# 2015 in spaceflight

"none" is preferred when the title is sufficiently descriptive; see [[WP:SDNONE]]
In 2015, the maiden spaceflights of the Chinese Long March 6 and Long March 11 launch vehicles took place.
A total of 87 orbital launches were attempted in 2015, of which 82 were successful, one was partially successful and four were failures. The year also saw seven EVAs by ISS astronauts. The majority of the year's orbital launches were conducted by Russia, the United States and China, with 27, 20 and 19 launches respectively.

## Overview

In February 2015, the European Space Agency's experimental lifting body spacecraft, the Intermediate eXperimental Vehicle, successfully conducted its first test flight.
In March 2015, Ceres became the first dwarf planet to be visited by a spacecraft when Dawn entered orbit. In July 2015, New Horizons visited the Pluto-Charon system after a 9-year voyage, returning a trove of pictures and information about the former "ninth planet" (now classified as a dwarf planet). Meanwhile, the MESSENGER probe was deliberately crashed into Mercury after 4 years of in-orbit observations.
On 23 November 2015, the Blue Origin New Shepard suborbital rocket achieved its first powered soft landing near the launch site, paving the way for full reuse of its propulsion stage. On 21 December, the maiden flight of the SpaceX Falcon 9 Full Thrust took place, ending with a successful landing of its first stage.
Two old weather satellites, NOAA-16 and DMSP 5D-2/F13, broke up in 2015, creating several hundred pieces of space debris. In both cases, a battery explosion is suspected as the root cause.

