital | Aeronomy research | 12 August | Successful | |||
| 12 August 21:41 | Super Loki | Wallops Island | NASA | ||||
| NASA | Suborbital | Aeronomy research | 12 August | Successful | |||
| 13 August 13:50 | Super Loki | Wallops Island | NASA | ||||
| NASA | Suborbital | Aeronomy research | 13 August | Successful | |||
| 13 August 13:55 | Super Loki | Wallops Island | NASA | ||||
| NASA | Suborbital | Aeronomy research | 13 August | Successful | |||
| 13 August 21:40 | Super Loki | Wallops Island | NASA | ||||
| NASA | Suborbital | 13 August | Successful | ||||
| 14 August 12:22 | Super Loki | Wallops Island | NASA | ||||
| NASA | Suborbital | Aeronomy research | 14 August | Successful | |||
| 14 August 12:27 | Viper | Wallops Island | NASA | ||||
| NASA | Suborbital | Aeronomy research | 14 August | Successful | |||
| 14 August 20:49 | Proton-K/DM-2 | Baikonur Site 200/39 | | ||||
| Kosmos 2345 (Prognoz) | MO RF | Geosynchronous | Early warning | In orbit | Successful | ||
| Retired on 1 January 1999 | |||||||
| 14 August 21:53 | Viper | Wallops Island | NASA | ||||
| NASA | Suborbital | Aeronomy research | 14 August | Successful | |||
| 15 August 10:58 | Viper | Wallops Island | NASA | ||||
| NASA | Suborbital | Aeronomy research | 15 August | Successful | |||
| 15 August 20:25 | Super Loki | Wallops Island | NASA | ||||
| NASA | Suborbital | Aeronomy research | 15 August | Successful | |||
| 19 August 17:50 | Long March 3B | Xichang LC-2 | | ||||
| Agila 2 | MPSC | Geosynchronous | Communications | In orbit | Operational | ||
| 21 August 00:38 | Delta II 7920-10C | Vandenberg SLC-2W | Boeing IDS | ||||
| Iridium 26 | Iridium | Low Earth | Communications | In orbit | Operational | ||
| Iridium 25 | Iridium | Low Earth | Communications | 14 May 2018[11] | Successful | ||
| Iridium 24 | Iridium | Low Earth | Communications | 11 May 2019[12] | Spacecraft Failure | ||
| Iridium 23 | Iridium | Low Earth | Communications | 28 March 2018[13] | Successful | ||
| Iridium 22 | Iridium | Low Earth | Communications | In orbit | Operational | ||
| 23 August 06:51 | LMLV-1 (Athena I) | Vandenberg SLC-6 | Lockheed Martin | ||||
| Lewis | NASA | Low Earth | Earth observation | 29 September | Spacecraft failure | ||
| Control lost within three days of launch due to RCS design flaw.[14] | |||||||
| 25 August 14:39 | Delta II 7920-8 | Cape Canaveral LC-17A | Boeing IDS | ||||
| ACE | NASA | Earth/Sun L1 point | Magnetospheric research | In orbit | Operational | ||
| 28 August 00:33 | Proton-K/DM-2M | Baikonur Site 81/23 | International Launch Services | ||||
| PAS 5 | PanAmSat | Geosynchronous | Communications | In orbit | Operational | ||
| 29 August 15:02 | Pegasus-XL | Stargazer, Vandenberg | Orbital Sciences | ||||
| FORTE | US Air Force | Low Earth | Ionosphere research | In orbit | Operational | ||
September[edit] | |||||||
| 1 September 14:00 | Long March 2C | Taiyuan LC-1 | CASC | ||||
| Iridium MFS-1 | Iridium | Low Earth | Boilerplate spacecraft | In orbit | Successful | ||
| Iridium MFS-2 | Iridium | Low Earth | Boilerplate spacecraft | In orbit | Successful | ||
| 2 September 07:00 | Terrier-Orion | Anna Plains | NASA | ||||
| DUNDEE 1 | NASA | Suborbital | Target | 2 September | Successful | ||
| 2 September 22:21 | Ariane 4 (44LP) | Kourou ELA-2 | Arianespace | ||||
| Hot Bird 3 | Eutelsat | Geosynchronous | Communications | In orbit | Operational | ||
| Meteosat 7 | Eumetsat | Geosynchronous | Meteorology | In orbit | Operational | ||
| 4 September 12:03 | Atlas IIAS | Cape Canaveral LC-36A | International Launch Services | ||||
