These events from the history of spaceflight and astronomy share today's date.
1965-11-12 – Venera-2 – launch
Venera 2, also known as 3MV-4 No.4 was a Soviet spacecraft intended to explore Venus. A 3MV-4 spacecraft launched as part of the Venera programme, it failed to return data after flying past Venus. Venera 2 was launched by a Molniya carrier rocket, flying from Site 31/6 at the Baikonur Cosmodrome. The launch occurred at 05:02 UTC on 12 November 1965, with the first three stages placing the spacecraft and Blok-L upper stage into a low Earth parking orbit before the Blok-L fired to propel Venera 2 into heliocentric orbit bound for Venus, with perihelion of 0.716 AU, aphelion of 1.197 AU, eccentricity of 0.252, inclination of 4.29 degrees and orbital period of 341 days.
1966-11-12 – Kosmos-131 – launch
Voskhod 11A57 launched on the Kosmos-131 flight from 53-y Nauchno-Issledovatelskiy Ispitatelniy Poligon,, pad LC41/1. Launch vehicle success.
1969-11-12 – Kosmos-309 – launch
Voskhod 11A57 launched on the Kosmos-309 flight from 53-y Nauchno-Issledovatelskiy Ispitatelniy Poligon,, pad LC41/1. Launch vehicle success.
1980-11-12 – Kosmos-1221 – launch
Soyuz-U launched on the Kosmos-1221 flight from 53-y Nauchno-Issledovatelskiy Ispitatelniy Poligon,, pad LC41/1. Launch vehicle success.
1980-11-12 – Voyager 1 encounters Saturn
Voyager 1 made its closest approach to Saturn and studied its rings and moons.
1981-11-12 – OFT-2/OSTA-1 – launch
Space Shuttle launched on the OFT-2/OSTA-1 flight from NASA John F. Kennedy Space Center, Florida, pad LC39A. Launch vehicle success.
1991-11-12 – Kosmos-2165/2170 – launch
Tsiklon-3 launched on the Kosmos-2165/2170 flight from 53-y Nauchno-Issledovatelskiy Ispitatelniy Poligon,, pad LC32/1. Launch vehicle success.
1995-11-12 – Shuttle/Mir-2 – launch
Space Shuttle launched on the Shuttle/Mir-2 flight from NASA John F. Kennedy Space Center, Florida, pad LC39A. Launch vehicle success.
1997-11-12 – Sirius 2/Cakrawarta – launch
Ariane 44L (44L-3) launched on the Sirius 2/Cakrawarta flight from Centre Spatial Guyanais, Kourou, Guyane Francaise, pad ELA2. Launch vehicle success.
2009-11-12 – SJ-11-01 – launch
Chang Zheng 2C (b) launched on the SJ-11-01 flight from Jiuquan Space Center, Nei Monggol Zizhiqu, China, pad LC603. Launch vehicle success.
2014-11-12 – Philae lands on comet 67P
Rosetta’s Philae lander reached the comet’s surface.
2020-11-12 – Tiantong-1 02 – launch
Chang Zheng 3B (G2) launched on the Tiantong-1 02 flight from Xichang Space Center (Songlin), Sichuan, China, pad LC2. Launch vehicle success.
2022-11-12 – Tianzhou-5 – launch
Chang Zheng 7 launched on the Tianzhou-5 flight from Wenchang Space Center, Hainan, pad LC201. Launch vehicle success.
2022-11-12 – Galaxy 31/32 – launch
Falcon 9 (FT5) launched on the Galaxy 31/32 flight from Cape Canaveral Air Station, Florida, pad LC40. Launch vehicle success.
2023-11-12 – O3b mPOWER 5/6 – launch
Falcon 9 (FT5) launched on the O3b mPOWER 5/6 flight from Cape Canaveral Air Station, Florida, pad LC40. Launch vehicle success.