## Orbital 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 09:47:10 | Falcon 9 v1.1 | Falcon 9 v1.1 | | Cape Canaveral SLC-40 | Cape Canaveral SLC-40 | SpaceX | SpaceX |
| 10 January 09:47:10 | | SpaceX CRS-5 | NASA | Low Earth (ISS) | ISS resupply | 11 February 2015 00:44 | Successful |
| 10 January 09:47:10 | | ⚀ AESP-14 | ITA | Low Earth | Ionospheric research | 11 May 2015 | Successful |
| 10 January 09:47:10 | | ⚀ Flock-1d' 1 | Planet Labs | Low Earth | Earth observation | 13 October 2015 | Successful |
| 10 January 09:47:10 | | ⚀ Flock-1d' 2 | Planet Labs | Low Earth | Earth observation | 27 December 2015 | Successful |
| SpaceX attempted to land the first stage on a platform in the Atlantic Ocean, but the first stage crash-landed on its landing platform. The AESP-14 CubeSat was deployed from the space station on 5 February 2015, while the Flock-1 CubeSats were deployed on 3 March 2015. ||||||
| 21 January 01:04:00 | Atlas V 551 | Atlas V 551 | | Cape Canaveral SLC-41 | Cape Canaveral SLC-41 | United Launch Alliance | United Launch Alliance |
| 21 January 01:04:00 | | MUOS-3 | US Navy | Geosynchronous | Communications | In orbit | Operational |
| 31 January 14:22:00 | Delta II 7320 | Delta II 7320 | | Vandenberg SLC-2W | Vandenberg SLC-2W | United Launch Alliance | United Launch Alliance |
| 31 January 14:22:00 | | SMAP | NASA | Low Earth (SSO) | Earth observation | In orbit | Operational |
| 31 January 14:22:00 | | ⚀ ExoCube | Cal Poly | Low Earth (SSO) | Technology demonstration | In orbit | Operational |
| 31 January 14:22:00 | | ⚀ FIREBIRD II A | Montana State | Low Earth (SSO) | Technology demonstration | 2 August 2023 | Successful |
| 31 January 14:22:00 | | ⚀ FIREBIRD II B | Montana State | Low Earth (SSO) | Technology demonstration | 2 August 2023 | Successful |
| 31 January 14:22:00 | | ⚀ GRIFEX | NASA / JPL | Low Earth (SSO) | Technology demonstration | In orbit | Operational |
| ← Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec → February ||||||||
| 1 February 01:21:00 | H-IIA 202 | H-IIA 202 | | Tanegashima LA-Y1 | Tanegashima LA-Y1 | MHI | MHI |
| 1 February 01:21:00 | | IGS-Radar Spare | CSICE | Low Earth (SSO) | Reconnaissance | In orbit | Successful |
| 1 February 12:31:00 | Proton-M/Briz-M | Proton-M/Briz-M | | Baikonur Site 200/39 | Baikonur Site 200/39 | International Launch Services | International Launch Services |
| 1 February 12:31:00 | | Inmarsat 5-F2 | Inmarsat | Geosynchronous | Communications | In orbit | Operational |
| 2 February 08:50 | Safir-1B | Safir-1B | LBS.2001 | Semnan | Semnan | ISA | ISA |
| 2 February 08:50 | | Fajr | ISA | Low Earth | Technology demonstration | 26 February 2015 | Successful |
| 11 February 13:40:00 | Vega | Vega | | Kourou ELV | Kourou ELV | Arianespace | Arianespace |
| 11 February 13:40:00 | | IXV | ESA | Transatmospheric | Technology demonstration | 11 February 2015 15:19 | Successful |
| Vega's 4th stage briefly entered low Earth orbit before de-orbiting; thus it did not get a COSPAR ID. This marked the first flight of the IXV ||||||
| 11 February 23:03:32 | Falcon 9 v1.1 | Falcon 9 v1.1 | | Cape Canaveral SLC-40 | Cape Canaveral SLC-40 | SpaceX | SpaceX |
| 11 February 23:03:32 | | DSCOVR | NOAA | Sun–Earth L$_1$ | Earth observation / Heliophysics | In orbit | Operational |
| First SpaceX launch aimed beyond GTO. First stage soft landed on water. ||||||
| 17 February 11:00:17 | Soyuz-U | Soyuz-U | | Baikonur Site 1/5 | Baikonur Site 1/5 | Roscosmos | Roscosmos |
| 17 February 11:00:17 | | Progress M-26M / 58P | Roscosmos | Low Earth (ISS) | ISS resupply | 14 August 2015 14:17 | Successful |
| 27 February 11:01:35 | Soyuz-2.1a | Soyuz-2.1a | | Plesetsk Site 43/4 | Plesetsk Site 43/4 | RVSN RF | RVSN RF |
| 27 February 11:01:35 | | Kosmos 2503 (Bars-M 1L) | VKO | Low Earth (SSO) | Reconnaissance | In orbit | Operational |
| ← Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec → March ||||||||
| 2 March 03:50:00 | Falcon 9 v1.1 | Falcon 9 v1.1 | | Cape Canaveral SLC-40 | Cape Canaveral SLC-40 | SpaceX | SpaceX |
| 2 March 03:50:00 | | Eutelsat 115 West B | Eutelsat | Geosynchronous | Communications | In orbit | Operational |
| 2 March 03:50:00 | | ABS-3A | ABS | Geosynchronous | Communications | In orbit | Operational |
| First communication satellites to use all-electric propulsion to reach intended orbits from GTO. ||||||
| 13 March 02:44:00 | Atlas V 421 | Atlas V 421 | | Cape Canaveral SLC-41 | Cape Canaveral SLC-41 | United Launch Alliance | United Launch Alliance |
| 13 March 02:44:00 | | MMS-1 | NASA | Elliptical High Earth | Magnetospheric research | In orbit | Operational |
| 13 March 02:44:00 | | MMS-2 | NASA | Elliptical High Earth | Magnetospheric research | In orbit | Operational |
| 13 March 02:44:00 | | MMS-3 | NASA | Elliptical High Earth | Magnetospheric research | In orbit | Operational |
| 13 March 02:44:00 | | MMS-4 | NASA | Elliptical High Earth | Magnetospheric research | In orbit | Operational |
| 18 March 22:05:00 | Proton-M / Briz-M | Proton-M / Briz-M | | Baikonur Site 200/39 | Baikonur Site 200/39 | Khrunichev | Khrunichev |
| 18 March 22:05:00 | | Ekspress AM7 | RSCC | Geosynchronous | Communications | In orbit | Operational |
| 25 March 18:36:00 | Delta IV M+(4,2) | Delta IV M+(4,2) | | Cape Canaveral SLC-37B | Cape Canaveral SLC-37B | United Launch Alliance | United Launch Alliance |
| 25 March 18:36:00 | | USA-260 (GPS IIF-9) | US Air Force | Medium Earth | Navigation | In orbit | Operational |
| 25 March 22:08:53 | Dnepr | Dnepr | | Dombarovsky Site 13 | Dombarovsky Site 13 | ISC Kosmotras | ISC Kosmotras |
| 25 March 22:08:53 | | KOMPSat-3A | KARI | Low Earth (SSO) | Earth observation | In orbit | Operational |
| Final flight of Dnepr-1 rocket, due to the Russo-Ukrainian war. ||||||
| 26 March 01:21:00 | H-IIA 202 | H-IIA 202 | | Tanegashima LA-Y1 | Tanegashima LA-Y1 | MHI | MHI |
| 26 March 01:21:00 | | IGS-Optical 5 | CSICE | Low Earth (SSO) | Reconnaissance | In orbit | Operational |
| 27 March 19:42:57 | Soyuz-FG | Soyuz-FG | | Baikonur Site 1/5 | Baikonur Site 1/5 | Roscosmos | Roscosmos |
| 27 March 19:42:57 | | Soyuz TMA-16M | Roscosmos | Low Earth (ISS) | Expedition 43/44/45/46 | 12 September 2015 00:51 | Successful |
| Crewed flight with three cosmonauts, including two on a year-long mission. ||||||
| 27 March 21:46:18 | Soyuz-STB / Fregat | Soyuz-STB / Fregat | | Kourou ELS | Kourou ELS | Arianespace | Arianespace |
| 27 March 21:46:18 | | Galileo FOC 3 | ESA | Medium Earth | Navigation | In orbit | Operational |
| 27 March 21:46:18 | | Galileo FOC 4 | ESA | Medium Earth | Navigation | In orbit | Operational |
| 28 March 11:49:00 | PSLV-XL | PSLV-XL | | Satish Dhawan SLP | Satish Dhawan SLP | ISRO | ISRO |
| 28 March 11:49:00 | | IRNSS-1D | ISRO | Geosynchronous | Navigation | In orbit | Operational |
| 30 March 13:52:30 | Long March 3C/E/YZ-1 | Long March 3C/E/YZ-1 | | Xichang LC-2 | Xichang LC-2 | CASC | CASC |
| 30 March 13:52:30 | | BeiDou I1-S | CNSA | Geosynchronous | Navigation | In orbit | Operational |
| 31 March 13:47:56 | Rokot / Briz-KM | Rokot / Briz-KM | | Plesetsk Cosmodrome Site 133/3 | Plesetsk Cosmodrome Site 133/3 | VKO | VKO |
| 31 March 13:47:56 | | Gonets-M 11 | Gonets Satellite System | Low Earth | Communications | In orbit | Operational |
| 31 March 13:47:56 | | Gonets-M 12 | Gonets Satellite System | Low Earth | Communications | In orbit | Operational |
| 31 March 13:47:56 | | Gonets-M 13 | Gonets Satellite System | Low Earth | Communications | In orbit | Operational |
| 31 March 13:47:56 | | Kosmos 2504 | VKO | Low Earth | Technology demonstration / Satellite inspection (?) | In orbit | Operational |
| ← Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec → April ||||||||
| 14 April 20:10:41 | Falcon 9 v1.1 | Falcon 9 v1.1 | | Cape Canaveral SLC-40 | Cape Canaveral SLC-40 | SpaceX | SpaceX |
| 14 April 20:10:41 | | SpaceX CRS-6 | NASA | Low Earth (ISS) | ISS resupply | 21 May 2015 16:42 | Successful |
| 14 April 20:10:41 | | Arkyd 3 Reflight | Planetary Resources | Low Earth | Technology demonstration | 23 December 2015 | Successful |
| 14 April 20:10:41 | | ⚀ Flock-1e × 14 | Planet Labs | Low Earth | Earth observation | First: 8 February 2016 Last: 24 August 2016 | Successful |
| First stage recovery failed; the rocket stage landed on the target drone ship too fast, tipped over, and exploded. All secondary payloads were deployed from an ISS airlock later. Arkyd 3 Reflight is a replacement for Arkyd 3, which was lost in the Cygnus CRS Orb-3 flight accident in 2014. ||||||
| 26 April 20:00:07 | Ariane 5 ECA | Ariane 5 ECA | | Kourou ELA-3 | Kourou ELA-3 | Arianespace | Arianespace |
| 26 April 20:00:07 | | Thor 7 | Telenor | Geosynchronous | Communications | In orbit | Operational |
| 26 April 20:00:07 | | SICRAL-2 | MDD/DGA | Geosynchronous | Communications | In orbit | Operational |
| 27 April 23:03:00 | Falcon 9 v1.1 | Falcon 9 v1.1 | | Cape Canaveral SLC-40 | Cape Canaveral SLC-40 | SpaceX | SpaceX |
| 27 April 23:03:00 | | TürkmenÄlem 52°E / MonacoSAT | Turkmen Telecom | Geosynchronous | Communications | In orbit | Operational |
| First Turkmen satellite (not counting Turkmenistan Memorial Capsule). ||||||
| 28 April 07:09:50 | Soyuz-2.1a | Soyuz-2.1a | | Baikonur Site 31/6 | Baikonur Site 31/6 | Roscosmos | Roscosmos |
| 28 April 07:09:50 | | Progress M-27M / 59P | Roscosmos | Low Earth (ISS) | ISS resupply | 8 May 2015 | Failure |
| Spacecraft lost communications and attitude control soon after separation failure during launch. International Space Station docking attempt cancelled. Mission declared a total loss. ||||||
| ← Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec → May ||||||||
| 16 May 05:47:39 | Proton-M / Briz-M | Proton-M / Briz-M | | Baikonur Site 200/39 | Baikonur Site 200/39 | International Launch Services | International Launch Services |
| 16 May 05:47:39 | | Mexsat-1 | SCT | Geosynchronous | Communications | 16 May 2015 | Launch failure |
| Proton third stage vernier engine failed at T+497 seconds due to turbopump shaft coating degradation causing excess vibration. ||||||
| 20 May 15:05:00 | Atlas V 501 | Atlas V 501 | | Cape Canaveral SLC-41 | Cape Canaveral SLC-41 | United Launch Alliance | United Launch Alliance |
| 20 May 15:05:00 | | AFSPC-5 (X-37B OTV-4) | U.S. Air Force | Low Earth | Technology demonstration | 7 May 2017 | Operational |
| 20 May 15:05:00 | | ULTRASat | NASA | Low Earth | CubeSat Deployment | In orbit | Operational |
| 20 May 15:05:00 | | ⚀ LightSail 1 | The Planetary Society | Low Earth | Technology demonstration | 14 June 2015 17:23 | Successful |
| 20 May 15:05:00 | | ⚀ USS Langley | U.S. Naval Academy | Low Earth | Technology demonstration | In orbit | Operational |
| 20 May 15:05:00 | | ⚀ BRICSat-P | U.S. Naval Academy / George Washington | Low Earth | Technology demonstration | In orbit | Operational |
| 20 May 15:05:00 | | ⚀ ParkinsonSat | U.S. Naval Academy | Low Earth | Technology demonstration | In orbit | Operational |
| 20 May 15:05:00 | | ⚀ GEARRS-2 | Taylor | Low Earth | Technology demonstration | In orbit | Operational |
| 20 May 15:05:00 | | ⚀ AeroCube-8A | The Aerospace Corporation | Low Earth | Technology demonstration | 11 October 2021 | Successful |
| 20 May 15:05:00 | | ⚀ AeroCube-8B | The Aerospace Corporation | Low Earth | Technology demonstration | 2 October 2021 | Successful |
| 20 May 15:05:00 | | ⚀ OptiCube 1 | CalPoly | Low Earth | Technology demonstration | In orbit | Operational |
| 20 May 15:05:00 | | ⚀ OptiCube 2 | CalPoly | Low Earth | Technology demonstration | In orbit | Operational |
| 20 May 15:05:00 | | ⚀ OptiCube 3 | CalPoly | Low Earth | Technology demonstration | In orbit | Operational |
| The X-37B spaceplane landed autonomously at Kennedy Space Center's Shuttle Landing Facility after spending a record-breaking 718 days in orbit. ||||||
| 27 May 21:16:07 | Ariane 5 ECA | Ariane 5 ECA | | Kourou ELA-3 | Kourou ELA-3 | Arianespace | Arianespace |
| 27 May 21:16:07 | | DirecTV-15 | DirecTV | Geosynchronous | Communications | In orbit | Operational |
| 27 May 21:16:07 | | Sky Mexico 1 | SKY Mexico | Geosynchronous | Communications | In orbit | Operational |
| ← Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec → June ||||||||
| 5 June 15:23:54 | Soyuz-2.1a | Soyuz-2.1a | | Plesetsk Site 43/4 | Plesetsk Site 43/4 | RVSN RF | RVSN RF |
| 5 June 15:23:54 | | Kosmos 2505 (Kobalt-M №10) | VKO | Low Earth | Reconnaissance | 18 September 2015 | Successful |
| 23 June 01:51:58 | Vega | Vega | | Kourou ELV | Kourou ELV | Arianespace | Arianespace |
| 23 June 01:51:58 | | Sentinel-2A | ESA | Low Earth (SSO) | Earth observation | In orbit | Operational |
| 23 June 16:44:00 | Soyuz-2.1b | Soyuz-2.1b | | Plesetsk Site 43/4 | Plesetsk Site 43/4 | RVSN RF | RVSN RF |
| 23 June 16:44:00 | | Kosmos 2506 (Persona №3) | VKO | Low Earth (SSO) | Reconnaissance | In orbit | Operational |
| 26 June 06:22:04 | Long March 4B | Long March 4B | | Taiyuan LC-9 | Taiyuan LC-9 | CASC | CASC |
