2016 in spaceflight

2016 in spaceflight

The Juno mission is expected to enter orbit around Jupiter in July 2016.
Orbital launches
First	15 January
Total	28
Successes	28
Catalogued	28
Rockets
Maiden flights	Soyuz-2.1a / Volga
Retirements	Falcon 9 v1.1
Manned flights
Orbital	1
Total travellers	3
EVAs	2

Several new rockets and spaceports are scheduled to begin operations in 2016: the private American Falcon Heavy rocket will launch from the refurbished Launch Complex 39 pad A at Kennedy Space Center, while the Chinese Long March 5^[1] and Long March 7 will take off for their maiden flights from the new Wenchang Satellite Launch Center in the South China Sea. Meanwhile, Russia inaugurated the far-Eastern Vostochny Cosmodrome on 28 April 2016 with a traditional Soyuz-2.1a flight,^[2] before expanding it for the Angara rocket family in the following years.

Planetary exploration activities expected to occur in 2016 include the rendezvous of NASA’s Juno with the planet Jupiter in July, and the launch of NASA’s OSIRIS-REx mission to the asteroid 101955 Bennu in September. On 14 March, a collaboration between the European and Russian space agencies launched the ExoMars mission on a 7-month voyage to Mars.^[3] Essentially dedicated to astrobiology investigations, this flight carries the ExoMars Trace Gas Orbiter and Schiaparelli EDM lander; a subsequent flight scheduled for 2020 will carry the ExoMars rover along with four static surface instruments.^[3]

Manned missions include the return of Scott Kelly and Mikhail Kornienko in March, after a 340-day mission on the ISS, the longest-ever continuous stay by astronauts at the station. Kelly also set the record for the longest stay of an American in orbit. Four ISS Expeditions numbered 47 to 50 will be launched in 2016, the first one using the last Soyuz TMA-M spacecraft and the next three inaugurating the modernized Soyuz MS. Expedition 50 will continue into 2017. Several EVAs are planned to help maintain the exterior of the ISS. The experimental BEAM inflatable habitat was attached to the ISS on 16 April, to begin two years of in-orbit tests.

