1968 in spaceflight · Paulipedia

1968 in spaceflight
Orbital launches
The crew of Apollo 8 were the first humans to witness Earthrise, photographed by William Anders on 24 December 1968
First	7 January
Last	26 December
Total	128
Successes	119
Failures	9
Partial failures	3
Rockets
Maiden flights	Delta M Delta N
Retirements	Delta J Kosmos-3
Crewed flights
Orbital	3

1968 in spaceflight

Timeline of spaceflight

The United States National Space Science Data Center catalogued 157 spacecraft placed into orbit by launches, which occurred in 1968.^[1] It was the year in which Earth lifeforms first left low Earth orbit, during the successful Soviet Zond 5 mission around the Moon and the Zond 6 lunar mission which crashed upon return. It was also the year that humans first left low Earth orbit, during the successful Apollo 8 mission to the Moon.

Deep space lunar missions

Date (UTC)	Spacecraft	Event	Remarks
10 January	Surveyor 7	Lunar landing	in the debris from Tycho crater
31 January	Lunar Orbiter 5	Lunar impact
10 April	Luna 14	Lunar orbit insertion
18 September	Zond 5	Lunar flyby; first return to Earth after deep-space flight; first Earth life forms to travel around the Moon (two Russian tortoises)	Closest approach: 1,950 kilometres (1,210 mi)
14 November	Zond 6	Lunar flyby with turtles, flies, and bacteria	Closest approach: 2,420 kilometres (1,500 mi)
24 December	Apollo 8	Lunar orbit insertion; first humans to orbit the Moon
25 December	Apollo 8	Leaves lunar orbit	Completed 10 orbits

Orbital launches

Key

USA

Soviet Union

January

January launches
Date and time (UTC)	Rocket		Flight number	Launch site		LSP
		Payload	Operator	Orbit	Function	Decay (UTC)	Outcome
		Remarks
7 January 06:30	Atlas-SLV3 Centaur-D		AC-15	Cape Canaveral SLC-36A

		Surveyor 7	NASA	Selenocentric	Lunar lander	10 January (on Moon)	Successful
11 January 16:16	Delta E1		D-56	Vandenberg SLC-2E

		Explorer 36 (GEOS-B)	NASA	Low Earth	Research	In orbit	Successful
16 January 12:00	Voskhod			Plesetsk Site 41/1

		Kosmos 199 (Zenit-2 #58)	GRU	Low Earth Orbit	Reconnaissance	In orbit	Successful
17 January 10:12	Thor SLV-2A Agena-D			Vandenberg SLC-2W

		OPS 1965 Multigroup 3&Setter 1B-2	USAF	Low Earth	ELINT	In orbit	Successful
18 January 19:04	Titan IIIB Agena-D			Vandenberg SLC-4W

		OPS 5028 KH-8 4311	USAF	Low Earth	Reconnaissance	In orbit	Successful
19 January 22:00	Kosmos-3M			Plesetsk Site 132/2

		Kosmos 200 (Tselina O #2)		Low Earth Orbit	SIGINT	In orbit	Successful
22 January 22:48:09	Saturn IB (C-1B)			Cape Canaveral LC-37B		NASA

		Apollo 5	NASA	LEO	Test Lunar Module	12 February 1968 09:59	successful
		Minor malfunction of LM descent stage engine, otherwise successful
24 January 22:26	Thorad-SLV2G Agena-D			Vandenberg SLC-1E

		OPS 5028 KH-4A 1045	CIA	Low Earth	Reconnaissance	In orbit	Successful
		Tivoli 1	USAF	Low Earth	ELINT	In orbit	Successful

February

February launches
Date and time (UTC)	Rocket		Flight number	Launch site		LSP
		Payload	Operator	Orbit	Function	Decay (UTC)	Outcome
		Remarks
6 February 08:00	Voskhod			Baikonur Site 31/6

		Kosmos 201 (Zenit-4 #38)	GRU	Low Earth Orbit	Reconnaissance	In orbit	Successful
7 February 10:43	Molniya-M / Blok L			Baikonur Site 1/5

		(Ye-6LS No 112)		Selenocentric	Lunar Orbiter	7 February	Failure
20 February 10:03	Kosmos-2			Kapustin Yar Site 86/1

