2006 in spaceflight
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Launches
This is a list of spaceflights launched in 2006.
This list is incomplete; you can help by expanding it.
| Launch Date/Time | Rocket | Launch Site | Launch Contractor | Payload | Operator | Orbit | Mission/ Function | Re-Entry/ Destruction | Outcome | Remarks |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January 19 19:00 GMT | Lockheed Martin Atlas V (551) | LC-41, Cape Canaveral | ILS | New Horizons | NASA | Solar Escape | Flyby of Pluto and other KBOs | N/A | Successful so far | First probe to visit Pluto |
| January 24 01:33 GMT | H-2A | Tanegashima | JAXA | Daichi (ALOS) | JAXA | LEO (Sun synchronous polar orbit) | Observation satellite | Still in Orbit | Successful so far | |
| February 15 23:35 GMT | Yuzhnoye Zenit 3SL | Ocean Odyssey Pacific Ocean | Sea Launch | EchoStar 10 | EchoStar | Geosynchronous | Comsat | Still in Orbit | Successful so far | |
| February 16 08:01 GMT | Minuteman III | LF-10, Vandenberg AFB | USAF | Mk. 21 re-entry vehicle | USAF | Sub-orbital | ICBM test launch | February 16, 2006 | Successful | |
| February 18 06:27 GMT | H-2A | Tanegashima | Rocket System | MTSAT-2 | Japanese Government | Geosynchronous | ATC and weather satellite | Successful so far | ||
| February 21 21:28 GMT | M-V | Uchinoura | JAXA | ASTRO-F (Akari) | Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency | LEO (Sun synchronous polar orbit) | Infrared astronomy satellite. | Still in orbit | Successful so far | |
| Cute-1.7+APD | Still in orbit | Successful so far | ||||||||
| February 28 20:10 GMT | Chelomei Proton | Baikonur | ILS | ARABSAT 4A | ARABSAT | Intended: Geosynchronous | Comsat | February 28, 2006 | Failure | Upper stage malfunction. |
| March 11 22:33 GMT | Aérospatiale Ariane 5 ECA | ELA-3, CSG (Kourou) | Arianespace | SPAINSAT | Spanish Government | Geosynchronous | Military comsat | Still in Orbit | Successful so far | |
| Hot Bird 7A | Eutelsat | Geosynchronous | Comsat | Still in Orbit | Successful so far | |||||
| March 22 14:03 GMT | Orbital Sciences Pegasus | L-1011, Vandenberg AFB | Orbital Sciences | Space Technology 5 (X3) | NASA | LEO | Study Earth's Magnetosphere. | Still in orbit | Successful so far | |
| March 24 22:30 GMT | SpaceX Falcon 1 | Omelek | SpaceX | FalconSat 2 | USAF Academy | Intended: LEO | Plasma research satellite. | T+60 seconds | Failure | Rocket lost power shortly after launch due to engine fire. |
| March 30 02:30 GMT | Soyuz (R-7/A-2) | LC-1, Baikonur | RFSA | Soyuz TMA-8 3 Cosmonauts | RFSA | LEO, docked to ISS | Manned orbital flight | September 29, 2006 | Successful | ISS Expedition 13 First Brazilian in Space |
| April 7 13:00 GMT | Minuteman III | LF-26, Vandenberg AFB | USAF | Mk. 21 re-entry vehicle | USAF | Sub-orbital | ICBM test launch | April 7, 2006 | Successful | |
| April 12 23:30 GMT | Yuzhnoye Zenit 3SL | Ocean Odyssey | Sea Launch | JCSAT-9 | JCSAT | Geosynchronous | Comsat | Still in orbit | Successful so far | |
| April 14 01:40 GMT | OSC Minotaur | SLC-8, Vandenberg AFB | OSC | COSMIC (X5) | COSMIC | LEO | Study atmosphere | Still in orbit | Successful so far | |
| April 20 20:27 GMT | Lockheed Martin Atlas V (411) | LC-41, Cape Canaveral | ILS | Astra 1KR | SES Astra | Geosynchronous | Comsat | Still in orbit | Successful so far | |
| April 24 16:03 GMT | Soyuz (R-7/A-2) | LC-1, Baikonur | RFSA | Progress 21P | RFSA | LEO, docked to ISS | Resupply ISS | September 18,2006 | Successful | |