Launches

Date and time (UTC)	Rocket		Launch site		LSP
	Payload	Operator	Orbit	Function	Decay (UTC)	Outcome
	Remarks
15 January 03:00:00	S-310		Uchinoura		JAXA
		TPU / TU / TU / KU / JAXA	Suborbital	Ionospheric research	15 January	Successful
	Apogee: 161 kilometres (100 mi)[4]
15 January 16:57:04	Long March 3B/E		Xichang LA-3		CASC
	Belintersat 1	Belarus	Geosynchronous	Communications	In orbit	Operational
17 January 18:42:18	Falcon 9 v1.1		Vandenberg SLC-4E		SpaceX
	Jason-3	NOAA / EUMETSAT	Low Earth	Earth observation	In orbit	Operational
	Final flight of the standard Falcon 9 v1.1, future flights will use the upgraded Falcon 9 full thrust. Falcon 9's first stage performed a soft landing on an Autonomous Spaceport Drone Ship in the Pacific Ocean, but the failure of one landing leg to lock into position caused it to fall over and break apart.[5]
20 January 04:01:00	PSLV-XL		Satish Dhawan SLP		ISRO
	IRNSS-1E	ISRO	Geosynchronous	Navigation	In orbit	Operational
22 January	New Shepard		Corn Ranch		Blue Origin
	New Shepard crew capsule	Blue Origin	Suborbital	Test flight	22 January	Successful
	Apogee: 101.7 kilometres (63.2 mi)[6]
23 January 08:30	VSB-30		Esrange		EuroLaunch
	/ TEXUS-53	DLR / ESA	Suborbital	Microgravity	23 January	Successful
	Apogee: 252 kilometres (157 mi)
27 January 23:20:48	Ariane 5 ECA		Kourou ELA-3		Arianespace
	Intelsat 29e	Intelsat	Geosynchronous	Communications	In orbit	Operational
28 January	SRALT?		C-17, Pacific Ocean		MDA
		MDA	Suborbital	ABM target	28 January	Successful
	Apogee: 300 kilometres (190 mi), CTV-02+ target
28 January	Ground Based Interceptor		Vandenberg LF-23		MDA
		MDA	Suborbital	ABM test	28 January	Successful
	CTV-02+, successful test flight, the CE-II kill vehicle performed scripted maneuvers to demonstrate performance of alternate divert thrusters. Upon entering terminal phase, the kill vehicle initiated a planned burn sequence to evaluate the alternate divert thrusters until fuel was exhausted, intentionally precluding an intercept.
29 January 22:20:09	Proton-M / Briz-M		Baikonur Site 200/39		Khrunichev
	Eutelsat 9B	Eutelsat	Geosynchronous	Communications	In orbit	Operational
	Carries the first laser communication node for the European Data Relay System
1 February 07:29:04	Long March 3C / YZ-1		Xichang LA-2		CASC
	BDS M3-S	CNSA	Medium Earth	Navigation	In orbit	Operational
2 February 21:09	VS-30		Esrange		SSC
	SPIDER/LEEWAVES	SSC	Suborbital	Technology	2 February	Successful
	Apogee: 138 kilometres (86 mi)
5 February 13:38:00	Atlas V 401		Cape Canaveral SLC-41		United Launch Alliance
	USA-266 (GPS IIF-12)	US Air Force	Medium Earth	Navigation	In orbit	Operational
7 February 00:21:07	Soyuz-2.1b / Fregat		Plesetsk Site 43/4		RVSN RF
	Kosmos 2514 (GLONASS-M)	VKS	Medium Earth	Navigation	In orbit	Operational
7 February 00:30	Unha		Sohae		KCST
	Kwangmyŏngsŏng-4[7]	KCST	Low Earth	Earth observation	In orbit	Operational
10 February 11:40:32	Delta IV M+(5,2)		Vandenberg SLC-6		United Launch Alliance
	USA-267 (Topaz NROL-45)	NRO	Low Earth	Reconnaissance	In orbit	Operational
	Spacecraft launched in a retrograde orbit
16 February 17:57:40	Rokot / Briz-KM		Plesetsk Site 133/3		/ Eurockot
	Sentinel-3A	ESA	Low Earth (SSO)	Earth observation	In orbit	Operational
17 February 08:45:00	H-IIA 202		Tanegashima LA-Y1		MHI
	Hitomi (ASTRO-H)	JAXA / NASA	Low Earth	X-ray astronomy	In orbit	Spacecraft failure
	ChubuSat-2	Nagoya University	Low Earth	Radiation / Amateur radio	In orbit	Operational
	ChubuSat-3	MHI	Low Earth	Remote sensing / Space debris monitor	In orbit	Operational
	Horyu-4	Kyushu Institute of Technology	Low Earth	Technology	In orbit	Operational
	Hitomi malfunctioned after initial checkouts, and is believed to have lost attitude control and snapped off its solar array. As of 28 April, JAXA has abandoned efforts to recover the spacecraft. [8]
21 February 07:34	LGM-30G Minuteman III		Vandenberg LF-09		US Air Force
		US Air Force	Suborbital	Test flight	21 February	Successful
	GT217GM, Apogee: ~1,300 kilometres (810 mi) ?
22 February 04:15	Black Brant IX		White Sands		NASA
	CHESS-2	LASP	Suborbital	Astronomy	22 February	Successful
	Apogee: 309 kilometres (192 mi)
26 February 07:01	LGM-30G Minuteman III		Vandenberg LF-10		US Air Force
		US Air Force	Suborbital	Test flight	26 February	Successful
	GT218GM, Apogee: ~1,300 kilometres (810 mi) ?
1 March 14:50	Terrier Malemute		Wallops Island		NASA