| 26 June 06:22:04 | | Gaofen 8 | CNSA | Low Earth (SSO) | Earth observation / Reconnaissance | In orbit | Operational |
| 28 June 14:21:11 | Falcon 9 v1.1 | Falcon 9 v1.1 | | Cape Canaveral SLC-40 | Cape Canaveral SLC-40 | SpaceX | SpaceX |
| 28 June 14:21:11 | | SpaceX CRS-7 | NASA | Low Earth (ISS) | ISS resupply | 28 June 2015 | Launch Failure |
| 28 June 14:21:11 | | ⚀ Flock-1f × 8 | Planet Labs | Low Earth | Earth observation | 28 June 2015 | Launch Failure |
| Vehicle disintegrated at T+139 seconds after second stage helium tank support strut failure caused helium tank to break through second stage tanks. Attempted to deliver the IDA-1 segment of the NASA Docking System. CubeSats were to be deployed from the International Space Station at a later date. Planned first stage landing test not achieved. ||||||
| ← Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec → July ||||||||
| 3 July 04:55:48 | Soyuz-U | Soyuz-U | | Baikonur Site 1/5 | Baikonur Site 1/5 | Roscosmos | Roscosmos |
| 3 July 04:55:48 | | Progress M-28M / 60P | Roscosmos | Low Earth (ISS) | ISS resupply | 19 December 2015 | Successful |
| 10 July 16:28:00 | PSLV-XL | PSLV-XL | | Satish Dhawan FLP | Satish Dhawan FLP | ISRO | ISRO |
| 10 July 16:28:00 | | UK-DMC-3A | DMCii | Low Earth (SSO) | Earth observation | In orbit | Operational |
| 10 July 16:28:00 | | UK-DMC-3B | DMCii | Low Earth (SSO) | Earth observation | In orbit | Operational |
| 10 July 16:28:00 | | UK-DMC-3C | DMCii | Low Earth (SSO) | Earth observation | In orbit | Operational |
| 10 July 16:28:00 | | CBNT-1 | SSTL | Low Earth (SSO) | Technology demonstration | In orbit | Operational |
| 10 July 16:28:00 | | ⚀ DeOrbitSail | Surrey Space Centre | Low Earth (SSO) | Technology demonstration | In orbit | Operational |
| 15 July 15:36:00 | Atlas V 401 | Atlas V 401 | | Cape Canaveral SLC-41 | Cape Canaveral SLC-41 | United Launch Alliance | United Launch Alliance |
| 15 July 15:36:00 | | USA-262 (GPS IIF-10) | U.S. Air Force | Medium Earth | Navigation | In orbit | Operational |
| 15 July 21:42:07 | Ariane 5 ECA | Ariane 5 ECA | | Kourou ELA-3 | Kourou ELA-3 | Arianespace | Arianespace |
| 15 July 21:42:07 | | Star One C4 | Star One | Geosynchronous | Communications | In orbit | Operational |
| 15 July 21:42:07 | | MSG-4 | EUMETSAT | Geosynchronous | Meteorology | In orbit | Operational |
| 22 July 21:02:44 | Soyuz-FG | Soyuz-FG | | Baikonur Site 1/5 | Baikonur Site 1/5 | Roscosmos | Roscosmos |
| 22 July 21:02:44 | | Soyuz TMA-17M | Roscosmos | Low Earth (ISS) | Expedition 44/45 | 11 December 2015 13:10 | Successful |
| Crewed flight with three cosmonauts. ||||||
| 24 July 00:07:00 | Delta IV M+(5,4) | Delta IV M+(5,4) | | Cape Canaveral SLC-37B | Cape Canaveral SLC-37B | United Launch Alliance | United Launch Alliance |
| 24 July 00:07:00 | | USA-263 (WGS-7) | U.S. Air Force | Geosynchronous | Communications | In orbit | Operational |
| 25 July 12:29:04 | Long March 3B/YZ-1 | Long March 3B/YZ-1 | | Xichang LA-2 | Xichang LA-2 | CASC | CASC |
| 25 July 12:29:04 | | BeiDou M1-S | CNSA | Medium Earth | Navigation | In orbit | Operational |
| 25 July 12:29:04 | | BeiDou M2-S | CNSA | Medium Earth | Navigation | In orbit | Operational |
| ← Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec → August ||||||||
| 19 August 11:50:49 | H-IIB | H-IIB | | Tanegashima LA-Y2 | Tanegashima LA-Y2 | MHI | MHI |
| 19 August 11:50:49 | | HTV-5 | JAXA | Low Earth (ISS) | ISS resupply | 29 September 2015 | Successful |
| 19 August 11:50:49 | | ⚀ AAUSAT5 | Aalborg | Low Earth | Technology demonstration | 15 March 2016 | Successful |
| 19 August 11:50:49 | | ⚀ Flock-2b × 14 | Planet Labs | Low Earth | Earth observation | First: 22 May 2016 Last: 17 October 2016 | Successful (12 deployed) |
| 19 August 11:50:49 | | ⚀ GOMX-3 | GomSpace | Low Earth | Technology demonstration | 19 October 2016 | Successful |
| 19 August 11:50:49 | | ⚀ S-CUBE | Chiba Institute of Technology | Low Earth | Meteor observation | 23 November 2016 | |
| 19 August 11:50:49 | | ⚀ SERPENS | University of Brasília / Brazilian Space Agency | Low Earth | Technology demonstration | 27 March 2016 | Successful |
| CubeSats to be deployed from the International Space Station at a later date. SERPENS and S-CUBE were deployed on 17 September. AAUSAT5, GOMX-3, and Dove Flocks were deployed on 5–7 October, but two out of the fourteen Dove Flocks failed to be deployed due to a malfunction of the deployer. ||||||
| 20 August 20:34:08 | Ariane 5 ECA | Ariane 5 ECA | | Kourou ELA-3 | Kourou ELA-3 | Arianespace | Arianespace |
| 20 August 20:34:08 | | Eutelsat 8 West B | Eutelsat | Geosynchronous | Communications | In orbit | Operational |
| 20 August 20:34:08 | | Intelsat 34 | Intelsat | Geosynchronous | Communications | In orbit | Operational |
| 27 August 02:31:35 | Long March 4C | Long March 4C | | Taiyuan LC-9 | Taiyuan LC-9 | CASC | CASC |
| 27 August 02:31:35 | | Yaogan 27 | CNSA | Low Earth (SSO) | Reconnaissance | In orbit | Operational |
| 27 August 11:22:00 | GSLV Mk II | GSLV Mk II | | Satish Dhawan SLP | Satish Dhawan SLP | ISRO | ISRO |
| 27 August 11:22:00 | | GSAT-6 | Indian Armed Forces/ISRO | Geosynchronous | Communications | In orbit | Operational |
| 28 August 11:44:00 | Proton-M / Briz-M | Proton-M / Briz-M | | Baikonur Site 200/39 | Baikonur Site 200/39 | International Launch Services | International Launch Services |
| 28 August 11:44:00 | | Inmarsat 5-F3 | Inmarsat | Geosynchronous | Communications | In orbit | Operational |
| ← Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec → September ||||||||
| 2 September 04:37:43 | Soyuz-FG | Soyuz-FG | | Baikonur Site 1/5 | Baikonur Site 1/5 | Roscosmos | Roscosmos |
| 2 September 04:37:43 | | Soyuz TMA-18M | Roscosmos | Low Earth (ISS) | Expedition 45/46/iriss | 2 March 2016 04:26 | Successful |
| Crewed flight with three cosmonauts: including ESA astronaut Andreas Mogensen, the first Dane in space, and Aidyn Aimbetov, the first cosmonaut from an independent Kazakhstan. Sarah Brightman was intended to fly this mission as a spaceflight participant, but withdrew from training on 13 May 2015 for personal reasons. Japanese space tourist Satoshi Takamatsu was believed to be taking Brightman's place, but he declined and Roscosmos chose Aimbetov as an alternative instead. Landed with the Year in Space crew of Scott Kelly and Mikhail Korniyenko ||||||
| 2 September 10:18:00 | Atlas V 551 | Atlas V 551 | | Cape Canaveral SLC-41 | Cape Canaveral SLC-41 | United Launch Alliance | United Launch Alliance |
| 2 September 10:18:00 | | MUOS-4 | U.S. Navy | Geosynchronous | Communications | In orbit | Operational |
| 11 September 02:08:10 | Soyuz-STB / Fregat | Soyuz-STB / Fregat | | Kourou ELS | Kourou ELS | Arianespace | Arianespace |
| 11 September 02:08:10 | | Galileo FOC 5 | ESA | Medium Earth | Navigation | In orbit | Operational |
| 11 September 02:08:10 | | Galileo FOC 6 | ESA | Medium Earth | Navigation | In orbit | Operational |
| 12 September 15:42:04 | Long March 3B/E | Long March 3B/E | | Xichang LC-2 | Xichang LC-2 | CASC | CASC |
| 12 September 15:42:04 | | TJS-1 | CNSA | Geosynchronous | Communications | In orbit | Operational |
| 14 September 04:42 | Long March 2D | Long March 2D | | Jiuquan SLS-2 | Jiuquan SLS-2 | CASC | CASC |
| 14 September 04:42 | | Gaofen 9 | CNSA | Low Earth (SSO) | Earth observation / Reconnaissance | In orbit | Operational |
| 14 September 19:00:00 | Proton-M / Blok DM-03 | Proton-M / Blok DM-03 | | Baikonur Site 81/24 | Baikonur Site 81/24 | Khrunichev | Khrunichev |
| 14 September 19:00:00 | | Ekspress AM8 | RSCC | Geosynchronous | Communications | In orbit | Operational |
| 19 September 23:01:14 | Long March 6 | Long March 6 | | Taiyuan LC-16 | Taiyuan LC-16 | CASC | CASC |
| 19 September 23:01:14 | | LilacSat-2 | HIT | Low Earth (SSO) | Technology demonstration | In orbit | Operational |
| 19 September 23:01:14 | | NS-2 | Tsinghua University | Low Earth (SSO) | Technology demonstration | In orbit | Operational |
| 19 September 23:01:14 | | NUDT-PhoneSat | NUDT | Low Earth (SSO) | Technology demonstration | 29 March 2023 | Successful |
| 19 September 23:01:14 | | Tiantuo-3 | NUDT | Low Earth (SSO) | Technology demonstration | In orbit | Operational |
| 19 September 23:01:14 | | Xingchen 1 | NUDT | Low Earth (SSO) | Technology demonstration | In orbit | Operational |
| 19 September 23:01:14 | | Xingchen 2 | NUDT | Low Earth (SSO) | Technology demonstration | In orbit | Operational |
| 19 September 23:01:14 | | Xingchen 3 | NUDT | Low Earth (SSO) | Technology demonstration | In orbit | Operational |
| 19 September 23:01:14 | | Xingchen 4 | NUDT | Low Earth (SSO) | Technology demonstration | In orbit | Operational |
| 19 September 23:01:14 | | Xiwang-2A | CAMSAT | Low Earth (SSO) | Amateur radio | 25 April 2023 | Successful |
| 19 September 23:01:14 | | Xiwang-2B | CAMSAT | Low Earth (SSO) | Amateur radio | In orbit | Operational |
| 19 September 23:01:14 | | Xiwang-2C | CAMSAT | Low Earth (SSO) | Amateur radio | In orbit | Operational |
| 19 September 23:01:14 | | Xiwang-2D | CAMSAT | Low Earth (SSO) | Amateur radio | In orbit | Operational |
| 19 September 23:01:14 | | Xiwang-2E | CAMSAT | Low Earth (SSO) | Amateur radio | In orbit | Operational |
| 19 September 23:01:14 | | Xiwang-2F | CAMSAT | Low Earth (SSO) | Amateur radio | In orbit | Operational |
| 19 September 23:01:14 | | XY-2 | CASC | Low Earth (SSO) | Technology demonstration | In orbit | Operational |
| 19 September 23:01:14 | | ZDPS-2A | ZJU | Low Earth (SSO) | Technology demonstration | In orbit | Operational |
| 19 September 23:01:14 | | ZDPS-2B | ZJU | Low Earth (SSO) | Technology demonstration | In orbit | Operational |
| 19 September 23:01:14 | | ZJ-1 | Tsinghua University | Low Earth (SSO) | Technology demonstration | In orbit | Operational |
| 19 September 23:01:14 | | ZJ-2 | Tsinghua / Xidian | Low Earth (SSO) | Technology demonstration | In orbit | Operational |
| 19 September 23:01:14 | | ⚀ DCBB | CAMSAT | Low Earth (SSO) | Education | In orbit | Operational |
| Maiden flight of the Long March 6 vehicle. ||||||
| 23 September 21:59:38 | Rokot / Briz-KM | Rokot / Briz-KM | | Plesetsk Site 133/3 | Plesetsk Site 133/3 | VKO | VKO |
| 23 September 21:59:38 | | Kosmos 2507 (Strela-3M) | VKO | Low Earth | Communications | In orbit | Operational |
| 23 September 21:59:38 | | Kosmos 2508 (Strela-3M) | VKO | Low Earth | Communications | In orbit | Operational |
| 23 September 21:59:38 | | Kosmos 2509 (Strela-3M) | VKO | Low Earth | Communications | In orbit | Operational |
| 25 September 01:41:40 | Long March 11 | Long March 11 | | Jiuquan LS-95A | Jiuquan LS-95A | CASC | CASC |
| 25 September 01:41:40 | | Pujiang-1 | SAST | Low Earth (SSO) | Technology demonstration | In orbit | Operational |
| 25 September 01:41:40 | | ⚀ Tianwang 1A (Shankeda 2) | ShanghaiTech | Low Earth (SSO) | Technology demonstration | 30 December 2022 | Successful |
| 25 September 01:41:40 | | ⚀ Tianwang 1B (NJUST 2) | NJUST | Low Earth (SSO) | Technology demonstration | 31 March 2021 | Successful |
| 25 September 01:41:40 | | ⚀ Tianwang 1C (NJFA 1) | ShanghaiTech | Low Earth (SSO) | Technology demonstration | 27 February 2021 | Successful |
| Maiden flight of the Long March 11 vehicle. ||||||
| 28 September 04:30:00 | PSLV-XL | PSLV-XL | | Satish Dhawan FLP | Satish Dhawan FLP | ISRO | ISRO |
| 28 September 04:30:00 | | Astrosat | ISRO | Low Earth | X-ray astronomy | In orbit | Operational |
| 28 September 04:30:00 | | LAPAN-A2 | LAPAN | Low Earth | Earth observation | In orbit | Operational |
| 28 September 04:30:00 | | ExactView 9 | exactEarth | Low Earth | Maritime observation | In orbit | Operational |
| 28 September 04:30:00 | | ⚀ Lemur-2 1 | NanoSatisfi | Low Earth | Earth observation | In orbit | Operational |
| 28 September 04:30:00 | | ⚀ Lemur-2 2 | NanoSatisfi | Low Earth | Earth observation | In orbit | Operational |
| 28 September 04:30:00 | | ⚀ Lemur-2 3 | NanoSatisfi | Low Earth | Earth observation | In orbit | Operational |
| 28 September 04:30:00 | | ⚀ Lemur-2 4 | NanoSatisfi | Low Earth | Earth observation | In orbit | Operational |
| 29 September 23:13:04 | Long March 3B/E | Long March 3B/E | | Xichang LA-3 | Xichang LA-3 | CASC | CASC |
| 29 September 23:13:04 | | BeiDou I2-S | CNSA | Geosynchronous | Navigation | In orbit | Operational |
| 30 September 20:30:07 | Ariane 5 ECA | Ariane 5 ECA | | Kourou ELA-3 | Kourou ELA-3 | Arianespace | Arianespace |
| 30 September 20:30:07 | | NBN-Co 1A (Sky Muster) | NBN Co | Geosynchronous | Communications | In orbit | Operational |
| 30 September 20:30:07 | | ARSAT-2 | ARSAT | Geosynchronous | Communications | In orbit | Operational |
| ← Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec → October ||||||||
| 1 October 16:49:40 | Soyuz-U | Soyuz-U | | Baikonur Site 1/5 | Baikonur Site 1/5 | Roscosmos | Roscosmos |
| 1 October 16:49:40 | | Progress M-29M / 61P | Roscosmos | Low Earth (ISS) | ISS resupply | 8 April 2016 | Successful |
