List of spaceflight launches in January–June 2021

This article lists orbital and suborbital launches during the first half of the year 2021.

For all other spaceflight activities, see 2021 in spaceflight. For launches in the second half of 2021 see List of spaceflight launches in July–December 2021.

Orbital launches[edit]

Date and time (UTC)	Rocket		Flight number	Launch site		LSP
		Payload (⚀ = CubeSat)	Operator	Orbit	Function	Decay (UTC)	Outcome
		Remarks
January[edit]
8 January 02:15[1]	Falcon 9 Block 5		F9-104	Cape Canaveral SLC-40		SpaceX
		Türksat 5A	Türksat	Geosynchronous	Communications	In orbit	Operational
17 January 19:38:51[4][5]	LauncherOne		F2	Cosmic Girl, Mojave		Virgin Orbit
		⚀ CACTUS-1	Capitol Technology University	Low Earth	Technology demonstration	In orbit	Operational
		⚀ CAPE-3	UL Lafayette	Low Earth	Technology demonstration	In orbit	Operational
		⚀ ExoCube-2	Cal Poly	Low Earth	Atmospheric research	In orbit	Operational
		⚀ MiTEE	University of Michigan	Low Earth	Technology demonstration	15 June 2023[6]	Successful
		⚀ PICS 1, 2	Brigham Young University	Low Earth	Technology demonstration	In orbit	Operational
		⚀ PolarCube	CU Boulder	Low Earth	Technology demonstration	6 June 2023[7]	Successful
		⚀ Prometheus 2.8	U.S. Department of Defense	Low Earth	Technology demonstration	27 April 2023[8]	Successful
		⚀ Prometheus 2.11	U.S. Department of Defense	Low Earth	Technology demonstration	2 May 2023[9]	Successful
		⚀ Q-PACE (Cu-PACE)	UCF	Low Earth	Microgravity research	In orbit	Spacecraft failure[10]
		⚀ RadFxSat-2 (Fox-1E)	Vanderbilt University	Low Earth	Technology demonstration	In orbit	Operational
		⚀ TechEdSat-7 (TES-7)	NASA Ames	Low Earth	Technology demonstration	4 May 2022[11]	Successful
		Launch of NASA's ELaNa 20 mission.[2][3] Second flight and first successful launch of LauncherOne.
19 January 16:25[12]	Long March 3B/E		3B-Y74	Xichang LC-2		CASC
		Tiantong-1 03	China Satcom	Geosynchronous	Communications	In orbit	Operational
20 January 07:26[13]	Electron		"Another One Leaves The Crust"	Mahia LC-1A		Rocket Lab
		GMS-T	OHB SE / GMS	Low Earth	Communications	In orbit	Operational
20 January 13:02[14]	Falcon 9 Block 5		Starlink V1.0-L16	Kennedy LC-39A		SpaceX
		Starlink × 60	SpaceX	Low Earth	Communications	In orbit	Operational
		First time that a Falcon 9 first stage booster (B1051) is re-flown and recovered for the 8th time and shortest turnaround for a booster so far (38 days).
24 January 15:00[21]	Falcon 9 Block 5 / SHERPA-FX		Transporter-1	Cape Canaveral SLC-40		SpaceX
		Starlink × 10[22]	SpaceX	Low Earth (SSO)	Communications	25 January 2022[23]	Successful
		ION SCV-002 Laurentius[24]	D-Orbit	Low Earth (SSO)	CubeSat deployer	In orbit	Operational
		Capella-3 (Whitney 1)[25]	Capella Space	Low Earth (SSO)	Earth observation	26 February 2023[26]	Successful
		Capella-4 (Whitney 2)[25]	Capella Space	Low Earth (SSO)	Earth observation	8 April 2023[27]	Successful
		GHGSat-C2 (Hugo)[28]	GHGSat	Low Earth (SSO)	Earth observation	In orbit	Operational
		Hawk-2A, 2B, 2C[29]	HawkEye 360	Low Earth (SSO)	SIGINT / Technology demonstration	In orbit	Operational
		ICEYE × 2[30]	ICEYE	Low Earth (SSO)	Earth observation	In orbit	Operational
		Izanami (QPS-SAR 2)[31][32]	iQPS	Low Earth (SSO)	Earth observation	In orbit	Operational
		XR-1[33]	ICEYE-US	Low Earth (SSO)	Earth observation	In orbit	Operational
		⚀ ARCE-1A, 1B, 1C[17][34]	University of South Florida	Low Earth (SSO)	Technology demonstration	In orbit	Operational
		⚀ ASELSAT[35][36]	ASELSAT	Low Earth (SSO)	Earth observation	In orbit	Operational
		⚀ Astrocast × 5	Astrocast SA	Low Earth (SSO)	Communications	In orbit	Operational
		⚀ Charlie[37]	Aurora Insight	Low Earth (SSO)	RF sensing	In orbit	Operational
		⚀ Flock 4s × 48[38]	Planet Labs	Low Earth (SSO)	Earth observation	In orbit	Operational
		⚀ Hiber Four[39]	Hiber	Low Earth (SSO)	Remote sensing	In orbit	Spacecraft failure[40]
		⚀ IDEASSat[41]	NSPO / NCU	Low Earth (SSO)	Technology demonstration	In orbit	Successful[42]
