1971 saw the last three known deaths of cosmonauts of the Soviet space program and the only deaths in space. Their mission was to man humanity's first space station. The experimental bay door failed to separate so the first crew failed to dock and second crew were killed on re-entry. 1971 also saw the launch of the first and only British satellite on top of a British rocket after that success the program was cancelled.
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
Launches from the Moon
Suborbital launches
|colspan=8| January-March
|colspan=8| April-June
|colspan=8| July-September
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October-December
Deep space rendezvous in 1971 Date (UTC)SpacecraftEventRemarks4 FebruaryApollo 14Entered selenocentric orbit5 February09:18:11Apollo 14 LMLanding on the MoonLanded in Fra Mauro region, returned 43 kg of rocks29 JulyApollo 15Entered selenocentric orbit30 July22:16:29Apollo 15 LMLanding on the Moon; first crewed lunar roverLanded in Hadley Rille region, returned 77 kg of rocks11 SeptemberLuna 18Impacted the MoonIn Mare Fecunditatis, failed lander3 OctoberLuna 19Entered selenocentric orbit14 NovemberMariner 9Entered areocentric orbitFirst orbiter of Mars and of another planet27 NovemberMars 2 orbiterEntered areocentric orbitMars 2 landerFirst Mars impactFailed soft lander27 NovemberMars 3 orbiterEntered areocentric orbitMars 3 landerFirst soft landing on Mars
EVAs Start date/timeDurationEnd timeSpacecraftCrewRemarks5 February14:424 hours19:30Apollo LM-8 AntaresEdgar Mitchell Shepard and Mitchell deployed several experiments on the lunar surface near the landing site, such as the Solar Wind Composition Experiment and the Apollo Lunar Surface Experiments Package (ALSEP). The crew also took a contingency sample and planted a U.S. flag at the site.6 February8:114 hours12:45Apollo LM-8 AntaresEdgar Mitchell Planned as a traverse to Cone Crater, however the astronauts were unable to find the rim of the crater amid rolling terrain. The crew also took panoramic pictures and set up additional experiments. Shepard famously hit a golf ball on the lunar surface, using a six iron golf club head attached to the handle of an excavation tool. 31 July00:1633 minutes00:49Apollo LM-10 Falcon Scott stood on the lander's ascent engine cover to survey the landing site through the vehicle's docking hatch and take panoramic photography.31 July13:136 hours19:45Apollo LM-10 FalconJames Irwin Scott and Irwin visited Elbow Crater near the rim of Hadley Rille using the Lunar Roving Vehicle (LRV), marking the first time humans traveled in a wheeled vehicle on another world. The crew also deployed an ALSEP on their return to the landing site.1 August11:487 hours19:01Apollo LM-10 FalconJames Irwin Scott and Irwin drove the LRV 12.5 miles along the base of the Apennine Mountains, visiting several craters, collecting samples and taking panoramic photography. The crew also took a deep core sample of lunar soil and planted a U.S. flag.2 August08:524 hours13:42Apollo LM-10 FalconJames Irwin Scott and Irwin traveled to Scarp Crater then northwest along the rille, collecting samples. The crew also retrieved the core sample drilled during the previous EVA.5 August15:3139 minutes16:10Apollo CSM-112 EndeavourJames Irwin First spacewalk in deep space, conducted during the return trip to Earth. Worden retrieved exposed film from the Scientific Instrument Module (SIM) bay of the Service Module, while Irwin stood in the hatch.
