# 1978 in spaceflight

1978 saw the launch of the Pioneer Venus missions launched by the United States, on 20 May and 8 August. The Pioneer Venus Multiprobe landed four spacecraft on the planet, one of which transmitted data for 67 minutes before being destroyed by atmospheric pressure. ISEE-C, which was launched on 8 December, flew past comet 21P/Giacobini–Zinner in 1985, and Halley's Comet in 1986.

## Launches

* ← Jan
* Feb
* Mar
* Apr
* May
* Jun
* Jul
* Aug
* Sep
* Oct
* Nov
* Dec →
| Date and time (UTC) | Rocket | Rocket | Flight number | Launch site | Launch site | LSP | LSP |
| Date and time (UTC) | | Payload (⚀ = CubeSat) | Operator | Orbit | Function | Decay (UTC) | Outcome |
| Remarks ||||||
| January ||||||||
| 10 January 12:26:00 | Soyuz-U | Soyuz-U | | Baikonur Site 1/5 | Baikonur Site 1/5 | | |
| 10 January 12:26:00 | | Soyuz 27 | | Low Earth (Salyut 6) | Salyut 6 EP-1 | 16 March 11:18 | Successful |
| Crewed flight with two cosmonauts ||||||
| 20 January 08:25 | Soyuz-U | Soyuz-U | | Baikonur Site 31/6 | Baikonur Site 31/6 | | |
| 20 January 08:25 | | Progress 1 | | Low Earth (Salyut 6) | Salyut 6 logistics | 8 February 02:00 | Successful |
| Maiden flight of Progress spacecraft. First in-orbit refuel, from Progress to Salyut 6, 2nd Feb. ||||||
| 26 January 04:58 | Long March 2A | Long March 2A | | Jiuquan, LA-2/138 | Jiuquan, LA-2/138 | | |
| 26 January 04:58 | | FSW-0 3 | | Low Earth | Reconnaissance | 30 January | Successful |
| Re-entry capsule recovered on 30 January. ||||||
| ← Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec → February ||||||||
| 4 February 07:00 | M-3H | M-3H | | Kagoshima Space Center LP-M | Kagoshima Space Center LP-M | ISAS | ISAS |
| 4 February 07:00 | | EXOS-A (Kyokko) | ISAS | Highly elliptical orbit | Magnetosphere research | In orbit | Successful |
| ← Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec → March ||||||||
| 2 March 15:28:10 | Soyuz-U | Soyuz-U | | Baikonur Site 1/5 | Baikonur Site 1/5 | | |
| 2 March 15:28:10 | | Soyuz 28 | | Low Earth (Salyut 6) | Salyut 6 EP-2 | 10 March 11:24 | Successful |
| Crewed flight with two cosmonauts, first Czechoslovakian in space ||||||
| ← Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec → May ||||||||
| 20 May 13:13:00 | Atlas SLV-3D Centaur | Atlas SLV-3D Centaur | | Cape Canaveral LC-36A | Cape Canaveral LC-36A | | |
| 20 May 13:13:00 | | Pioneer Venus Orbiter | NASA/ARC | Cytherocentric | Venus orbiter | 22 October 1992 | Successful |
| Entered 181.6 x 66,360-km orbit around Venus on 4 December 1978. ||||||
| ← Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec → June ||||||||
| 15 June 20:16:45 | Soyuz-U | Soyuz-U | | Baikonur Site 1/5 | Baikonur Site 1/5 | | |
| 15 June 20:16:45 | | Soyuz 29 | | Low Earth (Salyut 6) | Salyut 6 EO-2 | 31 September 11:40 | Successful |
| Crewed flight with two cosmonauts ||||||
| 16 June 10:49 | Delta 2914 | Delta 2914 | | Cape Canaveral LC-17B | Cape Canaveral LC-17B | | |
| 16 June 10:49 | | GOES 3 | NOAA | Geostationary | Weather | In orbit | Successful |
| Decommissioned on 29 June 2016. ||||||
| 27 June 15:27:21 | Soyuz-U | Soyuz-U | | Baikonur Site 1/5 | Baikonur Site 1/5 | | |
| 27 June 15:27:21 | | Soyuz 30 | | Low Earth (Salyut 6) | Salyut 6 EP-3 | 5 July 13:30 | Successful |
