1971 in spaceflight
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[edit] Launches
This is a list of spaceflights launched in 1971.
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 13 20:10 GMT | Black Brant II | Fort Churchill | NRCC | (none) | N/A | N/A | Aeronomy | N/A | Successful | |
| January 21 02:32 GMT | Black Brant VB | Fort Churchill | NRCC | (none) | N/A | N/A | Research into Auroras, Ionosphere, and plasma | N/A | Successful | |
| January 21 18:28 GMT | Titan 23B | SLC-4W, Vandenberg AFB | US Air Force | OPS 7776 | US Air Force/NRO | LEO | Surveillance satellite | February 9 1971 | Successful | |
| January 22 04:44 GMT | Black Brant VB | Fort Churchill | NRCC | (none) | N/A | N/A | Research into Auroras, Ionosphere, and plasma | N/A | Successful | |
| January 26 00:36 GMT | Atlas-Centaur SLV-3C | LC-36A, Cape Canaveral | Intelsat 4 F-2 | Intelsat | Geosynchronous | Comsat | Still in orbit | Successful | ||
| January 26 17:23 GMT | Black Brant VB | Fort Churchill | NRCC | (none) | N/A | N/A | Research Ionosphere, and the Sun | N/A | Successful | |
| January 31 21:03 GMT | Saturn V | LC-39A, Kennedy Space Center | NASA | Apollo 14 CSM "Kitty Hawk" 3 astronauts | NASA | Lunar | Manned Lunar orbiter | February 9, 1971 21:05 GMT | Successful | |
| Apollo 14 Lunar Module "Antares" | NASA | Lunar | Manned Lunar landing | February 5, 1971 09:17 GMT (at Moon) | Successful | |||||
| February 5 22:46 GMT | Black Brant IVB | Fort Churchill | NRCC | (none) | N/A | N/A | Research into Auroras, Ionosphere, and meteorites | N/A | Successful | |
| February 6 18:48 GMT | Apollo 14 Lunar Module "Antares" ascent stage | Apollo 14 Lunar Module "Antares" descent stage Fra Mauro The Moon | NASA | Apollo 14, 2 astronauts | NASA | Lunar | Return Apollo 14 astronauts to CSM in orbit. | February 7 1971 00:46 GMT (at Moon) | Successful | |
| February 17 03:52 GMT | Thor Burner II | SLC-10W, Vandenberg AFB | US Air Force | DMSP 5A F3 | US Air Force | LEO | Weather satellite | Still in orbit | Successful | |
| Calsphere 3A | US Air Force | LEO | Radar calibration | October 17, 1989 | Successful | |||||
| Calsphere 4 | US Air Force | LEO | Radar calibration | September 20, 1989 | Successful | |||||
| Calsphere 5 | US Air Force | LEO | Radar calibration | January 7, 1990 | Successful | |||||
| February 17 20:04 GMT | Thorad Agena-D SLV-2H | SLC-3W, Vandenberg AFB | US Air Force | KH-4B 1113 | US Air Force | LEO | Surveillance satellite | T+18 seconds | Failure | Overloading of orinite led to cracked valve, and loss of engine lubrication at launch. |
| SRV 825 | US Air Force | LEO | Surveillance satellite | |||||||
| SRV 826 | US Air Force | LEO | Surveillance satellite | |||||||
| February 20 03:33 GMT | Black Brant IVA | Fort Churchill | NRCC | (none) | N/A | N/A | Research into Auroras, Ionosphere, and plasma | N/A | Successful | |
| February 25 01:13 GMT | Black Brant VB | Wallops Island | NASA | (none) | N/A | N/A | Aeronomy research | N/A | Successful | |
| February 28 20:10 GMT | Black Brant III | Fort Churchill | NRCC | (none) | N/A | N/A | Aeronomy | N/A | Successful | |
| March 3 06:52 GMT | Black Brant IVA | Fort Churchill | NRCC | (none) | N/A | N/A | Research Auroras | N/A | Successful | |
| March 3 12:15 GMT | CZ-1 (Long March 1) | LA-2A, Jiuquan | SJ-1 | LEO | comsat | June 17 1979 | Successful | |||
| March 20 03:24 GMT | Black Brant II | Fort Churchill | NRCC | (none) | N/A | N/A | Test rocket Research Ionosphere, and Auroras | N/A | Successful | |
| March 21 03:45 GMT | Titan 33B | SLC-4W, Vandenberg AFB | US Air Force | Jumpseat 1 | US Air Force/NRO | High eccentricity LEO/MEO | Still in orbit | Successful | ||
| March 24 20:10 GMT | Black Brant VC | Fort Churchill | AFCRL | (none) | N/A | N/A | Aeronomy | N/A | Successful | |