| 2 October 10:28:00 | Atlas V 421 | Atlas V 421 | | Cape Canaveral SLC-41 | Cape Canaveral SLC-41 | United Launch Alliance | United Launch Alliance |
| 2 October 10:28:00 | | Mexsat-2 | SCT | Geosynchronous | Communications | In orbit | Operational |
| 7 October 04:13:04 | Long March 2D | Long March 2D | | Jiuquan SLS-2 | Jiuquan SLS-2 | CASC | CASC |
| 7 October 04:13:04 | | Jilin-1 Smart Verification Satellite | Chang Guang Satellite Technology | Low Earth (SSO) | Earth observation | In orbit | Operational |
| 7 October 04:13:04 | | Jilin-1 Optical-A | Chang Guang Satellite Technology | Low Earth (SSO) | Earth observation | In orbit | Operational |
| 7 October 04:13:04 | | Jilin-1 Video-01 (Lingqiao 1-01) | Chang Guang Satellite Technology | Low Earth (SSO) | Earth observation | In orbit | Operational |
| 7 October 04:13:04 | | Jilin-1 Video-02 (Lingqiao 1-02) | Chang Guang Satellite Technology | Low Earth (SSO) | Earth observation | In orbit | Operational |
| 8 October 12:49:30 | Atlas V 401 | Atlas V 401 | | Vandenberg SLC-3E | Vandenberg SLC-3E | United Launch Alliance | United Launch Alliance |
| 8 October 12:49:30 | | USA-264 (NOSS) | NRO | Low Earth | ELINT | In orbit | Operational |
| 8 October 12:49:30 | | USA-264 (NOSS) | NRO | Low Earth | ELINT | In orbit | Operational |
| 8 October 12:49:30 | | ⚀ Aerocube-5c | The Aerospace Corporation | Low Earth | Technology demonstration | In orbit | Operational |
| 8 October 12:49:30 | | ⚀ Aerocube-7 | The Aerospace Corporation | Low Earth | Technology demonstration | In orbit | Operational |
| 8 October 12:49:30 | | ⚀ AMSAT Fox-1 | AMSAT | Low Earth | Amateur radio / Technology demonstration | In orbit | Operational |
| 8 October 12:49:30 | | ⚀ ARC-1 | UAF | Low Earth | Technology demonstration | In orbit | Operational |
| 8 October 12:49:30 | | ⚀ BisonSat | SKC | Low Earth | Earth observation | In orbit | Operational |
| 8 October 12:49:30 | | ⚀ LMRST-Sat | NASA / JPL | Low Earth | Technology demonstration | In orbit | Operational |
| 8 October 12:49:30 | | ⚀ PropCube x 2 | Tyvak Nano-Satellite Systems | Low Earth | Technology demonstration | In orbit | Operational |
| 8 October 12:49:30 | | ⚀ SINOD-D x 2 | SRI International | Low Earth | Technology demonstration | In orbit | Operational |
| 8 October 12:49:30 | | ⚀ SNaP-3 x 3 | U.S. Army SMDC | Low Earth | Technology demonstration | In orbit | Operational |
| NRO Launch 55 ||||||
| 16 October 16:16:04 | Long March 3B/E | Long March 3B/E | | Xichang LC-2 | Xichang LC-2 | CASC | CASC |
| 16 October 16:16:04 | | APStar-9 | APT Satellite Holdings | Geosynchronous | Communications | In orbit | Operational |
| 16 October 20:40:11 | Proton-M / Briz-M | Proton-M / Briz-M | | Baikonur Site 200/39 | Baikonur Site 200/39 | International Launch Services | International Launch Services |
| 16 October 20:40:11 | | Türksat 4B | Türksat | Geosynchronous | Communications | In orbit | Operational |
| 26 October 07:10:04 | Long March 2D | Long March 2D | | Jiuquan SLS-2 | Jiuquan SLS-2 | CASC | CASC |
| 26 October 07:10:04 | | Tianhui 1C | CNSA | Low Earth (SSO) | Earth observation (Cartography) | In orbit | Operational |
| 31 October 16:13:00 | Atlas V 401 | Atlas V 401 | | Cape Canaveral SLC-41 | Cape Canaveral SLC-41 | United Launch Alliance | United Launch Alliance |
| 31 October 16:13:00 | | USA-265 (GPS IIF-11) | U.S. Air Force | Medium Earth | Navigation | In orbit | Operational |
| ← Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec → November ||||||||
| 3 November 16:25:04 | Long March 3B/E | Long March 3B/E | | Xichang LC-3 | Xichang LC-3 | CASC | CASC |
| 3 November 16:25:04 | | ChinaSat 2C | CNSA | Geosynchronous | Communications | In orbit | Operational |
| 4 November 03:45:00 | SPARK | SPARK | | Pacific Missile Range Facility LP-41 | Pacific Missile Range Facility LP-41 | ORS | ORS |
| 4 November 03:45:00 | | HiakaSat | ORS | Low Earth | Technology demonstration | 4 November 2015 | Launch failure |
| 4 November 03:45:00 | | ⚀ EDSN x 8 | NASA | Low Earth | Technology demonstration | 4 November 2015 | Launch failure |
| 4 November 03:45:00 | | ⚀ PrintSat | Montana State University | Low Earth | Technology demonstration | 4 November 2015 | Launch failure |
| 4 November 03:45:00 | | ⚀ Argus | St. Louis University and Vanderbilt University | Low Earth | Technology demonstration | 4 November 2015 | Launch failure |
| 4 November 03:45:00 | | ⚀ STACEM | Utah State University | Low Earth | Technology demonstration | 4 November 2015 | Launch failure |
| 4 November 03:45:00 | | ⚀ Supernova-Beta | Pumpkin, Inc. | Low Earth | Technology demonstration | 4 November 2015 | Launch failure |
| Maiden flight of the SPARK/Super Strypi launch vehicle. Vehicle lost attitude control at T+1 minute. ||||||
| 8 November 07:06:04 | Long March 4B | Long March 4B | | Taiyuan LC-9 | Taiyuan LC-9 | CASC | CASC |
| 8 November 07:06:04 | | Yaogan 28 | CNSA | Low Earth (SSO) | Reconnaissance | In orbit | Operational |
| 10 November 21:34:07 | Ariane 5 ECA | Ariane 5 ECA | | Kourou ELA-3 | Kourou ELA-3 | Arianespace | Arianespace |
| 10 November 21:34:07 | | Arabsat 6B | Arabsat | Geosynchronous | Communications | In orbit | Operational |
| 10 November 21:34:07 | | GSAT-15 | ISRO | Geosynchronous | Communications | In orbit | Operational |
| 17 November 06:33:41 | Soyuz-2.1b / Fregat | Soyuz-2.1b / Fregat | | Plesetsk Site 43/4 | Plesetsk Site 43/4 | RVSN RF | RVSN RF |
| 17 November 06:33:41 | | Kosmos 2510 (EKS (Tundra)) | VKO | Molniya | Early warning | In orbit | Operational |
| First space component for Russia's new unified missile early warning network. ||||||
| 20 November 16:07:04 | Long March 3B/E | Long March 3B/E | | Xichang LC-2 | Xichang LC-2 | CASC | CASC |
| 20 November 16:07:04 | | LaoSat-1 | Laos National Authority for Science and Technology | Geosynchronous | Communications | In orbit | Operational |
| First Laotian satellite ||||||
| 24 November 06:50:00 | H-IIA 204 | H-IIA 204 | | Tanegashima LA-Y1 | Tanegashima LA-Y1 | MHI | MHI |
| 24 November 06:50:00 | | Telstar 12V | Telesat | Geosynchronous | Communications | In orbit | Operational |
| 26 November 21:24:04 | Long March 4C | Long March 4C | | Taiyuan LC-9 | Taiyuan LC-9 | CASC | CASC |
| 26 November 21:24:04 | | Yaogan 29 | CNSA | Low Earth (SSO) | Reconnaissance | In orbit | Operational |
| ← Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec → December ||||||||
| 3 December 04:04:00 | Vega | Vega | | Kourou ELV | Kourou ELV | Arianespace | Arianespace |
| 3 December 04:04:00 | | LISA Pathfinder | ESA / NASA | Sun–Earth L$_1$ | Technology demonstration | In orbit | Operational |
| 5 December 14:08:33 | Soyuz-2-1v / Volga | Soyuz-2-1v / Volga | | Plesetsk Site 43/4 | Plesetsk Site 43/4 | RVSN RF | RVSN RF |
| 5 December 14:08:33 | | Kosmos 2511 (Kanopus-ST) | VKO | Low Earth (SSO) | Earth observation | 8 December 2015 05:43 | Launch failure |
| 5 December 14:08:33 | | Kosmos 2512 (KYuA-1) | Almaz-Antey | Low Earth (SSO) | Radar calibration | In orbit | Operational |
| Kanopus-ST failed to separate from the Volga upper stage. ||||||
| 6 December 21:44:57 | Atlas V 401 | Atlas V 401 | | Cape Canaveral SLC-41 | Cape Canaveral SLC-41 | United Launch Alliance | United Launch Alliance |
| 6 December 21:44:57 | | Cygnus CRS OA-4 S.S. Deke Slayton II | Orbital ATK / NASA | Low Earth (ISS) | ISS resupply | 20 February 2016 | Successful |
| 6 December 21:44:57 | | SIMPL | NovaWurks | Low Earth | Technology demonstration | 26 July 2022 | Successful |
| 6 December 21:44:57 | | ⚀ Flock-2e x 12 | Planet Labs | Low Earth | Earth observation | First: 25 July 2017 Last: 14 August 2018 | Successful |
| 6 December 21:44:57 | | ⚀ CADRE | University of Michigan | Low Earth | Technology demonstration | 3 January 2017 | Successful |
| 6 December 21:44:57 | | ⚀ MinXSS 1 | University of Colorado Boulder | Low Earth | Solar physics, Space weather | 5 May 2017 | Successful |
| 6 December 21:44:57 | | ⚀ Nodes x 2 | NASA | Low Earth | Technology demonstration | 23 September 2017 | Successful |
| 6 December 21:44:57 | | ⚀ STMSat 1 | St. Thomas More Cathedral School | Low Earth | Education | 21 April 2017 | Successful |
| Flight moved from Antares 130 rocket following launch failure of Cygnus CRS Orb-3. Originally scheduled for 1 April 2015. MinXSS was deployed into orbit from ISS on 16 May 2016. ||||||
| 9 December 16:46:04 | Long March 3B/E | Long March 3B/E | | Xichang LC-3 | Xichang LC-3 | CASC | CASC |
| 9 December 16:46:04 | | ChinaSat 1C | CNSA | Geosynchronous | Communications | In orbit | Operational |
| 11 December 13:45:33 | Zenit-3F | Zenit-3F | | Baikonur Site 45/1 | Baikonur Site 45/1 | Roscosmos | Roscosmos |
| 11 December 13:45:33 | | Elektro-L No.2 | Roscosmos | Geosynchronous | Meteorology | In orbit | Operational |
| 13 December 00:19:00 | Proton-M / Briz-M | Proton-M / Briz-M | | Baikonur Site 81/24 | Baikonur Site 81/24 | Khrunichev | Khrunichev |
| 13 December 00:19:00 | | Kosmos 2513 (Garpun No. 12L) | VKO | Geosynchronous | Communications | In orbit | Operational |
| 15 December 11:03:09 | Soyuz-FG | Soyuz-FG | | Baikonur Site 1/5 | Baikonur Site 1/5 | Roscosmos | Roscosmos |
| 15 December 11:03:09 | | Soyuz TMA-19M | Roscosmos | Low Earth (ISS) | Expedition 46/47 | 18 June 2016 09:15 | Successful |
| Crewed flight with three cosmonauts. ||||||
| 16 December 12:30:00 | PSLV-CA | PSLV-CA | | Satish Dhawan FLP | Satish Dhawan FLP | ISRO | ISRO |
| 16 December 12:30:00 | | TeLEOS-1 | AgilSpace | Low Earth | Earth observation | In orbit | Operational |
| 16 December 12:30:00 | | VELOX C1 | NTU | Low Earth | Atmospheric science | In orbit | Operational |
| 16 December 12:30:00 | | ⚀ VELOX 2 | NTU | Low Earth | Technology demonstration | In orbit | Operational |
| 16 December 12:30:00 | | Kent Ridge 1 | NUS | Low Earth | Earth observation | In orbit | Operational |
| 16 December 12:30:00 | | ⚀ Galassia | NUS | Low Earth | Atmospheric science | In orbit | Operational |
| 16 December 12:30:00 | | ⚀ Athenoxat-1 | NTU | Low Earth | Earth observation | In orbit | Operational |
| 17 December 00:12:04 | Long March 2D | Long March 2D | | Jiuquan SLS-2 | Jiuquan SLS-2 | CASC | CASC |
| 17 December 00:12:04 | | DAMPE | CAS | Low Earth (SSO) | High-energy astronomy | In orbit | Operational |
| 17 December 11:51:56 | Soyuz ST-B / Fregat | Soyuz ST-B / Fregat | | Kourou ELS | Kourou ELS | Arianespace | Arianespace |
| 17 December 11:51:56 | | Galileo FOC 8 | ESA | Medium Earth | Navigation | In orbit | Operational |
| 17 December 11:51:56 | | Galileo FOC 9 | ESA | Medium Earth | Navigation | In orbit | Operational |
| 21 December 08:44:39 | Soyuz-2.1a | Soyuz-2.1a | | Baikonur Site 31/6 | Baikonur Site 31/6 | Roscosmos | Roscosmos |
| 21 December 08:44:39 | | Progress MS-01 / 62P | Roscosmos | Low Earth (ISS) | ISS resupply | 3 July 2016 07:50 | Operational |
| First launch of the new Progress-MS variant. ||||||
| 22 December 01:29:00 | Falcon 9 Full Thrust | Falcon 9 Full Thrust | | Cape Canaveral SLC-40 | Cape Canaveral SLC-40 | SpaceX | SpaceX |
| 22 December 01:29:00 | | Orbcomm-2 F2 | Orbcomm | Low Earth | Communications | In orbit | Operational |
| 22 December 01:29:00 | | Orbcomm-2 F5 | Orbcomm | Low Earth | Communications | In orbit | Operational |
| 22 December 01:29:00 | | Orbcomm-2 F8 | Orbcomm | Low Earth | Communications | In orbit | Operational |
| 22 December 01:29:00 | | Orbcomm-2 F10 | Orbcomm | Low Earth | Communications | In orbit | Operational |
| 22 December 01:29:00 | | Orbcomm-2 F12 | Orbcomm | Low Earth | Communications | In orbit | Operational |
| 22 December 01:29:00 | | Orbcomm-2 F13 | Orbcomm | Low Earth | Communications | In orbit | Operational |
| 22 December 01:29:00 | | Orbcomm-2 F14 | Orbcomm | Low Earth | Communications | In orbit | Operational |
| 22 December 01:29:00 | | Orbcomm-2 F15 | Orbcomm | Low Earth | Communications | In orbit | Operational |
| 22 December 01:29:00 | | Orbcomm-2 F16 | Orbcomm | Low Earth | Communications | In orbit | Operational |
| 22 December 01:29:00 | | Orbcomm-2 F17 | Orbcomm | Low Earth | Communications | In orbit | Operational |
| 22 December 01:29:00 | | Orbcomm-2 F18 | Orbcomm | Low Earth | Communications | In orbit | Operational |
| First flight of the upgraded "full thrust" version of Falcon 9, first Falcon 9 flight after launch failure in June. First successful return to launch site and vertical landing of a first stage, demonstrated as part of a controlled descent test. ||||||
| 24 December 21:31:19 | Proton-M / Briz-M | Proton-M / Briz-M | | Baikonur Site 200/39 | Baikonur Site 200/39 | Khrunichev | Khrunichev |
| 24 December 21:31:19 | | Ekspress AMU1 | RSCC | Geosynchronous | Communications | In orbit | Operational |
| 28 December 16:04:04 | Long March 3B/E | Long March 3B/E | | Xichang LC-2 | Xichang LC-2 | CASC | CASC |
| 28 December 16:04:04 | | Gaofen 4 | CNSA | Geosynchronous | Earth observation | In orbit | Operational |
* ← Jan
* Feb
* Mar
* Apr
* May
* Jun
* Jul
* Aug
* Sep
* Oct
* Nov
* Dec →

