Space launches of 2006

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Military

All dates are given in Universal Time (UT).

Back to December 2005
Last modification: February 25, 2007

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January
Date	Site	Launcher	Payload	Country	Mission	Operator	Prime	Platform	Mass	Orbit
19	Cape Canaveral	Atlas 5/551	Pluto New Horizons	U.S.	Science	NASA/JPL	JHU-APL	–	478 kg	Escape
24	Tanegashima	H-2A/2022	Daichi (ALOS-1)	Japan	Remote Sensing	JAXA	NEC Toshiba	–	3,850 kg	SSO
February
Date	Site	Launcher	Payload	Country	Mission	Operator	Prime	Platform	Mass	Orbit
15	Pacific	Zenit 3SL	Echostar 10	U.S.	Communications	Echostar	Lockheed Martin	A2100AX	4,333 kg	GTO
16	Vandenberg	Minuteman 3	SERV#3	U.S.	Technology	U.S. Air Force	Sandia?	–	n.a.	Suborbital
18	Tanegashima	H-2A/2024	MT-Sat 2	Japan	Comm., Meteo	MLIT, JAM	Melco	DS-2000	3,000 kg	GTO
21	Kagoshima	M-5	Astro F	Japan	Technology	JAXA	NEC Toshiba	–	960 kg	SSO
–			CUTE-1.7	Japan	Technology	Tokyo Inst. Tech.	Tokyo Inst. Tech.	Cubesat	3 kg	SSO
–			SSP	Japan	Technology	JAXA?	n.a.	–	n.a.	SSO
23	Kodiak	Polaris/STARS	BMD Radar Test	U.S.	Technology	U.S. Air Force	Sandia?	–	n.a.	Suborbital
28	Baykonur	Proton M	Arabsat 4A	Arab League	Communications	Arabsat	EADS Astrium	ES-2000+	3,341 kg	Failure
March
Date	Site	Launcher	Payload	Country	Mission	Operator	Prime	Platform	Mass	Orbit
11	Kourou	Ariane 5ECA	Hot Bird 7A	Europe	Communications	Eutelsat	Alcatel Alenia Space	SB-3000B3	4,100 kg	GTO
			SpainSat	Spain	Communications	Hisdesat	SS/Loral	LS-1300	3,683 kg	GTO
22	Vandenberg	Pegasus XL	ST-5a	U.S.	Technology	NASA/GSFC	NASA/GSFC	–	21.5 kg	LEO
			ST-5b	U.S.	Technology	NASA/GSFC	NASA/GSFC	–	21.5 kg	LEO
			ST-5c	U.S.	Technology	NASA/GSFC	NASA/GSFC	–	21.5 kg	LEO
24	Kwajalein	Falcon 1	FalconSat 2	U.S.	Technology	USAFA	USAFA	–	19.5 kg	Failure
26	Woomera	Terrier-Orion	HyShot 3	Australia, G.B.	Technology	Un. Qu., QinetiQ	Un. Qu., QinetiQ	–	n.a.	Suborbital
30	Baykonur	Soyuz FG	Soyuz TMA-8	Rus., U.S., Bra.	ISS Manned	Roskosmos, NASA	RKK Energiya	7K-M	7,250 kg	LEO/ISS
30	Woomera	Terrier-Orion	HyShot 4	Australia, Japan	Technology	Un. Qu., JAXA	Un. Qu., JAXA	–	100 kg	Failure
April
Date	Site	Launcher	Payload	Country	Mission	Operator	Prime	Platform	Mass	Orbit
07	Vandenberg	Minuteman 3	GT-190GM	U.S.	ICBM	U.S. Air Force	Sandia?	–	n.a.	Suborbital
12	Pacific	Zenit 3SL	JCSAT-9	Japan	Communications	JSAT	Lockheed Martin	A2100AX	4,401 kg	GTO
13	Kauai	SR19/SR19	CMCM-2A?	U.S.	Technology	MDA	MIT/LL	–	n.a.	Suborbital
15	Vandenberg	Minotaur 1	Formosat 3A	Taiwan	Remote Sensing	NSPO	OSC	MicroStar	70 kg	SSO
			Formosat 3B	Taiwan	Remote Sensing	NSPO	OSC	MicroStar	70 kg	SSO
			Formosat 3C	Taiwan	Remote Sensing	NSPO	OSC	MicroStar	70 kg	SSO
			Formosat 3D	Taiwan	Remote Sensing	NSPO	OSC	MicroStar	70 kg	SSO
			Formosat 3E	Taiwan	Remote Sensing	NSPO	OSC	MicroStar	70 kg	SSO
			Formosat 3F	Taiwan	Remote Sensing	NSPO	OSC	MicroStar	70 kg	SSO
20	Cape Canaveral	Atlas 5/411	Astra 1KR	Luxembourg	Communications	SES Astra	Lockheed Martin	A2100AX	4,332 kg	GTO
22	Kapustin Yar	Kosmos 3M	[Dummy Warhead]	Russia	Technology	VKS	n.a.	–	n.a.	Suborbital
24	Baykonur	Soyuz U	Progress M-56	Russia	ISS Cargo	Roskosmos	RKK Energia	7K-TGM	7,250 kg	LEO/ISS
25	Svobodny	Start 1	EROS B	Israel, U.S.	Remote Sensing	ImageSat	IAI-MBT	Ofek	350 kg	SSO
26	Taiyuan	CZ-4B	Yaogan 1	China	Remote Sensing	CNSA?	CASC?	–	2,700 kg	SSO
