1969 in spaceflight

1969 saw humanity step onto another world for the first time. On 20 July 1969, the Apollo 11 Lunar Module, Eagle, landed on the Moon's surface with two astronauts aboard. Days later the crew of three returned safely to Earth, satisfying U.S. President John F. Kennedy's challenge of 25 May 1961, that "this nation should commit itself to achieving the goal, before this decade is out, of landing a man on the Moon and returning him safely to the Earth."

There were four Apollo missions in total in 1969, three of which traveled to the Moon, with Apollo 12 also landing on the surface. The success of the Apollo program was a testament to the efforts of over 500,000 American engineers, scientists and technicians.

In 1969, the Soviet Union's space program had success with the docking of two crewed spacecraft as well as the success of their Venus and Lunar probes. The Soviets, however, suffered severe blows to their crewed Lunar aspirations when their N1 rocket failed twice during two 1969 launches.

Orbital launches

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January

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February

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March

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April

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May

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June

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July

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August

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September

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October

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November

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December

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Suborbital flights

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January-March

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April-June

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July-September

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October-December

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Launches from the Moon

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Deep-space rendezvous

Date (GMT)	Spacecraft	Event	Remarks
16 May	Venera 5	Atmospheric entry in Venus	Atmospheric probe worked for 53 min in the Venerian atmosphere
17 May	Venera 6	Atmospheric entry in Venus	Atmospheric probe worked for 51 min in the Venerian atmosphere
21 May	Apollo 10	31 orbits around the Moon	Altitude ~15,4 km
20 July	Apollo 11	Moon landing	22 kg from Mare Tranquillitatis (sample return mission)
21 July	Luna 15	Moon impact	Impacted at Mare Crisium (sample return mission). Primary mission failed.
5 August	Mariner 6	Flyby of Mars	Periapsis: 3,412 km. 25 close-up pictures.
5 August	Mariner 7	Flyby of Mars	Periapsis: 3,543 km. 33 close-up pictures.
11 August	Zond 7	Circumlunar flight	Periapsis: 1,984 km.
19 November	Apollo 12	Moon landing	34 kg from Oceanus Procellarum (sample return mission)

Extravehicular activities (EVAs)

Start Date/Time	Duration	End Time	Spacecraft	Crew	Remarks

Orbital launch statistics

By country

Country		Launches	Successes	Failures	Partial failures
		1	0	1	0
		1	0	1	0
		82	68	14	0
		41	37	2	2
World

By rocket

By family

Family	Country	Launches	Successes	Failures	Partial failures	Remarks
Atlas		5	5	0	0
Blue Streak		1	0	1	0
Kosmos		22	20	2	0
Lambda		1	0	1	0
N-1		2	0	2	0	First flight
R-7		44	43	1	0
R-36		4	3	1	0
Saturn		4	4	0	0
Scout		2	1	0	1
Thor		22	20	2	0
Titan		8	7	0	1
Universal Rocket		10	2	8	0

By type

Rocket	Country	Family	Launches	Successes	Failures	Partial failures	Remarks
Atlas-Agena		Atlas	1	1	0	0
Atlas-Centaur		Atlas	3	3	0	0
Atlas E/F		Atlas	1	1	0	0
Delta		Thor	11	9	2	0
Europa		Blue Streak	1	0	1	0
Kosmos-2		Kosmos	15	14	1	0
Kosmos-3		Kosmos	7	6	1	0
Lambda 4		Lambda	1	0	1	0
Molniya		R-7	4	4	0	0
N-1		N-1	2	0	2	0	First flight
Proton		Universal Rocket	10	2	8	0
R-36		R-36	1	1	0	0
Saturn V		Saturn	4	4	0	0
Scout		Scout	2	1	0	1
Soyuz		R-7	37	37	0	0
Thor-Burner		Thor	1	1	0	0
Thorad-Agena		Thor	10	10	0	0
Titan III		Titan	8	7	0	1
Tsyklon		R-36	3	2	1	0
Vostok		R-7	3	2	1	0

By configuration

Rocket	Country	Type	Launches	Successes	Failures	Partial failures	Remarks
Atlas-SLV3A Agena-D		Atlas-Agena	1	1	0	0
Atlas SLV-3C Centaur-D		Atlas-Centaur	3	3	0	0
Atlas F-OV1		Atlas E/F	1	1	0	0
Delta C1		Delta	1	1	0	0	Last flight
Delta E1		Delta	3	3	0	0
Delta L		Delta	1	0	1	0	First flight
Delta M		Delta	4	3	1	0
Delta N		Delta	2	2	0	0
Europa-1		Europa	1	0	1	0
Kosmos-2I		Kosmos-2	15	14	1	0
Kosmos-3M		Kosmos-3	7	6	1	0
Lambda 4S		Lambda 4	1	0	1	0
Molniya-M/Blok VL		Molniya	2	2	0	0	Last flight
Molniya-M/Blok ML		Molniya	2	2	0	0
N1/L3		N-1	2	0	2	0	First flight
Proton-K/D		Proton	10	2	8	0
R-36O		R-36	1	1	0	0
Saturn V		Saturn V	4	4	0	0
Scout B		Scout	2	1	0	1
Soyuz (11A511)		Soyuz	5	5	0	0
Thor-LV2F Burner-2		Thor-Burner	1	1	0	0
Thorad-SLV2G Agena-D		Thorad-Agena	7	7	0	0
Thorad-SLV2H Agena-D		Thorad-Agena	3	3	0	0	First flight
Titan IIIB		Titan III	6	5	0	1
Titan IIIC		Titan III	2	2	0	0
Tsyklon-2		Tsyklon	2	2	0	0	First flight
Tsyklon-2A		Tsyklon	1	0	1	0	Last flight
Voskhod (11A57)		Soyuz	32	32	0	0
Vostok-2M		Vostok	3	2	1	0

By spaceport

Site	Country	Launches	Successes	Failures	Partial failures	Remarks
Baikonur		38	27	11	0
Cape Canaveral		15	13	2	0
Kapustin Yar		3	3	0	0
Kennedy		4	4	0	0
Plesetsk		41	38	3	0
Kagoshima		1	0	1	0
Vandenberg		22	20	0	2
Woomera		1	0	1	0

By orbit

Orbital regime	Launches	Achieved	Not Achieved	Accidentally Achieved	Remarks
Low Earth	85	81	3	1
Geosynchronous / transfer	7	6	1	0
Medium Earth	3	2	1	0
High Earth	14	7	7	0	including highly elliptical and Molniya orbits and Trans Lunar trajectories
Heliocentric	7	4	3	0