| April 25 16:47 GMT | Start-1 | LC-5, Svobodniy | EROS-B | ImageSat | LEO, polar | Civillian imaging satellite | Still in orbit | Successful so far | ||
| April 26 22:48 GMT | CZ-4B Long March | Taiyuan | Yaogan 1 | Imaging Satellite | Still in orbit | Successful so far | ||||
| April 28 10:02 GMT | Boeing Delta II | SLC-2W, Vandenberg AFB | CALIPSO | NASA | LEO (A-Train) | Study aerosols | Still in orbit | Successful so far | ||
| CloudSat | NASA | LEO (A-Train) | Study clouds | Still in orbit | Successful so far | |||||
| May 3, 17:38 GMT | Soyuz (R-7/A-2) | LC-16, Plesetsk | RFSA | Kosmos 2420 | Russian Government | Spy Satellite | Still in orbit | Successful so far | ||
| May 24 22:11 GMT | Boeing Delta IV | LC-37B, Cape Canaveral | GOES-13 (GOES-N) | NASA/NOAA | Geostationary | Weather satellite | Still in orbit | Successful so far | ||
| May 26 18:50 GMT | Shtil (Volna) | Submarine in Barents Sea | Russian Navy | Kompass 2 | Earthquake detection satellite. | Still in orbit | Successful so far | |||
| May 27 21:09 GMT | Aérospatiale Ariane 5 ECA | ELA-3, CSG (Kourou) | Arianespace | SATMEX 6 | Satellites Mexicanas | Geosynchronous | Comsat | Still in orbit | Successful so far | Record for heaviest dual-payload to orbit |
| THAICOM 5 | Shin Satellite | Geosynchronous | Comsat | Still in orbit | Successful so far | |||||
| June 14 14:08:22 GMT | Minuteman III | LF-04, Vandenberg AFB | USAF | 3 x Mk. 21 re-entry vehicle | USAF | Sub-orbital | ICBM test launch | June 14, 2006 | Successful | |
| June 15 08:00 GMT | Soyuz (R-7/A-2) | LC-1, Baikonur | Russian Federal Space Agency | Resurs | Russian Federal Space Agency | LEO | Remote Sensing Spacecraft | Still in orbit | Successful so far | |
| June 18 07:50 GMT | Yuzhnoye Zenit 3SL | Ocean Odyssey | Sea Launch | Galaxy 16 | PanAmSat | Geosynchronous | Comsat | Still in orbit | Successful so far | |
| June 18 22:44 GMT | Chelomei Proton | Baikonur | Khrunichev | KazSat | Government of Kazakhstan | Geosynchronous | Comsat | Still in orbit | Successful so far | |
| June 21 22:15 GMT | Boeing Delta II | LC-17A, Cape Canaveral | US Air Force | MITEX-A (USA-187) | DARPA | Geostationary | Experimental military satellite | Still in orbit | Successful so far | |
| MITEX-B (USA-188) | DARPA | Geostationary | Experimental military satellite | Still in orbit | Successful so far | |||||
| MITEX Carrier (USA-189) | DARPA | Geostationary | Experimental military satellite | Still in orbit | Successful so far | |||||
| June 24 15:08 GMT | Soyuz (R-7/A-2) | LC-1, Baikonur | Russian Federal Space Agency | Progress 22P | Russian Federal Space Agency | LEO, docked to ISS | Resupply ISS | Still in orbit | Successful so far | |
| June 25 04:00 GMT | Tsyklon 2 | LC-90, Baikonur | Russian Federal Space Agency | Kosmos 2421 | Russian Navy | LEO | Classified | Still in orbit | Successful so far | |
| June 27 02:00-04:00 GMT | Boeing Delta IV | SLC-6 Vandenberg AFB | US Air Force | NRO L-22 (USA-184/Prowler 1) | US National Reconnaissance Office | Highly Elliptical Orbit | Classified | Still in orbit | Successful so far | |
| July 4 18:38 GMT | Space Shuttle Discovery | LC-39B, Kennedy Space Center | USA | STS-121, 7 astronauts | NASA | LEO, docked to ISS | Manned Orbital Flight | July 17, 2006 13:14 GMT | Successful | Return to flight test, visit ISS |
| Leonardo MPLM | NASA/ESA | LEO, docked to ISS | Resupply ISS | July 17, 2006 13:14 GMT | Successful | |||||