## Suborbital flights

| 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 ||||||
| 26 January 09:13 | Terrier-Improved Malemute | Terrier-Improved Malemute | | Poker Flat | Poker Flat | NASA | NASA |
| 26 January 09:13 | | M-TEX | Alaska | Suborbital | Auroral | 26 January | Successful |
| Apogee: ~160 kilometres (99 mi)? ||||||
| 26 January 09:14 | Terrier-Orion | Terrier-Orion | | Poker Flat | Poker Flat | NASA | NASA |
| 26 January 09:14 | | MIST | Clemson | Suborbital | Auroral | 26 January | Successful |
| Apogee: ~130 kilometres (81 mi)? ||||||
| 26 January 09:46 | Terrier-Improved Malemute | Terrier-Improved Malemute | | Poker Flat | Poker Flat | NASA | NASA |
| 26 January 09:46 | | M-TEX | Alaska | Suborbital | Auroral | 26 January | Successful |
| Apogee: ~160 kilometres (99 mi)? ||||||
| 26 January 09:47 | Terrier-Orion | Terrier-Orion | | Poker Flat | Poker Flat | NASA | NASA |
| 26 January 09:47 | | MIST | Clemson | Suborbital | Auroral | 26 January | Successful |
| Apogee: ~130 kilometres (81 mi)? ||||||
| 28 January 10:41 | Talos Terrier Oriole Nihka | Talos Terrier Oriole Nihka | | Poker Flat | Poker Flat | NASA | NASA |
| 28 January 10:41 | | ASSP | USU | Suborbital | Auroral | 28 January | Successful |
| Apogee: ~590 kilometres (370 mi)? ||||||
| 31 January 02:36:00 | Agni V | Agni V | | Integrated Test Range Launch Complex IV | Integrated Test Range Launch Complex IV | DRDO | DRDO |
| 31 January 02:36:00 | | | DRDO | Suborbital | Missile test | 31 January | Successful |
| Apogee: ~800 kilometres (500 mi) ||||||
| 19 February | Prithvi II | Prithvi II | | Integrated Test Range Launch Complex 3 | Integrated Test Range Launch Complex 3 | DRDO | DRDO |
| 19 February | | | DRDO | Suborbital | Missile test | 19 February | Successful |
| Apogee: ~100 kilometres (62 mi) ||||||
| 19 February 22:06 | VS-30/Improved Orion | VS-30/Improved Orion | | Andøya | Andøya | Andøya | Andøya |
| 19 February 22:06 | | ICI-4 (CanoRock 4) | Oslo/Andøya | Suborbital | Technology | 19 February | Successful |
| Apogee: 365 kilometres (227 mi) ||||||
| 22 February 07:52 | VSB-30 | VSB-30 | | Esrange | Esrange | CNES | CNES |
| 22 February 07:52 | | Cryofenix | CNES | Suborbital | Microgravity | 22 February | Successful |
| Apogee: 265 kilometres (165 mi) ||||||
| 22 February | UGM-133 Trident II D5 | UGM-133 Trident II D5 | | Submarine, Pacific Ocean | Submarine, Pacific Ocean | US Navy | US Navy |
| 22 February | | | US Navy | Suborbital | Missile test | 22 February | Successful |
| 22 February | UGM-133 Trident II D5 | UGM-133 Trident II D5 | | Submarine, Pacific Ocean | Submarine, Pacific Ocean | US Navy | US Navy |
| 22 February | | | US Navy | Suborbital | Missile test | 22 February | Successful |
| 24 February 07:30 | Terrier-Oriole | Terrier-Oriole | | Wallops Island | Wallops Island | TBD | TBD |
| 24 February 07:30 | | | DOD | Suborbital | Missile Defense Test | 24 February | Successful |
| FTX-19 target, apogee: ~150 kilometres (93 mi)? ||||||
| 24 February 07:30 | Terrier-Oriole | Terrier-Oriole | | Wallops Island | Wallops Island | TBD | TBD |
| 24 February 07:30 | | | DOD | Suborbital | Missile Defense Test | 24 February | Successful |
| FTX-19 target, apogee: ~150 kilometres (93 mi)? ||||||
| 24 February 07:30 | Terrier-Oriole | Terrier-Oriole | | Wallops Island | Wallops Island | TBD | TBD |
| 24 February 07:30 | | | DOD | Suborbital | Missile Defense Test | 24 February | Successful |
| FTX-19 target, apogee: ~150 kilometres (93 mi)? ||||||
| 25 February 12:26 | Black Brant IX | Black Brant IX | | White Sands | White Sands | NASA | NASA |
| 25 February 12:26 | | MOSC 2 | AFRL | Suborbital | Ionospheric research | 25 February | Successful |
| Apogee: 300 kilometres (190 mi)? ||||||
| 26 February | UR-100NU | UR-100NU | | Yasniy | Yasniy | RVSN | RVSN |
| 26 February | | | RVSN | Suborbital | Missile test | 26 February | Launch failure |
| Yu-71 Hypersonic Vehicle Test ||||||
| 1 March | Hwasong-6 | Hwasong-6 | | Nampo | Nampo | Korean People's Army Strategic Force | Korean People's Army Strategic Force |
| 1 March | | | Korean People's Army Strategic Force | Suborbital | Missile test | 1 March | Successful |
| Apogee: 134 kilometres (83 mi). 1 of 2. ||||||
| 1 March | Hwasong-6 | Hwasong-6 | | Nampo | Nampo | Korean People's Army Strategic Force | Korean People's Army Strategic Force |
| 1 March | | | Korean People's Army Strategic Force | Suborbital | Missile test | 1 March | Successful |
| Apogee: 134 kilometres (83 mi). 2 of 2. ||||||
| 5 March 01:44 | VS-30 | VS-30 | | Andøya | Andøya | DLR | DLR |
| 5 March 01:44 | | WADIS-2 | DLR | Suborbital | Atmospheric | 5 March | Successful |
| Apogee: 126 kilometres (78 mi), 13 Super Loki meteorological rockets were also launched ||||||
| 9 March | Shaheen-III | Shaheen-III | | Sonmiani | Sonmiani | ASFC | ASFC |
| 9 March | | | ASFC | Suborbital | Missile test | 9 March | Successful |
| Apogee: 500 kilometres (310 mi)? ||||||
| 18 March | RS-26 Rubezh | RS-26 Rubezh | | Kapustin Yar | Kapustin Yar | RVSN | RVSN |
| 18 March | | | RVSN | Suborbital | Missile test | 18 March | Successful |
| 23 March 10:36 | LGM-30G Minuteman III | LGM-30G Minuteman III | | Vandenberg LF-10 | Vandenberg LF-10 | US Air Force | US Air Force |
| 23 March 10:36 | | | US Air Force | Suborbital | Test flight | 23 March | Successful |
| GT214GM, Apogee: ~1,300 kilometres (810 mi) ? ||||||
| 27 March 10:54 | LGM-30G Minuteman III | LGM-30G Minuteman III | | Vandenberg LF-04 | Vandenberg LF-04 | US Air Force | US Air Force |
| 27 March 10:54 | | | US Air Force | Suborbital | Test flight | 27 March | Successful |
| GT215GM, Apogee: ~1,300 kilometres (810 mi) ? ||||||
| 30 March | VSB-30 | VSB-30 | | Andøya | Andøya | DSTO | DSTO |
| 30 March | | HiFire-7 | DSTO | Suborbital | Technology demonstration | 30 March | Successful |
| 9 April | Dhanush | Dhanush | | Ship, Indian Ocean | Ship, Indian Ocean | DRDO | DRDO |
| 9 April | | | DRDO | Suborbital | Target | 9 April | Successful |
| Apogee: ~100 kilometres (62 mi) ||||||
| 15 April | Ghauri | Ghauri | | Tilla | Tilla | Army of Pakistan | Army of Pakistan |
| 15 April | | Haft-5 | Army of Pakistan | Suborbital | Missile test | 15 April | Successful |
| Apogee: 100 kilometres (62 mi) ||||||
| 16 April 04:22 | Agni-III | Agni-III | | ITR IC-4 | ITR IC-4 | Indian Army | Indian Army |
| 16 April 04:22 | | | Indian Army | Suborbital | Missile test | 16 April | Successful |
| Apogee: 350 kilometres (220 mi) ||||||
| 18 April 11:01 | Terrier-Improved Malemute | Terrier-Improved Malemute | | Wallops Island | Wallops Island | NASA | NASA |
| 18 April 11:01 | | Rocksat-X | University of Colorado Boulder | Suborbital | Student Research | 18 April | Successful |
| Apogee: ~174 kilometres (108 mi) ||||||
| 23 April 07:35 | VSB-30 | VSB-30 | | Esrange | Esrange | EuroLaunch | EuroLaunch |
| 23 April 07:35 | | / TEXUS-51 | DLR/ESA | Suborbital | Microgravity | 23 April | Successful |
| Apogee: 261 kilometres (162 mi) ||||||
| 27 April 04:55 | VSB-30 | VSB-30 | | Esrange | Esrange | EuroLaunch | EuroLaunch |
| 27 April 04:55 | | / TEXUS-52 | DLR/ESA | Suborbital | Microgravity | 27 April | Successful |
| Apogee: 255 kilometres (158 mi) ||||||
| 2 May 08:30:01 | Black Brant IX | Black Brant IX | | White Sands | White Sands | NASA | NASA |
| 2 May 08:30:01 | | OGRESS | University of Iowa | Suborbital | X-Ray Astronomy | 2 May | Successful |
| Apogee: 272 kilometres (169 mi) ||||||
| 20 May 10:37 | LGM-30G Minuteman III | LGM-30G Minuteman III | | Vandenberg LF-09 | Vandenberg LF-09 | US Air Force | US Air Force |
| 20 May 10:37 | | | US Air Force | Suborbital | Test flight | 20 May | Successful |
| GT212GM, Apogee: ~1,300 kilometres (810 mi) ? ||||||
| 21 May 19:15 | Black Brant IX | Black Brant IX | | White Sands | White Sands | NASA | NASA |
| 21 May 19:15 | | EVE | CU Boulder | Suborbital | SDO calibration | 21 May | Launch failure |
| Second stage failure, flight was terminated safety officials about four seconds into the second stage burn after data showed the vehicle was flying off-course. The payload carrying the experiment separated from the rocket and descended via parachute. ||||||
| 6 June | SM-3-IIA | SM-3-IIA | | San Nicolas Island | San Nicolas Island | US Navy | US Navy |
| 6 June | | | US Navy | Suborbital | ABM test | 6 June | Successful |
| Maiden flight of SM-3 Block IIA Cooperative Development Controlled Test Vehicle-01 (SCD CTV-01) ||||||
| 25 June 10:00 | Terrier-Improved Orion | Terrier-Improved Orion | | Wallops Island | Wallops Island | NASA | NASA |
| 25 June 10:00 | | RockOn | CU Boulder | Suborbital | Student experiments | 25 June | Successful |
| Apogee: 118 kilometres (73 mi) ||||||
| 26 June | ARAV ? | ARAV ? | | Kauai | Kauai | MDA | MDA |
| 26 June | | | MDA | Suborbital | ABM target | 26 June | Launch failure |
| Aegis radar target ||||||
| 30 June 04:55 | VSB-30 | VSB-30 | | Esrange | Esrange | EuroLaunch | EuroLaunch |
| 30 June 04:55 | | MAPHEUS-5 | DLR | Suborbital | Technology demonstration | 30 June | Successful |
| Apogee: 252 kilometres (157 mi) ||||||
| 7 July 10:15 | Black Brant IX | Black Brant IX | | Wallops Island | Wallops Island | NASA | NASA |
| 7 July 10:15 | | SOAREX-8 | NASA | Suborbital | Technology demonstration | 7 July | Successful |
| Apogee: 350 kilometres (220 mi) ||||||
| 29 July 08:30 | ARAV ? | ARAV ? | MMW E1 | Kauai | Kauai | MDA | MDA |
| 29 July 08:30 | | | MDA | Suborbital | ABM target | 29 July | Successful |
| Apogee: 100 kilometres (62 mi)?, Aegis MMW E1 target, successful intercept by SM-6 Dual I missile ||||||
| 30 July 06:15 | ARAV ? | ARAV ? | MMW E2 | Kauai | Kauai | MDA | MDA |
| 30 July 06:15 | | | MDA | Suborbital | ABM target | 30 July | Successful |
| Apogee: 100 kilometres (62 mi)?, Aegis MMW E2 target, successful intercept by SM-2 Block IV missile ||||||
| 12 August 10:14 | Terrier-Improved Malemute | Terrier-Improved Malemute | | Wallops Island | Wallops Island | NASA | NASA |
| 12 August 10:14 | | Rocksat-X | Various universities | Suborbital | Student Research | 12 August | Successful |
| Apogee: ~156km (97 miles). ||||||
| 19 August 10:03 | LGM-30G Minuteman III | LGM-30G Minuteman III | | Vandenberg LF-10 | Vandenberg LF-10 | US Air Force | US Air Force |
| 19 August 10:03 | | | US Air Force | Suborbital | Test flight | 19 August | Successful |
| GT213GM, Apogee: ~1,300 kilometres (810 mi) ? ||||||
| 22 August 15:13 | RS-12M Topol | RS-12M Topol | | Kapustin Yar | Kapustin Yar | RVSN | RVSN |
| 22 August 15:13 | | | RVSN | Suborbital | Missile test | 22 August | Successful |
| 27 August 17:45 | Black Brant IX | Black Brant IX | | White Sands | White Sands | NASA | NASA |
| 27 August 17:45 | | MOSES-2 | MSU | Suborbital | Solar astronomy | 27 August | Successful |
| Apogee: 185 miles (298 km) ||||||
| 3 September 17:01 | Black Brant IX | Black Brant IX | | White Sands | White Sands | NASA | NASA |
| 3 September 17:01 | | CLASP | NASA / JAXA / IAC / IAS | Suborbital | Solar astronomy | 3 September | Successful |
| Apogee: 167 miles (269 km) ||||||
| 11 September 11:00:00 | S-520 | S-520 | | Uchinoura | Uchinoura | JAXA | JAXA |
| 11 September 11:00:00 | | | HU/UT/TU/JAXA | Suborbital | Microgravity | 11 September | Successful |
| Apogee: 312 km ||||||
