The first orbital flight of an artificial satellite, Sputnik 1, was launched in October 1957, by the Soviet Union. In November, the second orbital flight took place. The Soviet Union launched the first animal to orbit the Earth, a dog, Laika, who died in orbit a few hours after launch.
Thor, Atlas, and R-7 rocket families all have maiden flights this year, all three of which will have long legacies for over 50 years. Australia and the UK go to space with sounding rockets; first space launches from Australia. The R-12 makes its maiden flight. The US makes its first orbital attempt and fails (Vanguard TV-3).
Overview First Orbital launch On 4 October, Sputnik 1 was launched from Baikonur Cosmodrome Site 1/5 on a Sputnik rocket, a variant of R-7 rocket. The Successful Insertion of Sputnik 1 into Orbit is marked as the first orbital launch in human history.
A Second satellite Sputnik 2 was also launched on 3 November marking the second orbital launch attempt carried a dog named, Laika.
Orbital launches
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October
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November
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December
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Suborbital flights
Orbital launch statistics By country
+ Country Launches Successes Failures Partialfailures Remarks 2 1 0 1 1 0 1 0
By rocket Rocket Country Type Family Launches Successes Failures Partial failures Remarks Sputnik-PS (8K71PS) Sputnik R-7 2 1 0 1 Maiden flight, first Soviet orbital flight and satellite, retired Vanguard Vanguard Viking 1 0 1 0 Maiden flight, first US orbital attempt
By launch site Site Country Launches Successes Failures Partial failures Remarks Baikonur 2 1 0 1 Cape Canaveral 1 0 1 0
By orbit Orbital regime Launches Successes Failures AccidentallyAchieved Remarks Low Earth 2 2 0 0 Medium Earth 1 0 1 0
Launch statistics By country
+ Country Launches Successes Failures Partialfailures 1 1 0 0 106 102 3 1 4 4 0 0 170 119 46 5 World
By rocket
+ Rocket Country Launches Successes Failures Partialfailures Remarks Viking (second model) 1 1 0 0 Retired Vanguard 2 1 1 0 Maiden flight, first US orbital attempt Aerobee RTV-N-10 1 1 0 0 Retired Aerobee RTV-N-10c 1 1 0 0 Retired Aerobee Hi (NRL) 6 5 1 0 Aerobee RTV-A-1a 1 1 0 0 Retired Aerobee Hi (USAF) 3 3 0 0 Aerobee AJ10-34 2 2 0 0 Aerobee (Unknown Type) 21 19 2 0 Loki rockoon 57 44 13 0 Retired Farside 6 0 6 0 Maiden flight, retired Nike-Deacon 13 7 6 0 Retired Nike-Cajun 9 4 5 0 Terrapin 4 4 0 0 Retired Nike-Asp 2 1 1 0 Maiden flight X-17 9 7 2 0 Polaris FTV-5 2 1 1 0 Maiden flight, retired Polaris FTV-3 4 4 0 0 Maiden flight, retired HJ-Nike 3 3 0 0 HJ-Nike-Nike 1 1 0 0 Maiden flight Jupiter-C 2 1 1 0 SM-78 Jupiter 7 3 1 3 Maiden flight XSM-75 Thor 10 4 5 1 Maiden flight XSM-65A Atlas 3 1 0 2 Maiden flight R-1 18 18 0 0 A-1 1 1 0 0 R-2 37 37 0 0 R-2A 18 18 0 0 Maiden flight R-5M 19 19 0 0 R-7 4 2 2 0 Maiden flight Sputnik-PS (8K71PS) 2 1 0 1 Maiden flight, first Soviet orbital flight and satellite, retired R-12 7 6 1 0 Maiden flight Skylark (Raven 1) 4 4 0 0 Maiden flight, first British spaceflight Long Tom 1 1 0 0 Maiden flight, first Australian spaceflight
See also Timeline of spaceflight Pre-1963 Designations Of U.S. Missiles And Drones
References
External links