	MUSIC	West Virginia University	Suborbital	Technology experiments	1 March	Successful
	Apogee: ~185 kilometers (115 mi)[9]
4 March 23:35:00	Falcon 9 full thrust		Cape Canaveral SLC-40		SpaceX
	SES-9	SES S.A.	Geosynchronous	Communications	In orbit	Operational
	High-velocity landing test ended with a hard landing on the Autonomous spaceport drone ship Of Course I Still Love You and destruction of the first stage.
7 March 12:05	Terrier Orion		Wallops Island		NASA
	SOAREX-9	NASA Ames	Suborbital	Technology experiment	7 March	Successful
	RadPC	Montana State University	Suborbital	Technology experiment	7 March	Successful
	VIP	Controlled Dynamics	Suborbital	Technology experiment	7 March	Successful
	Apogee: ~159 kilometers (99 mi)
9 March 05:20:07	Ariane 5 ECA		Kourou ELA-3		Arianespace
	Eutelsat 65 West A	Eutelsat	Geosynchronous	Communications	In orbit	Operational
10 March 10:31:00	PSLV-XL		Satish Dhawan SLP		ISRO
	IRNSS-1F	ISRO	Geosynchronous	Navigation	In orbit	Operational
13 March 18:56:00	Soyuz-2.1b		Baikonur Site 31/6		Roscosmos
	Resurs-P No.3	Roscosmos	Low Earth (SSO)	Earth observation	In orbit	Operational
	The launch succeeded on its second attempt after a rare pad abort the day before.
14 March 09:31:42[3]	Proton-M / Briz-M		Baikonur Site 200/39		Khrunichev
	/ ExoMars Trace Gas Orbiter	ESA	Current: Earth-Mars transit Planned (19 October): Areocentric orbit	Mars orbiter	In orbit	In transit
	Schiaparelli EDM lander	ESA	Earth-Mars transit	Mars lander	In orbit	In transit
	Briz-M upper stage exploded after separation, apparently without damaging the orbiter or lander.[10]
14 March	UGM-133 Trident II D5		Submarine, ETR		US Navy
		US Navy	Suborbital	Missile test	14 March	Successful
15 March	UGM-133 Trident II D5		Submarine, ETR		US Navy
		US Navy	Suborbital	Missile test	15 March	Successful
16 March	UGM-133 Trident II D5		Submarine, ETR		US Navy
		US Navy	Suborbital	Missile test	16 March	Successful
18 March 21:26:38	Soyuz-FG		Baikonur Site 1/5		Roscosmos
	Soyuz TMA-20M	Roscosmos	Low Earth (ISS)	Expedition 47/48	In orbit	Operational
	Manned flight with three cosmonauts. Final flight of the Soyuz TMA-M variant
23 March 03:05:52	Atlas V 401		Cape Canaveral SLC-41		United Launch Alliance
	Cygnus CRS OA-6 S.S. Rick Husband	Orbital ATK / NASA	Low Earth (ISS)	ISS logistics	In orbit	Operational
	Flock-2e' x 20	Planet Labs	Planned: Low Earth	Earth observation
	/ Diwata-1	DOST / TU	Low Earth	Earth observation	In orbit	Operational
	Anomaly in the mixture ratio control valve assembly, causing the Atlas V booster engine to cut off five seconds early, resulting in a longer-than-usual Centaur orbital insertion burn.[11] Cubesats to be deployed from the ISS and the Cygnus spacecraft at a later date.
24 March 09:42:00	Soyuz-2.1a		Plesetsk Site 43/4		RVSN RF
	Kosmos 2515 (Bars-M)	VKS	Low Earth (SSO)	Reconnaissance	In orbit	Operational
29 March 20:11:04	Long March 3A		Xichang LA-2		CASC
	BeiDou-2 IGSO-6	CNSA	IGSO	Navigation	In orbit	Operational
31 March 16:23:57	Soyuz-2.1a		Baikonur Site 31/6		Roscosmos
	Progress MS-02	Roscosmos	Low Earth (ISS)	ISS logistics	In orbit	Operational
2 April 15:18	New Shepard		Corn Ranch		Blue Origin
	New Shepard crew capsule	Blue Origin	Suborbital	Test flight	2 April	Successful
	BORE	Southwest Research Institute	Suborbital	Microgravity experiment	2 April	Successful
	COLLIDE	University of Central Florida	Suborbital	Microgravity experiment	2 April	Successful
	Apogee: 103.8 kilometers (64.5 mi). Third successful booster landing of the same rocket.[12]
5 April 17:38:04	Long March 2D		Jiuquan LA-4/SLS-2		CASC
	Shijian-10	CAS	Low Earth	Microgravity Science	18 April 08:30	Successful
8 April 20:43:31	Falcon 9 full thrust		Cape Canaveral SLC-40		SpaceX
	SpaceX CRS-8	SpaceX / NASA	Low Earth (ISS)	ISS logistics	In orbit	Operational
	BEAM	Bigelow Aerospace / NASA	Low Earth (ISS)	Technology Demonstration / ISS Assembly	In orbit	Operational
	First stage landed successfully on drone ship Of Course I Still Love You for the first time.
25 April 21:02:13	Soyuz-STA / Fregat		Kourou ELS		Arianespace
	Sentinel-1B	ESA	Low Earth (SSO)	Earth observation	In orbit	Operational
	MICROSCOPE	CNES	Low Earth (SSO)	Astrophysics research	In orbit	Operational
	AAUSAT-4	Aalborg	Low Earth (SSO)	Technology	In orbit	Operational
	e-st@r 2	Polytechnic University of Turin	Low Earth (SSO)	Technology	In orbit	Operational