		⚀ Kepler × 8[28]	Kepler	Low Earth (SSO)	Communications	In orbit	Operational
		⚀ Lemur-2 × 8	Spire Global	Low Earth (SSO)	Earth observation	In orbit	Operational
		⚀ PIXL-1 (CubeLCT)[43]	DLR / TESAT	Low Earth (SSO)	Technology demonstration	In orbit	Successful[44]
		⚀ Prometheus 2.10[17]	U.S. Department of Defense	Low Earth (SSO)	Technology demonstration	In orbit	Operational
		⚀ PTD-1[45]	NASA Ames / Tyvak	Low Earth (SSO)	Technology demonstration	In orbit	Operational
		⚀ SOMP-2b[46]	TU Dresden	Low Earth (SSO)	Technology demonstration	In orbit	Operational
		⚀ SpaceBEE × 36[47]	Swarm Technologies	Low Earth (SSO)	Communications	In orbit	Operational
		⚀ UVSQ-SAT[48]	UVSQ	Low Earth (SSO)	Technology demonstration	In orbit	Operational
		⚀ V-R3x × 3[49][50]	NASA	Low Earth (SSO)	Communications	In orbit	Operational
		⚀ YUSAT[41]	NSPO	Low Earth (SSO)	Technology demonstration	In orbit	Successful[42]
		Dedicated SmallSat Rideshare mission to Sun-synchronous orbit. ELaNa 35 launched aboard Spaceflight's Sherpa-FX1 as part of the SXRS-3 mission.[15][16][17] Sherpa-FX1 hosts two on-board payloads: Celestis Horizon space burial flight[17][18] and TAGSAT-1.[19] A record 143 satellites were deployed, exceeding the previous record of 108 satellites launched by an Antares in 2018.[20]
29 January 04:47[51][52]	Long March 4C		4C-Y31	Jiuquan SLS-2		CASC
		Yaogan 31-02A	CAS	Low Earth	Reconnaissance	In orbit	Operational
		Yaogan 31-02B	CAS	Low Earth	Reconnaissance	In orbit	Operational
		Yaogan 31-02C	CAS	Low Earth	Reconnaissance	In orbit	Operational
← Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec → February[edit]
1 February 08:15[55][56]	Hyperbola-1		Y2	Jiuquan LS-95A		i-Space
		Tianshu	Xu Bing	Low Earth (SSO)	Space art	1 February	Launch failure
		Second Hyperbola-1 flight. Rocket disintegrated shortly after passing max q. Contrary to initial reports, Space Ark's Fangzhou-2 (Ark-2) satellite did not launch on this flight.[53][54]
2 February 20:45:28[57]	Soyuz-2.1b			Plesetsk Site 43/4		RVSN RF
		Lotos-S1 №4 (Kosmos 2549)[58]	VKS	Low Earth	ELINT	In orbit	Operational
4 February 06:19[59]	Falcon 9 Block 5		Starlink V1.0-L18	Cape Canaveral SLC-40		SpaceX
		Starlink × 60	SpaceX	Low Earth	Communications	In orbit	Operational
4 February 15:36[60][61]	Long March 3B/E		3B-Y77	Xichang LC-3		CASC
		TJS-6	SAST	Geosynchronous	SIGINT	In orbit	Operational
15 February 04:45:05[62]	Soyuz-2.1a			Baikonur Site 31/6		Roscosmos
		Progress MS-16 / 77P	Roscosmos	Low Earth (ISS)	ISS logistics	26 July 2021 14:51[63]	Successful
		Progress 77 deorbited the Pirs module to make way for the arrival of Nauka in July 2021.
16 February 03:59:37[65]	Falcon 9 Block 5		Starlink V1.0-L19	Cape Canaveral SLC-40		SpaceX
		Starlink × 60	SpaceX	Low Earth	Communications	In orbit	Operational
		At least one of the engines of the first-stage booster, B1059.6, failed during or at the end of its re-entry burn, precluding recovery of the booster. It impacted the Atlantic away from the drone ship.[64]
20 February 17:36:50[71][72]	Antares 230+			MARS LP-0A		Northrop Grumman
		Cygnus NG-15 S.S. Katherine Johnson	NASA	Low Earth (ISS)	ISS logistics	2 July 01:30	Successful
		MMSATS-1 (Lawkanat-1)[73]	MAEU / Hokkaido University	Low Earth	Earth observation	4 April 2023[74]	Successful
		ThinSat-2 × 9[75]	Virginia Space	Low Earth	Technology demonstration / Education	In orbit	Operational
		⚀ GuaraníSat-1[76]	Kyushu Institute of Technology / Paraguayan Space Agency	Low Earth	Technology demonstration	5 July 2022[77]	Successful
		⚀ Gunsmoke-J 2[78][66]	USA SMDC / LANL	Low Earth	Technology demonstration	28 December 2023[79]	Successful
		⚀ HIROGARI (OPUSAT-II)[80]	Osaka Prefecture University / Muroran Institute of Technology	Low Earth	Technology demonstration	15 April 2022[81]	Successful
		⚀ IT-SPINS (SpaceBuoy)[82]	MSU	Low Earth	Ionospheric research	In orbit	Operational[83]
		⚀ Maya-2[84]	Kyushu Institute of Technology	Low Earth	Technology demonstration	7 July 2022[85]	Successful
