January 16 in Space History

18 events

1. 1963 63 years ago launch

   OPS 0180 — launch

   Category: Launches and Flight Tests › Type: Orbital launch

   Mission: OPS 0180

   • Space transportation

   Thor Agena B launched on the OPS 0180 flight from Vandenberg AFB, California, pad 75-3-5. Launch vehicle success.

   • Jonathan McDowell — General Catalog of Artificial Space Objects (opens in a new tab) — Data from GCAT (J. McDowell, planet4589.org/space/gcat), CC BY 4.0. Adapted into anniversary records. (CC BY 4.0)

2. 1968 58 years ago launch

   Kosmos-199 — launch

   Category: Launches and Flight Tests › Type: Orbital launch

   Mission: Kosmos-199

   • Space transportation

   Voskhod 11A57 launched on the Kosmos-199 flight from 53-y Nauchno-Issledovatelskiy Ispitatelniy Poligon, pad LC41/1. Launch vehicle success.

   • Jonathan McDowell — General Catalog of Artificial Space Objects (opens in a new tab) — Data from GCAT (J. McDowell, planet4589.org/space/gcat), CC BY 4.0. Adapted into anniversary records. (CC BY 4.0)

3. 1970 56 years ago launch

   Kosmos-320 — launch

   Category: Launches and Flight Tests › Type: Orbital launch

   Mission: Kosmos-320

   • Space transportation

   Kosmos 11K63 launched on the Kosmos-320 flight from GTsP-4, Kapustin Yar, Volgograd, Rossiya, pad LC86/4. Launch vehicle success.

   • Jonathan McDowell — General Catalog of Artificial Space Objects (opens in a new tab) — Data from GCAT (J. McDowell, planet4589.org/space/gcat), CC BY 4.0. Adapted into anniversary records. (CC BY 4.0)

4. 1979 47 years ago launch

   Kosmos-1072 — launch

   Category: Launches and Flight Tests › Type: Orbital launch

   Mission: Kosmos-1072

   • Space transportation

   Kosmos 11K65M launched on the Kosmos-1072 flight from 53-y Nauchno-Issledovatelskiy Ispitatelniy Poligon, pad LC132/1. Launch vehicle success.

   • Jonathan McDowell — General Catalog of Artificial Space Objects (opens in a new tab) — Data from GCAT (J. McDowell, planet4589.org/space/gcat), CC BY 4.0. Adapted into anniversary records. (CC BY 4.0)

5. 1981 45 years ago launch

   Kosmos-1238 — launch

   Category: Launches and Flight Tests › Type: Orbital launch

   Mission: Kosmos-1238

   • Space transportation

   Kosmos 11K65M launched on the Kosmos-1238 flight from 53-y Nauchno-Issledovatelskiy Ispitatelniy Poligon, pad LC132/1. Launch vehicle success.

   • Jonathan McDowell — General Catalog of Artificial Space Objects (opens in a new tab) — Data from GCAT (J. McDowell, planet4589.org/space/gcat), CC BY 4.0. Adapted into anniversary records. (CC BY 4.0)

6. 1981 45 years ago launch

   Kosmos-1239 — launch

   Category: Launches and Flight Tests › Type: Orbital launch

   Mission: Kosmos-1239

   • Space transportation

   Soyuz-U launched on the Kosmos-1239 flight from 53-y Nauchno-Issledovatelskiy Ispitatelniy Poligon, pad LC41/1. Launch vehicle success.

   • Jonathan McDowell — General Catalog of Artificial Space Objects (opens in a new tab) — Data from GCAT (J. McDowell, planet4589.org/space/gcat), CC BY 4.0. Adapted into anniversary records. (CC BY 4.0)

7. 1982 44 years ago launch

   Satcom 4 — launch

   Category: Launches and Flight Tests › Type: Orbital launch

   Mission: Satcom 4

   • Space transportation

   Delta 3910/PAM launched on the Satcom 4 flight from Cape Canaveral Air Station, Florida, pad LC17A. Launch vehicle success.

   • Jonathan McDowell — General Catalog of Artificial Space Objects (opens in a new tab) — Data from GCAT (J. McDowell, planet4589.org/space/gcat), CC BY 4.0. Adapted into anniversary records. (CC BY 4.0)

8. 1985 41 years ago launch

   Molniya-3 — launch

   Category: Launches and Flight Tests › Type: Orbital launch

   Mission: Molniya-3

   • Space transportation

   Molniya 8K78M (ML) launched on the Molniya-3 flight from 53-y Nauchno-Issledovatelskiy Ispitatelniy Poligon, pad LC43/4. Launch vehicle success.

   • Jonathan McDowell — General Catalog of Artificial Space Objects (opens in a new tab) — Data from GCAT (J. McDowell, planet4589.org/space/gcat), CC BY 4.0. Adapted into anniversary records. (CC BY 4.0)

9. 1985 41 years ago launch

   Kosmos-1623 — launch

   Category: Launches and Flight Tests › Type: Orbital launch

   Mission: Kosmos-1623

   • Space transportation

   Soyuz-U launched on the Kosmos-1623 flight from NIIP-5, Baykonur, Kazakstan, pad LC1. Launch vehicle success.