| 16 September 19:06 | Black Brant XI | Black Brant XI | | Andøya | Andøya | NASA | NASA |
| 16 September 19:06 | | CARE II | NRL | Suborbital | Aeronomy | 16 September | Successful |
| Apogee: 299 kilometres (186 mi) ||||||
| 30 September 08:28 | M51 | M51 | | Landes | Landes | DGA/Marine nationale | DGA/Marine nationale |
| 30 September 08:28 | | | DGA/Marine nationale | Suborbital | Test flight | 30 September | Successful |
| Apogee: 500 kilometres (310 mi), apparently launched from the land test pad, rather than from a submarine. ||||||
| 2 October 05:39:00 | / VSB-30/Improved Orion | / VSB-30/Improved Orion | | Esrange | Esrange | Swedish Space Corporation | Swedish Space Corporation |
| 2 October 05:39:00 | | O-STATES 1 | SNSB | Suborbital | Atmospheric Research | 2 October | Successful |
| Apogee: 246 kilometres (153 mi) ||||||
| 7 October 23:07:00 | Black Brant IX | Black Brant IX | | Wallops Island | Wallops Island | NASA | NASA |
| 7 October 23:07:00 | | Technology Test Flight | NASA GSFC | Suborbital | Rocket motor test | 7 October | Successful |
| 7 October 23:07:00 | | LEO-1 | Orbital ATK | Suborbital | Materials Testing | 7 October | Successful |
| 7 October 23:07:00 | | NNS | NASA | Suborbital | Materials Testing | 7 October | Successful |
| Apogee: 257.5 kilometers (160mi). Test flight of the new Black Brant Mk4 sustainer motor. Other payloads included a cloud of barium and strontium, which was deployed to test the rocket's payload ejection system and was visible for miles along the East Coast of the United States. ||||||
| 19 October 14:09:00 | / VSB-30/Improved Orion | / VSB-30/Improved Orion | | Esrange | Esrange | Swedish Space Corporation | Swedish Space Corporation |
| 19 October 14:09:00 | | O-STATES 2 | SNSB | Suborbital | Atmospheric Research | 19 October | Successful |
| Apogee: 244 kilometres (152 mi) ||||||
| 20 October | Terrier-Orion | Terrier-Orion | ADS-15 E2 | South Uist, Hebrides | South Uist, Hebrides | MDA | MDA |
| 20 October | | | DOD | Suborbital | Target | 20 October | Successful |
| SM-3 Target, apogee: ~100 kilometres (62 mi)? ||||||
| 20 October | SM-3 | SM-3 | ADS-15 E2 | USS Ross (DDG-71), Hebrides Range | USS Ross (DDG-71), Hebrides Range | US Navy | US Navy |
| 20 October | | | US Navy | Suborbital | ABM test | 20 October | Successful |
| First Aegis-Test in the North Atlantic, successful intercept, apogee: ~100 kilometres (62 mi)? ||||||
| 21 October 12:45:00 | LGM-30G Minuteman III | LGM-30G Minuteman III | | Vandenberg LF-04 | Vandenberg LF-04 | US Air Force | US Air Force |
| 21 October 12:45:00 | | | US Air Force | Suborbital | Test flight | 21 October | Successful |
| GT216GM, Apogee: ~1,300 kilometres (810 mi) ? ||||||
| 28 October 11:30 | RS-24 Yars | RS-24 Yars | | Plesetsk | Plesetsk | RVSN | RVSN |
| 28 October 11:30 | | | RVSN | Suborbital | Missile test | 28 October | Successful |
| 30 October | RS-12M Topol | RS-12M Topol | | Plesetsk | Plesetsk | RVSN | RVSN |
| 30 October | | | RVSN | Suborbital | Missile test | 30 October | Successful |
| 30 October | R-29RMU Sineva | R-29RMU Sineva | | K-117 Bryansk, Barents Sea | K-117 Bryansk, Barents Sea | VMF | VMF |
| 30 October | | | VMF | Suborbital | Missile test | 30 October | Successful |
| 30 October | R-29R Volna | R-29R Volna | | K-223 Podolsk, Sea of Okhotsk | K-223 Podolsk, Sea of Okhotsk | VMF | VMF |
| 30 October | | | VMF | Suborbital | Missile test | 30 October | Successful |
| 31 October 23:00 ? | B-611 | B-611 | | Shuangchengzi | Shuangchengzi | PLA | PLA |
| 31 October 23:00 ? | | | PLA | Suborbital | ABM target | 31 October | Successful |
| Target ||||||
| 31 October 23:00 ? | SC-19 | SC-19 | | Korla | Korla | PLA | PLA |
| 31 October 23:00 ? | | | PLA | Suborbital | ABM test | 31 October | Successful |
| Interceptor, successful intercept ||||||
| 1 November 03:05 | SRALT | SRALT | FTO-02 E2a | C-17, Pacific Ocean | C-17, Pacific Ocean | MDA | MDA |
| 1 November 03:05 | | | MDA | Suborbital | THAAD target | 1 November | Successful |
| Apogee: 300 kilometres (190 mi), successful intercepted ||||||
| 1 November 03:07 | THAAD | THAAD | FTO-02 E2a | Wake Island | Wake Island | US Army | US Army |
| 1 November 03:07 | | | US Army/MDA | Suborbital | ABM test | 1 November | Successful |
| Intercepted target missile, apogee: 100 kilometres (62 mi) ||||||
| 1 November 03:10 | eMRBM | eMRBM | FTO-02 E2a | C-17, Pacific Ocean | C-17, Pacific Ocean | MDA | MDA |
| 1 November 03:10 | | | MDA | Suborbital | THAAD target | 1 November | Successful |
| Apogee: 300 kilometres (190 mi), successful intercepted ||||||
| 1 November 03:12 | THAAD | THAAD | FTO-02 E2a | Wake Island | Wake Island | US Army | US Army |
| 1 November 03:12 | | | US Army/MDA | Suborbital | ABM test | 1 November | Successful |
| Intercepted target missile, apogee: 100 kilometres (62 mi) ||||||
| 6 November 15:01 | SpaceLoft XL | SpaceLoft XL | | Spaceport America | Spaceport America | UP Aerospace | UP Aerospace |
| 6 November 15:01 | | FOP-4 | NASA | Suborbital | Four technology demonstration experiments | 6 November | Successful |
| Mission SL-10, Apogee: 120.7 kilometers (74.98 miles). First private suborbital rocket to demonstrate ejection of recoverable payloads. ||||||
| 8 November 02:00 | UGM-133 Trident II D5 | UGM-133 Trident II D5 | | USS Kentucky, Pacific Ocean | USS Kentucky, Pacific Ocean | US Navy | US Navy |
| 8 November 02:00 | | | US Navy | Suborbital | Missile test | 8 November | Successful |
| Demonstration and Shakedown Operation 26 (DASO-26) ||||||
| 9 November 04:15 | Agni-IV | Agni-IV | | Integrated Test Range | Integrated Test Range | DRDO | DRDO |
| 9 November 04:15 | | | DRDO | Suborbital | Missile Test | 9 November | Successful |
| Apogee: ~850 kilometres (530 mi)? ||||||
| 9 November 20:00 | UGM-133 Trident II D5 | UGM-133 Trident II D5 | | USS Kentucky, Pacific Ocean | USS Kentucky, Pacific Ocean | US Navy | US Navy |
| 9 November 20:00 | | | US Navy | Suborbital | Missile test | 9 November | Successful |
| Demonstration and Shakedown Operation 26 (DASO-26) ||||||
| 14 November | RSM-56 Bulava | RSM-56 Bulava | | K-551 Vladimir Monomakh, White Sea | K-551 Vladimir Monomakh, White Sea | VMF | VMF |
| 14 November | | | VMF | Suborbital | Missile test | 14 November | Successful |
| 14 November | RSM-56 Bulava | RSM-56 Bulava | | K-551 Vladimir Monomakh, White Sea | K-551 Vladimir Monomakh, White Sea | VMF | VMF |
| 14 November | | | VMF | Suborbital | Missile test | 14 November | Successful |
| Missile did not hit its targets at the Kura test site. The warheads did reach the Kamchatka region, but the miss was fairly large, but that was still not significant enough to abort the flight ||||||
| 17 November 12:12 | RS-12M Topol | RS-12M Topol | | Kapustin Yar | Kapustin Yar | RVSN | RVSN |
| 17 November 12:12 | | | RVSN | Suborbital | Missile test | 17 November | Successful |
| 21 November | Ghadr-1 | Ghadr-1 | | Semnan ? | Semnan ? | IRGC | IRGC |
| 21 November | | | IGRC | Suborbital | Missile test | 21 November | Successful |
| apogee: 150 kilometres (93 mi) ||||||
| 23 November 17:21 | New Shepard | New Shepard | | Corn Ranch | Corn Ranch | Blue Origin | Blue Origin |
| 23 November 17:21 | | New Shepard | Blue Origin | Suborbital | Test flight | 23 November | Successful |
| Apogee: 100.5 kilometres (62.4 mi). Second test flight of the New Shepard launch system, first to cross the Kármán line, and first to achieve a powered landing of its propulsion stage. ||||||
| 25 November 04:17 | Black Brant IX | Black Brant IX | | White Sands | White Sands | NASA | NASA |
| 25 November 04:17 | | PICTURE-B | UMass | Suborbital | Astronomy | 25 November | Successful |
| apogee: 217 kilometres (135 mi) ||||||
| 30 November 07:25 | Talos Terrier Oriole Nihka | Talos Terrier Oriole Nihka | | Andøya | Andøya | NASA | NASA |
| 30 November 07:25 | | CAPER | Dartmouth College | Suborbital | Auroral research | 30 November | Launch failure |
| Third stage failure, payload recovered ||||||
| 1 December 05:00 | VSB-30 | VSB-30 | | Esrange | Esrange | EuroLaunch | EuroLaunch |
| 1 December 05:00 | | MASER-13 | SSC | Suborbital | Microgravity | 1 December | Successful |
| apogee: 270 kilometres (170 mi) ||||||
| 5 December 04:45 | Black Brant IX | Black Brant IX | | White Sands | White Sands | NASA | NASA |
| 5 December 04:45 | | DXL-2 | U of M | Suborbital | Astronomy | 5 December | Successful |
| apogee: 224 kilometres (139 mi) ||||||
| 8 December | SM-3-IIA | SM-3-IIA | | San Nicolas Island | San Nicolas Island | US Navy | US Navy |
| 8 December | | | US Navy | Suborbital | ABM test | 8 December | Successful |
| Second flight of SM-3 Block IIA Cooperative Development Controlled Test Vehicle-02 (SCD CTV-02) ||||||
| 10 December 06:12 | Silver Sparrow | Silver Sparrow | | F-15 Eagle, Israel | F-15 Eagle, Israel | IAF | IAF |
| 10 December 06:12 | | | IAI/IDF | Suborbital | ABM target | 10 December | Successful |
| Arrow-3 target, successfully intercepted, apogee: ~150 kilometres (93 mi) ||||||
| 10 December 06:15 | Arrow III | Arrow III | | Negev | Negev | IAF | IAF |
| 10 December 06:15 | | | IAI/IDF | Suborbital | ABM Test | 10 December | Successful |
| First test of the Arrow-III against a target, successful intercept over the Mediterranean ||||||
| 10 December | SRALT | SRALT | FTO-02 E1a | C-17, Pacific Ocean | C-17, Pacific Ocean | MDA | MDA |
| 10 December | | | MDA | Suborbital | SM-3-IB target | 10 December | Successful |
| Apogee: 300 kilometres (190 mi), successful intercepted ||||||
| 10 December | SM-3-IB | SM-3-IB | FTO-02 E1a | Kauai | Kauai | US Navy | US Navy |
| 10 December | | | US Navy | Suborbital | ABM test | 10 December | Successful |
| First intercept flight test of a land-based Aegis Ballistic Missile Defense (BMD) weapon system ||||||
| 10 December 13:55 | Juno | Juno | | Fort Wingate LC-96 | Fort Wingate LC-96 | US Army | US Army |
| 10 December 13:55 | | | US Army | Suborbital | Target | 10 December | Successful |
| Target for MIM-104 Patriot PAC-3 MSE test, successfully intercepted ||||||
| 11 December | Shaheen-III | Shaheen-III | | Sonmiani | Sonmiani | ASFC | ASFC |
| 11 December | | | ASFC | Suborbital | Missile test | 11 December | Successful |
| Apogee: 500 kilometres (310 mi)? ||||||
| 12 December | R-29RMU Sineva | R-29RMU Sineva | | K-51 Verkhoturye, Barents Sea | K-51 Verkhoturye, Barents Sea | VMF | VMF |
| 12 December | | | VMF | Suborbital | Missile test | 12 December | Successful |
| 13 December 04:32 | Black Brant XIIA | Black Brant XIIA | | Andøya | Andøya | NASA | NASA |
| 13 December 04:32 | | RENU 2 | New Hampshire | Suborbital | Geospace | 13 December | Successful |
| Apogee: 447 kilometres (278 mi) ||||||
| 15 December | Shaheen-IA | Shaheen-IA | | Sonmiani | Sonmiani | ASFC | ASFC |
| 15 December | | | ASFC | Suborbital | Missile test | 15 December | Successful |
| 18 December 06:52 | Black Brant IX | Black Brant IX | | White Sands | White Sands | NASA | NASA |
| 18 December 06:52 | | FORTIS | JHU | Suborbital | UV Astronomy | 18 December | Successful |
| apogee: 282 kilometres (175 mi) ||||||
| 24 December 17:55 | RS-12M Topol | RS-12M Topol | | Kapustin Yar | Kapustin Yar | RVSN | RVSN |
| 24 December 17:55 | | | RVSN | Suborbital | Missile test | 24 December | Successful |