| March 24 21:05 GMT | Thorad Agena-D SLV-2H | SLC-3W, Vandenberg AFB | US Air Force | KH-4B 1114 | US Air Force | LEO | Surveillance satellite | April 12 1971 | Failure | Computer on satellite malfunctioned |
| April 1 02:57 GMT | Thor Delta E1 | SLC-2E, Vandenberg AFB | ISIS 2 | CRC | LEO | Ionospheric research. | Still in orbit | Successful | Final flight of Thor Delta E1 launch vehicle | |
| April 5 | Atlas F | ABRES-A1, Vandenberg AFB | US Air Force | ABRES LAR-1 | US Air Force | Sub-orbital | Test Re-entry vehicle | April 5, 1971 | Successful | |
| April 19 01:40 GMT | Proton 8K82K | LC-81, Baikonur | RVSN | Salyut 1 | RVSN | LEO | Space station | October 11 1971 | Partial Failure | First space station Experiment bay door failed to separate First crew failed to dock, and second crew killed on re-entry |
| April 22 15:30 GMT | Titan 23B | SLC-4W, Vandenberg AFB | US Air Force | OPS 7899 | US Air Force/NRO | LEO | Surveillance satellite | May 13 1971 | Successful | |
| April 22 23:54 GMT | R-7 11A511 (Soyuz/A-2) | Gagarin's Start, Baikonur | RVSN | Soyuz 10, 3 cosmonauts | RVSN | LEO, Intended to be docked to Salyut 1 | Manned mission to Salyut 1 space station | April 24 1971 | Failure | Docking system malfunction - mission aborted and spacecraft deorbited |
| May 5 07:43 GMT | Titan IIIC | LC-40, Cape Canaveral | US Air Force | IMEWS 2 | US Air Force | Geosynchronous | Early warning defense satellite | Still in orbit | Successful | |
| May 9 01:11 GMT | Atlas-Centaur SLV-3C | LC-36A, Cape Canaveral | Mariner H | NASA | Intended: Heliocentric | Martian flyby probe Mapping | May 9 1971 | Failure | Premature second stage cutoff due to human error. | |
| May 10 16:58 GMT | Proton 8K82K | LC-81, Baikonur | RVSN | Cosmos 419 (Mars M-71) | RVSN | Intended: Martian Actual: LEO | Martian photography | May 12 1971 | Failure | Fourth stage ignition delay accidentally entered as 1.5 years, rather than 1.5 hours |
| May 19 16:22 GMT | Proton 8K82K | LC-81, Baikonur | RVSN | Mars 2 | RVSN | Martian | Martian orbiter | Still in orbit | Successful | |
| Mars 2 lander | RVSN | N/A | Martian lander | November 27 1971 | Failure | Descent system malfunctioned, did not survive landing | ||||
| May 28 15:26 GMT | Proton 8K82K | LC-81, Baikonur | RVSN | Mars 3 | RVSN | Martian | Martian orbiter | Still in orbit | Successful | |
| Mars 3 lander | RVSN | N/A | Martian lander | December 2 1971 | Failure | Failed 20 seconds after landing, unknown cause. | ||||
| May 30 22:23 GMT | Atlas-Centaur SLV-3C | LC-36B, Cape Canaveral | Mariner 9 | NASA | Martian orbit | Martian orbiter Study martian atmosphere Surface mapping | Still in orbit | Successful | First planetry orbiter. First artificial satellite of Mars. | |
| June 6 04:55 GMT | R-7 11A511 (Soyuz/A-2) | Gagarin's Start, Baikonur | RVSN | Soyuz 11, 3 cosmonauts | RVSN | LEO, docked to Salyut 1 | Manned mission to Salyut 1 space station | June 29 1971 | Failure | First manned space station Pressure leak on re-entry resulted in loss of crew |
| June 7 05:26 GMT | Black Brant IVA | Fort Churchill | AFCRL | (none) | N/A | N/A | Research Ionosphere | N/A | Successful | |
| June 8 14:00 GMT | Thor Burner II | SLC-10W, Vandenberg AFB | US Air Force | SESP 70-1 | US Air Force | LEO | Weather satellite | January 31 1982 | Successful | |
| June 15 18:41 GMT | Titan IIID | SLC-4E, Vandenberg AFB | US Air Force | KH-9 01 ("Big Bird") | CIA/NRO | LEO | Surveillance satellite | August 6 1971 | Successful | Maiden flight of Titan IIID |
| June 20 | Titan II | LC-395C, Vandenberg AFB | US Air Force | (none) | N/A | N/A | SSTTP target mission | N/A | Successful | |
| June 26 23:15 GMT | N-1 | LC-110L, Baikonur | RVSN | Boilerplate Soyuz spacecraft | RVSN | Intended: LEO | Test LV | T+51 seconds | Failure | Loss of control. Destroyed by range safety |