		⚀ MYSat-2 (DhabiSat)[86]	Khalifa University	Low Earth	Technology demonstration	In orbit	Operational[83]
		⚀ ORCA-6[87]	DARPA	Low Earth	Technology demonstration	31 January 2023[88]	Successful
		⚀ ORCA-7[87]	DARPA	Low Earth	Technology demonstration	31 January 2023[89]	Successful
		⚀ RSP-01	Ryman Sat Project	Low Earth	Technology demonstration	10 June 2022[90]	Successful
		⚀ STARS-EC (Sankō)[91]	Shizuoka University	Low Earth	Technology demonstration	15 April 2022[92]	Successful
		⚀ TAU-SAT1[93]	Tel Aviv University	Low Earth	Education	5 May 2022[94]	Successful
		⚀ TSURU[84]	Kyushu Institute of Technology	Low Earth	Technology demonstration	5 July 2022[95]	Successful
		⚀ WARP-01 (Nichirin)[96]	Warpspace	Low Earth	Technology demonstration	1 May 2022[97]	Successful
		The ELaNa 33 mission (consisting of one satellite, IT-SPINS) launched on this resupply flight.[15] Carrying two undisclosed satellites.[66] First Paraguayan and Burmese satellites launched on this flight. Tsuru, Maya-2, GuaraníSat-1, OPUSAT-II, RSP-01, WARP-01, TAU-SAT1, and STARS-EC were deployed into orbit from ISS on 14 March 2021.[67] MMSATS-1—Myanmar's first satellite—was temporarily held on board the station, its deployment delayed due to the 2021 Myanmar coup d'état.[68] MMSATS-1 was deployed into orbit on 22 March 2021.[69] IT-Spins and MySat-2 were deployed into orbit on 29 June 2021 from Cygnus NG-15 after its departure from the ISS.[70]
24 February 02:22[98][99]	Long March 4C		4C-Y32	Jiuquan SLS-2		CASC
		Yaogan 31-03A	CAS	Low Earth	Reconnaissance	In orbit	Operational
		Yaogan 31-03B	CAS	Low Earth	Reconnaissance	In orbit	Operational
		Yaogan 31-03C	CAS	Low Earth	Reconnaissance	In orbit	Operational
28 February 04:54[100][101]	PSLV-DL		C51	Satish Dhawan FLP		ISRO
		Amazônia-1[102]	INPE	Low Earth (SSO)	Earth observation	In orbit	Operational
		⚀ SAI-1 NanoConnect-2[103]	UNAM	Low Earth (SSO)	Technology demonstration	25 November 2023[104]	Successful
		⚀ SDSAT	Space Kidz India	Low Earth (SSO)	Magnetospheric research / Education	18 July 2023[105]	Successful
		⚀ SindhuNetra	PESU / DRDO	Low Earth (SSO)	AIS ship tracking	14 December 2023[106]	Successful
		⚀ SpaceBEE × 12	Swarm Technologies	Low Earth (SSO)	Communications	First: 24 November 2022[107] Last: 10 January 2023[108]	Successful
		⚀ JITSat (UNITYsat 1)	JIT	Low Earth (SSO)	Amateur radio / IoT	6 June 2023[109]	Successful
		⚀ GHRCESat (UNITYsat 2)	GHRCE	Low Earth (SSO)	Amateur radio / IoT	11 July 2023[110]	Successful
		⚀ SriShakthiSat (UNITYsat 3)	SIET	Low Earth (SSO)	Amateur radio / IoT	6 June 2023[111]	Successful
		First Brazilian Earth observation satellite.
28 February 06:55:01[112]	Soyuz-2.1b / Fregat			Baikonur Site 31/6		Roscosmos
		Arktika-M №1[113]	Roscosmos	Molniya	Meteorology	In orbit	Operational
← Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec → March[edit]
4 March 08:24:54[114]	Falcon 9 Block 5		Starlink V1.0-L17	Kennedy LC-39A		SpaceX
		Starlink × 60	SpaceX	Low Earth	Communications	In orbit	Operational
		Starlink V1.0-L17 mission launched after L18 and L19 due to multiple launch delays.
11 March 08:13:29[115]	Falcon 9 Block 5		Starlink V1.0-L20	Cape Canaveral SLC-40		SpaceX
		Starlink × 60	SpaceX	Low Earth	Communications	In orbit	Operational
11 March 17:51:28[116]	Long March 7A		7A-Y2	Wenchang LC-2		CASC
		Shiyan 9	CAST	Geosynchronous	Technology demonstration	In orbit	Operational
		Reflight of the Long March 7A, which failed its maiden flight on 16 March 2020.
13 March 02:19[117][118]	Long March 4C		4C-Y42	Jiuquan SLS-2		CASC
		Yaogan 31-04A	CAS	Low Earth	Reconnaissance	In orbit	Operational
		Yaogan 31-04B	CAS	Low Earth	Reconnaissance	In orbit	Operational
		Yaogan 31-04C	CAS	Low Earth	Reconnaissance	In orbit	Operational
14 March 10:01:26[119]	Falcon 9 Block 5		Starlink V1.0-L21	Kennedy LC-39A		SpaceX
		Starlink × 60	SpaceX	Low Earth	Communications	In orbit	Operational
		First time a first-stage booster flew and landed for the ninth time (B1051) and fastest turnaround time for a fairing half so far (49 days).