		Kosmos 202 (DS-U2-V #4)		Low Earth Orbit	Ionospheric research	24 March	Successful
20 February 16:00	Kosmos-3M			Plesetsk Site 132/2

		Kosmos 203 (Sfera #1)		Low Earth Orbit	Geodesy	In orbit	Successful

March

March launches
Date and time (UTC)	Rocket		Flight number	Launch site		LSP
		Payload	Operator	Orbit	Function	Decay (UTC)	Outcome
		Remarks
2 March 03:55	Scout-A			Vandenberg SLC-5

		OPS 7034 Transit-O 18	USN	Low Earth	Navigation	In orbit	Successful
2 March 18:29	Proton K / Blok D			Baikonur Site 81/23		MOM

		Zond 4 (L1 6)	MOM	Lunar free-return	Prototype Soyuz 7K-L1P/Zond	9 March	Successful
4 March 13:06	Atlas-SLV3 Agena-D			Cape Canaveral LC-13

		OGO 5 (EGO 3)	NASA	Low Earth	Research	In orbit	Successful
5 March 11:20	Kosmos-2			Plesetsk Site 133/1

		Kosmos 204 (DS-P1-I #3)		Low Earth Orbit	Radar calibration	2 March 1969	Successful
5 March 12:30	Voskhod			Plesetsk Site 41/1

		Kosmos 205 (Zenit-2 #59)	GRU	Low Earth Orbit	Reconnaissance	In orbit	Successful
5 March 18:28	Scout-B			Wallops LA-3

		Explorer 37 (Solrad 9)	NASA	Low Earth	Research	16 November 1990	Successful
6 March 11:02	Kosmos-2			Kapustin Yar Site 86/1

		(DS-U1-Ya #1)		Low Earth Orbit	Magnetosphere research	6 March	Failure
13 March 19:51	Titan IIIB Agena-D			Vandenberg SLC-4W

		OPS 5057 KH-8 4312	USAF	Low Earth	Reconnaissance	In orbit	Successful
14 March 09:34	Vostok-2M			Plesetsk Site 41/1

		Kosmos 206 (Meteor-1 #9)		Low Earth Orbit	Meteorology	22 April 1989	Successful
14 March 22:00	Thorad-SLV2G Agena-D			Vandenberg SLC-1E

		OPS 4849 KH-4A 1046	CIA	Low Earth	Reconnaissance	In orbit	Successful
		OPS 7076 Lampan 1 / Sampan 2	USAF	Low Earth	ELINT	In orbit	Successful
16 March 12:30	Voskhod			Plesetsk Site 41/1

		Kosmos 207 (Zenit-4 #39)	GRU	Low Earth Orbit	Reconnaissance	In orbit	Successful
21 March 09:50	Voskhod			Baikonur Site 1/5

		Kosmos 208 (Zenit-2M #1, Gektor #1) & Nauka-1KS 1L	GRU	Low Earth Orbit	Reconnaissance	In orbit	Successful
22 March 09:30	Tsyklon-2A			Baikonur Site 90/19

		Kosmos 209 (US-AO #4)		Low Earth Orbit	US-A prototype	In orbit	Successful

April

April launches
Date and time (UTC)	Rocket		Flight number	Launch site		LSP
		Payload	Operator	Orbit	Function	Decay (UTC)	Outcome
		Remarks
3 April 11:00	Voskhod			Plesetsk Site 41/1

		Kosmos 210 (Zenit-2 #60)	GRU	Low Earth Orbit	Reconnaissance	In orbit	Successful
4 April 12:00:02	Saturn V (C-5)			LC-39A, Kennedy		NASA

		Apollo 6	NASA	Low Earth (achieved) TLI to direct return abort (planned)	Test CSM heat shield at Lunar return speeds. Test S-IVB re-ignition in LEO.	4 April 1968 21:57:26	Partial failure
		Experienced Pogo oscillation during S-IC first stage ascent. S-IVB failed restart test.
6 April 09:59	Atlas F OV1			Vandenberg LC-576A2

		OV1 13	USAF	Low Earth	Radiation belt research	In orbit	Successful
		OV1 14	USAF	Low Earth	Radiation belt research	In orbit	Successful
7 April 10:09	Molniya-M / Blok L			Baikonur Site 1/5

		Luna 14		Selenocentric	Lunar Orbiter	In orbit	Successful
9 April 11:26	Kosmos-2			Plesetsk Site 133/1

