# 1972 in spaceflight

1972 saw humanity's last crewed mission to the Moon of the 20th century, Apollo 17.

## 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 | Operator | Orbit | Function | Decay (UTC) | Outcome |
| Remarks ||||||
| January ||||||||
| January 12 09:59 | Voskhod | Voskhod | | Baikonur, LC-31/6 | Baikonur, LC-31/6 | RVSN | RVSN |
| January 12 09:59 | | Kosmos 471 (Zenit 4M/Rotor) | GRU | Low Earth orbit | Reconnaissance | January 25, 1972 | Successful |
| January 20 18:36 | Titan IIID | Titan IIID | | Vandenberg AFB, SLC-4E | Vandenberg AFB, SLC-4E | | |
| January 20 18:36 | | KH-9 2 (Hexagon 2) | USAF | LEO | Reconnaissance | 29 February 1972 | Successful |
| January 20 18:36 | | Mabeli (OPS 7719) | USAF | LEO | ELINT | 17 April 1979 | Successful |
| January 23 00:12 | Atlas SLV-3C Centaur-D | Atlas SLV-3C Centaur-D | AC-28 | Cape Canaveral, LC-36B | Cape Canaveral, LC-36B | | |
| January 23 00:12 | | Intelsat 4 F-4 | Intelsat | Geosynchronous | Communications | In orbit | Successful |
| 25 January 11:15 | Kosmos-2 | Kosmos-2 | | Plesetsk, Site 133/1 | Plesetsk, Site 133/1 | RVSN | RVSN |
| 25 January 11:15 | | Kosmos 472 (DS-P1-Yu No. 52) | RVSN | LEO | Radar calibration | 18 August 1972 | Successful |
| January 31 17:20 | Delta L | Delta L | D-87 | Vandenberg AFB, SLC-2E | Vandenberg AFB, SLC-2E | | |
| January 31 17:20 | | HEOS 2 | ESRO | High eccentricity LEO/HEO | Particle and field research | August 2, 1974 | Successful |
| Final flight of Delta L ||||||
| February ||||||||
| 8 February 05:59 | K63D | K63D | | Vladimirovka test range, near Kapustin Yar | Vladimirovka test range, near Kapustin Yar | | |
| 8 February 05:59 | | BOR-2 No.104 | | Suborbital | Re-entry test for Spiral program | 8 February | Successful |
| Subscale model of the Spiral spaceplane. Apogee: 100 km ||||||
| February 14 03:27 | Proton-K/Blok D (8K82K) | Proton-K/Blok D (8K82K) | | Baikonur, LC-81/24 | Baikonur, LC-81/24 | RVSN | RVSN |
| February 14 03:27 | | Luna 20 | | Lunar | Lunar sample return | February 21, 1972 (at Moon) | Successful |
| March ||||||||
| March 3 01:49 | Atlas SLV-3C Centaur/Star 37E | Atlas SLV-3C Centaur/Star 37E | AC-27 | Cape Canaveral, LC-36A | Cape Canaveral, LC-36A | | |
| March 3 01:49 | | Pioneer 10 | NASA | Heliocentric to Solar Escape | Jupiter flyby | In orbit | Successful |
| First spacecraft to cross asteroid belt. First flyby of Jupiter. First probe to leave Solar System ||||||
| March 12 01:55 | Delta N | Delta N | D-88 | Vandenberg AFB, SLC-2E | Vandenberg AFB, SLC-2E | | |
| March 12 01:55 | | TD-1A | ESRO | LEO | Technology research | January 9, 1980 | Successful |
| Final flight of Delta N ||||||
| March 24 08:46 | Thor-LV2F Burner-2A | Thor-LV2F Burner-2A | | Vandenberg AFB, SLC-10W | Vandenberg AFB, SLC-10W | US Air Force | US Air Force |
| March 24 08:46 | | DMSP 5B F2 | US Air Force | LEO | Weather satellite | In orbit | Successful |
| March 27 04:15 | Molniya-M/MVL | Molniya-M/MVL | | Baikonur Cosmodrome, 31/6 | Baikonur Cosmodrome, 31/6 | Soviet Union | Soviet Union |
| March 27 04:15 | | Venera 8 | USSR | Heliocentric to Venus | Venus lander | July 22, 1972 (on Venus) | Successful |
| April ||||||||
| April 16 17:45 | Saturn V | Saturn V | | Kennedy, LC-39A | Kennedy, LC-39A | NASA | NASA |
| April 16 17:45 | | Apollo 16 CSM "Casper" | NASA | Lunar | Crewed lunar orbiter | April 27, 1972 | Successful |
| April 16 17:45 | | Apollo 16 lunar module "Orion" | NASA | Lunar | Crewed lunar lander | April 20, 1972 14:23 (at Moon) | Successful |
| April 16 17:45 | | Apollo 16 Subsatellite | NASA | Lunar | Lunar particles research | May 29, 1972 (at Moon) | Partial failure |
| Crewed spaceflight to the Moon with 3 astronauts. Subsatellite placed in wrong orbit, shorter lifespan than planned ||||||
| April 19 21:43 | Thorad Agena-D SLV-2H | Thorad Agena-D SLV-2H | | Vandenberg AFB, SLC-3W | Vandenberg AFB, SLC-3W | US Air Force | US Air Force |
| April 19 21:43 | | KH-4B 1116 | USAF | LEO | Reconnaissance | May 12, 1972 | Successful |
| May ||||||||
| May 25 18:41 | Thorad Agena-D SLV-2H | Thorad Agena-D SLV-2H | | Vandenberg AFB, SLC-3W | Vandenberg AFB, SLC-3W | US Air Force | US Air Force |
| May 25 18:41 | | KH-4B 1117 | USAF | LEO | Reconnaissance | June 4, 1972 | |
| Final flight of Thorad-Agena ||||||
| June ||||||||
| June 13 21:53 | Atlas SLV-3C Centaur | Atlas SLV-3C Centaur | AC-29 | Cape Canaveral, LC-36B | Cape Canaveral, LC-36B | | |