22 March 06:07:12[121]	Soyuz-2.1a / Fregat			Baikonur Site 31/6		GK Launch Services
		CAS500-1	KARI	Low Earth (SSO)	Earth observation	In orbit	Operational
		ELSA-d Servicer[120]	Astroscale	Low Earth (SSO)	Technology demonstration	In orbit	Operational
		ELSA-d Client[120]	Astroscale	Low Earth (SSO)	Technology demonstration	In orbit	Operational
		DMSAT-1	MBRSC	Low Earth (SSO)	Earth observation	In orbit	Operational
		Fukui Prefectural Satellite[122]	Axelspace [ja] / FSTRA	Low Earth (SSO)	Earth observation	In orbit	Operational
		GRUS [ja]-1 × 3[122]	Axelspace [ja]	Low Earth (SSO)	Earth observation	In orbit	Operational
		Vigoride SC (mock-up)		Low Earth (SSO)	Mass simulator	In orbit	Successful
		⚀ ADELIS-SAMSON x 3[123]	Technion	Low Earth (SSO)	Satellite formation flying Technology demonstration	In orbit	Operational
		⚀ BeeSat × 4	TU Berlin	Low Earth (SSO)	Technology demonstration	In orbit	Operational
		⚀ ChallengeOne[124]	Telnet Tunisie	Low Earth (SSO)	IoT	In orbit	Operational
		⚀ CubeSX-HSE[125]	HSE	Low Earth (SSO)	Earth observation Education	In orbit	Operational
		⚀ CubeSX-Sirius-HSE[125]	Sirius Educational Centre	Low Earth (SSO)	Earth observation Education	In orbit	Operational
		⚀ GRBAlpha	TUKE	Low Earth (SSO)	Technology demonstration	In orbit	Operational
		⚀ Hiber-3[123]	Hiber	Low Earth (SSO)	IoT	In orbit	Spacecraft failure[40]
		⚀ Kepler × 2[126]	Kepler	Low Earth (SSO)	Communications	In orbit	Operational
		⚀ KMSL[123]	Chosun University	Low Earth (SSO)	Microgravity research	In orbit	Operational
		⚀ KSU_CubeSat[127]	KSU	Low Earth (SSO)	Education	In orbit	Operational
		⚀ LacunaSat2-B	Lacuna Space	Low Earth (SSO)	IoT	In orbit	Operational
		⚀ Shaheen Sat 17 (Najm-1)[128]	KACST	Low Earth (SSO)	Earth observation	In orbit	Operational
		⚀ NANOSATC-BR2[123]	UFSM	Low Earth (SSO)	Ionospheric research	In orbit	Operational
		⚀ OrbiCraft-Zorkiy[129][125]	Sputnix	Low Earth (SSO)	Earth observation	In orbit	Operational
		⚀ Pumbaa[123]	Yonsei University	Low Earth (SSO)	Solar observation	In orbit	Operational
		⚀ Timon[123]	Yonsei University	Low Earth (SSO)	Solar observation	In orbit	Operational
		⚀ WildTrackCube-SIMBA[130]	Sapienza University of Rome / University of Nairobi / Machakos University	Low Earth (SSO)	Animal tracking	In orbit	Operational
		⚀ 3B5GSAT[131][132]	Sateliot / AEC	Low Earth (SSO)	IoT	In orbit	Operational
		UNISAT-7[133]	GAUSS Srl	Low Earth (SSO)	Satellite dispenser Technology demonstration	In orbit	Operational
		⚀ BCCSAT-1[133]	Bangkok Christian College / KMUTNB	Low Earth (SSO)	Education	In orbit	Operational
		⚀ FEES[133]	GP Advanced Projects	Low Earth (SSO)	Technology demonstration	In orbit	Operational
		▫  DIY (ARDUIQUBE)[133]	Diysatellite	Low Earth (SSO)	Education	22 July 2023[134]	Successful
		▫  SMOG-1[133]	BME	Low Earth (SSO)	Spectrum analysis	In orbit	Operational
		▫  STECCO[133]	Sapienza University of Rome	Low Earth (SSO)	Laser ranging	In orbit	Operational
		First fully commercial mission launched by GK Launch Services. ELSA-d will demonstrate space debris removal technology.[120] ChallengeOne is the first Tunisian satellite.
22 March 22:30[135][136]	Electron		"They Go Up So Fast"	Mahia LC-1A		Rocket Lab
		Photon Pathstone	Rocket Lab	Low Earth	Space tug Technology demonstration	14 March 2023[137]	Successful
		BlackSky 7 (Global-9)	BlackSky	Low Earth	Earth observation	In orbit	Operational
		⚀ Centauri 3	Fleet Space	Low Earth	IoT	In orbit	Operational
		⚀ Gunsmoke-J 1[78]	USA SMDC / LANL	Low Earth	Technology demonstration	In orbit	Operational
		⚀ M2 × 2	UNSW	Low Earth	Technology demonstration	In orbit	Operational
		⚀ Myriota 7	Myriota	Low Earth	IoT	In orbit	Operational
		⚀ Veery Hatchling	Care Weather Technologies	Low Earth	Meteorology	In orbit	Operational
		Second Photon satellite. This Photon will be used to perform tests in preparation for the upcoming CAPSTONE mission.
24 March 08:28:24[138]	Falcon 9 Block 5		Starlink V1.0-L22	Cape Canaveral SLC-40		SpaceX
		Starlink × 60	SpaceX	Low Earth	Communications	In orbit	Operational
25 March 02:47:33[139]	Soyuz-2.1b / Fregat		ST30	Vostochny Site 1S		Arianespace / Starsem
		OneWeb × 36	OneWeb	Low Earth	Communications	In orbit	Operational
30 March 22:45[140]	Long March 4C		4C-Y36	Jiuquan SLS-2		CASC
		Gaofen-12 02	CNSA	Low Earth (SSO)	Earth observation	In orbit	Operational
← Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec → April[edit]
7 April 16:34:18[141]	Falcon 9 Block 5		Starlink V1.0-L23	Cape Canaveral SLC-40		SpaceX
		Starlink × 60	SpaceX	Low Earth	Communications	In orbit	Operational
8 April 23:01[143]	Long March 4B		4B-Y49	Taiyuan LC-9		CASC
		Shiyan 6-03	CAST	Low Earth (SSO)	Technology demonstration	In orbit	Operational
		Shiyan 6-03 is demonstrating an ultra-dark nanocomposite coating, which aims to reduce stray light interference with onboard optical sensors.[142]
9 April 07:42:40[144]	Soyuz-2.1a			Baikonur Site 31/6		Roscosmos
		Soyuz MS-18	Roscosmos	Low Earth (ISS)	Expedition 64/65	17 October 04:35[145]	Successful
23 April 09:49:02[146]	Falcon 9 Block 5		F9-114	Kennedy LC-39A		SpaceX
		SpaceX Crew-2	SpaceX / NASA	Low Earth (ISS)	Expedition 65/66	9 November 03:33:16	Successful
		Second operational Crew Dragon mission, as part of the Commercial Crew Program.