   • Jonathan McDowell — General Catalog of Artificial Space Objects (opens in a new tab) — Data from GCAT (J. McDowell, planet4589.org/space/gcat), CC BY 4.0. Adapted into anniversary records. (CC BY 4.0)

10. 1986 40 years ago launch

    Kosmos-1725 — launch

    Category: Launches and Flight Tests › Type: Orbital launch

    Mission: Kosmos-1725

    • Space transportation

    Kosmos 11K65M launched on the Kosmos-1725 flight from 53-y Nauchno-Issledovatelskiy Ispitatelniy Poligon, pad LC132/1. Launch vehicle success.

    • Jonathan McDowell — General Catalog of Artificial Space Objects (opens in a new tab) — Data from GCAT (J. McDowell, planet4589.org/space/gcat), CC BY 4.0. Adapted into anniversary records. (CC BY 4.0)

11. 1987 39 years ago launch

    Progress-27 — launch

    Category: Launches and Flight Tests › Type: Orbital launch

    Mission: Progress-27

    • Space transportation

    Soyuz-U2 launched on the Progress-27 flight from NIIP-5, Baykonur, Kazakstan, pad LC1. Launch vehicle success.

    • Jonathan McDowell — General Catalog of Artificial Space Objects (opens in a new tab) — Data from GCAT (J. McDowell, planet4589.org/space/gcat), CC BY 4.0. Adapted into anniversary records. (CC BY 4.0)

12. 1995 31 years ago

    Star Trek: Voyager: premiere

    Category: Science Fiction › Type: Television series premiere

    • Science fiction
    • Film and television

    Star Trek: Voyager (Television series) by Rick Berman, Michael Piller, Jeri Taylor

    Star Trek: Voyager: premiere.

    • StarTrek.com (opens in a new tab) — Factual summary based on StarTrek.com. Original source retains its rights.

13. 1996 30 years ago launch

    Kosmos-2327 — launch

    Category: Launches and Flight Tests › Type: Orbital launch

    Mission: Kosmos-2327

    • Space transportation

    Kosmos 11K65M launched on the Kosmos-2327 flight from 1-y Gosudarstvenniy Ispitatelniy Kosmodrom MO RF, pad LC132/1. Launch vehicle success.

    • Jonathan McDowell — General Catalog of Artificial Space Objects (opens in a new tab) — Data from GCAT (J. McDowell, planet4589.org/space/gcat), CC BY 4.0. Adapted into anniversary records. (CC BY 4.0)

14. 2003 23 years ago launch

    Spacehab — launch

    Category: Launches and Flight Tests › Type: Orbital launch

    Mission: Spacehab

    • Space transportation

    Space Shuttle launched on the Spacehab flight from NASA John F. Kennedy Space Center, Florida, pad LC39A. Launch vehicle success.

    • Jonathan McDowell — General Catalog of Artificial Space Objects (opens in a new tab) — Data from GCAT (J. McDowell, planet4589.org/space/gcat), CC BY 4.0. Adapted into anniversary records. (CC BY 4.0)

15. 2010 16 years ago launch

    Beidou DW 3 — launch

    Category: Launches and Flight Tests › Type: Orbital launch

    Mission: Beidou DW 3

    • Space transportation

    Chang Zheng 3C launched on the Beidou DW 3 flight from Xichang Space Center (Songlin), Sichuan, China, pad LC2. Launch vehicle success.

    • Jonathan McDowell — General Catalog of Artificial Space Objects (opens in a new tab) — Data from GCAT (J. McDowell, planet4589.org/space/gcat), CC BY 4.0. Adapted into anniversary records. (CC BY 4.0)

16. 2020 6 years ago launch

    Eutelsat Konnect/GSAT-30 — launch

    Category: Launches and Flight Tests › Type: Orbital launch

    Mission: Eutelsat Konnect/GSAT-30

    • Space transportation

    Ariane 5ECA+ launched on the Eutelsat Konnect/GSAT-30 flight from Centre Spatial Guyanais, Kourou, Guyane Francaise, pad ELA3. Launch vehicle success.

    • Jonathan McDowell — General Catalog of Artificial Space Objects (opens in a new tab) — Data from GCAT (J. McDowell, planet4589.org/space/gcat), CC BY 4.0. Adapted into anniversary records. (CC BY 4.0)

17. 2025 1 year ago launch failure

    Starship Flight 7 — launch

    Category: Launches and Flight Tests › Type: Orbital launch

    Mission: Starship Flight 7

    • Space transportation

    Starship V2 (R2) launched on the Starship Flight 7 flight from Starbase, Boca Chica Beach, Texas, pad OLP1. Launch failure.

    • Jonathan McDowell — General Catalog of Artificial Space Objects (opens in a new tab) — Data from GCAT (J. McDowell, planet4589.org/space/gcat), CC BY 4.0. Adapted into anniversary records. (CC BY 4.0)

18. 2026 launch failure

    Shi Jian 32A — launch

    Category: Launches and Flight Tests › Type: Orbital launch

    Mission: Shi Jian 32A

    • Space transportation

    Chang Zheng 3B (G2) launched on the Shi Jian 32A flight from Xichang Space Center (Songlin), Sichuan, China, pad LC2. Launch failure.

    • Jonathan McDowell — General Catalog of Artificial Space Objects (opens in a new tab) — Data from GCAT (J. McDowell, planet4589.org/space/gcat), CC BY 4.0. Adapted into anniversary records. (CC BY 4.0)