1968 in spaceflight
NASA-Apollo8-Dec24-Earthrise.jpg
The crew of Apollo 8 were the first humans to witness Earthrise, photographed by William Anders on December 24, 1968
Orbital launches
Total6

The United States National Space Science Data Center catalogued 157 spacecraft placed into orbit by launches which occurred in 1968.[1] The first manned Apollo missions occurred in 1968. It was also the year in which Earth lifeforms first left low Earth orbit, during the successful Zond 5 mission, and the year that humans first left low Earth orbit, during the successful Apollo 8 mission.

Launches

Date and time (UTC) Rocket Flight number Launch site LSP
Payload
(⚀ = CubeSat) 		Operator Orbit Function Decay (UTC) Outcome
Remarks

January

22 January
23:45 		United StatesSaturn IB (C-1B) United StatesLC-37B, Cape Canaveral United StatesNASA
Apollo 5 NASA LEO Test Lunar Module 12 February 1968
09:59		 successful
Minor malfunction of LM descent stage engine, otherwise successful

April

4 April
12:00:02 		United StatesSaturn V (C-5) United StatesLC-39A, Kennedy United StatesNASA
Apollo 6 NASA LEO Test CSM heat shield at Lunar return speeds. Test S-IVB re-ignition in LEO. 4 April 1968
21:57:26		 Partial failure
Experienced Pogo oscillation during S-IC first stage ascent. S-IVB failed restart test.

October

11 October 1968
15:02 		United StatesSaturn IB (C-1B) United StatesLC-34, Cape Canaveral United StatesNASA
Apollo 7 NASA LEO Manned orbital flight 22 October 1968
11:11:48		 Successful
First manned Apollo flight
25 October 1968
09:00 		Soviet UnionSoyuz (R-7/A-2) Soviet UnionLC-1/5, Baikonur Soviet UnionRVSN
Soyuz 2 RVSN LEO Docking target for Soyuz 3 28 October 1968
07:21		 Successful
Soyuz 3 failed to dock
26 October
08:34 		Soviet UnionSoyuz (R-7/A-2) Soviet Union LC-31/6 Baikonur Soviet UnionRVSN
Soyuz 3 RVSN LEO Manned orbital flight 30 October 1968
07:25:03		 Partial Failure
Failed to dock with Soyuz 2

December

21 December
12:51 		United StatesSaturn V (C-5) United StatesLC-39A, Kennedy United StatesNASA
Apollo 8 NASA Selenocentric Manned lunar orbiter 27 December 1968
15:51:42		 Successful
First manned mission to the Moon

Deep space rendezvous

Date (UTC) Spacecraft Event Remarks
10 January Surveyor 7 Lunar landing in the debris from Tycho crater
31 January Lunar Orbiter 5 Lunar impact
10 April Luna 14 Selenocentric orbit insertion
18 September Zond 5 Flyby of the Moon; first return to Earth after flight to Moon; first Earth life forms to travel around the moon Closest approach: 1,950 kilometres (1,210 mi)
14 November Zond 6 Flyby of the Moon Closest approach: 2,420 kilometres (1,500 mi)
24 December Apollo 8 Selenocentric orbit insertion; first humans to travel around the moon
25 December Apollo 8 Leaves selenocentric orbit Completed 10 orbits

Orbital Launch Summary

See also

References

  • Bergin, Chris. "NASASpaceFlight.com".
  • Clark, Stephen. "Spaceflight Now".
  • Kelso, T.S. "Satellite Catalog (SATCAT)". CelesTrak.
  • Krebs, Gunter. "Chronology of Space Launches".
  • Kyle, Ed. "Space Launch Report".
  • McDowell, Jonathan. "Jonathan's Space Report".
  • Pietrobon, Steven. "Steven Pietrobon's Space Archive".
  • Wade, Mark. "Encyclopedia Astronautica".
  • Webb, Brian. "Southwest Space Archive".
  • Zak, Anatoly. "Russian Space Web".
  • "ISS Calendar". Spaceflight 101.
  • "NSSDCA Master Catalog". NASA Space Science Data Coordinated Archive. NASA Goddard Space Flight Center.
  • "Space Calendar". NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory.
  • "Space Information Center". JAXA.
  • "Хроника освоения космоса" [Chronicle of space exploration]. CosmoWorld (in Russian).
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Footnotes

  1. ^ "Spacecraft Query Results". Master Catalog Search. NASA NSSDC. Retrieved 30 May 2010.