25 April 22:14:08[147]	Soyuz-2.1b / Fregat		ST31	Vostochny Site 1S		Arianespace / Starsem
		OneWeb × 36	OneWeb	Low Earth	Communications	In orbit	Operational
26 April 20:47[148]	Delta IV Heavy		D-386	Vandenberg SLC-6		ULA
		KH-11 18 (USA-314)	NRO	Low Earth (SSO)	Reconnaissance	In orbit	Operational
		NROL-82 mission.
27 April 03:20[149][150]	Long March 6		Y5	Taiyuan LC-16		CASC
		Qilu-1	SDIIT	Low Earth (SSO)	Earth observation	In orbit	Operational
		Qilu-4	SDIIT	Low Earth (SSO)	Earth observation	In orbit	Operational
		Foshan-1	Ji Hua Laboratory	Low Earth (SSO)	Earth observation	In orbit	Operational
		⚀ Zhongan Guotong-1 (HS-1)	Hangsheng Satellite / Zhongan Guotong Satellite Technology Development	Low Earth (SSO)	Earth observation	In orbit	Operational
		⚀ Tianqi-9	Guodian Gaoke	Low Earth (SSO)	IoT	In orbit	Operational
		⚀ Origin Space NEO-1	Origin Space	Low Earth (SSO)	Technology demonstration	In orbit	Operational
		⚀ Tai King II 01	MinoSpace	Low Earth (SSO)	Earth observation	In orbit	Operational
		⚀ Golden Bauhinia-1 01	ZeroG Lab	Low Earth (SSO)	Earth observation	In orbit	Operational
		⚀ Golden Bauhinia-1 02	ZeroG Lab	Low Earth (SSO)	Earth observation	In orbit	Operational
		First Long March Express commercial rideshare mission with launch services contracted by CGWIC.
29 April 01:50:00[153]	Vega		VV18	Kourou ELV		Arianespace
		Pléiades-Neo 3[154]	Airbus Defence and Space	Low Earth (SSO)	Earth observation	In orbit	Operational
		NorSat-3[155]	NOSA	Low Earth (SSO)	AIS ship tracking	In orbit	Operational
		⚀ Bravo[37]	Aurora Insight	Low Earth (SSO)	RF sensing	In orbit	Operational
		⚀ ELO Alpha[156]	Eutelsat	Low Earth (SSO)	IoT	In orbit	Operational
		⚀ Lemur-2 × 2[157]	Spire Global	Low Earth (SSO)	Earth observation	In orbit	Operational
		Small Satellites Mission Service (SSMS) piggyback mission.[151] Return to flight for Vega after the November 2020 launch failure.[152]
29 April 03:23:15[158][159]	Long March 5B		5B-Y2	Wenchang LC-1		CASC
		Tianhe	CMSA	Low Earth	Space station assembly	In orbit	Operational
		Tianhe is the core module of the Tiangong space station, providing life support and living quarters for three crew members, and guidance, navigation and attitude control for the station.
29 April 03:44[160]	Falcon 9 Block 5		Starlink V1.0-L24	Cape Canaveral SLC-40		SpaceX
		Starlink × 60	SpaceX	Low Earth	Communications	In orbit	Operational
30 April 07:27[161]	Long March 4C		4C-Y34	Jiuquan SLS-2		CASC
		Yaogan 34	CAS	Low Earth	Reconnaissance	In orbit	Operational
← Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec → May[edit]
4 May 19:01:07[162]	Falcon 9 Block 5		Starlink V1.0-L25	Kennedy LC-39A		SpaceX
		Starlink × 60	SpaceX	Low Earth	Communications	In orbit	Operational
6 May 18:11[163][164]	Long March 2C		2C-Y47	Xichang LC-3		CASC
		Yaogan 30-08A	CAS	Low Earth	Reconnaissance	In orbit	Operational
		Yaogan 30-08B	CAS	Low Earth	Reconnaissance	In orbit	Operational
		Yaogan 30-08C	CAS	Low Earth	Reconnaissance	In orbit	Operational
		⚀ Tianqi-12	Guodian Gaoke	Low Earth	IoT	In orbit	Operational
9 May 06:42[165]	Falcon 9 Block 5		Starlink V1.0-L27	Cape Canaveral SLC-40		SpaceX
		Starlink × 60	SpaceX	Low Earth	Communications	In orbit	Operational
		First time a first-stage booster flew and landed for the tenth time (B1051).
15 May 11:11[167]	Electron		"Running Out of Toes"	Mahia LC-1A		Rocket Lab
		BlackSky 8[168]	BlackSky	Low Earth (SSO)	Earth observation	15 May	Launch failure
		BlackSky 9[168]	BlackSky	Low Earth (SSO)	Earth observation
		First of four dedicated launches for BlackSky.[166] Second ocean splashdown recovery mission for the first stage. An anomaly occurred at second stage ignition, causing the vehicle to spin out of control. The first stage successfully splashed down using parachutes in the Pacific Ocean.
15 May 22:56[169]	Falcon 9 Block 5		Starlink V1.0-L26	Kennedy LC-39A		SpaceX
		Starlink × 52	SpaceX	Low Earth	Communications	In orbit	Operational
		Capella-6 (Whitney 4)[170]	Capella Space	Low Earth	Earth observation	In orbit	Operational
		⚀ Tyvak-0130[171]	Tyvak / LLNL	Low Earth	Earth observation	In orbit	Operational
		Starlink SmallSat Rideshare mission.
