1969 saw humanity step onto another world for the first time. On 20 July 1969, the Apollo 11 Lunar Module, Eagle, landed on the Moon's surface with two astronauts aboard. Days later the crew of three returned safely to Earth, satisfying U.S. President John F. Kennedy's challenge of 25 May 1961, that "this nation should commit itself to achieving the goal, before this decade is out, of landing a man on the Moon and returning him safely to the Earth."Howard E. McCurdy, et al. "Helpful Lessons From The Space Race." Issues in Science & Technology 27.4 (2011): 19–22. Academic Search Premier. Web. 23 October 2013."Excerpt from the 'Special Message to the Congress on Urgent National Needs'" NASA. 24 May 2004. 24 May 2015. <https://www.nasa.gov/vision/space/features/jfk_speech_text.html#.VWIGJ0_tmkp >.
There were four Apollo missions in total in 1969, three of which traveled to the Moon, with Apollo 12 also landing on the surface. The success of the Apollo program was a testament to the efforts of over 500,000 American engineers, scientists and technicians.
In 1969, the Soviet Union's space program had success with the docking of two crewed spacecraft as well as the success of their Venus and Lunar probes. The Soviets, however, suffered severe blows to their crewed Lunar aspirations when their N1 rocket failed twice during two 1969 launches.
Orbital launches
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January
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February
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March
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April
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May
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June
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July
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August
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September
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October
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November
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December
Suborbital flights
|colspan=8| January-March
|colspan=8| April-June
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July-September
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October-December
Launches from the Moon
Deep-space rendezvous Date (GMT)SpacecraftEventRemarks16 MayVenera 5Atmospheric entry in VenusAtmospheric probe worked for 53 min in the Venerian atmosphere17 MayVenera 6Atmospheric entry in VenusAtmospheric probe worked for 51 min in the Venerian atmosphere21 MayApollo 1031 orbits around the MoonAltitude ~15,4 km20 JulyApollo 11Moon landing22 kg from Mare Tranquillitatis (sample return mission)21 JulyLuna 15Moon impactImpacted at Mare Crisium (sample return mission). Primary mission failed.5 AugustMariner 6Flyby of MarsPeriapsis: 3,412 km. 25 close-up pictures.5 AugustMariner 7Flyby of MarsPeriapsis: 3,543 km. 33 close-up pictures.11 AugustZond 7Circumlunar flightPeriapsis: 1,984 km.19 NovemberApollo 12Moon landing34 kg from Oceanus Procellarum (sample return mission)
Extravehicular activities (EVAs) Start date/timeDurationEnd timeSpacecraftCrewRemarks
Orbital launch statistics
By country
Country Launches Successes Failures Partial failures 1 0 1 0 1 0 1 0 82 68 14 0 41 37 2 2 World
By rocket
By family Family Country Launches Successes Failures Partial failures Remarks Atlas 5 5 0 0 Blue Streak 1 0 1 0 Kosmos 22 20 2 0 Lambda 1 0 1 0 N-1 2 0 2 0 First flight R-7 44 43 1 0 R-36 4 3 1 0 Saturn 4 4 0 0 Scout 2 1 0 1 Thor 22 20 2 0 Titan 8 7 0 1 Universal Rocket 10 2 8 0
By type Rocket Country Family Launches Successes Failures Partial failures Remarks Atlas-Agena Atlas 1 1 0 0 Atlas-Centaur Atlas 3 3 0 0 Atlas E/F Atlas 1 1 0 0 Delta Thor 11 9 2 0 Europa Blue Streak 1 0 1 0 Kosmos-2 Kosmos 15 14 1 0 Kosmos-3 Kosmos 7 6 1 0 Lambda 4 Lambda 1 0 1 0 Molniya R-7 4 4 0 0 N-1 N-1 2 0 2 0 First flight Proton Universal Rocket 10 2 8 0 R-36 R-36 1 1 0 0 Saturn V Saturn 4 4 0 0 Scout Scout 2 1 0 1 Soyuz R-7 37 37 0 0 Thor-Burner Thor 1 1 0 0 Thorad-Agena Thor 10 10 0 0 Titan III Titan 8 7 0 1 Tsyklon R-36 3 2 1 0 Vostok R-7 3 2 1 0
By configuration Rocket Country Type Launches Successes Failures Partial failures Remarks Atlas-SLV3A Agena-D Atlas-Agena 1 1 0 0 Atlas SLV-3C Centaur-D Atlas-Centaur 3 3 0 0 Atlas F-OV1 Atlas E/F 1 1 0 0 Delta C1 Delta 1 1 0 0 Last flight Delta E1 Delta 3 3 0 0 Delta L Delta 1 0 1 0 First flight Delta M Delta 4 3 1 0 Delta N Delta 2 2 0 0 Europa-1 Europa 1 0 1 0 Kosmos-2I Kosmos-2 15 14 1 0 Kosmos-3M Kosmos-3 7 6 1 0 Lambda 4S Lambda 4 1 0 1 0 Molniya-M/Blok VL Molniya 2 2 0 0 Last flight Molniya-M/Blok ML Molniya 2 2 0 0 N1/L3 N-1 2 0 2 0 First flight Proton-K/D Proton 10 2 8 0 R-36O R-36 1 1 0 0 Saturn V Saturn V 4 4 0 0 Scout B Scout 2 1 0 1 Soyuz (11A511) Soyuz 5 5 0 0 Thor-LV2F Burner-2 Thor-Burner 1 1 0 0 Thorad-SLV2G Agena-D Thorad-Agena 7 7 0 0 Thorad-SLV2H Agena-D Thorad-Agena 3 3 0 0 First flight Titan IIIB Titan III 6 5 0 1 Titan IIIC Titan III 2 2 0 0 Tsyklon-2 Tsyklon 2 2 0 0 First flight Tsyklon-2A Tsyklon 1 0 1 0 Last flight Voskhod (11A57) Soyuz 32 32 0 0 Vostok-2M Vostok 3 2 1 0
By spaceport Site Country Launches Successes Failures Partial failures Remarks Baikonur 38 27 11 0 Cape Canaveral 15 13 2 0 Kapustin Yar 3 3 0 0 Kennedy 4 4 0 0 Plesetsk 41 38 3 0 Kagoshima 1 0 1 0 Vandenberg 22 20 0 2 Woomera 1 0 1 0
By orbit Orbital regime Launches Achieved Not Achieved AccidentallyAchieved Remarks Low Earth 85 81 3 1 Geosynchronous / transfer 7 6 1 0 Medium Earth 3 2 1 0 High Earth 14 7 7 0 including highly elliptical and Molniya orbits and Trans Lunar trajectories Heliocentric 7 4 3 0
References
External links