	OUFTI-1	Liège	Low Earth (SSO)	Technology	In orbit	Operational
28 April 02:01:21	Soyuz-2.1a / Volga		Vostochny Site 1S		Roscosmos
	Mikhailo Lomonosov	MSU	Low Earth (SSO)	Gamma-ray astronomy	In orbit	Operational
	Aist-2D	SSAU	Low Earth (SSO)	Technology	In orbit	Operational
	SamSat 218	SSAU	Low Earth (SSO)	Technology	In orbit	Operational
	First orbital flight from Vostochny Cosmodrome
28 April 07:20:00	PSLV-XL		Satish Dhawan FLP		ISRO
	IRNSS-1G	ISRO	Geosynchronous	Navigation	In orbit	Operational
6 May 05:21	Falcon 9 full thrust		Cape Canaveral SLC-40		SpaceX
	JCSAT-14	JSAT	Planned: Geosynchronous	Communications	In orbit	Operational
	First stage landed on Of Course I Still Love You droneship, the third successful landing and the first landing with a payload to geostationary transfer orbit.
21 May 09:17	Soyuz-2.1b / Fregat		Plesetsk Site 43/4		RVSN RF
	GLONASS-M	VKS	Medium Earth	Navigation
24 May 08:48:43	Soyuz-STB / Fregat		Kourou ELS		Arianespace
	Galileo FOC 13	ESA	Medium Earth	Navigation
	Galileo FOC 14	ESA	Medium Earth	Navigation
26 May 21:40	Falcon 9 full thrust		Cape Canaveral SLC-40		SpaceX
	Thaicom 8	Thaicom	Planned: Geosynchronous	Communications
28 May	Proton-M / Briz-M		Baikonur		Khrunichev
	Intelsat 31 / DLA-2	Intelsat / DirecTV	Planned: Geosynchronous	Communications
May (TBD)	Rokot / Briz-KM		Plesetsk Site 133/3		RVSN RF
	Geo-IK-2 No.12	VKS	Low Earth	Geodesy
4 June 18:00 - 23:00	Delta IV Heavy		Cape Canaveral SLC-37B		United Launch Alliance
	NROL-37	NRO	Planned: Geosynchronous	Reconnaissance
8 June 20:30	Ariane 5 ECA		Kourou ELA-3		Arianespace
	EchoStar 18	EchoStar	Planned: Geosynchronous	Communications
	BRIsat	BRI	Planned: Geosynchronous	Communications
10 June	PSLV		Satish Dhawan		ISRO
	CartoSat-2C	ISRO	Planned: Low Earth	Earth observation
	GHGsat	GHGsat Inc.	Planned: Low Earth	Earth observation
	Max Valier sat	TFO Meran, TFO Max Valier Bozen	Planned: Low Earth	X-ray astronomy
24 June 06:41	Soyuz-FG		Baikonur Site 1/5		Roscosmos
	Soyuz MS-01	Roscosmos	Planned: Low Earth (ISS)	Expedition 48/49
	Manned flight with three cosmonauts. Maiden flight of the modernized Soyuz MS spacecraft variant.
24 June	Atlas V 551		Cape Canaveral SLC-41		United Launch Alliance
	MUOS 5	US Navy	Planned: Geosynchronous	Communications
June (TBD)	Long March 7		Wenchang LC-2		CASC
	TBD		Planned: Low Earth (?)
	Maiden flight of the Long March 7 rocket and the first launch from the Wenchang Satellite Launch Center
June (TBD)	Falcon 9 full thrust		Cape Canaveral SLC-40		SpaceX
	Eutelsat 117 West B	Eutelsat	Planned: Geosynchronous	Communications
	ABS-2A	ABS	Planned: Geosynchronous	Communications
June (TBD)	Falcon 9 full thrust		Vandenberg SLC-4E		SpaceX
	FormoSat-5	NSPO	Planned: Low Earth (SSO)	Earth observation
	SHERPA	Spaceflight Industries	Planned: Low Earth (SSO)	Cubesat launcher
Late June	Falcon 9 full thrust		Cape Canaveral SLC-40		SpaceX
	SpaceX CRS-9	SpaceX / NASA	Planned: Low Earth (ISS)	ISS logistics
	Delivering the IDA-2 segment of the NASA Docking System
6 July	Antares 230		MARS Pad 0A		Orbital ATK
	Cygnus CRS OA-5	Orbital ATK / NASA	Planned: Low Earth (ISS)	ISS logistics
7 July 01:35	Soyuz-U		Baikonur Site 31/6		Roscosmos
	Progress MS-03	Roscosmos	Planned: Low Earth (ISS)	ISS logistics
29 July	Atlas V 421		Cape Canaveral SLC-41		United Launch Alliance
	NROL-61	NRO	Planned: Geosynchronous	Communications
July (TBD)	Long March 2D		Jiuquan		CASC
	Quantum Experiments At Space Scale (QUESS)[13]	CNSA	Planned: Low Earth (SSO)	Technology
July (TBD)	Vega		Kourou ELV		Arianespace
	PeruSat 1	Peruvian Armed Forces	Planned: Low Earth (SSO)	Reconnaissance
	SkySat x 4	Skybox Imaging	Low Earth (SSO)	Earth observation
July (TBD)	Falcon 9 full thrust		Cape Canaveral SLC-40		SpaceX
	Amos-6	Spacecom	Planned: Geosynchronous	Communications
July (TBD)	Falcon 9 full thrust		Vandenberg SLC-4E		SpaceX
	Iridium NEXT 1-10	Iridium Communications	Planned: Low Earth	Communications
July (TBD)	PSLV		Satish Dhawan		ISRO
	Resourcesat-2A	ISRO	Planned: Low Earth (SSO)	Remote sensing
	ScatSat-1	ISRO	Planned: Low Earth (SSO)	Meteorology
July (TBD)	Ariane 5 ECA		Kourou ELA-3		Arianespace
	DSN 1	Ministry of Defense	Planned: Geosynchronous	Communications
	GSAT-18	ISRO	Planned: Geosynchronous	Communications
4 August	Delta IV M+(4,2)		Cape Canaveral SLC-37B		United Launch Alliance
	AFSPC 6	US Air Force	Planned: Geosynchronous	Space surveillance