		Kosmos 211 (DS-P1-Yu #12)		Low Earth Orbit	Radar calibration	In orbit	Successful
14 April 10:00	Soyuz			Baikonur Site 31/6

		Kosmos 212 (Soyuz Test #5)		Low Earth Orbit	Test spacecraft	In orbit	Successful
15 April 09:34	Soyuz			Baikonur Site 1/5

		Kosmos 213 (Soyuz Test #6)		Low Earth Orbit	Test spacecraft	In orbit	Successful
17 April 17:00	Titan IIIB Agena-D			Vandenberg SLC-4W

		OPS 5105 KH-8 4313	USAF	Low Earth	Reconnaissance	In orbit	Successful
18 April 10:30	Voskhod			Plesetsk Site 41/1

		Kosmos 214 (Zenit-4 #40)	GRU	Low Earth Orbit	Reconnaissance	In orbit	Successful
18 April 22:29	Kosmos-2			Kapustin Yar Site 86/1

		Kosmos 215 (DS-U1-A #1)		Low Earth Orbit	Aeronomy	30 June	Successful
20 April 10:30	Voskhod			Baikonur Site 31/6

		Kosmos 216 (Zenit-2 #61)	GRU	Low Earth Orbit	Reconnaissance	In orbit	Successful
21 April 04:20	Molniya-M / Blok ML			Baikonur Site 1/5

		Molniya-1 08		Molniya orbit	Communications	In orbit	Successful
22 April 23:01	Proton K / Blok D			Pad 81/23, Baikonur		MOM

		Zond (L1 7)	MOM	Lunar Free-return	Prototype Soyuz 7K-L1P/Zond	22 April	Failure
24 April 16:00	Tsyklon-2A			Baikonur Site 90/19

		Kosmos 217 (I2M #1)		Low Earth Orbit	ASAT target	26 April	Partial failure
		The satellite did not separate from the upper stage and was placed into lower than planned orbit
25 April 00:45	R-36-O			Baikonur Site 162/36

		Kosmos 218 (OGCh #17)	RVSN	Low Earth Orbit	FOBS test	25 April	Successful
26 April 04:42	Kosmos-2			Kapustin Yar Site 86/1

		Kosmos 219 (DS-U2-D #2)		Low Earth Orbit	Magnetosphere research	2 March 1969	Successful

May

May launches
Date and time (UTC)	Rocket		Flight number	Launch site		LSP
		Payload	Operator	Orbit	Function	Decay (UTC)	Outcome
		Remarks
1 May 21:31	Thorad-SLV2G Agena-D			Vandenberg SLC-3W

		OPS 1413 KH-4B 1103		Low Earth	Reconnaissance	In orbit	Successful
7 May 13:57	Kosmos 3M			Plesetsk Site 132/2

		Kosmos 220 (Zaliv #2)		Low Earth Orbit	Navigation	In orbit	Successful
17 May 02:06	Scout B			Vandenberg SLC-5

		ESRO 2B (Iris 2)	ESRO	Low Earth Orbit	Research	In orbit	Successful
18 May 08:23	Thorad-SLV2G Agena-D			Vandenberg SLC-2E

		Nimbus B	NASA/NOAA	Low Earth	Meteorology	18 May	Failure
		SECOR 10	US Army	Low Earth	Geodesy	18 May	Failure
23 May 04:38	Thor LV-2F Burner 2			Vandenberg SLC-10W

		OPS 7869 DMSP-4B F1	USAF	Low Earth	Meteorology	In orbit	Successful
24 May 07:04	Kosmos-2			Kapustin Yar Site 86/1

		Kosmos 221 (DS-P1-Yu #13)		Low Earth Orbit	Radar calibration	In orbit	Successful
30 May 20:29	Kosmos-2			Plesetsk Site 133/1

		Kosmos 222 (DS-P1-Yu #14)		Low Earth Orbit	Radar calibration	In orbit	Successful

June

June launches
Date and time (UTC)	Rocket		Flight number	Launch site		LSP
		Payload	Operator	Orbit	Function	Decay (UTC)	Outcome
		Remarks
1 June 10:50	Voskhod			Plesetsk Site 41/1

		Kosmos 223 (Zenit-2 #62)	GRU	Low Earth Orbit	Reconnaissance	In orbit	Successful
4 June 06:45	Voskhod			Baikonur Site 31/6