| July 10 12:38 GMT | GSLV | Satish Dhawan Space Center | ISRO | INSAT 4C | ISRO | Intended: Geostationary | Comsat | T+60 seconds | Failure | Loss of control due to LRB engine failure required mission control to issue self-destruct command to rocket |
| July 12 15:53 GMT | Dnipro (Dnepr) | Dombarovskiy | ISC Kosmotras | Genesis-1 | Bigelow Aerospace | LEO | Experimental inflatable Space Station | Still in orbit | Successful so far | First commercial space station (uninhabitable prototype) |
| July 20 10:14 GMT | Minuteman III | LF-09, Vandenberg AFB | USAF | 3 x Mk. 21 re-entry vehicle | USAF | Sub-orbital | ICBM test launch | July 20, 2006 | Successful | |
| July 26 19:43 GMT | Dnipro (Dnepr) | Baikonur | ISC Kosmotras | BelKA | National Academy of Sciences of Republic of Belarus | LEO | Earth Observation Satellite | T+74 seconds | Failure | First-stage engine hydraulic pump failure caused emergency shutdown |
| Unisat-4 | Universita di Roma | Intended:LEO | Technology demonstration satellite | |||||||
| Baumanets | MGTU | Intended:LEO | Earth observation and amateur radio satellite | |||||||
| PICPOT | Politecnico di Torino | Intended:LEO | Earth observation satellite | |||||||
| SACRED | University of Arizona | Intended:LEO | Cubesat | |||||||
| ION | University of Illinois | Intended:LEO | Double Cubesat | |||||||
| Rincon 1 | University of Arizona | Intended:LEO | Cubesat | |||||||
| ICECube1 | Cornell | Intended:LEO | Cubesat | |||||||
| KUTESat Pathfinder | University of Kansas | Intended:LEO | Cubesat | |||||||
| SEEDS | Nihon University | Intended:LEO | Cubesat | |||||||
| nCube | Government of Norway | Intended:LEO | Cubesat | |||||||
| HAUSAT-1 | Government of South Korea | Intended:LEO | Cubesat | |||||||
| MEROPE | University of Montana | Intended:LEO | Cubesat | |||||||
| CP2 | CalPoly | Intended:LEO | Cubesat | |||||||
| AeroCube-1 | AerospaceCorp | Intended:LEO | Cubesat | |||||||
| CP1 | CalPoly | Intended:LEO | Cubesat | |||||||
| Voyager | University of Hawaii | Intended:LEO | Cubesat | |||||||
| ICECube2 | Cornell | Intended:LEO | Cubesat | |||||||
| July 28 07:05 GMT | Rockot | Baikonur | Eurockot | KOMPSAT 2 | Earth Observation satellite | Still in orbit | Successful so far | |||
| August 4 21:48 GMT | Chelomei Proton | Baikonur | ILS | Hot Bird 8 | Eutelsat | Geosynchronous | Comsat | Still in orbit | Successful so far | |
| August 11 | Aérospatiale Ariane 5 ECA | ELA-3, CSG (Kourou) | Arianespace | JCSat 10 | Geosynchronous | Comsat | Still in orbit | Successful so far | ||
| Syracuse 3B | Geosynchronous | Comsat | Still in orbit | Successful so far | ||||||
| August 22 03:27 GMT | Yuzhnoye Zenit 3SL | Ocean Odyssey | Sea Launch | Koreasat 5 | KT Corporation/Agency for Defense Development | Geosynchronous | Comsat | Still in orbit | Successful so far | |
| September 9 07:00 GMT | CZ-2C | CAST | China | Shi Jian 8 | China | LEO | Investigate exposure of seeds to microgravity and radiation | 24 September 2006 02:43 GMT | Successful | |
| September 9 15:15 GMT | Space Shuttle Atlantis | LC-39B, Kennedy Space Center | USA | STS-115, 6 astronauts | NASA | LEO, docked to ISS | Manned Orbital Flight | September 21, 2006 10:21 GMT | Successful | ISS assembly flight |
| ISS Truss | NASA | LEO, attached to ISS | ISS component | Still in orbit | Successful so far | |||||
| September 11 04:35 GMT | H-2A | Tanegashima | IGS | Japanese government | Reconnaissance satellite | Still in orbit | Successful so far | |||
| September 12 16:02 UTC | Long March 3A | Taiyuan Satellite Launch Center | Zhongxing 22A | Geosynchronous | Still in orbit | Successful so far | ||||