Orbital launch statistics By country
Country Launches Successes Failures Partial failures 1 0 1 0 2 2 0 0 1 1 0 0 91 82 9 0 1 1 0 0 35 31 4 0 World
By rocket
By family Family Country Launches Successes Failures Partial failures RemarksAtlas 6 4 2 0 Black Arrow 1 1 0 0 Final flightDiamant 2 1 1 0 Europa 1 0 1 0 Final flightKosmos (R-12/14) 34 31 3 0 Long March 1 1 0 0 Mu 2 2 0 0 N 1 0 1 0 R-7 44 40 4 0 R-36 6 6 0 0 Saturn 2 2 0 0 Titan 8 8 0 0 Thor 14 12 2 0 Scout 5 5 0 0 Universal Rocket 6 5 1 0
By type Rocket Country Family Launches Successes Failures Partial failures RemarksAtlas E/F Atlas 1 1 0 0 Atlas-Agena Atlas 1 0 1 0 Atlas-Centaur Atlas 4 3 1 0 Black Arrow Black Arrow 1 1 0 0 Final flightDiamant B Diamant 2 1 1 0 Delta Delta 5 4 1 0 Europa Europa 1 0 1 0 Final flightKosmos-2 Kosmos 14 12 2 0 Kosmos-3 Kosmos 20 19 1 0 Long March 1 Long March 1 1 0 0 Molniya R-7 3 3 0 0 Mu-3 Mu 2 2 0 0 N1 N 1 0 1 0 Proton Universal Rocket 3 3 0 0 R-36OM R-36 1 1 0 0 Final flightSaturn V Saturn 2 2 0 0 Scout B Scout 5 5 0 0 Soyuz R-7 5 5 0 0 Thor-Burner Thor 3 3 0 0 Thorad-Agena Thor 6 5 1 0 Titan IIIB Titan 5 5 0 0 Titan IIIC Titan 2 2 0 0 Titan IIID Titan 1 1 0 0 Maiden flightTsyklon R-36 5 5 0 0 Voskhod R-7 31 27 4 0 Vostok R-7 5 5 0 0
By configuration Rocket Country Type Launches Successes Failures Partial failures RemarksAtlas E/F-OV1-PM Atlas E/F 1 1 0 0 Atlas SLV-3A Agena-D Atlas-Agena 1 0 1 0 Atlas SLV-3C Centaur-D Atlas-Centaur 4 3 1 0 Black Arrow Black Arrow 1 1 0 0 Final flightDiamant B Diamant B 2 1 1 0 Delta E1 Delta 1 1 0 0 Final flightDelta M Delta 1 1 0 0 Final flightDelta M6 Delta 1 1 0 0 Only flightDelta N Delta 1 1 0 0 Delta N6 Delta 1 0 1 0 Final flightEuropa II Europa 1 0 1 0 Only flightKosmos-2I Kosmos-2 14 12 2 0 Kosmos-3M Kosmos-3 20 19 1 0 Long March 1 Long March 1 1 0 0 Final flightMolniya-M/ML Molniya 3 3 0 0 Mu-3S Mu-3 2 2 0 0 N1 N1 1 0 1 0 Proton-K Proton 1 1 0 0 Proton-K/D Proton 5 4 1 0 R-36OM R-36O 1 1 0 0 Final flightSaturn V Saturn V 2 2 0 0 Scout B Scout B 3 3 0 0 Scout B-1 Scout B 2 2 0 0 Soyuz Soyuz 2 2 0 0 Soyuz-L Soyuz 2 2 0 0 Final flightSoyuz-M Soyuz 1 1 0 0 Maiden flightThor LV-2F Burner II Thor-Burner 2 2 0 0 Final flightThor LV-2F Burner IIA Thor-Burner 1 1 0 0 Maiden flightThorad SLV-2G Agena-D Thorad-Agena 2 2 0 0 Final flightThorad SLV-2H Agena-D Thorad-Agena 4 3 1 0 Titan III(23)B Titan III 2 2 0 0 Final flightTitan III(24)B Titan III 2 2 0 0 Maiden flightTitan III(33)B Titan III 1 1 0 0 Maiden flightTitan III(23)C Titan III 2 2 0 0 Titan III(23)D Titan III 1 1 0 0 Maiden flightTsyklon-2 Tsyklon 5 5 0 0 Voskhod Voskhod 31 27 4 0 Vostok-2M Vostok 5 5 0 0
By launch site Site Country Launches Successes Failures Partial failures Remarks Cape Kennedy 10 5 2 0 Baikonur 31 28 3 0 Jiuquan 1 1 0 0 Kapustin Yar 2 1 1 0 Kennedy 2 2 0 0 Kagoshima 2 2 0 0 Kourou 3 1 2 0 Plesetsk 58 53 5 0 San Marco 2 2 0 0 Operated by Italy Vandenberg 19 17 2 0 Wallops 2 2 0 0 Woomera 1 1 0 0 Final orbital launch
By orbit Orbital regime Launches Achieved Not Achieved Accidentallyachieved Remarks Failed to orbit 0 N/A 0 N/A 0 N/A 12 Low Earth 109 100 9 1 Two to Salyut 1 Medium Earth 2 2 0 0 Geosynchronous/transfer 7 5 2 High Earth 10 9 1 0 Including highly elliptical and Molniya orbits and trans-lunar trajectories. Heliocentric 5 3 2 0
References