18 May 17:37[172]	Atlas V 421		AV-091[173]	Cape Canaveral SLC-41		ULA
		SBIRS-GEO 5 (USA-315)[174]	U.S. Space Force	Geosynchronous	Early warning	In orbit	Operational
		⚀ TDO-3	U.S. Air Force Academy	Highly elliptical	Technology demonstration	27 September 2022[175]	Successful
		⚀ TDO-4	U.S. Air Force Academy	Highly elliptical	Technology demonstration	18 September 2022[176]	Successful
19 May 04:03[177]	Long March 4B		4B-Y48	Jiuquan SLS-2		CASC
		HaiYang-2D	Ministry of Natural Resources	Low Earth	Oceanography	In orbit	Operational
26 May 18:59[178]	Falcon 9 Block 5		Starlink V1.0-L28	Cape Canaveral SLC-40		SpaceX
		Starlink × 60	SpaceX	Low Earth	Communications	In orbit	Operational
		First Starlink orbital shell, consisting of 1,584 satellites orbiting at an altitude of 550 kilometres (340 mi), was completed with this launch.
28 May 17:38:39[179]	Soyuz-2.1b / Fregat		ST32[180]	Vostochny Site 1S		Arianespace / Starsem
		OneWeb × 36	OneWeb	Low Earth	Communications	In orbit	Operational
29 May 12:55:29[181][182]	Long March 7		Y3	Wenchang LC-2		CASC
		Tianzhou 2	CMSA	Low Earth (TSS)	Space logistics	31 March 2022 10:40[183]	Successful
		First cargo flight to the Tiangong space station.
← Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec → June[edit]
2 June 16:17:04[184]	Long March 3B/E		3B-Y72	Xichang LC-2		CASC
		Fengyun 4B	CMA	Geosynchronous	Meteorology	In orbit	Operational
3 June 17:29:15[189]	Falcon 9 Block 5		F9-120	Kennedy LC-39A		SpaceX
		SpaceX CRS-22	NASA	Low Earth (ISS)	ISS logistics	10 July 03:29	Successful
		⚀ G-SATELLITE 2 (BD-28)[190]	OneTeam / TOCOG	Low Earth	Space advertising	15 September 2022[191]	Successful
		⚀ MIR-SAT1[192]	MRIC	Low Earth	Technology demonstration	18 April 2022[193]	Successful
		⚀ RamSat[194]	Robertsville Middle School	Low Earth	Education	12 October 2022[195]	Successful
		⚀ SOAR[196]	University of Manchester	Low Earth	Technology demonstration	14 March 2022[197]	Successful[198]
		The ELaNa 36 mission (consisting of one satellite, RamSat) launched on this resupply flight.[185] RamSat and SOAR were deployed into orbit from ISS on 14 June 2021.[186] MIR-SAT1 and G-SATELLITE 2 were deployed on 22 June 2021.[187][188] Two Roll Out Solar Array (iROSA) units were delivered to the station to supplement the existing ISS Solar Arrays.
6 June 04:26[199]	Falcon 9 Block 5		F9-121	Cape Canaveral SLC-40		SpaceX
		SXM-8	Sirius XM	Geosynchronous	Communications	In orbit	Operational
11 June 03:03[200][201]	Long March 2D		2D-Y54	Taiyuan LC-9		CASC
		Beijing-3A	China Spacesat	Low Earth (SSO)	Earth observation	In orbit	Operational
		⚀ Hisea-2	Xiamen University	Low Earth (SSO)	Earth observation	In orbit	Operational
		⚀ Yang Wang-1[202]	Origin Space	Low Earth (SSO)	Space telescope / Asteroid cataloging	In orbit	Operational
		⚀ Tianjian (TKSY01-TJ)	PLASSF Space Engineering University	Low Earth (SSO)	Technology demonstration	In orbit	Operational
12 June[203]	Simorgh			Semnan LP-2		ISA
		Unknown payload		Low Earth		12 June	Launch failure
		Failed to reach orbit.
13 June 08:11[204]	Pegasus-XL		F45	Stargazer, Vandenberg		Northrop Grumman
		Odyssey	U.S. Space Force	Low Earth (SSO)	Space domain awareness	18 December 2022[205]	Successful
		Tactically Responsive Launch-2 (TacRL-2) mission.
15 June 13:35[207]	Minotaur I			MARS LP-0B		Northrop Grumman
		USA-316	NRO	Low Earth	Reconnaissance	In orbit	Operational
		USA-317	NRO	Low Earth	Reconnaissance	In orbit	Operational
		USA-318	NRO	Low Earth	Reconnaissance	In orbit	Operational
		NROL-111 mission.[206]
17 June 01:22:27[208][209]	Long March 2F		2F-Y12	Jiuquan SLS-1		CASC
		Shenzhou 12	CMSA	Low Earth (TSS)	Crewed spaceflight	17 September 05:34[210]	Successful
		First crewed flight to the Tianhe core module of the Tiangong space station, with astronauts Nie Haisheng, Liu Boming and Tang Hongbo onboard.