| June 29 10:12 GMT | Atlas F/Trident | ABRES-A3, Vandenberg AFB | US Air Force | ABRES RVTO-2 | US Air Force | Sub-orbital | Test Re-entry vehicle | June 29, 1971 | Successful | |
| July 16 10:50 GMT | Thorad Agena-D SLV-2H | SLC-1W, Vandenberg AFB | US Air Force | OPS 8373 | US Air Force | LEO | Surveillance satellite | August 31 1978 | Successful | |
| July 21 16:00 GMT | Black Brant VC | Wallops Island | NASA | (none) | N/A | N/A | Test rocket | N/A | Failure | |
| July 26 13:34 GMT | Saturn V | LC-39A, Kennedy Space Center | NASA | Apollo 15 CSM "Endeavour" 3 astronauts | NASA | Lunar | Manned Lunar orbiter | August 7, 1971 | Successful | |
| Apollo 15 Lunar Module "Falcon" | NASA | Lunar | Manned Lunar landing | July 30, 1971 22:16 GMT (at Moon) | Successful | First flight to carry lunar rover | ||||
| Apollo 15 Subsatellite | NASA | Lunar | Study lunar particles | Unknown | Successful | First satellite to be deployed by manned spacecraft. Deployed at 20:13 GMT on August 4 | ||||
| August 2 17:11 GMT | Apollo 15 Lunar Module "Falcon" ascent stage | Apollo 15 Lunar Module "Falcon" descent stage, Hadley-Apennine The Moon | NASA | Apollo 15, 2 astronauts | NASA | Lunar | Return Apollo 15 astronauts to CSM in orbit. | August 3 1971 03:04 GMT (at Moon) | Successful | |
| August 7 00:11 GMT | Atlas F | BMRS-A2, Vandenberg AFB | US Air Force | OV1-20P | US Air Force | LEO | Technology research | August 28, 1971 | Successful | |
| OV1-21P | US Air Force | LEO | Technology research | Still in orbit | Successful | |||||
| Cannonball 2 | US Air Force | LEO | Technology research | January 31, 1972 | Successful | |||||
| Musketball 1 | US Air Force | LEO | Technology research | September 19, 1971 | Successful | |||||
| Gridsphere 1 | US Air Force | LEO | Technology research | Still in orbit | Successful | |||||
| LCS 4 | US Air Force | LEO | Technology research | June 11, 1972 | Successful | |||||
| Gridsphere 2 | US Air Force | LEO | Technology research | March 18, 1979 | Successful | |||||
| Rigidsphere | US Air Force | LEO | Technology research | November 2, 1979 | Successful | |||||
| Mylar Balloon | US Air Force | LEO | Technology research | September 1, 1981 | Successful | |||||
| August 12 15:30 GMT | Titan 23B | SLC-4W, Vandenberg AFB | US Air Force | OPS 8607 | US Air Force/NRO | LEO | Surveillance satellite | September 3 1971 | Successful | |
| August 27 | Titan II | LC-395C, Vandenberg AFB | US Air Force | (none) | N/A | N/A | SSTTP target mission | N/A | Successful | |
| September 1 | Atlas F | BMRS-A1, Vandenberg AFB | US Air Force | ABRES LAR-2 | US Air Force | Sub-orbital | Test Re-entry vehicle | June 29, 1971 | Successful | |
| September 2 13:40 GMT | Proton 8K82K | LC-81, Baikonur | RVSN | Luna 18 | RVSN | Lunar | Lunar sample return | September 11 1971 (at Moon) | Failure | Crashed during landing attempt |
| September 4 13:52 GMT | Black Brant IIIB | Resolute Bay | NASA | (none) | N/A | N/A | Research plasma | N/A | Successful | |
| September 5 13:44 GMT | Black Brant III | Resolute Bay | NASA | (none) | N/A | N/A | Research plasma | N/A | Successful | |
| September 10 | DF-5 | LA-2B, Jiuquan | (none) | N/A | N/A | Research and development | N/A | Successful | Maiden flight of DF-5 | |
| September 10 21:33 GMT | Thorad Agena-D SLV-2H | SLC-3W, Vandenberg AFB | US Air Force | KH-4B 1115 | US Air Force | LEO | Surveillance satellite | October 5 1971 | Successful | |
| SRV 831 | US Air Force | LEO | Surveillance satellite | February 3 1976 | Successful | |||||
| OPS 7681 | US Air Force | LEO | Surveillance satellite | February 3 1976 | Successful | |||||