		Kosmos 224 (Zenit-4 #41)	GRU	Low Earth Orbit	Reconnaissance	In orbit	Successful
4 June 18:45	Kosmos-3M			Plesetsk Site 132/2

		Sfera #2		Low Earth Orbit	Geodesy	4 June	Failure
5 June 17:33	Titan IIIB Agena-D			Vandenberg SLC-4W

		OPS 5138 KH-8 4314	USAF	Low Earth	Reconnaissance	In orbit	Successful
11 June 21:29	Kosmos-2			Kapustin Yar Site 86/1

		Kosmos 225 (DS-U1-Ya #2)		Low Earth Orbit	Magnetosphere research	In orbit	Successful
12 June 13:14	Vostok-2M			Plesetsk Site 41/1

		Kosmos 226 (Meteor-1 #10)		Low Earth Orbit	Meteorology	In orbit	Successful
13 June 14:03:00	Titan IIIC			Cape Canaveral Air Force Station LC-41		USAF

		OPS 9341 IDCSP 20	USAF	Sub-GSO	Military communications	In orbit	Success
		OPS 9342 IDCSP 21	USAF	Sub-GSO	Military communications	In orbit	Success
		OPS 9343 IDCSP 22	USAF	Sub-GSO	Military communications	In orbit	Success
		OPS 9344 IDCSP 23	USAF	Sub-GSO	Military communications	In orbit	Success
		OPS 9345 IDCSP 24	USAF	Sub-GSO	Military communications	In orbit	Success
		OPS 9346 IDCSP 25	USAF	Sub-GSO	Military communications	In orbit	Success
		OPS 9347 IDCSP 26	USAF	Sub-GSO	Military communications	In orbit	Success
		OPS 9348 IDCSP 27	USAF	Sub-GSO	Military communications	In orbit	Success
15 June 12:25	Kosmos-3			Plesetsk Site 41/15

		(Strela-2 #4)		Low Earth Orbit	Military communications	15 June	Failure
18 June 06:15	Voskhod			Baikonur Site 31/6

		Kosmos 227 (Zenit-4 #42)	GRU	Low Earth Orbit	Reconnaissance	In orbit	Successful
20 June 21:46	Thorad-SLV2G Agena-D			Vandenberg SLC-1E

		OPS 5343 KH-4A 1047		Low Earth	Reconnaissance	In orbit	Successful
		OPS 5259 Tripos 3/Sousea 2	USAF	Low Earth	ELINT	In orbit	Successful
21 June 12:00	Voskhod			Baikonur Site 31/6

		Kosmos 228 (Zenit-2M #2, Gektor #2&Nauka-1KS 2L)	GRU	Low Earth Orbit	Reconnaissance	In orbit	Successful
26 June 11:00	Voskhod			Plesetsk Site 41/1

		Kosmos 229 (Zenit-4 #43)	GRU	Low Earth Orbit	Reconnaissance	In orbit	Successful

July

July launches
Date and time (UTC)	Rocket		Flight number	Launch site		LSP
		Payload	Operator	Orbit	Function	Decay (UTC)	Outcome
		Remarks
4 July 17:26	Delta J		D-57	Vandenberg SLC-2E

		Explorer 38 (RAE A)	NASA	Low Earth	Research	In orbit	Successful
5 July 06:59	Kosmos-2			Kapustin Yar Site 86/1

		Kosmos 230 (DS-U3-S #2)		Low Earth Orbit	Solar research	2 November	Successful
5 July 15:25	Molniya-M / Blok ML			Baikonur Site 1/5

		Molniya-1 09		Molniya	Communications	In orbit	Successful
10 July 19:49	Voskhod			Baikonur Site 31/6

		Kosmos 231 (Zenit-2 #63)	GRU	Low Earth Orbit	Reconnaissance	In orbit	Successful
11 July 19:30	Atlas F OV1			Vandenberg LC576A2

		OV1 15 (SPADES)	USAF	Low Earth	Technology Demonstration	In orbit	Successful
		OV1 16 (LOADS 1)	USAF	Low Earth	Technology Demonstration	In orbit	Successful
16 July 13:10	Voskhod			Plesetsk Site 41/1

		Kosmos 232 (Zenit-4 #44)	GRU	Low Earth Orbit	Reconnaissance	In orbit	Successful
18 July 19:59	Kosmos-2			Plesetsk Site 133/1