| September 14 13:41 GMT | Soyuz-U (R-7/A-2) | LC-31, Baikonur | RFSA | Kosmos 2423 (Don) | LEO | Classified | Still in orbit | Successful | Ceased operations 17 November 2006. Destroyed | |
| September 18 04:09 GMT | Soyuz (R-7/A-2) | LC-1, Baikonur | RFSA | Soyuz TMA-9 3 Cosmonauts | RFSA | LEO, docked to ISS | Manned orbital flight | Still in orbit | Successful so far | ISS Expedition 14 First female Space tourist |
| September 22 21:36 GMT | M-V | Uchinoura | JAXA | Hinode (Solar-B) | JAXA | LEO (Sun synchronous polar orbit) | Solar telescope | Still in orbit | Successful so far | Final flight of M-V rocket SSSat failed to establish communications[1] |
| HIT-SAT | Hokkaido Institute of Technology | Technology development nanosatellite | Still in orbit | Successful so far | ||||||
| SSSAT | JAXA | Experimental Solar sail nanosatellite | September 26, 2006 | Failure | ||||||
| September 25 18:50 GMT | Boeing Delta II (7925) | LC-17A, Cape Canaveral | US Air Force | GPS 2R-M2 (USA-190) | NAVSTAR | MEO | GPS navigation satellite | Still in orbit | Successful so far | |
| September 25 20:14 GMT | SpaceLoft XL | Spaceport America, Upham, New Mexico | UP Aerospace | N/A | Various | Suborbital | Various experiments | T+60 seconds | Failure | Maiden flight of SpaceLoft XL Sounding rocket First flight from Spaceport America |
| October 13 20:56 GMT | Aérospatiale Ariane 5 ECA | ELA-3, CSG (Kourou) | Arianespace | DirecTV-9S | Geosynchronous | Comsat | Still in orbit | Successful so far | ||
| Optus D1 | Geosynchronous | Comsat | Still in orbit | Successful so far | ||||||
| LDREX-2 | GTO | Technology development | Still in orbit | Successful so far | ||||||
| October 19 16:28 GMT | Soyuz (R-7/A-2) | LC-31, Baikonur | Starsem | MetOp-A | EUMETSAT | LEO (Sun synchronous polar orbit) | Weather satellite | Still in orbit | Successful so far | |
| October 23 13:41 GMT | Soyuz (R-7/A-2) | LC-1, Baikonur | Russian Federal Space Agency | Progress 23P | Russian Federal Space Agency | LEO, docked to ISS | Resupply ISS | Still in orbit | Successful so far | Antenna stowage issues on October 26 initially prevented full mechanical docking. A second docking attempt was successful. |
| October 24 23:34 UTC | Long March 4B | Taiyuan Satellite Launch Center | Shi Jian 6-2A | LEO | Environmental research | Still in orbit | Successful so far | |||
| Shi Jian 6-2B | LEO | Environmental research | Still in orbit | Successful so far | ||||||
| October 26 00:52 GMT | Boeing Delta II (7925) | LC-17B, Cape Canaveral | STEREO-A | NASA | Planned: Heliocentric | Study Sun and Earth | Still In Orbit | Successful so far | ||
| STEREO-B | NASA | Planned: Heliocentric | Study Sun and Earth | Still In Orbit | Successful so far | |||||
| October 28 16:20 GMT | Long March 3B | Xichang Satellite Launch Center | Sinosat-2 | Sino Satellite Communications Co. | Intended: Geosynchronous Actual: Subsynchronous | Comsat | Still in orbit | Failure | Solar panels and communications antenna failed to extend | |
| October 30 23:48 GMT | Yuzhnoye Zenit 3SL | Ocean Odyssey Pacific Ocean | Sea Launch | XM-4 "Blues" | XM Satellite Radio | Geosynchronous | Comsat | Still in orbit | Successful so far | |
| November 4 13:53GMT | Boeing Delta IVM | SLC-6, Vandenberg AFB | DMSP F17 | US Air Force | LEO (Polar) | Weather Satellite | Still in orbit | Successful so far | ||
| November 8 20:01 GMT | Chelomei Proton-M | Baikonur | ILS | Badr 4 (ARABSAT 4B) | ARABSAT | Geosynchronous | Comsat | Still in orbit | Successful so far | |