17 June 16:09:35[212]	Falcon 9 Block 5		F9-122	Cape Canaveral SLC-40		SpaceX
		GPS IIIA-05 Neil Armstrong (USA-319)	U.S. Space Force	Medium Earth	Navigation	In orbit	Operational
		First DoD payload to fly on the single-stick Falcon 9 with a flight-proven first stage booster; the booster B1062 previously launched GPS IIIA-04 Sacagawea in November 2020. Named after American astronaut Neil Armstrong, the first person to walk on the Moon.[211]
18 June 06:30[213]	Long March 2C		2C-Y48	Xichang LC-3		CASC
		Yaogan 30-09A	CAS	Low Earth	Reconnaissance	In orbit	Operational
		Yaogan 30-09B	CAS	Low Earth	Reconnaissance	In orbit	Operational
		Yaogan 30-09C	CAS	Low Earth	Reconnaissance	In orbit	Operational
		⚀ Tianqi-14	Guodian Gaoke	Low Earth	IoT	In orbit	Operational
25 June 19:50:00[215]	Soyuz-2.1b			Plesetsk Site 43/4		RVSN RF
		Pion-NKS №1 (Kosmos 2550)[216]	VKS	Low Earth	SIGINT	In orbit	Operational
		Part of the Russian Liana SIGINT system.[214]
29 June 23:27:20[217]	Soyuz-2.1a			Baikonur Site 31/6		Roscosmos
		Progress MS-17 / 78P	Roscosmos	Low Earth (ISS)	ISS logistics	25 November 14:34	Successful
30 June 14:47[220]	LauncherOne		"Tubular Bells, Part One"	Cosmic Girl, Mojave		VOX Space
		⚀ BRIK-II	RNLAF	Low Earth	Technology demonstration	In orbit	Operational
		⚀ CNCE Blk 1 × 2	MDA	Low Earth	Technology demonstration	CNCE1: 31 October 2023[221] CNCE3: 31 October 2023[222]	Successful
		⚀ Gunsmoke-J 3[78]	USA SMDC / LANL	Low Earth	Technology demonstration	In orbit	Operational
		⚀ HALO-Net Free Flyer[223]	U.S. Navy	Low Earth	Technology demonstration	25 November 2023[224]	Successful
		⚀ STORK-4	SatRevolution	Low Earth	Earth observation	3 October 2023[225]	Successful
		⚀ STORK-5 (MARTA)	SatRevolution	Low Earth	Earth observation	22 October 2023[226]	Successful
		The launch campaign is named after Tubular Bells, the first record produced by Virgin Records in 1973.[218] STP-27VPA is composed of four military CubeSats: Gunsmoke-J 3, HALO-Net Free Flyer, and two CNCE Blk 1 satellites.[219]
30 June 19:31[228]	Falcon 9 Block 5		Transporter-2	Cape Canaveral SLC-40		SpaceX
		ION SCV-003 Dauntless David[230]	D-Orbit	Low Earth (SSO)	CubeSat deployer	In orbit	Operational
		Sherpa-FX2[231]	Spaceflight, Inc.	Low Earth (SSO)	CubeSat deployer	In orbit	Operational
		Sherpa-LTE1[231][232]	Spaceflight, Inc.	Low Earth (SSO)	Space tug	In orbit	Operational
		Starlink × 3	SpaceX	Low Earth (SSO)	Communications	In orbit	Operational
		Aurora (Shasta)[233][231]	Orbital Sidekick / Astro Digital	Low Earth (SSO)	Earth observation	In orbit	Operational
		Capella-5 (Whitney 3)[170]	Capella Space	Low Earth (SSO)	Earth observation	23 February 2023[234]	Successful
		GNOMES-2[235][236]	PlanetIQ	Low Earth (SSO)	Radio occultation	In orbit	Operational
		Hawk-3A, 3B, 3C[231]	HawkEye 360	Low Earth (SSO)	SIGINT / Technology demonstration	In orbit	Operational
		ICEYE × 4[237]	ICEYE	Low Earth (SSO)	Earth observation	In orbit	Operational
		Lynk-06 (Shannon)[233][231]	Lynk Global	Low Earth (SSO)	Technology demonstration	In orbit	Operational
		ÑuSat × 4[238]	Satellogic	Low Earth (SSO)	Earth observation	In orbit	Operational
		Tanker-001 Tenzing[239]	Orbit Fab / Accion Systems	Low Earth (SSO)	Propellant depot Technology demonstration	In orbit	Operational
		TUBIN[240]	TU Berlin	Low Earth (SSO)	Technology demonstration	In orbit	Operational
		Umbra-2001[241][242]	Umbra Lab	Low Earth (SSO)	Technology demonstration	In orbit	Operational
		YAM-2[233]	Loft Orbital	Low Earth (SSO)	Technology demonstration	In orbit	Operational
		YAM-3[243]	Loft Orbital	Low Earth (SSO)	Technology demonstration	In orbit	Operational
		⚀ ARTHUR-1[231]	Aerospacelab	Low Earth (SSO)	Earth observation	In orbit	Operational
		⚀ Astrocast × 5[231]	Astrocast SA	Low Earth (SSO)	Communications	In orbit	Operational
		⚀ Centauri 4 (Tyvak-0211)[244]	Fleet Space	Low Earth (SSO)	IoT	In orbit	Operational
		⚀ D2/AtlaCom-1[245][246]	NanoAvionics / Dragonfly Aerospace / Space JLTZ	Low Earth (SSO)	Technology demonstration	In orbit	Operational
		⚀ EG-3 (Tyvak-0173)[247][248]	EchoStar	Low Earth (SSO)	Mobile-satellite service	In orbit	Operational
		⚀ Faraday Phoenix[231]	In-Space Missions	Low Earth (SSO)	Technology demonstration	In orbit	Operational
		⚀ Ghalib[230][249]	Marshall Intech	Low Earth (SSO)	Technology demonstration	In orbit	Operational
		⚀ KSM-2 × 4[231]	Kleos Space	Low Earth (SSO)	Navigation	In orbit	Operational
		⚀ Lemur-2 × 6[231]	Spire Global	Low Earth (SSO)	Earth observation	In orbit	Operational
		⚀ LINCS 1, 2[250]	GA-EMS	Low Earth (SSO)	Laser communications	In orbit	Spacecraft failure[229]
		⚀ Mandrake 2A, 2B[251]	DARPA	Low Earth (SSO)	Laser communications	In orbit	Operational
		⚀ Napa-2 (RTAF-SAT 2)[230][252]	RTAF	Low Earth (SSO)	Earth observation	In orbit	Operational
		⚀ NEPTUNO[230][253]	Elecnor Deimos	Low Earth (SSO)	Technology demonstration	In orbit	Operational