| GE 3 | GE Americom | Geosynchronous | Communications | In orbit | Operational | ||
| 5 September 04:00 | Terrier=Orion | Anna Plains | NASA | ||||
| DUNDEE 2 | NASA | Suborbital | Target | 5 September | Successful | ||
| 10 September 02:00 | Terrier-Orion | Anna Plains | NASA | ||||
| DUNDEE 3 | NASA | Suborbital | Target | 10 September | Successful | ||
| 10 September 14:40 | Black Brant IX | White Sands | NASA | ||||
| NASA | Suborbital | Test rocket | 10 September | Successful | |||
| 10 September 15:10 | Black Brant IX | White Sands | NASA | ||||
| NASA | Suborbital | Microgravity research | 10 September | Successful | |||
| 11 September 20:15 | Terrier-Orion | Anna Plains | NASA | ||||
| DUNDEE 4 | NASA | Suborbital | Target | 11 September | Successful | ||
| 14 September 01:36 | Proton-K/17S40 | Baikonur Site 81/23 | | ||||
| Iridium 29 | Iridium | Low Earth | Communications | In orbit | Operational | ||
| Iridium 32 | Iridium | Low Earth | Communications | 10 March 2019[16] | Successful | ||
| Iridium 33 | Iridium | Low Earth | Communications | 10 February 2009 | Partial Failure | ||
| Iridium 27 | Iridium | Low Earth | Communications | 1 February 2002 | Spacecraft Failure | ||
| Iridium 28 | Iridium | Low Earth | Communications | In orbit | Operational | ||
| Iridium 30 | Iridium | Low Earth | Communications | 28 September 2017[17] | Successful | ||
| Iridium 31 | Iridium | Low Earth | Communications | 20 December 2018[18] | Successful | ||
| Iridium 33 destroyed in collision with Kosmos 2251[15] | |||||||
| 17 September 08:01 | LGM-118 Peacekeeper | Vandenberg LF-05 | US Air Force | ||||
| 7 re-entry vehicles | US Air Force | Suborbital | Missile test | 17 September | Successful | ||
| 19 September 13:00 | Black Brant IX | White Sands | NASA | ||||
| NASA | Suborbital | Ionosphere research | 19 September | Successful | |||
| 23 September 16:44 | Kosmos-3M | Plesetsk Site 132/1 | | ||||
| Kosmos 2346 (Parus) | MO RF | Low Earth | Navigation | In orbit | Operational | ||
| FAISAT-2V | FAI | Low Earth | Communications | In orbit | Operational | ||
| 23 September 23:58 | Ariane 4 (42L) | Kourou ELA-2 | Arianespace | ||||
| Intelsat 803 | Intelsat | Geosynchronous | Communications | In orbit | Operational | ||
| 24 September | Storm-2 | White Sands LC-32 | US Air Force | ||||
| MTTV-4 | US Air Force | Suborbital | Target | 24 September | Successful | ||
| 24 September 21:30 | Molniya-M | Plesetsk Site 43/4 | | ||||
| Molniya-1T | MO RF | Molniya | Communications | In orbit | Operational | ||
| 25 September 00:30 | TR-1 | Tanegashima LA-T | NASDA | ||||
| NASDA | Suborbital | Microgravity research | 25 September | Successful | |||
| 26 September 02:34 | Space Shuttle Atlantis | Kennedy LC-39A | United Space Alliance | ||||
| STS-86 | NASA | Low Earth (Mir) | Shuttle-Mir flight | 6 October 21:55 | Successful | ||
| SpaceHab LDM | NASA/SpaceHab | Low Earth (Atlantis) | Logistics | ||||
| Crewed orbital flight with seven astronauts | |||||||
| 27 September 01:23 | Delta II 7920-10C | Vandenberg SLC-2W | Boeing IDS | ||||
| Iridium 19 | Iridium | Low Earth | Communications | 7 April 2018[19] | Successful | ||
| Iridium 37 | Iridium | Low Earth | Communications | 26 May 2018[20] | Successful | ||
| Iridium 36 | Iridium | Low Earth | Communications | In orbit | Operational | ||
| Iridium 35 | Iridium | Low Earth | Communications | 26 December 2018[21] | Successful | ||
| Iridium 34 | Iridium | Low Earth | Communications | 8 January 2018[22] | Successful | ||