| Crewed flight with two cosmonauts, first Pole in space ||||||
| ← Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec → August ||||||||
| 8 August 07:33 | Atlas SLV-3D Centaur | Atlas SLV-3D Centaur | | Cape Canaveral LC-36A | Cape Canaveral LC-36A | | |
| 8 August 07:33 | | Pioneer Venus Multiprobe Bus | NASA/ARC | Heliocentric | Venus atmospheric probe | 9 December 1978 20:22:55 | Successful |
| 8 August 07:33 | | Pioneer Venus Large Probe | NASA/ARC | Heliocentric | Venus atmospheric probe | 9 December 1978 19:39:53 | Successful |
| 8 August 07:33 | | Pioneer Venus North Probe | NASA/ARC | Heliocentric | Venus atmospheric probe | 9 December 1978 19:42:40 | Successful |
| 8 August 07:33 | | Pioneer Venus Night Probe | NASA/ARC | Heliocentric | Venus atmospheric probe | 9 December 1978 19:52:07 | Successful |
| 8 August 07:33 | | Pioneer Venus Day Probe | NASA/ARC | Heliocentric | Venus atmospheric probe | 9 December 1978 20:55:34 | Successful |
| Day Probe survived landing, sent data for an additional 67 minutes afterward. First American probe to send data from the surface of Venus. ||||||
| 12 August 14:12:00 | Delta 2914 | Delta 2914 | | Cape Canaveral LC-17B | Cape Canaveral LC-17B | | |
| 12 August 14:12:00 | | International Sun-Earth Explorer-3 (ISEE-3)/International Cometary Explorer (ICE) | NASA/ESRO | Sun/Earth L$_1$ to Heliocentric | Probing interaction of Earth's magnetic field with solar wind, later cometary research | In orbit | Successful |
| First probe stationed at Sun/Earth L$_1$ Lagrangian point. Later entered heliocentric orbit, encountering Comet Giacobini–Zinner on 11 September 1985. It would also study Halley's Comet from a distance in 1986. ||||||
| 26 August 14:51:30 | Soyuz-U | Soyuz-U | | Baikonur Site 1/5 | Baikonur Site 1/5 | | |
| 26 August 14:51:30 | | Soyuz 31 | | Low Earth (Salyut 6) | Salyut 6 EP-4 | 2 November 11:04 | Successful |
| Crewed flight with two cosmonauts, first East German in space ||||||
| ← Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec → September ||||||||
| 16 September 05:00 | M-3H | M-3H | | Kagoshima Space Center LP-M | Kagoshima Space Center LP-M | ISAS | ISAS |
| 16 September 05:00 | | EXOS-B (Jikiken) | ISAS | Highly elliptical orbit | Magnetosphere research | 23 April 2018 | Successful |
| October ||||||||
| 3 October 23:09:30 | Soyuz-U | Soyuz-U | | Baikonur Site 31/6 | Baikonur Site 31/6 | | |
| 3 October 23:09:30 | | Progress 4 | | Low Earth (Salyut 6) | Salyut 6 logistics | 26 October 16:28 | Successful |

## Deep Space Rendezvous

| Date (GMT) | Spacecraft | Event | Remarks |
| 4 December | Pioneer Venus Orbiter | Cytherocentric orbit insertion | |
| 9 December | Pioneer Venus Multiprobe | Venerian atmospheric entry | The bus, one large and three small subprobes |
| 21 December | Venera 12 | Venerian landing | |
| 25 December | Venera 11 | Venerian landing | |

## EVAs

| Start Date/Time | Duration | End Time | Spacecraft | Crew | Remarks |
| 29 July 04:00 | 2 hours 20 minutes | 06:20 | Salyut 6 PE-2 | Vladimir Kovalyonok Aleksandr Ivanchenkov | Ivanchenkov retrieved samples and experiments attached to the outside of Salyut. Kovalyonok assisted with the retrievals and used a color television camera to transmit EVA images to the ground controllers. |