## Deep space rendezvous

| Date (GMT) | Spacecraft | Event | Remarks |
| 10 January | Chang'e 5-T1 | Injection into Selenocentric orbit | Departed from Earth–Moon L2 on 4 January. |
| 11 January | Cassini | 109th flyby of Titan | Closest approach: 970 kilometres (603 mi). |
| 12 February | Cassini | 110th flyby of Titan | Closest approach: 1,200 kilometres (746 mi). |
| 6 March | Dawn | Enters orbit of Ceres | 1st visit to a dwarf planet. |
| 16 March | Cassini | 111th flyby of Titan | Closest approach: 2,275 kilometres (1,413 mi). |
| 30 April | MESSENGER | Impact to Mercury | The crash occurred on the side of the planet not visible from Earth. |
| 7 May | Cassini | 112th flyby of Titan | Closest approach: 2,722 kilometres (1,691 mi). |
| 16 June | Cassini | 4th flyby of Dione | Closest approach: 516 kilometres (321 mi). |
| 7 July | Cassini | 113th flyby of Titan | Closest approach: 10,953 kilometres (6,806 mi). |
| 14 July | New Horizons | First flyby of Pluto and Charon | 2nd visit to a dwarf planet. Closest approach: 12,500 km (7,800 mi). |
| 17 August | Cassini | 5th flyby of Dione | Closest approach: 474 kilometres (295 mi). |
| 28 September | Cassini | 114th flyby of Titan | Closest approach: 1,036 kilometres (643 mi). |
| 14 October | Cassini | Flyby of Enceladus | Closest approach: 1,839 kilometres (1,142 mi). |
| 28 October | Cassini | Flyby of Enceladus | Closest approach: 49 kilometres (30 mi). |
| 12 November | Cassini | 115th flyby of Titan | Closest approach: 11,920 kilometres (7,407 mi). |
| 3 December | Hayabusa2 | Flyby of Earth | Gravity assist |
| 3 December | PROCYON | Flyby of Earth | Gravity assist en route to cancelled asteroid flyby. |
| 4 December | Shin'en 2 | Flyby of Earth | Gravity assist |
| 7 December | Akatsuki | Venus orbit insertion | Akatsuki's 2nd flyby of Venus and 2nd (successful) attempt at orbit insertion. |
| 19 December | Cassini | Flyby of Enceladus | Closest approach: 4,999 kilometres (3,106 mi). |