| 29 September 04:47 | PSLV | Sriharikota FLP | ISRO | ||||
| IRS-1D | ISRO | Sun-synchronous | Remote sensing | In orbit | Operational | ||
| 30 September 20:10 | Black Brant IX | White Sands LC-36 | NASA | ||||
| HRTS 10 | NASA | Suborbital | Solar research | 30 September | Successful | ||
October[edit] | |||||||
| 3 October 07:07 | RT-2PM Topol | Plesetsk Site 158 | RVSN | ||||
| RVSN | Suborbital | Missile test | 3 October | Successful | |||
| 4 October 18:30 | Castor-Orbus | Nevada Test Site LA-26 | Sandia | ||||
| Sandia | Suborbital | Test rocket | 4 October | Failure | |||
| 5 October 15:08 | Soyuz-U | Baikonur Site 1/5 | Roskosmos | ||||
| Progress M-36 | Roskosmos | Low Earth (Mir) | Logistics | 19 December 13:20 | Successful | ||
| Sputnik-40 | Roskosmos | Low Earth | Amateur communications | 21 May 1998 | Successful | ||
| X-Mir | DASA | Low Earth (Mir) | Inspect Mir | 2 October 1998 | Successful | ||
| 5 October 21:01 | Atlas IIAS | Cape Canaveral LC-36B | International Launch Services | ||||
| Echostar 3 | EchoStar | Geosynchronous | Communications | In orbit | Operational | ||
| 9 October 17:59 | Soyuz-U | Plesetsk Site 43/3 | | ||||
| Foton 11 | Roskosmos | Low Earth | Microgravity research | 23 October | Successful | ||
| 10 October | UGM-133 Trident II | Submarine, Eastern Range | Royal Navy | ||||
| Royal Navy | Suborbital | Missile test | 10 October | Successful | |||
| 10 October | UGM-133 Trident II | Submarine, Eastern Range | Royal Navy | ||||
| Royal Navy | Suborbital | Missile test | 10 October | Successful | |||
| 12 October 16:42 | VS-30 | Andøya | INPE | ||||
| AL-VS30-226 | DLR | Suborbital | Aeronomy research | 12 October | Successful | ||
| 15 October 08:43 | Titan IVB (401)/Centaur | Cape Canaveral LC-40 | Lockheed Martin | ||||
| Cassini | NASA | Kronocentric Orbit | Saturn orbiter | 15 September 2017 10:31 | Successful | ||
| Huygens | NASA/ESA | Kronocentric Orbit | Titan lander | 14 January 2005 12:43 | Successful | ||
| Cassini is the first spacecraft to orbit Saturn and Huygens is the first spacecraft to land on Titan. Huygens released from Cassini on 25 December 2004. | |||||||
| 16 October 19:00 | Black Brant IX | White Sands | NASA | ||||
| NASA | Suborbital | Solar research | 16 October | Successful | |||
| 16 October 19:13 | Long March 3B | Xichang LC-2 | | ||||
| Apstar 2R | APT | Geosynchronous | Communications | In orbit | Operational | ||
| 22 October 13:13 | Pegasus-XL | Stargazer, Wallops Island | Orbital Sciences | ||||
| STEP-4 | US Air Force | Low Earth | 31 March 2001 | Successful | |||
| 24 October 02:32 | Titan IVA (403) | Vandenberg SLC-4E | Lockheed Martin | ||||
| USA-133 (Lacrosse 3) | NRO | Low Earth | Reconnaissance | In orbit | Operational | ||
| 25 October 00:46 | Atlas IIA | Cape Canaveral LC-36A | | ||||
| USA-135 (DSCS III F13) | US Air Force | Geosynchronous | Communications | In orbit | Operational | ||
| FalconSat Gold | USAFA | Geosynchronous transfer | Technology demonstration | 27 September 1998 | Successful | ||
| 30 October 13:43 | Ariane 5G | Kourou ELA-3 | Arianespace | ||||
| MAQSAT-H | ESA | Geosynchronous transfer | Boilerplate | In orbit | Successful | ||
| MAQSAT-B | ESA | Geosynchronous transfer | Boilerplate | In orbit | Successful | ||
| TEAMSAT | ESTEC | Geosynchronous transfer | Technology development | In orbit | Operational | ||
| YES | ESTEC | Geosynchronous transfer | Technolovy development | In orbit | Operational | ||
November[edit] | |||||||
| 2 November 12:25 | VLS-1 | V01 | Alcântara | ||||