August (TBD)	GSLV Mk II		Satish Dhawan		ISRO
	INSAT-3DR	ISRO	Planned:Geostationary	Meteorology
8 September/9 September 23:10-00:40	Atlas V 411		Cape Canaveral SLC-41		United Launch Alliance
	OSIRIS-REx	NASA	Planned: Heliocentric	Asteroid sample return
15 September	Atlas V 401		Vandenberg SLC-3E		United Launch Alliance
	Worldview 4	DigitalGlobe	Planned: Low Earth (SSO)	Earth observation
23 September 18:10	Soyuz-FG		Baikonur Site 1/5		Roscosmos
	Soyuz MS-02	Roscosmos	Planned: Low Earth (ISS)	Expedition 49/50
	Manned flight with three cosmonauts
28 September	Delta IV M+(5,4)		Cape Canaveral SLC-37B		United Launch Alliance
	WGS-8	US Air Force	Planned: Geosynchronous	Communications
September (TBD)	Falcon 9 full thrust		Cape Canaveral SLC-40		SpaceX
	SES-10	SES S.A.	Planned: Geosynchronous	Communications
September (TBD)	Long March 5		Wenchang LC-1		CASC
	TBD		Planned: TBD	TBD
	Maiden flight of the Long March 5 rocket
3rd Quarter (TBD)	Proton-M / Briz-M		Baikonur		Khrunichev
	EchoStar 21	EchoStar	Planned: Geosynchronous	Communications
September (TBD)	Long March 2F/G		Jiuquan LA-4/SLS-1		CNSA
	Tiangong-2	CNSA	Planned: Low Earth	Space station
	Second Chinese space station
13 October	Atlas V 541		Cape Canaveral SLC-41		United Launch Alliance
	GOES-R	NASA / NOAA	Planned: Geosynchronous	Meteorology
17 October 17:00	Pegasus-XL		Stargazer, Cape Canaveral		Orbital ATK
	CYGNSS x 8	NASA	Planned: Low Earth	Meteorology
20 October	Soyuz-U		Baikonur Site 31/6		Roscosmos
	Progress MS-04	Roscosmos	Planned: Low Earth (ISS)	ISS logistics
31 October	Rokot / Briz-KM		Plesetsk Site 133/3		/ Eurockot
	Sentinel-5 Precursor	ESA	Planned: Low Earth (SSO)	Earth observation
October (TBD)	Falcon 9 full thrust		Vandenberg SLC-4E		SpaceX
	Iridium NEXT 11-20	Iridium Communications	Planned: Low Earth	Communications
October (TBD)	Falcon 9 full thrust		Cape Canaveral SLC-40		SpaceX
	SES-11 / EchoStar 105	SES S.A. / EchoStar	Planned: Geosynchronous	Communications
October (TBD)	Ariane 5 ES		Kourou ELA-3		Arianespace
	Galileo FOC 7	ESA	Planned: Medium Earth	Navigation
	Galileo FOC 10	ESA	Planned: Medium Earth	Navigation
	Galileo FOC 11	ESA	Planned: Medium Earth	Navigation
	Galileo FOC 12	ESA	Planned: Medium Earth	Navigation
October (TBD)	Long March 2F		Jiuquan LA-4 / SLS-1		CNSA
	Shenzhou 11	CNSA	Planned: Low Earth	Docking with Tiangong-2
	Crewed flight with two Taikonauts[14]
10 November	Atlas V 431		Cape Canaveral SLC-41		United Launch Alliance
	EchoStar 19	HughesNet	Planned: Geosynchronous	Communications
15 November 21:01	Soyuz-FG		Baikonur Site 1/5		Roscosmos
	Soyuz MS-03	Roscosmos	Planned: Low Earth (ISS)	Expedition 50/51
	Manned flight with three cosmonauts
21 November	Falcon 9 full thrust		Cape Canaveral SLC-40		SpaceX
	SpaceX CRS-10	SpaceX / NASA	Planned: Low Earth (ISS)	ISS logistics
	Will deliver the SAGE III and Lightning Imaging Sensor (LIS) Earth-observation instruments to the ISS
November (TBD)[15]	Falcon Heavy		Kennedy LC-39A		SpaceX
	TBA	SpaceX	Planned: TBA	Flight test
1 December	Atlas V 401		Vandenberg SLC-3E		United Launch Alliance
	NROL-79	NRO	Planned: Low Earth	Reconnaissance
1 December[16]	H-IIB		Tanegashima LA-Y2		MHI
	HTV-6	JAXA	Planned: Low Earth (ISS)	ISS logistics
30 December	Antares 230		MARS LP-0A		Orbital ATK
	Cygnus CRS OA-7	Orbital ATK / NASA	Planned: Low Earth (ISS)	ISS logistics
December (TBD)	LVM3 (GSLV Mk.III)		Satish Dhawan		ISRO
	GSAT-19E	ISRO	Planned: Geosynchronous	Communications
	Launch Vehicle Developmental test flight.
2016 (TBD)	Atlas V 401		Cape Canaveral SLC-41		United Launch Alliance
	SBIRS GEO-4	US Air Force	Planned: Geosynchronous	Missile warning
3rd Quarter (TBD)	H-IIA 202		Tanegashima LA-Y1		MHI
	Himawari 9	JMA	Planned: Geostationary	Meteorology
2016 (TBD)	Epsilon		Uchinoura		JAXA
	ERG	JAXA	Planned: Medium Earth (elliptical)	Magnetospherics
2nd Half (TBD)	Soyuz-2.1b / Fregat		Plesetsk Site 43/4		RVSN RF
	GLONASS-M	VKS	Medium Earth	Navigation
2016 (TBD)	Dnepr-1		Dombarovsky Site 13		ISC Kosmotras
	Paz	Hisdesat	Planned: Low Earth	Earth observation
2016 (TBD)	Minotaur-C		Vandenberg LC-576E		Orbital ATK
	SkySat x 6	Skybox Imaging	Planned: Low Earth	Earth observation
2016 (TBD)	Long March 4B		?		CASC
	Hard X-ray Modulation Telescope (HXMT)	CAS, Tsinghua University	Planned: Low Earth	X-ray astronomy
Late 2016 (TBD)	Vega		Kourou ELV		Arianespace
	Göktürk-1	Turkish Armed Forces	Planned: Low Earth (SSO)	Reconnaissance