| June 13 21:53 | | Intelsat 4 F-5 | Intelsat | Geosynchronous | Communications | In orbit | Successful |
| June 26 14:53 | Soyuz (11A511) | Soyuz (11A511) | | Baikonur, LC-1/5 | Baikonur, LC-1/5 | RVSN | RVSN |
| June 26 14:53 | | Kosmos 496 (Soyuz 7K-T) | | LEO | Test redesigned Soyuz 7K-T spacecraft | July 2, 1972 | Successful |
| July ||||||||
| July 23 18:41 | Delta 0900 | Delta 0900 | D-89 | Vandenberg AFB, SLC-2W | Vandenberg AFB, SLC-2W | | |
| July 23 18:41 | | Landsat 1 | NASA | LEO | Earth resources satellite | In orbit | Successful |
| Maiden flight of Delta 0100 series ||||||
| August ||||||||
| 10 August 00:32 | Feng Bao 1 | Feng Bao 1 | 701-02 | Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center, LA-2B (Site 138) | Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center, LA-2B (Site 138) | | |
| 10 August 00:32 | | Shiyan Peizhong | | Suborbital | Test flight | T+90 seconds | Successful |
| First suborbital test flight of Feng Bao 1, apogee: 200 km. ||||||
| 13 August 15:10 | Scout D-1 | Scout D-1 | | Wallops Flight Facility, LA-3 | Wallops Flight Facility, LA-3 | | |
| 13 August 15:10 | | Explorer 46 (MTS) | NASA | LEO | Meteoroid research | 2 November 1979 | Successful |
| August 19 02:40 | M-4S | M-4S | | Kagoshima Space Center, LP-M | Kagoshima Space Center, LP-M | NASDA | NASDA |
| August 19 02:40 | | Denpa (REXS) | ISAS | Highly elliptical orbit | Magnetosphere research | 19 May 1980 | Spacecraft failure |
| Final flight of M-4S. The satellite stopped transmitting several days after launch, due to high voltage arcing ||||||
| August 21 10:28 | Atlas SLV-3C Centaur | Atlas SLV-3C Centaur | AC-22 | Cape Canaveral, LC-36B | Cape Canaveral, LC-36B | | |
| August 21 10:28 | | OAO 3 | NASA | LEO | Ultraviolet astronomy | In orbit | Successful |
| Final flight of Atlas SLV-3C Centaur ||||||
| September ||||||||
| September 23 01:20 | Delta 1604 (1604) | Delta 1604 (1604) | D-90 | Cape Canaveral, LC-17B | Cape Canaveral, LC-17B | | |
| September 23 01:20 | | Explorer 47 | NASA | HEO | Magnetosphere research | In orbit | Successful |
| Maiden flight of Delta 1000 series. Maiden flight of Extended Long-Tank Thor stage ||||||
| October ||||||||
| October 2 20:09 | Atlas F Burner II | Atlas F Burner II | | Vandenberg AFB, BMRS-A1 | Vandenberg AFB, BMRS-A1 | US Air Force | US Air Force |
| October 2 20:09 | | OPS 8180 (RADCAT) | USAF | LEO | Radar calibration | 2 August 2012 | Successful |
| October 2 20:09 | | Radsat | USAF | LEO | Gamma radiation research | In orbit | Successful |
| October 15 17:19 | Delta 0300 | Delta 0300 | D-91 | Vandenberg AFB, SLC-2W | Vandenberg AFB, SLC-2W | | |
| October 15 17:19 | | NOAA 2 (ITOS-B) | NOAA | LEO | Weather satellite | In orbit | Successful |
| October 15 17:19 | | AMSAT-OSCAR 6 | AMSAT | LEO | Amateur radio | In orbit | Successful |
| November ||||||||
| November 9 03:23 | Thor Burner II | Thor Burner II | | Vandenberg AFB, SLC-10W | Vandenberg AFB, SLC-10W | US Air Force | US Air Force |
| November 9 03:23 | | DMSP 5B F3 | USAF | LEO | Weather | In orbit | Successful |
| November 10 01:14 | Delta 1914 | Delta 1914 | D-92 | Cape Canaveral, LC-17B | Cape Canaveral, LC-17B | | |
| November 10 01:14 | | Anik A1 | Telesat | Geosynchronous | Communications | In orbit | Successful |
| December ||||||||
| December 7 05:33 | Saturn V | Saturn V | | Kennedy, LC-39A | Kennedy, LC-39A | NASA | NASA |
| December 7 05:33 | | Apollo 17 CSM "America" | NASA | Lunar | Crewed lunar orbiter | December 19, 1971 | Successful |
| December 7 05:33 | | Apollo 17 lunar module "Challenger" | NASA | Lunar | Crewed lunar lander | December 14, 1971 (at Moon) | Successful |
| Crewed spaceflight to the Moon with 3 astronauts. Final flight of Apollo program. ||||||
| December 11 07:56 | Delta 0900 | Delta 0900 | D-93 | Vandenberg AFB, SLC-2W | Vandenberg AFB, SLC-2W | | |
| December 11 07:56 | | Nimbus 5 | NASA | LEO | Environmental research | In orbit | Successful |
| December 16 11:24 | Scout D-1 | Scout D-1 | | Vandenberg AFB, SLC-5 | Vandenberg AFB, SLC-5 | NASA | NASA |
| December 16 11:24 | | Aeros 1 | NASA/BMwF | | | In orbit | Successful |
| December 20 22:20 | Atlas SLV-3A Agena-D | Atlas SLV-3A Agena-D | | Cape Canaveral, LC-13 | Cape Canaveral, LC-13 | US Air Force | US Air Force |
| December 20 22:20 | | OPS 9390 Canyon 5 | USAF | Geosynchronous | SIGINT | In orbit | Successful |
* ← Jan
* Feb
* Mar
* Apr
* May
* Jun
* Jul
* Aug
* Sep
* Oct
* Nov
* Dec →

