In 2015, the maiden spaceflights of the Chinese Long March 6 and Long March 11 launch vehicles took place.
A total of 87 orbital launches were attempted in 2015, of which 82 were successful, one was partially successful and four were failures. The year also saw seven EVAs by ISS astronauts. The majority of the year's orbital launches were conducted by Russia, the United States and China, with 27, 20 and 19 launches respectively.
Overview In February 2015, the European Space Agency's experimental lifting body spacecraft, the Intermediate eXperimental Vehicle, successfully conducted its first test flight.
In March 2015, Ceres became the first dwarf planet to be visited by a spacecraft when Dawn entered orbit. In July 2015, New Horizons visited the Pluto-Charon system after a 9-year voyage, returning a trove of pictures and information about the former "ninth planet" (now classified as a dwarf planet). Meanwhile, the MESSENGER probe was deliberately crashed into Mercury after 4 years of in-orbit observations.
On 23 November 2015, the Blue Origin New Shepard suborbital rocket achieved its first powered soft landing near the launch site, paving the way for full reuse of its propulsion stage. On 21 December, the maiden flight of the SpaceX Falcon 9 Full Thrust took place, ending with a successful landing of its first stage.
Two old weather satellites, NOAA-16 and DMSP 5D-2/F13, broke up in 2015, creating several hundred pieces of space debris. In both cases, a battery explosion is suspected as the root cause.
Orbital launches
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December
Suborbital flights
Deep space rendezvous Date (GMT)SpacecraftEventRemarks10 JanuaryChang'e 5-T1Injection into Selenocentric orbitDeparted from Earth–Moon L2 on 4 January.11 JanuaryCassini109th flyby of TitanClosest approach: 970 kilometres (603 mi).12 FebruaryCassini110th flyby of TitanClosest approach: 1,200 kilometres (746 mi).6 March Dawn Enters orbit of Ceres 1st visit to a dwarf planet.16 MarchCassini111th flyby of TitanClosest approach: 2,275 kilometres (1,413 mi).30 AprilMESSENGERImpact to MercuryThe crash occurred on the side of the planet not visible from Earth.7 MayCassini112th flyby of TitanClosest approach: .16 JuneCassini4th flyby of DioneClosest approach: .7 JulyCassini113th flyby of TitanClosest approach: .14 JulyNew HorizonsFirst flyby of Pluto and Charon2nd visit to a dwarf planet. Closest approach: 12,500 km (7,800 mi).17 AugustCassini5th flyby of DioneClosest approach: .28 SeptemberCassini114th flyby of TitanClosest approach: 1,036 kilometres (643 mi).14 OctoberCassiniFlyby of EnceladusClosest approach: 1,839 kilometres (1,142 mi).28 OctoberCassiniFlyby of EnceladusClosest approach: .12 NovemberCassini115th flyby of TitanClosest approach: 11,920 kilometres (7,407 mi).3 DecemberHayabusa2Flyby of EarthGravity assist3 DecemberPROCYONFlyby of EarthGravity assist en route to cancelled asteroid flyby.4 DecemberShin'en 2Flyby of EarthGravity assist7 DecemberAkatsuki Venus orbit insertionAkatsuki's 2nd flyby of Venus and 2nd (successful) attempt at orbit insertion.19 DecemberCassiniFlyby of EnceladusClosest approach: .