## Extra-Vehicular Activities (EVAs)

| Start Date/Time | Duration | End Time | Spacecraft | Crew | Remarks |
| 21 February 12:45 | 6 hours 41 minutes | 19:26 | Expedition 42/43 ISS Quest | Barry E. Wilmore Terry W. Virts | Rigged and routed power and data cables at the forward end of the Harmony module as part of preparations for the installation of the International Docking Adapter at PMA-2. |
| 25 February 11:51 | 6 hours 43 minutes | 18:34 | Expedition 42/43 ISS Quest | Barry E. Wilmore Terry W. Virts | Completed power and data cable routing at the forward end of the Harmony module. Removed launch locks from forward and aft berthing ports of Tranquility to prepare for relocation of the Permanent Multipurpose Module and the installation of the Bigelow Expandable Activity Module. Lubricated end effector of Canadarm2. |
| 1 March 11:52 | 5 hours 38 minutes | 17:30 | Expedition 42/43 ISS Quest | Terry W. Virts Barry E. Wilmore | Finished cable routing, antenna and retro-reflector installation on both sides of the ISS truss and on other modules in preparation for the installation of the International Docking Adapter at PMA-2 and 3. |
| 10 August 14:20 | 5 hours 31 minutes | 19:51 | Expedition 44/45 ISS Pirs | Gennady Padalka Mikhail Korniyenko | Installed gap spanners on the hull of the station for facilitating movement of crew members on future spacewalks, cleaned windows of the Zvezda Service Module, install fasteners on communications antennas, replaced an aging docking antenna, photographed various locations and hardware on Zvezda and nearby modules, and retrieved a space environment experiment. |
| 28 October 12:03 | 7 hours 16 minutes | 19:19 | Expedition 45 ISS Quest | Scott Kelly Kjell N. Lindgren | Prepared a Main Bus Switching Unit for repair, installed a thermal cover on the Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer, lubricated elements of the Space Station Remote Manipulator System, and routed data and power cables to prepare for the installation of the International Docking Adaptor at PMA-2 and 3. |
| 6 November 11:22 | 7 hours 48 minutes | 19:10 | Expedition 45 ISS Quest | Scott Kelly Kjell N. Lindgren | Worked to restore a portion of the ISS's cooling system to its primary configuration, returning ammonia coolant levels to normal in the primary and backup radiator arrays. |
| 21 December 13:45 | 3 hours 16 minutes | 16:01 | Expedition 46 ISS Quest | Scott Kelly Timothy Kopra | Released a brake on the Mobile Servicing System to allow it to be properly stowed prior to the arrival of a visiting Progress vehicle. Routed cables in preparation for the installation of the Nauka module and the International Docking Adapter, and retrieved tools from a toolbox. |

## Space debris events

| Date/Time (UTC) | Source object | Event type | Pieces tracked | Remarks |
| 3 February 17:40 | DMSP 5D-2/F13 (USA-109) | Satellite breakup | 159 | The breakup was most likely caused by a battery explosion. This satellite had been launched in 1995. Another satellite from the same series, DMSP 5D-2/F11, had broken up in 2004. Debris are expected to remain in orbit for decades. |
| 25 November 7:20 | NOAA-16 | Satellite breakup | 275 | As this weather satellite, launched in 2000, had a similar construction to the DMSP satellite which broke up in February 2015, the same cause is suspected (battery overheating and explosion). |
| 22 December 16:00 | Briz-M upper stage | Booster explosion | 9 | A Briz-M upper-stage booster, having subsisted in geosynchronous transfer orbit since launching the Canadian Nimiq 6 commsat in 2012, was seen to have broken up into 9 pieces as of 26 January 2016. Orbital analysis of the debris allowed to time the explosion within one minute of 16:00 UTC on 22 December 2015. Three other Briz-M upper stages had exploded earlier in 2007, 2010 and 2012. |

## Orbital launch statistics
### By country

For the purposes of this section, the yearly tally of orbital launches by country assigns each flight to the country of origin of the rocket, not to the launch services provider or the spaceport. For example, Soyuz launches by Arianespace in Kourou are counted under Russia because Soyuz-2 is a Russian rocket.
| Country | Country | Launches | Successes | Failures | Partial failures | Remarks |
| | China | 19 | 19 | 0 | 0 | |
| | France | 6 | 6 | 0 | 0 | |
| | Italy | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | |
| | India | 5 | 5 | 0 | 0 | |
| | Iran | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | |
| | Japan | 4 | 4 | 0 | 0 | |
| | Russia | 27 | 24 | 2 | 1 | Includes three European Soyuz launches from Kourou, French Guiana by Arianespace |
| | Ukraine | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | Zenit and Dnepr rockets were launched from Russia and/or Kazakhstan |
| | United States | 20 | 18 | 2 | 0 | |
| World | World | 87 | 82 | 4 | 1 | |

### By rocket

* Ariane 5
* Atlas V
* Delta II
* Delta IV
* Delta IV Heavy
* Falcon 9
* H-IIA
* H-IIB
* Long March 2
* Long March 3
* Long March 4
* Long March 6
* Long March 11
* PSLV
* Soyuz-U
* Soyuz-FG
* Soyuz-2 (Russia)
* Soyuz-ST (Europe)
* Proton-M
* Rokot
* Vega
* Others

#### By family

| Family | Country | Launches | Successes | Failures | Partial failures |
| Ariane | France | 6 | 6 | 0 | 0 |
| Atlas | United States | 9 | 9 | 0 | 0 |
| Delta | United States | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 |
| Falcon | United States | 7 | 6 | 1 | 0 |
| GSLV | India | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| H-II | Japan | 4 | 4 | 0 | 0 |
| Long March | China | 19 | 19 | 0 | 0 |
| PSLV | India | 4 | 4 | 0 | 0 |
| R-7 | Russia | 17 | 15 | 1 | 1 |
| R-36 | Ukraine | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Safir | Iran | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Strypi | United States | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| Universal Rocket | Russia | 10 | 9 | 1 | 0 |
| Vega | Italy | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 |
| Zenit | Ukraine | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 |

#### By type

| Rocket | Country | Family | Launches | Successes | Failures | Partial failures | Remarks |
| Ariane 5 | France | Ariane | 6 | 6 | 0 | 0 | |
| Atlas V | United States | Atlas | 9 | 9 | 0 | 0 | |
| Delta II | United States | Delta | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | |
| Delta IV | United States | Delta | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | |
| Dnepr | Ukraine | R-36 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | Final flight |
| Falcon 9 | United States | Falcon | 7 | 6 | 1 | 0 | |
| GSLV | India | GSLV | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | |
| H-IIA | Japan | H-II | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | |
| H-IIB | Japan | H-II | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | |
| Long March 2 | China | Long March | 4 | 4 | 0 | 0 | |
| Long March 3 | China | Long March | 9 | 9 | 0 | 0 | |
| Long March 4 | China | Long March | 4 | 4 | 0 | 0 | |
| Long March 6 | China | Long March | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | Maiden flight |
| Long March 11 | China | Long March | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | Maiden flight |
| Proton | Russia | Universal Rocket | 8 | 7 | 1 | 0 | |
| PSLV | India | PSLV | 4 | 4 | 0 | 0 | |
| Safir | Iran | Safir | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | |
| Soyuz | Russia | R-7 | 7 | 7 | 0 | 0 | |
| Soyuz-2 | Russia | R-7 | 10 | 8 | 1 | 1 | |
| Super Strypi | United States | Strypi | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | Maiden flight |
| UR-100 | Russia | Universal Rocket | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | |
| Vega | Italy | Vega | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | |
| Zenit | Ukraine | Zenit | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | |

#### By configuration

| Rocket | Country | Type | Launches | Successes | Failures | Partial failures | Remarks |
| Ariane 5 ECA | France | Ariane 5 | 6 | 6 | 0 | 0 | |
| Atlas V 401 | United States | Atlas V | 4 | 4 | 0 | 0 | |
| Atlas V 421 | United States | Atlas V | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | |
| Atlas V 501 | United States | Atlas V | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | |
| Atlas V 551 | United States | Atlas V | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | |
| Delta II 7320 | United States | Delta II | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | |
| Delta IV Medium+ (4,2) | United States | Delta IV | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | |
| Delta IV Medium+ (5,4) | United States | Delta IV | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | |
| Dnepr | Ukraine | R-36 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | Final flight |
| Falcon 9 v1.1 | United States | Falcon 9 | 6 | 5 | 1 | 0 | |
| Falcon 9 Full Thrust | United States | Falcon 9 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | Maiden flight |
| GSLV Mk II | India | GSLV | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | |
| H-IIA 202 | Japan | H-IIA | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | |
| H-IIA 204 | Japan | H-IIA | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | |
| H-IIB | Japan | H-IIB | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | |
| Long March 2D | China | Long March 2 | 4 | 4 | 0 | 0 | |
| Long March 3B/E | China | Long March 3 | 7 | 7 | 0 | 0 | |
| Long March 3B / YZ-1 | China | Long March 3 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | Maiden flight |
| Long March 3C/E / YZ-1 | China | Long March 3 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | Maiden flight |
| Long March 4B | China | Long March 4 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | |
| Long March 4C | China | Long March 4 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | |
| Long March 6 | China | Long March 5 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | Maiden flight |
| Long March 11 | China | Long March 11 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | Maiden flight |
| Proton-M / Blok DM-03 | Russia | Proton | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | |
| Proton-M / Briz-M | Russia | Proton | 7 | 6 | 1 | 0 | |
| PSLV-CA | India | PSLV | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | |
| PSLV-XL | India | PSLV | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | |
| Rokot / Briz-KM | Russia | UR-100 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | |
| Safir-1B | Iran | Safir | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | |
| Soyuz-2.1a | Russia | Soyuz-2 | 4 | 3 | 1 | 0 | |
| Soyuz-2.1b | Russia | Soyuz-2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | |
| Soyuz-2.1b / Fregat-M | Russia | Soyuz-2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | |
| Soyuz ST-B / Fregat-MT | Russia | Soyuz-2 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | |
| Soyuz-2-1v / Volga | Russia | Soyuz-2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | |
| Soyuz-FG | Russia | Soyuz | 4 | 4 | 0 | 0 | |
| Soyuz-U | Russia | Soyuz | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | |
| Super Strypi | United States | Strypi | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | Maiden flight |
| Vega | Italy | Vega | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | |
| Zenit-3F | Ukraine | Zenit | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | |

### By spaceport

* Jiuquan
* Taiyuan
* Xichang
* Kourou
* Satish Dhawan
* Semnan
* Tanegashima
* Uchinoura
* Baikonur
* Dombarovsky
* Plesetsk
* Barking Sands
* Cape Canaveral
* Kennedy
* MARS
* Vandenberg
| Site | Country | Launches | Successes | Failures | Partial failures |
| Baikonur | Kazakhstan | 18 | 16 | 2 | 0 |
| Barking Sands | United States | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| Cape Canaveral | United States | 17 | 16 | 1 | 0 |
| Dombarovsky | Russia | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Kourou | France | 12 | 12 | 0 | 0 |
| Jiuquan | China | 5 | 5 | 0 | 0 |
| Plesetsk | Russia | 7 | 6 | 0 | 1 |
| Satish Dhawan | India | 5 | 5 | 0 | 0 |
| Semnan | Iran | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Taiyuan | China | 5 | 5 | 0 | 0 |
| Tanegashima | Japan | 4 | 4 | 0 | 0 |
| Vandenberg | United States | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| Xichang | China | 9 | 9 | 0 | 0 |
| Total | Total | 87 | 82 | 4 | 1 |

### By orbit

* Transatmospheric
* Low Earth
* Low Earth (ISS)
* Low Earth (SSO)
* Low Earth (retrograde)
* Geosychronous (transfer)
* Medium Earth
* High Earth
* Heliocentric
| Orbital regime | Launches | Achieved | Not achieved | Accidentally achieved | Remarks |
| Transatmospheric | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | |
| Low Earth | 45 | 42 | 2 | 1 | 14 to ISS (1 launch failure, 1 failure post-separation) |
| Geosynchronous/transfer | 32 | 31 | 1 | 0 | |
| Medium Earth | 7 | 7 | 0 | 0 | |
| High Earth | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | |
| Total | 87 | 83 | 3 | 1 | |

## Gallery

* Soyuz TMA-16M launches carrying ISS year long mission crew members Scott Kelly and Mikhail Korniyenko and Soyuz commander Gennady Padalka.
* Photo of Ceres taken by the Dawn spacecraft at a distance of 13,600 km (8,500 mi).
* First stage of the Falcon 9 Flight 20 rocket immediately before touching down at Landing Zone 1.
* Scott Kelly working outside of the International Space Station