| September 28 10:00 GMT | Proton 8K82K | LC-81, Baikonur | RVSN | Luna 19 | RVSN | Lunar | Lunar orbiter and mapping | Still in orbit | Successful | |
| September 29 09:45 GMT | Thor Delta N | LC-17A, Cape Canaveral Air Force Station | OSO 7 | NASA | LEO | Solar observatory | July 9, 1974 | Successful | ||
| TETR 3 | NASA | LEO | Technology research | September 19, 1978 | Successful | |||||
| October 14 07:51 GMT | Thor Burner II | SLC-10W, Vandenberg AFB | US Air Force | DMSP 5B F1 | US Air Force | LEO | Weather satellite | Still in orbit | Successful | |
| October 17 13:36 GMT | Thorad Agena D SLV-2G | SLC-1W, Vandenberg AFB | US Air Force | ASTEX | US Air Force | LEO | Technology research | Still in orbit | Successful | |
| October 21 11:32 GMT | Thor Delta N | SLC-2E, Vandenberg Air Force Base | ITOS B | NASA | LEO | Weather satellite | July 21, 1972 | Failure | Space junk rendered orbit useless | |
| October 23 17:16 GMT | Titan 24B | SLC-4W, Vandenberg AFB | US Air Force | OPS 7616 | US Air Force/NRO | LEO | Surveillance satellite | November 17 1971 | Successful | |
| SRV-2 | US Air Force/NRO | LEO | Surveillance satellite | November 17 1971 | Successful | |||||
| October 28 04:09 GMT | Black Arrow | LA-5B, Woomera | RAE | Prospero | RAE | LEO | Micrometeorite detection spacecraft | Still in orbit | Successful | First and so far only British launched satellite |
| November 3 03:09 GMT | Titan IIIC | LC-40, Cape Canaveral | US Air Force | DSCS-II 01 | US Air Force | Geosynchronous | Military comsat | Still in orbit | Successful | |
| DSCS-II 02 | US Air Force | Geosynchronous | Military comsat | Still in orbit | Successful | |||||
| November 5 13:00 GMT | Europa | CECLES, Kourou | ELDO/ESA | STV-4 | ELDO/ESA | Intended: LEO | Test LV | November 5 1971 | Failure | Third stage structural failure |
| December 4 22:30 GMT | Atlas-Agena-D SLV-3A | LC-13, Cape Canaveral | US Air Force | Canyon 4 (AFP-827) | US Air Force | Intended: Geosynchronous | Military Comsat | December 4 1971 | Failure | First stage malfunction |
| October 17 13:36 GMT | Thorad Agena D SLV-2G | SLC-1W, Vandenberg AFB | US Air Force | OPS 7898 P/L1 | US Air Force | LEO | Technology research | Still in orbit | Successful | Final flight of Thorad Agena D SLV-2G |
| OPS 7898 P/L2 | US Air Force | LEO | Technology research | Still in orbit | Successful | |||||
| OPS 7898 P/L3 | US Air Force | LEO | Technology research | Still in orbit | Successful | |||||
| OPS 7898 P/L4 | US Air Force | LEO | Technology research | Still in orbit | Successful | |||||
| December 20 01:10 GMT | Atlas-Centaur SLV-3C | LC-36A, Cape Canaveral | Intelsat 4 F-3 | Intelsat | Geosynchronous | Comsat | Still in orbit | Successful |
[edit] Deep space rendezvous in 1971
- February 9 — Apollo 14, 43 kg from Fra Mauro (sample return mission)
- August 7 — Apollo 15, 77 kg from Hadley rille (sample return mission)
- September 11 — Luna 18 impacted at Mare Fecunditatis (sample return mission)
- October 3 — Luna 19 entered selenocentric orbit
- November 14 — Mariner 9 entered Martian orbit, 7,329 pictures
- November 27 — Mars 2 entered Martian orbit and its lander crashed
- December 2 — Mars 3 entered Martian orbit and its lander was lost after 14.5 sec. on the surface
[edit] References
Generic references:
- Encyclopedia Astronautica
- Gunter's Space Page - Chronology of Space Launches
- JAXA
- Jonathan's Space Report (SatCat.txt and Launchlog.txt)
- Mission Set Database (NASA GFC)
- NASA
- NASA SpaceFlight.com
- Orbital Report News Agency's Launch Logs
- Space Calendar (NASA JPL)
- Southwest Space Archive
- SPACE.com Launch Forecast
- SpaceFlightNow
- Steven Pietrobon's Space Archive
- U.S. Space Objects Registry
- Хроника освоения космоса (Russian)
| Preceded by 1970 | Timeline of spaceflight 1971 | Succeeded by 1972 |