Extra-Vehicular Activities (EVAs) Start date/timeDurationEnd timeSpacecraftCrewRemarks12:456 hours19:26ISS Quest Terry W. VirtsRigged and routed power and data cables at the forward end of the Harmony module as part of preparations for the installation of the International Docking Adapter at PMA-2.11:516 hours18:34ISS Quest Terry W. VirtsCompleted power and data cable routing at the forward end of the Harmony module. Removed launch locks from forward and aft berthing ports of Tranquility to prepare for relocation of the Permanent Multipurpose Module and the installation of the Bigelow Expandable Activity Module. Lubricated end effector of Canadarm2.11:525 hours17:30ISS Quest Barry E. WilmoreFinished cable routing, antenna and retro-reflector installation on both sides of the ISS truss and on other modules in preparation for the installation of the International Docking Adapter at PMA-2 and 3.14:205 hours19:51ISS Pirs Gennady Padalka Mikhail KorniyenkoInstalled gap spanners on the hull of the station for facilitating movement of crew members on future spacewalks, cleaned windows of the Zvezda Service Module, install fasteners on communications antennas, replaced an aging docking antenna, photographed various locations and hardware on Zvezda and nearby modules, and retrieved a space environment experiment.12:037 hours19:19ISS Quest Scott Kelly Kjell N. LindgrenPrepared a Main Bus Switching Unit for repair, installed a thermal cover on the Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer, lubricated elements of the Space Station Remote Manipulator System, and routed data and power cables to prepare for the installation of the International Docking Adaptor at PMA-2 and 3.11:227 hours19:10ISS Quest Scott Kelly Kjell N. LindgrenWorked to restore a portion of the ISS's cooling system to its primary configuration, returning ammonia coolant levels to normal in the primary and backup radiator arrays.13:453 hours16:01ISS Quest Scott Kelly Timothy KopraReleased a brake on the Mobile Servicing System to allow it to be properly stowed prior to the arrival of a visiting Progress vehicle. Routed cables in preparation for the installation of the Nauka module and the International Docking Adapter, and retrieved tools from a toolbox.
Space debris events Date/Time (UTC)Source objectEvent typePieces trackedRemarks3 February 17:40 (USA-109)Satellite breakup159The breakup was most likely caused by a battery explosion. This satellite had been launched in 1995. Another satellite from the same series, DMSP 5D-2/F11, had broken up in 2004. Debris are expected to remain in orbit for decades.25 November 7:20NOAA-16Satellite breakup275As this weather satellite, launched in 2000, had a similar construction to the DMSP satellite which broke up in February 2015, the same cause is suspected (battery overheating and explosion).22 December 16:00Briz-M upper stageBooster explosion9A Briz-M upper-stage booster, having subsisted in geosynchronous transfer orbit since launching the Canadian Nimiq 6 commsat in 2012, was seen to have broken up into 9 pieces as of 26 January 2016. Orbital analysis of the debris allowed to time the explosion within one minute of 16:00 UTC on 22 December 2015. Three other Briz-M upper stages had exploded earlier in 2007, 2010 and 2012.
Orbital launch statistics