## Launches from the Moon

| 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 ||||||
| 22 February 22:58 | Luna 20 Ascent stage | Luna 20 Ascent stage | | Terra Apollonius (Luna) | Terra Apollonius (Luna) | | |
| 22 February 22:58 | | Luna 20 Return capsule | | Highly elliptical | Sample return | 25 February | Successful |
| Second uncrewed lunar sample return mission ||||||
| 24 April 01:25:47 | Lunar Module Ascent Stage | Lunar Module Ascent Stage | | Descartes Highlands (Luna) | Descartes Highlands (Luna) | NASA | NASA |
| 24 April 01:25:47 | | Apollo 16 LM | NASA | Selenocentric (CSM) | Crewed | Unknown | Successful |
| Carrying two astronauts back to CSM after lunar landing ||||||
| 14 December 22:54:37 | Lunar Module Ascent Stage | Lunar Module Ascent Stage | | Taurus-Littrow (Luna) | Taurus-Littrow (Luna) | NASA | NASA |
| 14 December 22:54:37 | | Apollo 17 LM | NASA | Selenocentric (CSM) | Crewed | 15 December 06:50 | Successful |
| Carrying two astronauts back to CSM after lunar landing ||||||

## Deep space rendezvous in 1972

* February 21 – Luna 20, 55g from Apollonius Crater (sample return mission)
* April 21 – Apollo 16, 95 kg from Descartes Highlands (sample return mission)
* July 22 – Venera 8 atmospheric probe worked for 50 min on the Venerian surface
* December 11 – Apollo 17, 111 kg from Taurus–Littrow (sample return mission)