		Kosmos 233 (DS-P1-Yu #15)		Low Earth Orbit	Radar calibration	In orbit	Successful
30 July 07:00	Voskhod			Baikonur Site 31/6

		Kosmos 234 (Zenit-4 #45)	GRU	Low Earth Orbit	Reconnaissance	In orbit	Successful

August

August launches
Date and time (UTC)	Rocket		Flight number	Launch site		LSP
		Payload	Operator	Orbit	Function	Decay (UTC)	Outcome
		Remarks
6 August 11:08	Atlas-SLV3 Agena-D			Cape Canaveral LC-13

		OPS 2222 Canyon 1	USAF	Low Earth	SIGINT	In orbit	Successful
6 August 16:30	Titan IIIB Agena-D			Vandenberg SLC-4W

		OPS 5187 KH-8 4315	USAF	Low Earth	Reconnaissance	In orbit	Successful
7 August 21:36	Thorad-SLV2G Agena-D			Vandenberg SLC-3W

		OPS 5955 KH-4B 1104		Low Earth	Reconnaissance	In orbit	Successful
8 August 20:12	Scout B			Vandenberg SLC-5

		Explorer 39 (AD C)	NASA	Low Earth	Research	22 June 1981	Successful
		Explorer 40 (Injun 5)	NASA	Low Earth	Research	In orbit	Successful
9 August 07:00	Voskhod			Baikonur Site 31/6

		Kosmos 235 (Zenit-2 #64)	GRU	Low Earth Orbit	Reconnaissance	In orbit	Successful
10 August 22:33	Atlas-SLV3 Centaur-D		AC-17	Cape Canaveral SLC-36A

		ATS-4	NASA	Geosynchronous (planned) Low Earth orbit (achieved)	Communications/Meteorology	17 October	Partial failure
		Centaur failed to restart, payload inserted into lower than planned orbit
16 August 11:24	Delta N		D-58	Vandenberg SLC-2E

		ESSA-7	ESSA	Low Earth	Meteorology	In orbit	Successful
16 August 20:57	Atlas SLV-3 Burner-2			Vandenberg SLC-3E

		Orbiscal 1	USAF	Low Earth	Technology Demonstration	16 August	Failure
		OV5 8 (ERS 19)	USAF	Low Earth	Technology Demonstration
		Gridsphere 1	USAF	Low Earth	Technology Demonstration
		Gridsphere 2	USAF	Low Earth	Technology Demonstration
		MylarBalloon	USAF	Low Earth	Technology Demonstration
		Rigidsphere	USAF	Low Earth	Technology Demonstration
		LCS 3	MIT Lincoln Laboratory	Low Earth	Calibration
		LIDOS	USAF	Low Earth	Geodesy
		SECOR 11	US Army	Low Earth	Geodesy
		SECOR 12	US Army	Low Earth	Geodesy
		Radcat		Low Earth	Calibration
		RM 18 & UVR	USAF	Low Earth	Technology Demonstration
		Payload fairing failed to separate
27 August 11:29	Kosmos-3			Baikonur Site 41/15

		Kosmos 236 (Strela-2 #5)		Low Earth Orbit	Military communications	In orbit	Successful
27 August 12:29	Voskhod			Plesetsk Site 41/1

		Kosmos 237 (Zenit-4 #46)	GRU	Low Earth Orbit	Reconnaissance	In orbit	Successful
28 August 10:04	Soyuz			Baikonur Site 31/6

		Kosmos 238 (Soyuz Test #7)		Low Earth Orbit	Test spacecraft	1 September 09:03	Successful

September

September launches
Date and time (UTC)	Rocket		Flight number	Launch site		LSP
		Payload	Operator	Orbit	Function	Decay (UTC)	Outcome
		Remarks
5 September 07:00	Voskhod			Baikonur Site 31/6

		Kosmos 239 (Zenit-4 #47)	GRU	Low Earth Orbit	Reconnaissance	In orbit	Successful
10 September 18:30	Titan IIIB Agena-D			Vandenberg SLC-4W

		OPS 5247 KH-8 4316	USAF	Low Earth	Reconnaissance	In orbit	Successful
14 September 06:50	Voskhod			Baikonur Site 31/6