By country For the purposes of this section, the yearly tally of orbital launches by country assigns each flight to the country of origin of the rocket, not to the launch services provider or the spaceport. For example, Soyuz launches by Arianespace in Kourou are counted under Russia because Soyuz-2 is a Russian rocket.
Country Launches Successes Failures Partial failures 19 19 0 0 6 6 0 0 5 5 0 0 1 1 0 0 3 3 0 0 4 4 0 0 27 24 2 1 2 2 0 0 20 18 2 0 World
By rocket
By family Family Country Launches Successes Failures Partial failures Remarks Ariane 6 6 0 0 Atlas 9 9 0 0 Delta 3 3 0 0 Falcon 7 6 1 0 GSLV 1 1 0 0 H-II 4 4 0 0 Long March 19 19 0 0 PSLV 4 4 0 0 R-7 17 15 1 1 R-36 1 1 0 0 Safir 1 1 0 0 Strypi 1 0 1 0 Universal Rocket 10 9 1 0 Vega 3 3 0 0 Zenit 1 1 0 0
By type Rocket Country Family Launches Successes Failures Partial failures Remarks Ariane 5 Ariane 6 6 0 0 Atlas V Atlas 9 9 0 0 Delta II Delta 1 1 0 0 Delta IV Delta 2 2 0 0 Dnepr R-36 1 1 0 0 Final flight Falcon 9 Falcon 7 6 1 0 GSLV GSLV 1 1 0 0 H-IIA H-II 3 3 0 0 H-IIB H-II 1 1 0 0 Long March 2 Long March 4 4 0 0 Long March 3 Long March 9 9 0 0 Long March 4 Long March 4 4 0 0 Long March 6 Long March 1 1 0 0 Maiden flight Long March 11 Long March 1 1 0 0 Maiden flight Proton Universal Rocket 8 7 1 0 PSLV PSLV 4 4 0 0 Safir Safir 1 1 0 0 Soyuz R-7 7 7 0 0 Soyuz-2 R-7 10 8 1 1 Super Strypi Strypi 1 0 1 0 Maiden flight UR-100 Universal Rocket 2 2 0 0 Vega Vega 3 3 0 0 Zenit Zenit 1 1 0 0
By configuration Rocket Country Type Launches Successes Failures Partial failures Remarks Ariane 5 ECA Ariane 5 6 6 0 0 Atlas V 401 Atlas V 4 4 0 0 Atlas V 421 Atlas V 2 2 0 0 Atlas V 501 Atlas V 1 1 0 0 Atlas V 551 Atlas V 2 2 0 0 Delta II 7320 Delta II 1 1 0 0 Delta IV Medium+ (4,2) Delta IV 1 1 0 0 Delta IV Medium+ (5,4) Delta IV 1 1 0 0 Dnepr R-36 1 1 0 0 Final flight Falcon 9 v1.1 Falcon 9 6 5 1 0 Falcon 9 Full Thrust Falcon 9 1 1 0 0 Maiden flight GSLV Mk II GSLV 1 1 0 0 H-IIA 202 H-IIA 2 2 0 0 H-IIA 204 H-IIA 1 1 0 0 H-IIB H-IIB 1 1 0 0 Long March 2D Long March 2 4 4 0 0 Long March 3B/E Long March 3 7 7 0 0 Long March 3B / YZ-1 Long March 3 1 1 0 0 Maiden flight Long March 3C/E / YZ-1 Long March 3 1 1 0 0 Maiden flight Long March 4B Long March 4 2 2 0 0 Long March 4C Long March 4 2 2 0 0 Long March 6 Long March 5 1 1 0 0 Maiden flight Long March 11 Long March 11 1 1 0 0 Maiden flight Proton-M / Blok DM-03 Proton 1 1 0 0 Proton-M / Briz-M Proton 7 6 1 0 PSLV-CA PSLV 1 1 0 0 PSLV-XL PSLV 3 3 0 0 Rokot / Briz-KM UR-100 2 2 0 0 Safir-1B Safir 1 1 0 0 Soyuz-2.1a Soyuz-2 4 3 1 0 Soyuz-2.1b Soyuz-2 1 1 0 0 Soyuz-2.1b / Fregat-M Soyuz-2 1 1 0 0 Soyuz ST-B / Fregat-MT Soyuz-2 3 3 0 0 Soyuz-2-1v / Volga Soyuz-2 1 0 0 1 Soyuz-FG Soyuz 4 4 0 0 Soyuz-U Soyuz 3 3 0 0 Super Strypi Strypi 1 0 1 0 Maiden flight Vega Vega 3 3 0 0 Zenit-3F Zenit 1 1 0 0
By spaceport
Site Country Launches Successes Failures Partial failures Remarks Baikonur 18 16 2 0 Barking Sands 1 0 1 0 Cape Canaveral 17 16 1 0 Dombarovsky 1 1 0 0 Kourou 12 12 0 0 Jiuquan 5 5 0 0 Plesetsk 7 6 0 1 Satish Dhawan 5 5 0 0 Semnan 1 1 0 0 Taiyuan 5 5 0 0 Tanegashima 4 4 0 0 Vandenberg 2 2 0 0 Xichang 9 9 0 0 Total 87 82 4 1
By orbit
Orbital regime Launches Achieved Not achieved Accidentallyachieved Remarks Transatmospheric 1 1 0 0 Low Earth 45 42 2 1 14 to ISS (1 launch failure, 1 failure post-separation) Geosynchronous/transfer 32 31 1 0 Medium Earth 7 7 0 0 High Earth 2 2 0 0 Total 87 83 3 1
Gallery
Notes
References
External links