February 17 in Space History

16 events

1. 1965 61 years ago launch

   Ranger 8 — launch

   Category: Launches and Flight Tests › Type: Orbital launch

   Mission: Ranger 8

   • Space transportation

   Ranger 8 was a lunar probe in the Ranger program, a robotic spacecraft series launched by NASA in the early-to-mid-1960s to obtain the first close-up images of the Moon's surface.

   • 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)
   • Wikipedia — Ranger 8 (opens in a new tab) — Adapted from Wikipedia contributors; selected sentences retained and edited for length, reference markers and pronunciation glosses. CC BY-SA 4.0: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/ Article and edit history: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ranger_8 (CC BY-SA 4.0)
   • Timeline of Space Exploration Missions 1957 to 2031 (opens in a new tab)
   • NASA — Ranger 8 (opens in a new tab)
   • NASA NSSDCA — Ranger 8 (opens in a new tab)

2. 1971 55 years ago launch

   Kosmos-395 — launch

   Category: Launches and Flight Tests › Type: Orbital launch

   Mission: Kosmos-395

   • Space transportation

   Kosmos 11K65M launched on the Kosmos-395 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)

3. 1971 55 years ago launch failure

   CORONA 141/1113 — launch

   Category: Launches and Flight Tests

   Mission: CORONA 141/1113

   Thorad SLV-2H Agena D (?) launched on the CORONA 141/1113 flight from South Vandenberg AFB, California, pad SLC3W. 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)

4. 1978 48 years ago launch

   Kosmos-990 — launch

   Category: Launches and Flight Tests › Type: Orbital launch

   Mission: Kosmos-990

   • Space transportation

   Kosmos 11K65M launched on the Kosmos-990 flight from 53-y Nauchno-Issledovatelskiy Ispitatelniy Poligon, pad LC132/2. 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. 1982 44 years ago launch

   Kosmos-1339 — launch

   Category: Launches and Flight Tests › Type: Orbital launch

   Mission: Kosmos-1339

   • Space transportation

   Kosmos 11K65M launched on the Kosmos-1339 flight from 53-y Nauchno-Issledovatelskiy Ispitatelniy Poligon, pad LC132/2. 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. 1988 38 years ago launch

   Kosmos-1917/1919 — launch

   Category: Launches and Flight Tests › Type: Orbital launch

   Mission: Kosmos-1917/1919

   • Space transportation

   Proton-K/DM-2 launched on the Kosmos-1917/1919 flight from NIIP-5, Baykonur, Kazakstan, pad LC200/39. Partial launch success/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)

7. 1989 37 years ago launch

   Kosmos-2003 — launch

   Category: Launches and Flight Tests › Type: Orbital launch

   Mission: Kosmos-2003

   • Space transportation

   Soyuz-U launched on the Kosmos-2003 flight from 53-y Nauchno-Issledovatelskiy Ispitatelniy Poligon, pad LC43/3. 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. 1993 33 years ago launch

   Kosmos-2234/2236 — launch

   Category: Launches and Flight Tests › Type: Orbital launch

   Mission: Kosmos-2234/2236

   • Space transportation

   Proton-K/DM-2 launched on the Kosmos-2234/2236 flight from GIK-5, Baykonur, Kazakstan, pad LC81/23. 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. 1998 28 years ago mission operations

   Voyager 1 becomes the most distant spacecraft

   Voyager 1 surpassed Pioneer 10’s distance from the Sun.

   • NASA — Voyager 1 (opens in a new tab) — Factual summary; source attribution retained.

10. 2007 19 years ago launch

    THEMIS — launch

    Category: Launches and Flight Tests › Type: Orbital launch

    Mission: THEMIS

    • Space transportation

    Delta 7925-10C launched on the THEMIS flight from Cape Canaveral Air Station, Florida, pad SLC17B. 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. 2015 11 years ago launch

    Progress M-26M — launch

    Category: Launches and Flight Tests › Type: Orbital launch

    Mission: Progress M-26M

    • Space transportation

    Soyuz-U-PVB launched on the Progress M-26M flight from GIK-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. 2016 10 years ago launch

    Hitomi — launch

    Category: Launches and Flight Tests › Type: Orbital launch

    Mission: Hitomi

    • Space transportation

    H-IIA 202 (1) launched on the Hitomi flight from Tanegashima Space Center, Tanegashima, Nippon, pad Y. 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)

13. 2020 6 years ago launch

    Starlink-5 — launch

    Category: Launches and Flight Tests › Type: Orbital launch

    Mission: Starlink-5

    • Space transportation

    Falcon 9 (FT5) launched on the Starlink-5 flight from Cape Canaveral Air Station, Florida, pad LC40. 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. 2023 3 years ago launch

    Starlink-75 — launch

    Category: Launches and Flight Tests › Type: Orbital launch

    Mission: Starlink-75

    • Space transportation

    Falcon 9 (FT5) launched on the Starlink-75 flight from South Base, Vandenberg Space Force Base, California, pad SLC4E. 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. 2024 2 years ago launch

    VEP-4 — launch

    Category: Launches and Flight Tests › Type: Orbital launch

    Mission: VEP-4

    • Space transportation

    H3-22S launched on the VEP-4 flight from Tanegashima Space Center, Tanegashima, Nippon, pad Y2. 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. 2024 2 years ago launch

    Insat-2DS — launch

    Category: Launches and Flight Tests › Type: Orbital launch

    Mission: Insat-2DS

    • Space transportation

    GSLV Mk II (c) launched on the Insat-2DS flight from Satish Dhawan Space Ctr, Sriharikota, Andhra Pradesh, India, pad SLP. 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)