		Kosmos 240 (Zenit-2 #65)	GRU	Low Earth Orbit	Reconnaissance	In orbit	Successful
14 September 21:42	Proton K / Blok D			Pad 81/23, Baikonur		MOM

		Zond 5 (L1 9)	MOM	Lunar Free-return	Prototype Soyuz 7K-L1P/Zond	21 September 16:08	Successful
16 September 12:30	Voskhod			Site 41/1, Plesetsk

		Kosmos 241 (Zenit-4 #48)	GRU	Low Earth Orbit	Reconnaissance	In orbit	Successful
18 September 21:32	Thorad-SLV2G Agena-D			Vandenberg SLC-1E

		OPS 0165 KH-4A 1048		Low Earth	Reconnaissance	In orbit	Successful
		OPS 8595 Vampan 1	USAF	Low Earth	ELINT	In orbit	Successful
19 September 00:09	Delta M		D-59	Cape Canaveral LC-17A

		Intelsat III F1	Intelsat	Geosynchronous	Communications	19 September	Failure
20 September 14:39	Kosmos-2			Plesetsk Site 133/1

		Kosmos 242 (DS-P1-I #4)		Low Earth Orbit	Radar calibration	In orbit	Successful
23 September 07:39	Voskhod			Baikonur Site 1/5

		Kosmos 243 (Zenit-2M #3, Gektor #3 & Nauka-2KS 1L)		Low Earth Orbit	Reconnaissance	In orbit	Successful
26 September 07:37	Titan IIIC			Cape Canaveral SLC-41

		LES 6	USAF	Geosynchronous	Technology Demonstration	In orbit	Successful
		OV2 5	USAF	Low Earth	Technology Demonstration	In orbit	Successful
		OV5 2 (ERS 21)	USAF	Low Earth	Technology Demonstration	In orbit	Successful
		OV5 4 (ERS 28)	USAF	Low Earth	Technology Demonstration	In orbit	Successful

October

October launches
Date and time (UTC)	Rocket		Flight number	Launch site		LSP
		Payload	Operator	Orbit	Function	Decay (UTC)	Outcome
		Remarks
2 October 13:35	R-36-O			Baikonur Site 161/35

		Kosmos 244 (OGCh #20)	RVSN	Low Earth Orbit	FOBS test	2 October	Successful
3 October 12:58	Kosmos-2			Plesetsk Site 133/1

		Kosmos 245 (DS-P1-Yu #16)		Low Earth Orbit	Radar calibration	In orbit	Successful
3 October 20:49	Scout-B			Vandenberg SLC-5

		ESRO 1A (Aurorae)	ESRO	Low Earth	Technology Demonstration	In orbit	Successful
5 October 00:32	Molniya-M / Blok ML			Baikonur Site 1/5

		Molniya-1 10		Molniya	Communications	In orbit	Successful
5 October 11:16	Thorad-SLV2G Agena-D			Vandenberg SLC-1W

		OPS 0964 Strawman 1	USAF	Low Earth	ELINT, SIGINT	In orbit	Successful
7 October 12:05	Voskhod			Plesetsk Site 41/1

		Kosmos 246 (Zenit-4 #49)	GRU	Low Earth Orbit	Reconnaissance	In orbit	Successful
11 October 12:05	Voskhod			Plesetsk Site 41/1

		Kosmos 247 (Zenit-2 #66)	GRU	Low Earth Orbit	Reconnaissance	In orbit	Successful
11 October 1968 15:02	Saturn IB (C-1B)			LC-34, Cape Canaveral		NASA

		Apollo 7	NASA	LEO	Crewed orbital flight	22 October 1968 11:11:48	Successful
		First crewed Apollo flight
19 October 04:20	Tsyklon-2A			Baikonur Site 90/19

		Kosmos 248 (I2M #2)		Low Earth Orbit	ASAT target	In orbit	Successful
20 October 04:02	Tsyklon-2A			Site 90/20, Baikonur

		Kosmos 249 (I2P #1)		Low Earth Orbit	ASAT test	In orbit	Successful
23 October 04:34	Thor LV-2F Burner 2			Vandenberg SLC-10W

		OPS 4078 DSMP-4B F2		Low Earth (SSO)	Meteorology	In orbit	Successful
25 October 09:00	Soyuz			Baikonur Site 1/5		RVSN