		⚀ PACE-1[254]	NASA	Low Earth (SSO)	Technology demonstration	In orbit	Operational
		⚀ PAINANI-II[231]	CISESE	Low Earth (SSO)	Technology demonstration	In orbit	Operational
		⚀ QMR-KWT[230][255]	Orbital Space	Low Earth (SSO)	Education	In orbit	Operational
		⚀ SPARTAN[230][253]	EnduroSat	Low Earth (SSO)	Technology demonstration	In orbit	Operational
		⚀ SpaceBEE × 24[231]	Swarm Technologies	Low Earth (SSO)	Communications	In orbit	Operational
		⚀ SpaceBEE NZ × 4[256]	Swarm Technologies	Low Earth (SSO)	Communications	First: 12 September 2023[257] Last: 19 September 2023[258]	Successful
		⚀ Tiger-2 (Ayan-21)[233]	OQ Technology	Low Earth (SSO)	IoT	In orbit	Operational
		⚀ TROPICS Pathfinder[228]	NASA	Low Earth (SSO)	Meteorology	In orbit	Operational
		⚀ W-Cube[230][259]	Reaktor Space Lab	Low Earth (SSO)	Technology demonstration	In orbit	Operational
		Dedicated SmallSat Rideshare mission to sun-synchronous orbit. QMR-KWT will be Kuwait's first satellite.[227] This launch will also carry LaserCube, Nebula and Worldfloods as hosted payloads in the ION SCV-3 deployer and TagSat-2 as hosted payload in the SHERPA-FX2 deployer.[228] The two LINCS satellites entered an uncontrollable tumble after deployment due to "an issue with the launch vehicle".[229]
← Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec →
For flights after 30 June, see 2021 in spaceflight (July–December)

Suborbital flights[edit]

Date and time (UTC)	Rocket		Flight number	Launch site		LSP
		Payload (⚀ = CubeSat)	Operator	Orbit	Function	Decay (UTC)	Outcome
		Remarks
14 January 17:17[260][261]	New Shepard		NS-14	Corn Ranch		Blue Origin
		Crew Capsule "RSS First Step"	Blue Origin	Suborbital	Flight test	14 January 17:27	Successful
		Postcards × 50,000	Club For The Future	Suborbital	Education	14 January 17:27	Successful
		Apogee: 106.93 kilometres (66.44 mi). First flight of booster NS4 and crew capsule "RSS First Step". A BAT's postcard was the first payload from British Antarctic Territory to be sent into space.
15 January[262][263]	Dezful/Zolfaghar					IRGC
		Live warhead	IRGC	Suborbital	Missile test	15 January	Successful
		Rapid launch of thirteen Dezful/Zolfaghar ballistic missiles with active warheads (1 of 13).
15 January[262][263]	Dezful/Zolfaghar					IRGC
		Live warhead	IRGC	Suborbital	Missile test	15 January	Successful
		Rapid launch of thirteen Dezful/Zolfaghar ballistic missiles with active warheads (2 of 13).
15 January[262][263]	Dezful/Zolfaghar					IRGC
		Live warhead	IRGC	Suborbital	Missile test	15 January	Successful
		Rapid launch of thirteen Dezful/Zolfaghar ballistic missiles with active warheads (3 of 13).
15 January[262][263]	Dezful/Zolfaghar					IRGC
		Live warhead	IRGC	Suborbital	Missile test	15 January	Successful
		Rapid launch of thirteen Dezful/Zolfaghar ballistic missiles with active warheads (4 of 13).
15 January[262][263]	Dezful/Zolfaghar					IRGC
		Live warhead	IRGC	Suborbital	Missile test	15 January	Successful
		Rapid launch of thirteen Dezful/Zolfaghar ballistic missiles with active warheads (5 of 13).
15 January[262][263]	Dezful/Zolfaghar					IRGC
		Live warhead	IRGC	Suborbital	Missile test	15 January	Successful
		Rapid launch of thirteen Dezful/Zolfaghar ballistic missiles with active warheads (6 of 13).
15 January[262][263]	Dezful/Zolfaghar					IRGC
		Live warhead	IRGC	Suborbital	Missile test	15 January	Successful
		Rapid launch of thirteen Dezful/Zolfaghar ballistic missiles with active warheads (7 of 13).
15 January[262][263]	Dezful/Zolfaghar					IRGC
		Live warhead	IRGC	Suborbital	Missile test	15 January	Successful
		Rapid launch of thirteen Dezful/Zolfaghar ballistic missiles with active warheads (8 of 13).
15 January[262][263]	Dezful/Zolfaghar					IRGC
		Live warhead	IRGC	Suborbital	Missile test	15 January	Successful
		Rapid launch of thirteen Dezful/Zolfaghar ballistic missiles with active warheads (9 of 13).
15 January[262][263]	Dezful/Zolfaghar					IRGC
		Live warhead	IRGC	Suborbital	Missile test	15 January	Successful
		Rapid launch of thirteen Dezful/Zolfaghar ballistic missiles with active warheads (10 of 13).
15 January[262][263]	Dezful/Zolfaghar					IRGC
		Live warhead	IRGC	Suborbital	Missile test	15 January	Successful
		Rapid launch of thirteen Dezful/Zolfaghar ballistic missiles with active warheads (11 of 13).
15 January[262][263]	Dezful/Zolfaghar					IRGC
		Live warhead	IRGC	Suborbital	Missile test	15 January	Successful
		Rapid launch of thirteen Dezful/Zolfaghar ballistic missiles with active warheads (12 of 13).
15 January[262][263][264]	Dezful/Zolfaghar					IRGC
		Live warhead	IRGC	Suborbital	Missile test	15 January	Successful
		Rapid launch of thirteen Dezful/Zolfaghar ballistic missiles with active warheads (13 of 13).
16 January[262]	Sejil-2
		Re-entry vehicle		Suborbital	Missile test	16 January	Successful
		Launch of a Sejjil missile at a simulated target in the Indian Ocean (1 of 3).
16 January[262]	Sejil-2