Deep space rendezvous

Date (GMT)	Spacecraft	Event	Remarks
14 January	Mars Express	Flyby of Phobos	Closest approach: 53 kilometres (33 mi).[17]
15 January[18]	Cassini	116th flyby of Titan	Closest approach: 3,817 kilometres (2,372 mi).
31 January	Cassini	117th flyby of Titan	Closest approach: 1,400 kilometres (870 mi).
16 February	Cassini	118th flyby of Titan	Closest approach: 1,018 kilometres (633 mi).
4 April	Cassini	119th flyby of Titan	Closest approach: 990 kilometres (615 mi).
6 May	Cassini	120th flyby of Titan	Closest approach: 971 kilometres (603 mi).
7 June	Cassini	121st flyby of Titan	Closest approach: 975 kilometres (606 mi).
4 July	Juno	Jovian orbit injection	First solar-powered Jovian probe (2nd orbiter)
4 July	Mars Express	Flyby of Phobos	Closest approach: 350 kilometres (220 mi).
25 July	Cassini	122nd flyby of Titan	Closest approach: 976 kilometres (606 mi).
10 August	Cassini	123rd flyby of Titan	Closest approach: 1,599 kilometres (994 mi).
26 September	Cassini	124th flyby of Titan	Closest approach: 1,737 kilometres (1,079 mi).
19 October	Trace Gas Orbiter (ExoMars 2016)	Areocentric orbit injection
19 October	Schiaparelli (ExoMars 2016)	Landing on Mars	Meridiani Planum
13 November	Cassini	125th flyby of Titan	Closest approach: 1,582 kilometres (983 mi).
16 November	Mars Express	Flyby of Phobos	Closest approach: 127 kilometres (79 mi).
29 November	Cassini	126th flyby of Titan	Closest approach: 3,223 kilometres (2,003 mi).

