2017 in spaceflight

Overview

China launched its new missile-derived Kaituozhe-2 variant on 2 March. The Japanese SS-520, a suborbital sounding rocket modified for orbital flight, failed to reach orbit in January. If successful, it would have become the smallest and lightest vehicle to ever put an object in orbit.

The venerable Russian Soyuz-U workhorse was retired after its 786th mission on 22 February. On 30 March, the SES-10 mission was launched with a previously flown Falcon 9 first stage, achieving a key milestone in the SpaceX reusable launch system development program; several other Falcon 9 first-stage boosters were re-used since then.

After a record-breaking 13-year mission observing Saturn, its rings and moons, the Cassini space probe was deliberately destroyed by plunging into Saturn's atmosphere, on 15 September 2017.

A record number of 466 satellites were attempted to be launched thanks to an increase in the number of small satellites. 289 of all satellites weighted less than 10 kg. The number of small satellites launched exceeded even the most optimistic forecasts.

Orbital launches

January

|-

|d-date = 14 January

|d-date =

February

|-

BRA SkyBrasil-1

|d-date = |d-date = 24 February 2023 |d-date = |d-date = |d-date = |d-date =

|d-date = 19 March 2017, 14:46

|d-date = 20 July

March

|-

|d-date = 7 July 2023

|d-date =

April

|-

Technology demonstration

SS John Glenn |d-date = 12 June 2017 Atmospheric research |d-date = 3 October 2018 |d-date = 5 May 2019 |d-date = 1 March 2019 |d-date = 4 May 2019 Atmospheric research

|d-date = 3 September 2017 |d-time = 01:22

|d-date = 22 September 2017 |d-time = 10:00

May

|-

|d-date = 25 May

June

|-

|d-date = 3 July 2017 |d-date = 6 May 2019 |d-date = 22 May 2019 |d-date = 11 May 2019 |d-date = 13 May 2019 |d-date = 3 May 2019

|d-date = 28 December |d-date = 29 November 2018 |d-date = 30 July 2019 |d-date = 8 September 2019 |d-date = 15 October 2019

Technology demonstration |d-date = 3 September 2017 |d-time = 01:27 |d-date = 14 March 2023

|d-date = 23 December 2021 |d-date = 12 September 2019

GRE Hellas Sat 3

July

|-

Technology demonstration |d-date = 2 July 2017

|d-date = 27 July 2017

|d-date = 14 December 2017 |d-time = 08:48

August

|- |d-date = |d-date =

|d-date = 17 September 2017 |d-date = 7 March 2019 |d-date = 28 August 2021 |d-date = |d-date =

|d-date =

|d-date = 2 March 2019

September

|-

|d-date = 27 October 2019 |d-time = 07:51

October

|-

USA EchoStar 105

|d-date = 26 April 2018

November

|-

|d-date =

SS Gene Cernan |d-date = 18 December 2017 |d-date = 5 August 2022 (OSCD B) 12 August 2022 (OSCD C) |d-date = 12 September 2022 |d-date = 2 January 2022 |d-date = 8 December 2021 |d-date = 30 July 2022 |d-date = 15 May 2018

|d-date = 28 November 2017 |d-date = 28 November 2017 |d-date = 28 November 2017 |d-date = 28 November 2017 |d-date = 28 November 2017 |d-date = 28 November 2017 |d-date = 28 November 2017 |d-date = 28 November 2017 |d-date = 28 November 2017

December

|-

|d-date=13 January 2018

|d-date = Technology demonstration |d-date = 1 October 2019

|}

Suborbital flights

|d-date = 15 January

|d-date = 16 January

|d-date = 23 January

|d-date = 24 January

|d-date = 25 January

|d-date = 25 January

|d-date = 27 January

|d-date = 29 January

|d-date = 4 February

|d-date = 4 February

|d-date = 9 February |d-date = 11 February |d-date = 16 February |d-date = 16 February

|d-date = 16 February

|d-date = 16 February

|d-date = 22 February

|d-date = 1 March

|d-date = 1 March

|d-date = 1 March |d-date = 5 March |d-date = 5 March |d-date = 5 March |d-date = 5 March |d-date = 17 March |d-date = 4 April |d-date = 7 April

|d-date = 26 April

|d-date = 27 April

|d-date = 3 May

|d-date = 4 May

|d-date = 5 May

|d-date = 13 May

|d-date = 14 May

|d-date = 16 May |d-date = 21 May |d-date = 28 May |d-date = 30 May

|d-date = 30 May

|d-date = 14 June

|d-date = 22 June

|d-date = 22 June

|d-date = 22 June

|d-date = 17 March

|d-date= 26 June

|d-date = 27 June

|d-date = 29 June

|d-date = 30 June

|d-date = 3 July

|d-date = 11 July

|d-date = 11 July

|d-date = 23 July

|d-date = 23 July

|d-date = 28 July

|d-date= 29 July

|d-date = 30 July

|d-date = 30 July

|d-date = 2 August

|d-date = 13 August

|d-date = 23 August

|d-date = 29 August

|d-date = 29 August

|d-date = 9 September

|d-date = 9 September

|d-date = 12 September

|d-date = 14 September

|d-date = 17 September

|d-date = 17 September

|d-date = 20 September

|d-date = 22 September

|d-date = 25 September

|d-date = 26 September

|d-date = 4 October

|d-date = 15 October

|d-date = 15 October

|d-date = 26 October

|d-date = 26 October

|d-date = 26 October

|d-date = 26 October

|d-time = 30 October

|d-date = 30 October

|d-date = 16 November |d-date = 28 November |d-date = 4 December

|d-date = 12 December

|d-date = 26 December

|}

Deep-space rendezvous

Extravehicular activities (EVAs)

