September 8 in Space History

17 events

1. 1967 59 years ago launch

   Surveyor 5 — launch

   Category: Launches and Flight Tests › Type: Orbital launch

   Mission: Surveyor 5

   • Space transportation

   Surveyor 5 is the fifth lunar lander of the American uncrewed Surveyor program sent to explore the surface of the Moon.

   • 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 — Surveyor 5 (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/Surveyor_5 (CC BY-SA 4.0)
   • Timeline of Space Exploration Missions 1957 to 2031 (opens in a new tab)
   • NASA — Surveyor 5 (opens in a new tab)
   • NASA NSSDCA — Surveyor 5 (opens in a new tab)

2. 1970 56 years ago launch

   Kosmos-361 — launch

   Category: Launches and Flight Tests › Type: Orbital launch

   Mission: Kosmos-361

   • Space transportation

   Voskhod 11A57 launched on the Kosmos-361 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. 1973 53 years ago launch

   Kosmos-585 — launch

   Category: Launches and Flight Tests › Type: Orbital launch

   Mission: Kosmos-585

   • Space transportation

   Kosmos 11K65M launched on the Kosmos-585 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)

4. 1982 44 years ago launch

   Kosmos-1406 — launch

   Category: Launches and Flight Tests › Type: Orbital launch

   Mission: Kosmos-1406

   • Space transportation

   Soyuz-U launched on the Kosmos-1406 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)

5. 1983 43 years ago launch

   Satcom 2R — launch

   Category: Launches and Flight Tests › Type: Orbital launch

   Mission: Satcom 2R

   • Space transportation

   Delta 3924 launched on the Satcom 2R flight from Cape Canaveral Air Station, Florida, pad LC17B. 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

   Gstar 3/SBS 5 — launch

   Category: Launches and Flight Tests › Type: Orbital launch

   Mission: Gstar 3/SBS 5

   • Space transportation

   Ariane 3 launched on the Gstar 3/SBS 5 flight from Centre Spatial Guyanais, Kourou, Guyane Francaise, pad ELA2. 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. 1998 28 years ago launch

   Iridium MS-10 — launch

   Category: Launches and Flight Tests › Type: Orbital launch

   Mission: Iridium MS-10

   • Space transportation

   Delta 7920-10C launched on the Iridium MS-10 flight from Vandenberg AFB, California, pad SLC2W. 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. 2000 26 years ago launch

   ISS 2A.2b — launch

   Category: Launches and Flight Tests › Type: Orbital launch

   Mission: ISS 2A.2b

   • Space transportation
   • Space stations

   Station: International Space Station

   Space Shuttle launched on the ISS 2A.2b flight from NASA John F. Kennedy Space Center, Florida, pad LC39B. 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. 2004 22 years ago launch

   SJ-6A/SJ-6B — launch

   Category: Launches and Flight Tests › Type: Orbital launch

   Mission: SJ-6A/SJ-6B

   • Space transportation

   Chang Zheng 4B launched on the SJ-6A/SJ-6B flight from Taiyuan weixing fashe zhongxin, pad LC7. 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. 2005 21 years ago launch

    Progress M-54 — launch

    Category: Launches and Flight Tests › Type: Orbital launch

    Mission: Progress M-54

    • Space transportation

    Soyuz-U-PVB launched on the Progress M-54 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)

11. 2005 21 years ago launch

    Anik F1R — launch

    Category: Launches and Flight Tests › Type: Orbital launch

    Mission: Anik F1R

    • Space transportation

    Proton-M/Briz-M (I) launched on the Anik F1R flight from GIK-5, Baykonur, Kazakstan, pad LC200/39. 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. 2009 17 years ago launch

    PAN — launch

    Category: Launches and Flight Tests › Type: Orbital launch

    Mission: PAN

    • Space transportation

    Atlas V 401 launched on the PAN flight from Cape Canaveral Air Station, Florida, pad SLC41. 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. 2010 16 years ago launch

    Gonets-M/Kosmos — launch

    Category: Launches and Flight Tests › Type: Orbital launch

    Mission: Gonets-M/Kosmos

    • Space transportation

    Rokot launched on the Gonets-M/Kosmos flight from 1-y Gosudarstvenniy Ispitatelniy Kosmodrom MO RF, pad LC133/3. 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)

14. 2014 12 years ago launch

    Yaogan 21 — launch

    Category: Launches and Flight Tests › Type: Orbital launch

    Mission: Yaogan 21

    • Space transportation

    Chang Zheng 4B launched on the Yaogan 21 flight from Taiyuan weixing fashe zhongxin, pad LC9. 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. 2016 10 years ago launch

    Insat-3DR — launch

    Category: Launches and Flight Tests › Type: Orbital launch

    Mission: Insat-3DR

    • Space transportation

    GSLV Mk II launched on the Insat-3DR 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)

16. 2016 10 years ago launch

    OSIRIS-REx — launch

    Category: Launches and Flight Tests › Type: Orbital launch

    Mission: OSIRIS-REx

    • Space transportation

    OSIRIS-REx was a NASA asteroid-study and sample-return mission that visited and collected samples from 101955 Bennu, a carbonaceous near-Earth asteroid.

    • 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 — OSIRIS-REx (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/OSIRIS-REx (CC BY-SA 4.0)
    • Timeline of Space Exploration Missions 1957 to 2031 (opens in a new tab)
    • NASA — OSIRIS-REx (opens in a new tab)
    • NASA NSSDCA — OSIRIS-REx (opens in a new tab)

17. 2023 3 years ago

    Galactic 03 — private and commercial crew participation

    Category: Human Spaceflight Activities › Type: Private astronaut or space tourist flight

    Mission: Galactic 03 · Programme: Virgin Galactic

    • Human spaceflight
    • Commercial human spaceflight
    • Space tourism

    Role: Commercial astronaut, Space tourist

    6 participants; see description and linked people.

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