		Soyuz 2		Low Earth orbit	Docking target for Soyuz 3	28 October 1968 07:21	Successful
		Soyuz 3 failed to dock
26 October 08:34	Soyuz			Baikonur Site 31/6		RVSN

		Soyuz 3		Low Earth orbit	Crewed orbital flight	30 October 1968 07:25:03	Partial Failure
		Failed to dock with Soyuz 2
30 October 22:00	Kosmos-3M			Plesetsk Site 132/2

		Kosmos 250 (Tselina-O #3)		Low Earth Orbit	SIGINT	In orbit	Successful
31 October 09:14	Voskhod			Baikonur Site 1/5

		Kosmos 251 (Zenit-4M #1, Rotor #1)	GRU	Low Earth Orbit	Reconnaissance	In orbit	Successful

November

November launches
Date and time (UTC)	Rocket		Flight number	Launch site		LSP
		Payload	Operator	Orbit	Function	Decay (UTC)	Outcome
		Remarks
1 November 00:27	Tsyklon-2A			Baikonur Site 90/20

		Kosmos 252 (I2P #2)		Low Earth Orbit	ASAT	In orbit	Successful
3 November 21:30	Thorad-SLV2G Agena-D			Vandenberg SLC-3W

		OPS 1315 KH-4B 1105		Low Earth	Reconnaissance	In orbit	Successful
6 November 19:10	Titan IIIB Agena-D			Vandenberg SLC-4W

		OPS 5296 KH-8 4317	USAF	Low Earth	Reconnaissance	In orbit	Successful
8 November 09:46	Delta E1		D-60	Cape Canaveral SLC-17B

		Pioneer 9	NASA	Heliocentric	Solar Orbiter	In orbit	Successful
		TTS 2	NASA	Low Earth	Technology Demonstration	In orbit	Successful
10 November 19:11	Proton K / Blok D			Baikonur Site 81/23		MOM

		Zond 6 (L1 12)	MOM	Lunar Free-return	Prototype Soyuz 7K-L1P/Zond	17 November 14:10	Successful
13 November 12:00	Voskhod			Plesetsk Site 41/1

		Kosmos 253 (Zenit-2 #67)	GRU	Low Earth Orbit	Reconnaissance	In orbit	Successful
16 November 11:40	Proton K			Baikonur Site 81/24		MOM

		Proton 4	MOM	Low Earth	Cosmic ray research	24 July 1969	Successful
21 November 12:10	Voskhod			Plesetsk Site 41/1

		Kosmos 254 (Zenit-4 #50)	GRU	Low Earth Orbit	Reconnaissance	In orbit	Successful
29 November 12:40	Voskhod			Plesetsk Site 41/1

		Kosmos 255 (Zenit-2 #68)	GRU	Low Earth Orbit	Reconnaissance	In orbit	Successful
29 November 23:12	Europa 1		F7	Woomera Test Range LA-6A

		STV 1	ELDO	Low Earth Orbit	Dummy Payload	29 November	Failure
		Third stage failure after separation
30 November 12:00	Kosmos-3M			Plesetsk Site 132/2

		Kosmos 256 (Sfera #3)		Low Earth Orbit	Geodesy	In orbit	Successful

December

December launches
Date and time (UTC)	Rocket		Flight number	Launch site		LSP
		Payload	Operator	Orbit	Function	Decay (UTC)	Outcome
		Remarks
3 December 14:52	Kosmos-2			Plesetsk Site 133/1

		Kosmos 257 (DS-P1-Yu #17)		Low Earth Orbit	Radar calibration	5 March 1969	Successful
4 December 19:23	Titan IIIB Agena-D			Vandenberg SLC-4W

		OPS 6518 KH-8 4318	USAF	Low Earth	Reconnaissance	In orbit	Failure
5 December 18:55	Delta E1		D-61	Cape Canaveral LC-17B

		HEOS 1	ESRO	Low Earth	Research	28 October 1975	Successful
7 December 08:40	Atlas-SLV3 Agena-D		AC-16	Cape Canaveral LC-36B

		OAO 2	NASA	Low Earth	UV astronomy	In orbit	Successful
10 December 08:25	Voskhod			Baikonur Site 31/6

		Kosmos 258 (Zenit-2 #69)	GRU	Low Earth Orbit	Reconnaissance	In orbit	Successful
12 December 22:22	Thorad-SLV2G Agena-D			Vandenberg SLC-3W