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.

| [ {"value":290, "color":"#484785", "label": "United States: 29 (31.87%)"}, {"value":200, "color":"#a52a2a", "label": "Russia: 20 (21.98%)"}, {"value":180, "color":"#ff0000", "label": "China: 18 (19.78%)"}, {"value":70, "color":"#ffffff", "label": "Japan: 7 (7.69%)"}, {"value":60, "color":"#318ce7", "label": "France: 6 (6.59%)"}, {"value":50, "color":"#ff9933", "label": "India: 5 (5.49%)"}, {"value":30, "color":"#808000", "label": "Italy: 3 (3.3%)"}, {"value":10, "color":"#239f40", "label": "Iran: 1 (1.1%)"}, {"value":10, "color":"#ffd700", "label": "Ukraine: 1 (1.1%)"}, {"value":10, "color":"#000000", "label": "New Zealand: 1 (1.1%)"}, ]

By rocket

By family

By type

By configuration

By spaceport

By orbit

(transfer) : High Earth : Heliocentric

References

Notes

Citations

References

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67. "Simorgh (Safir-2)".
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80. Jonathan McDowell. (2 September 2021). "The US Army's small KestrelEye-II-M imaging satellite reentered on Aug 28. The satellite was deployed from the ISS in Oct 2017 and does not appear to have had a propulsion system, as can be seen from its steady orbital decay".
81. (3 January 2020). "Tiny Satellite for Studying Distant Planets Goes Quiet". [[NASA]].
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84. "IRNSS 1H/PSLV". N2YO.com.
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86. Huot, Daniel. (21 February 2017). "Additional Crew Flights Boost Space Station Science and Research". NASA.gov.
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95. (2 January 2022). "CHEFSAT". N2YO.com.
96. (8 December 2021). "ECAMSAT". N2YO.com.
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98. (30 July 2022). "FAUNA". N2YO.com.
99. "TECHEDSAT 6". N2YO.com.
100. Krebs, Gunter. "CZ-4 (Chang Zheng-4)". Gunter's Space Page.
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103. Krebs, Gunter. "Jilin-1 Video-04, ..., 12". Gunter's Space Page.
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105. William Graham. (27 November 2017). "Soyuz 2-1B launch with Meteor-M ends in apparent Fregat-M failure". NASA Spaceflight.
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108. Graham, William. (14 December 2017). "Flight proven Falcon 9 launches previously flown Dragon to ISS". [[NASASpaceFlight.com]].
109. (21 December 2017). "Launch Time and Window, H-IIA F37 (with upgraded function) Encapsulating SHIKISAI and TSUBAME". JAXA.
110. Gebhardt, Chris. (19 October 2017). "Iridium-4 switches to flight-proven Falcon 9, RTLS at Vandenberg delayed". [[NASASpaceFlight.com]].
111. (19 December 2017). "Confirmation the Iridium-4 Falcon 9 booster is expendable.".
112. "ANGOSAT-1". [[S7 Space]].
113. Krebs, Gunter. "AngoSat 1". Gunter's Space Page.
114. "Источник: со спутником "Ангосат" восстановлена связь".
115. (15 January 2018). "No Signs of Life from Russian-built AngoSat, Troubleshooting to Resume in April – Spaceflight101".
116. (24 January 2017). "MAIUS 1 – First Bose-Einstein condensate generated in space".
117. Koehler, Keith. (27 January 2017). "NASA Sounding Rocket Successfully Launches into Alaskan Night". [[NASA]].
118. Buncombe, Andrew. (1 February 2017). "US officially puts Iran on notice after ballistic missile launch, says Donald Trump's national security adviser". [[The Independent]].
119. (4 February 2017). "US, Japan Successfully Conduct First SM-3 Block IIA Intercept Test". [[Missile Defense Agency]].
120. "The CNS North Korea Missile Test Database".
121. Koehler, Keith. (22 February 2017). "One Down, 3 to Go ... Sounding Rocket Flies in Alaska to Study Auroras". [[NASA]].
122. (2 March 2017). "Three Rockets Launched within Hours Explore Auroras over Alaska". [[NASA]].
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145. (12 December 2017). "Blue Origin Launches 1st New Shepard Spaceship Test Flight in Over a Year".
146. Northon, Karen. (17 February 2017). "NASA's Juno Mission to Remain in Current Orbit at Jupiter".
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148. (30 March 2017). "Spacewalkers Successfully Connect Adapter for Commercial Crew Vehicles".
149. "Astronauts complete shortened spacewalk outside International Space Station".
150. "Hurriedly planned 'contingency' spacewalk on tap Tuesday".
151. "Short Spacewalk Complete After Successful Installation Work".
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156. Pietrobon, Steven. (12 October 2017). "Indian Launch Manifest".
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159. Krebs, Gunter. "Ariane-5ECA". Gunter's Space Page.
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