Extra-Vehicular Activities (EVAs)

Start Date/Time	Duration	End Time	Spacecraft	Crew	Remarks
15 January 13:48	4 hours 43 minutes	18:31	Expedition 46 ISS Quest	Timothy Kopra Tim Peake	Replaced a failed voltage regulator responsible for shutting down one of the station's eight power channels in November 2015, and routed cables in support of the installation of the International Docking Adaptor. EVA terminated two hours early due to water leakage in Kopra's helmet, but the primary task was accomplished.[19]
3 February 12:55	4 hours 45 minutes	17:40	Expedition 46 ISS Pirs	Yuri Malenchenko Sergey Volkov	Deployed a commemorative flash drive, took samples of module exteriors, installed handrails for use in future EVAs, retrieved an astrobiology experiment, deployed a materials science experiment, and tested a tool for applying coatings to module exteriors.[20]

Space debris events

Date/Time (UTC)	Source object	Event type	Pieces tracked	Remarks
26 March 01:42[21]	Hitomi	Satellite breakup	10[22]	JAXA lost communications with the freshly launched telescope during its early commissioning phase. Meanwhile, JspOC observed 5 then 10 pieces of debris diverging from the satellite, one of them comparably sized to the main spacecraft by radar signature.[23] Hitomi itself went into a tumble and sent short intermittent communications. As of 18 April 2016, the investigation into the root cause of the incident was ongoing. Collision with already-tracked space debris has been ruled out.[21] Multiple incidents in the spacecraft's attitude control system resulted in an excessive spin rate and breakup of structurally weak elements.[24] In a twist of fate, one of the secondary payloads traveling with Hitomi was ChubuSat-3, a microsatellite dedicated to monitoring global warming effects and space debris.[25]

Orbital launch summary

By country

Country	Launches	Successes	Failures	Partial failures	Remarks
European Union	2	2	0	0
India	3	3	0	0
Japan	1	1	0	0
China	4	4	0	0
Russia	10	10	0	0	Includes Sea Launch and Soyuz from Kourou
United States	7	7	0	0
North Korea	1	1	0	0

By rocket

By family

Family	Country	Launches	Successes	Failures	Partial failures	Remarks
Ariane	European Union	2	2	0	0
Atlas	United States	2	2	0	0
Delta	United States	1	1	0	0
Falcon	United States	4	4	0	0
H-II	Japan	1	1	0	0
Long March	China	4	4	0	0
R-7	Russia	7	7	0	0
SLV	India	3	3	0	0
Unha	North Korea	1	1	0	0
Universal Rocket	Russia	3	3	0	0

By type

Rocket	Country	Family	Launches	Successes	Failures	Partial failures	Remarks
Ariane 5	European Union	Ariane	2	2	0	0
Atlas V	United States	Atlas	2	2	0	0
Delta IV	United States	Delta	1	1	0	0
Falcon 9	United States	Falcon	4	4	0	0
H-IIA	Japan	H-II	1	1	0	0
Long March 2	China	Long March	1	1	0	0
Long March 3	China	Long March	3	3	0	0
Proton	Russia	Universal Rocket	2	2	0	0
PSLV	India	SLV	3	3	0	0
Soyuz	Russia	R-7	7	7	0	0
Unha	North Korea	Unha	1	1	0	0
UR-100	Russia	Universal Rocket	1	1	0	0

By configuration

Rocket	Country	Type	Launches	Successes	Failures	Partial failures	Remarks
Ariane 5 ECA	European Union	Ariane 5	2	2	0	0
Atlas V 401	United States	Atlas V	2	2	0	0
Delta IV Medium+ (5,2)	United States	Delta IV	1	1	0	0
Falcon 9 v1.1	United States	Falcon 9	1	1	0	0	Final flight
Falcon 9 full thrust	United States	Falcon 9	3	3	0	0
H-IIA 202	Japan	H-II	1	1	0	0
Long March 2D	China	Long March 2	1	1	0	0
Long March 3A	China	Long March 3	1	1	0	0
Long March 3B/E	China	Long March 3	1	1	0	0
Long March 3C/YZ-1	China	Long March 3	1	1	0	0
Proton-M / Briz-M	Russia	Proton	2	2	0	0
PSLV-XL	India	PSLV	3	3	0	0
Rokot / Briz-KM	Russia	UR-100	1	1	0	0
Soyuz 2.1a or STA	Russia	Soyuz	2	2	0	0
Soyuz 2.1a / Fregat	Russia	Soyuz	1	1	0	0
Soyuz 2.1a / Volga	Russia	Soyuz	1	1	0	0
Soyuz 2.1b or STB	Russia	Soyuz	1	1	0	0
Soyuz 2.1b / Fregat	Russia	Soyuz	1	1	0	0
Soyuz-FG	Russia	Soyuz	1	1	0	0
Unha	North Korea	Unha	1	1	0	0

By launch site

Site	Country	Launches	Successes	Failures	Partial failures	Remarks
Baikonur	Kazakhstan	5	5	0	0
Cape Canaveral	United States	5	5	0	0
Kourou	France	3	3	0	0
Jiuquan	China	1	1	0	0
Plesetsk	Russia	3	3	0	0
Satish Dhawan	India	3	3	0	0
Sohae	North Korea	1	1	0	0
Tanegashima	Japan	1	1	0	0
Vandenberg	United States	2	2	0	0
Vostochny	Russia	1	1	0	0
Xichang	China	3	3	0	0