| November 17 19:12 GMT | Boeing Delta II (7925) | LC-17A, Cape Canaveral | US Air Force | GPS 2R-M3 | NAVSTAR | Current:LEO Planned:MEO | GPS navigation satellite | Still in orbit | Successful so far | |
| December 2 | Kosmos-3M | Plesetsk | Kosmos | Russian Government | Planned:LEO | Navigation | ||||
| December 6 | Aérospatiale Ariane 5 ECA | ELA-3, CSG (Kourou) | Arianespace | WildBlue 1 | Planned:Geosynchronous | Comsat | ||||
| Americom 18 | Planned:Geosynchronous | Comsat | ||||||||
| December 7 | Boeing Delta II (7920) | SLC-2W, Vandenberg AFB | US Air Force | NRO L-21 | NRO | Planned:LEO | Classified | |||
| December 8 02:38 GMT | Space Shuttle Discovery | LC-39B, Kennedy Space Center | USA | STS-116, 7 astronauts | NASA | Planned: LEO, docked to ISS | Manned Orbital Flight | ISS assembly flight | ||
| ISS Truss | NASA | Planned: LEO, attached to ISS | ISS component | |||||||
| Spacehab module | NASA | Planned: LEO, attached to Discovery | Resupply ISS | |||||||
| ANDE | US Naval Academy | Planned: LEO | Technology development | |||||||
| RAFT1 | US Naval Academy | Planned: LEO | Calibration target | Cubesat | ||||||
| MARScom | US Naval Academy | Planned: LEO | Calibration target | Cubesat | ||||||
| MEPSI-2 | DARPA | Planned: LEO | Technology development | Cubesat | ||||||
| December 8 | Soyuz (R-7/A-2) | Plesetsk | Russian Federal Space Agency | Kosmos | VKS | Planned:HEO | Comsat | |||
| December 11 12:00-15:00 GMT | Orbital Sciences Minotaur | Wallops Island | OSC | TacSat 2 | US Naval Research Laboratory | Planned:LEO | Experimental satellite | |||
| December 12 23:28 UTC | Chelomei Proton | Baikonur | ILS | MEASAT 3 | Planned: Geosynchronous | Comsat | ||||
| December 15 | Shtil (Volna) | Delta III Submarine in Barents Sea | Russian Navy | Sumbandila | University of Stellenbosch | Planned:LEO | Technology development | |||
| December 16 06:32-06:44 GMT | H-2A | Tanegashima | JAXA | ETS 8 | Planned:JAXA | GSO | Technology demonstration | |||
| December 16 | Yuzhnoye Zenit 2SLB | LC-45, Baikonur | Land Launch | Kosmos | VKS | Planned: LEO | Intelligence satellite | |||
| December 21 | Soyuz (R-7/A-2) | Baikonur | STARSEM | CoRoT | CNES | Planned:LEO | Astronomy satellite | |||
| December 25 | Proton-K | LC-80, Baikonur Cosmodrome | Glonass | KNITs | Planned:MEO | Navigation | ||||
| Glonass | KNITs | Planned:MEO | Navigation | |||||||
| Glonass | KNITs | Planned:MEO | Navigation | |||||||
| December 25 | Shtil (Volna) | Delta III Submarine in Barents Sea | Russian Navy | Kompass 3 | Izmiran | Planned:LEO | Earthquake detection | |||
| December (TBC) | Long March 2C (CZ-2C) | Taiyuan | Hai Yang 1B | CASC | Planned:SSO | Remote Sensing | ||||
| TBC | SpaceLoft XL | Spaceport America, Upham, New Mexico | UP Aerospace | Space burial | Space Services Incorporated | Planned: Suborbital | Space burial of human remains | Includes remains of Mercury Astronaut Gordon Cooper, Star Trek actor James Doohan, Star Trek writer John Meredyth Lucas, and Mareta West, who was responsible for choosing landing sites for the Apollo program. |
References
- Encyclopedia Astronautica
- JAXA
- Jonathan's Space Report (SatCat.txt and Launchlog.txt)
- NASA
- Orbital Report News Agency's Launch Logs
- SpaceFlightNow
- Steven Pietrobon's Space Archive
| Preceded by: 2005 | Timeline of spaceflight 2006 | Succeeded by: 2007 |
Categories
Future spaceflights | Incomplete lists | Space lists | 2006 in space exploration