1959 in spaceflight
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Template:Short description Template:Use American English Template:Use dmy dates Template:Infobox Year in spaceflight
Luna 1 was the first spacecraft to leave the gravitational influence of Earth. Also in 1959, Luna 2 was the first spacecraft to reach the surface of another celestial body, impacting the Moon, and Luna 3 returned the first images of the far side of the Moon. Template:Infobox spaceflight
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Overview
Orbital and suborbital launches
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Deep Space Rendezvous
| Date (GMT) | Spacecraft | Event | Remarks |
|---|---|---|---|
| 4 January | Luna 1 | First Lunar flyby | Failed impactor, closest approach: Template:Convert |
| 4 March | Pioneer 4 | Lunar flyby | Closest approach: Template:Convert |
| 14 September | Luna 2 | First Lunar impact | Landed in Mare Imbrium, first spacecraft to reach the surface of a celestial body |
| 6 October | Luna 3 | Lunar flyby | First Circumlunar flight, returned 29 pictures including first images of the far side of the Moon; closest approach Template:Convert |
Orbital launch statistics
By country
| Country | Launches | Successes | Failures | Partial failures | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Script error: No such module "flag". | 4 | 2 | 1 | 1 | |
| Script error: No such module "flag". | 19 | 9 | 9 | 1 | |
| World | Script error: No such module "math". | Script error: No such module "math". | Script error: No such module "math". | Script error: No such module "math". | |
By rocket
| Rocket | Country | Launches | Successes | Failures | Partial failures | Remarks |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Atlas-Able | Script error: No such module "flag". | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | Maiden flight |
| Juno II | Script error: No such module "flag". | 4 | 1 | 2 | 1 | |
| Luna 8K72 | Script error: No such module "flag". | 4 | 2 | 1 | 1 | |
| Thor DM-18 Agena-A | Script error: No such module "flag". | 8 | 5 | 3 | 0 | Maiden flight |
| Thor DM-18 Able-II | Script error: No such module "flag". | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | |
| Thor DM-18 Able-III | Script error: No such module "flag". | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | |
| Vanguard | Script error: No such module "flag". | 4 | 2 | 2 | 0 | Final flight |
By orbit
| Orbital regime | Launches | Successes | Failures | Accidentally Achieved |
Remarks |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Low Earth | 12 | 7 | 5 | 0 | |
| Medium Earth | 4 | 1 | 3 | 0 | |
| High Earth | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | Including Highly elliptical orbits |
| Heliocentric | 5 | 3 | 2 | 0 |