		OPS 4740 KH-4A 1049	CIA	Low Earth	Reconnaissance	In orbit	Successful
		OPS 7684 P-801 1	USAF	Low Earth	ELINT	In orbit	Successful
14 December 05:09	Kosmos-2			Kapustin Yar Site 86/1

		Kosmos 259 (DS-U2-I #3)		Low Earth Orbit	Ionosphere research	5 May 1969	Successful
15 December 17:21	Delta N			Vandenberg SLC-2E

		ESSA-8	ESSA	SSO	Meteorology	In orbit	Successful
16 December 09:15	Molniya-M / Blok ML			Site 1/5, Baikonur

		Kosmos 260 (Molniya-1 Yu 15L)		Molniya	Technology Demonstration	In orbit	Successful
19 December 00:32	Delta M		D-63	Cape Canaveral LC-17A

		Intelsat III F2	Intelsat	Geosynchronous	Communications	In orbit	Successful
19 December 23:55	Kosmos-2			Plesetsk Site 133/1

		Kosmos 261 (DS-U2-GK #1)		Low Earth Orbit	Aeronomy, auroral research	12 February 1969	Successful
21 December 12:51	Saturn V (C-5)			LC-39A, Kennedy		NASA

		Apollo 8	NASA	Selenocentric	Crewed lunar orbiter	27 December 1968 15:51:42	Successful
		LTA B	NASA	Selenocentric	Mass Model	In orbit	Successful
		First crewed mission to the Moon
26 December 09:45	Kosmos-2			Kapustin Yar Site 86/1

		Kosmos 262 (DS-U2-GF #1)		Low Earth Orbit	Solar research	18 July 1969	Successful

Suborbital Launches

January–December


Date and time (UTC)	Rocket		Flight number	Launch site		LSP
		Payload	Operator	Orbit	Function	Decay (UTC)	Outcome
		Remarks
28 March	Kosmos-3			Baikonur Site 41/15

		VKZ #2		Suborbital	Aeronomy, ionosphere and radiation belt research	28 March	Successful
		Launched on the strictly vertical trajectory. Apogee: about 4,000 km
20 May 22:05	R-36-O			Baikonur Site 162/36		RVSN

		OGCh #18	RVSN	Suborbital	Missile test	20 May	Successful
27 May 23:15	R-36-O			Baikonur Site 161/35		RVSN

		OGCh #19	RVSN	Suborbital	Missile test	27 May	Successful
8 August^[2]	T-7/GF-01A			Jiuquan

			CAST	Suborbital	Test flight	8 August	Successful
		Test of high-altitude ignition of the FG-02 solid rocket motor. Apogee: 311 km
20 August^[2]	T-7/GF-01A			Jiuquan

			CAST	Suborbital	Test flight	20 August	Successful
		Test of high-altitude ignition of the FG-02 solid rocket motor. Apogee: 311 km

Orbital launch summary

References

Bergin, Chris. "NASASpaceFlight.com".
Clark, Stephen. "Spaceflight Now".
Kelso, T.S. "Satellite Catalog (SATCAT)". CelesTrak.
Krebs, Gunter. "Chronology of Space Launches".
Kyle, Ed. "Space Launch Report". Archived from the original on 5 October 2009. Retrieved 13 August 2022.
McDowell, Jonathan. "GCAT Orbital Launch Log".
Pietrobon, Steven. "Steven Pietrobon's Space Archive".
Wade, Mark. "Encyclopedia Astronautica".
Webb, Brian. "Southwest Space Archive".
Zak, Anatoly. "Russian Space Web".
"ISS Calendar". Spaceflight 101.
"NSSDCA Master Catalog". NASA Space Science Data Coordinated Archive. NASA Goddard Space Flight Center.
"Хроника освоения космоса" [Chronicle of space exploration]. CosmoWorld (in Russian).
"Rocket Launch Manifest". Next Spaceflight.
"Space Launch Plans". Novosti Kosmonavtiki.
"Space Satellite Tracking". N2YO.

Generic references:

Spaceflight portal

Footnotes

"Spacecraft Query Results". Master Catalog Search. NASA NSSDC. Archived from the original on 2 March 2012. Retrieved 30 May 2010.
Wade, Mark. "T-7". astronautix.com. Retrieved 15 August 2024.