These events from the history of spaceflight and astronomy share today’s date. Each entry lists its source.
1965-11-06 – Explorer 29 – launch
Thor Delta E launched on the Explorer 29 flight from Cape Canaveral Air Station, Florida, pad LC17A. Launch vehicle success.
Launch outcome: success
1966-11-06 – Lunar Orbiter 2 – launch
The 1966 Lunar Orbiter 2 robotic spacecraft mission, part of the Lunar Orbiter Program, was designed primarily to photograph smooth areas of the lunar surface for selection and verification of safe landing sites for the Surveyor and Apollo missions. It was also equipped to collect selenodetic, radiation intensity, and micrometeoroid impact data. The spacecraft was placed in a cislunar trajectory and injected into an elliptical near-equatorial lunar orbit for data acquisition after 92.6 hours’ flight time. The initial orbit was 196 by 1,850 kilometres (122 mi × 1,150 mi) at an inclination of 11.8 degrees. The perilune was lowered to 49.7 kilometres (30.9 mi) five days later after 33 orbits.
Launch outcome: success
1968-11-06 – KH-8 – launch
Titan IIIB launched on the KH-8 flight from South Vandenberg AFB, California, pad SLC4W. Launch vehicle success.
Launch outcome: success
1970-11-06 – DSP 1 – launch
Titan IIIC launched on the DSP 1 flight from Cape Canaveral Air Station, Florida, pad LC40. Launch vehicle success.
Launch outcome: success
1973-11-06 – NOAA 3 – launch
Delta 0300 launched on the NOAA 3 flight from Vandenberg AFB, California, pad SLC2W. Launch vehicle success.
Launch outcome: success
1997-11-06 – USA 134 (GPS IIA-28) – launch
Delta 7925 launched on the USA 134 (GPS IIA-28) flight from Cape Canaveral Air Station, Florida, pad LC17A. Launch vehicle success.
Launch outcome: success
1998-11-06 – Iridium MS-11 – launch
Delta 7920-10C launched on the Iridium MS-11 flight from Vandenberg AFB, California, pad SLC2W. Launch vehicle success.
Launch outcome: success
2004-11-06 – ZY-2C – launch
Chang Zheng 4B launched on the ZY-2C flight from Taiyuan weixing fashe zhongxin, pad LC7. Launch vehicle success.
Launch outcome: success
2004-11-06 – USA 180 (GPS IIR-13) – launch
Delta 7925-9.5 launched on the USA 180 (GPS IIR-13) flight from Cape Canaveral Air Station, Florida, pad SLC17B. Launch vehicle success.
Launch outcome: success
2010-11-06 – COSMO 4 – launch
Delta 7420-10C launched on the COSMO 4 flight from Vandenberg AFB, California, pad SLC2W. Launch vehicle success.
Launch outcome: success
2020-11-06 – Nusat 9-18 – launch
Chang Zheng 6 launched on the Nusat 9-18 flight from Taiyuan weixing fashe zhongxin, pad LC16. Launch vehicle success.
Launch outcome: success
2021-11-06 – YG-35A,B,C – launch
Chang Zheng 2D launched on the YG-35A,B,C flight from Xichang Space Center (Songlin), Sichuan, China, pad LC3. Launch vehicle success.
Launch outcome: success
2025-11-06 – Starlink-323 – launch
Falcon 9 (FT5) launched on the Starlink-323 flight from Cape Canaveral Air Station, Florida, pad LC40. Launch vehicle success.
Launch outcome: success
2025-11-06 – Starlink-324 – launch
Falcon 9 (FT5) launched on the Starlink-324 flight from South Base, Vandenberg Space Force Base, California, pad SLC4E. Launch vehicle success.
Launch outcome: success
