Luna 1 was the first spacecraft to leave the gravitational influence of Earth. Also in 1959, Luna 2 was the first spacecraft to reach the surface of another celestial body, impacting the Moon, and Luna 3 returned the first images of the far side of the Moon.[1]
Overview
Orbital and suborbital launches
Deep Space Rendezvous
| Date (GMT) | Spacecraft | Event | Remarks |
|---|---|---|---|
| 4 January | Luna 1 | First Lunar flyby | Failed impactor, closest approach: 6,000 kilometres (3,700 mi) |
| 4 March | Pioneer 4 | Lunar flyby | Closest approach: 60,200 kilometres (37,400 mi) |
| 14 September | Luna 2 | First Lunar impact | Landed in Mare Imbrium, first spacecraft to reach the surface of a celestial body |
| 6 October | Luna 3 | Lunar flyby | First Circumlunar flight, returned 29 pictures including first images of the far side of the Moon; closest approach 6,200 kilometres (3,900 mi) |
Orbital launch statistics
By country
| Country | Launches | Successes | Failures | Partial failures | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Soviet Union |
4 | 2 | 1 | 1 | |
 United States |
19 | 9 | 9 | 1 | |
| World | 23 | 11 | 10 | 2 | |
By rocket
| Rocket | Country | Tipe | Family | Launches | Successes | Failures | Partial failures | Remarks |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Atlas D-Able | United States | Atlas-Able | Atlas | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | Maiden flight |
| Juno II | United States | Juno | Jupiter | 4 | 1 | 2 | 1 | |
| Luna 8K72 | Soviet Union | Vostok | R-7 | 4 | 2 | 1 | 1 | |
| Thor DM-18 Agena-A | United States | Thor-Agena | Thor | 8 | 5 | 3 | 0 | Maiden flight |
| Thor DM-18 Able-II | United States | Thor-Able | Thor | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | |
| Thor DM-18 Able-III | United States | Thor-Able | Thor | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | |
| Vanguard | United States | Vanguard | Viking | 4 | 2 | 2 | 0 | Retired |
By family
| Family | Country | Launches | Successes | Failures | Partial failures | Remarks |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Atlas | United States | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | |
| Jupiter | United States | 4 | 1 | 2 | 1 | |
| R-7 | Soviet Union | 4 | 2 | 1 | 1 | |
| Thor | United States | 10 | 6 | 4 | 0 | |
| Viking | United States | 4 | 2 | 2 | 0 | Retired |
By orbit
| Orbital regime | Launches | Successes | Failures | Accidentally Achieved |
Remarks |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Low Earth | 12 | 7 | 5 | 0 | |
| Medium Earth | 4 | 1 | 3 | 0 | |
| High Earth | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | Including Highly elliptical orbits |
| Heliocentric | 5 | 3 | 2 | 0 |
See also
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.
Footnotes
- ↑ "Orbital Launches of 1959". space.skyrocket.de. Retrieved 31 August 2025.