By orbit

Orbital regime	Launches	Achieved	Not Achieved	Accidentally Achieved	Remarks
Transatmospheric	0	0	0	0
Low Earth	14	14	0	0	4 to ISS
Geosynchronous / transfer	9	9	0	0
Medium Earth	4	4	0	0
High Earth	0	0	0	0
Heliocentric orbit	1	1	0	0	Including planetary transfer orbits

References

Kyle, Ed. "Space Launch Report". Wade, Mark. "Encyclopedia Astronautica". Krebs, Gunter. "Chronology of Space Launches". Gunter's Space Page. "Space Information Center". JAXA. McDowell, Jonathan. "Jonathan's Space Report". Jonathan's Space Page. "NASASpaceFlight.com". "Space Calendar". NASA JPL. "Southwest Space Archive". "Launch Forecast". Space.com. "Spaceflight Now". Pietrobon, Steven. "Steven Pietrobon's Space Archive". "U.S. Space Objects Registry". "Хроника освоения космоса ('Chronicle of space exploration')" (in Russian). Cosmoworld.ru.

Generic references:

Footnotes

1. Lin, Jeffrey (21 August 2015). "China's Long March 5 Space Rocket Stretches Its Legs". popsci.com. Popular Science. Retrieved 6 September 2015.
3. Chang, Kenneth (14 March 2016). "Mars Mission Blasts Off From Kazakhstan". The New York Times. Retrieved 14 March 2016.
4. 観測ロケットS-310-44号機　打上げ結果について (in Japanese). JAXA. 15 January 2016. Retrieved 15 January 2015.
5. https://twitter.com/SpaceX/status/688834952293519360
6. Berger, Brian (23 January 2016). "Launch. Land. Repeat: Blue Origin posts video of New Shepard’s Friday flight". Space News.
7. http://www.cbc.ca/news/world/north-korea-satellite-1.3430137
8. http://global.jaxa.jp/press/2016/04/20160428_hitomi.html
9. Koehler, Keith (1 March 2016). "MUSIC Successfully Launched from NASA Wallops". NASA.
10. King, Bob (24 March 2016). "ExoMars Mission Narrowly Avoids Exploding Booster". Universe Today. Retrieved 2016-03-26.
11. "Atlas V OA-6 Anomaly Status". United Launch Alliance. 31 March 2016. Retrieved 31 March 2016.
12. Foust, Jeff (April 2, 2016). "Blue Origin flies New Shepard on suborbital test flight". Space News.
13. Jeffrey Lin, P.W. Singer, and John Costello (3 March 2016). "CHINA'S QUANTUM SATELLITE COULD CHANGE CRYPTOGRAPHY FOREVER". Popular Science. Retrieved 12 March 2016.
14. Huang, Jin (8 March 2016). "Why will Shenzhou-11 carry only two astronauts to space?". People's Daily Online. Retrieved 10 March 2016.
15. https://twitter.com/StephenClark1/status/707687036195573760
16. Frommert, Hartmut (17 December 2015). "International Space Station Flight Schedule". SEDS. Retrieved 15 February 2016.
17. http://blogs.esa.int/mex/2016/01/13/skimming-phobos/
18. "Cassini Solstice Mission: Saturn Tour Dates: 2016". saturn.jpl.nasa.gov. Jet Propulsion Laboratory. Retrieved 6 September 2015.
19. https://blogs.nasa.gov/spacestation/2016/01/15/spacewalk-ends-early-after-water-detected-in-helmet/
20. https://blogs.nasa.gov/spacestation/2016/02/03/second-spacewalk-of-year-complete/
21. Gruss, Mike (29 March 2016). "U.S. Air Force: No evidence malfunctioning Japanese satellite was hit by debris". Space News. Retrieved 5 April 2016.
22. JSpOC (1 April 2016). "10 pieces from Astro-H break-up is posted on @SpaceTrackOrg. 41337 was amended to match the largest piece. The former 41337 is now 41442." (Tweet). Retrieved 13 April 2016.
23. "New Orbital Data & Observations Dim Hopes for Japanese Hitomi Spacecraft". Spaceflight101. 2 April 2016. Retrieved 5 April 2016.
24. Clark, Stephen (April 18, 2016). "Attitude control failures led to break-up of Japanese astronomy satellite". Spaceflight Now. Retrieved April 21, 2016.
25. "ChubuSat Instrument Development Project / About ChubuSat-3 Satellite". Nagoya University. 13 April 2016. Retrieved 13 April 2016.