28	Vandenberg	Delta 2/7420	Cloudsat	U.S., Canada	Meteorology	NASA, USAF, CSA	Ball Aerospace	RS2000	848 kg	SSO
			Calipso	U.S., France	Technology	NASA, CNES	Alcatel Alenia Space	Proteus	587 kg	SSO
28	Kauai	SR19/SR19	CMCM-2B?	U.S.	Technology	MDA	Sandia	–	n.a.	Suborbital
May
Date	Site	Launcher	Payload	Country	Mission	Operator	Prime	Platform	Mass	Orbit
02	Kiruna	Castor 4B	Maxus 7	Europe	Sciences	ESA	SSC	–	n.a.	Suborbital
03	Plesetsk	Soyuz U	Kosmos 2420	Russia	Observation	VKS	TsSKB Progress	Yantar 4K2M	6,700 kg	LEO
23	Emamshahr?	Shahab 3D	[Dummy Warhead]	Iran	Technology	RGAF	Shahid Hemmat IG	–	n.a.	Suborbital
24	Cape Canaveral	Delta 4M+	GOES-N	U.S.	Meteorology	NOAA	Boeing	BSS-601	3,199 kg	GTO
26	Barents Sea	Shtil	Kompas 2	Russia	Sciences	Izmiran	GRTsKB Makeyev	–	80 kg	LEO
27	Kourou	Ariane 5ECA	SatMex 6	Mexico	Communications	SatMex	SS/Loral	LS-1300X	5,456 kg	GTO
			Thaicom 5	Thailand	Communications	Shin	Alcatel Alenia Space	SB-3000	2,766 kg	GTO
June
Date	Site	Launcher	Payload	Country	Mission	Operator	Prime	Platform	Mass	Orbit
14	Vandenberg	Minuteman 3	GT-191GM	U.S.	ICBM	U.S. Air Force	Sandia?	–	n.a.	Suborbital
15	Baykonur	Soyuz U	Resurs DK-1	Russia	Remote Sensing	Roskosmos	TsSKB Progress	Yantar 4KS1	7,250 kg	LEO/SSO?
17	Baykonur	Proton K	KazSat	Kazakhstan	Communications	KazSat	GKNPTs Khrunichev	Yakhta	1,380 kg	GEO
18	Pacific	Zenit 3SL	Galaxy 16	U.S.	Communications	PanAmSat	SS/Loral	LS-1300X	4,640 kg	GTO
21	Cape Canaveral	Delta 2/7925	MiTEx-A	U.S.	Technology	DARPA	OSC	n.a.	225 kg	GTO
			MiTEx-B	U.S.	Technology	DARPA	Lockheed Martin	n.a.	225 kg	GTO
			MiTEx Vehicle	U.S.	Technology	NRL	NRL	n.a.	n.a.	GTO
24	Baykonur	Soyuz U	Progress M-57	Russia	ISS Cargo	Roskosmos	RKK Energiya	7K-TGM	7,250 kg	LEO/ISS
25	Baykonur	Tsyklon 2	Kosmos 2421	Russia	Intelligence	Russian Navy	KB Arsenal	US-PU	3,150 kg	LEO
28	Vandenberg	Delta 4M+	NRO L-22	U.S.	Intelligence?	NRO	n.a.	n.a.	4,500 kg?	HEO
July
Date	Site	Launcher	Payload	Country	Mission	Operator	Prime	Platform	Mass	Orbit
04	Kennedy	Discovery	STS-121	U.S., Europe	Manned	NASA/JSC	Boeing	OV-103	121,094 kg	LEO/ISS
			Leonardo	U.S.	ISS Cargo	NASA/JSC	Alcatel Alenia Space	MPLM	9,500 kg	LEO/ISS
04	Musudan-ri	Pekdosan 2?	Test Payload?	North Korea	Technology	CMIK	n.a.	n.a.	n.a.	Failure
09	Balasore	Agni 3	[Dummy Warhead]	India	Technology	DRDO	DRDO?	–	n.a.	Failure
10	Sriharikota	GSLV	Insat 4C	India	Communications	ISRO	ISRO	I-3K	2,168 kg	Failure
12	Yasny	Dnepr 1	Genesis PF1	U.S.	Technology	Bigelow	Bigelow	–	1,360 kg	LEO
20	Vandenberg	Minuteman 3	GT-192GM	U.S.	ICBM	U.S. Air Force	Sandia?	–	n.a.	Suborbital
21	Plesetsk	Molniya M	Kosmos 2422	Russia	Early Warning	VKS	NPO Lavochkin	Oko	1,750 kg	HEO
26	Baykonur	Dnepr 1	BelKA	Belarus	Remote Sensing	Nat. Ac. Sciences	RKK Energia	Viktoria	250 kg	Failure
			Baumanets	Russia	Technology	Roskosmos	NPO Mash	n.a.	80 kg	Failure
			Unisat 4	Italy	Science	Un. La Sapienza	Un. La Sapienza	–	12 kg	Failure
			PicPot	Italy	Science	Un. Torino	Un. Torino	–	3 kg	Failure
		P-Pod-A	ION	U.S.	Technology	Un. Illinois	Un. Illinois	Cubesat x 2	2 kg	Failure
		P-Pod-A	Sacred	U.S.	Technology	Un.Ariz. Tucson	Un.Ariz. Tucson	Cubesat	1 kg	Failure
		P-Pod-B	KUTESat	U.S.	Technology	Kansas Univ.	Kansas Univ.	Cubesat	1 kg	Failure
		P-Pod-B	ICEcube 1	U.S.	Science	Cornell Univ.	Cornell Univ.	Cubesat	1 kg	Failure
		P-Pod-B	Rincon	U.S.	Technology	Un.Ariz. Tucson	Un.Ariz. Tucson	Cubesat	1 kg	Failure
		P-Pod-C	SEEDS	Japan	Technology	Nihon University	Nihon University	Cubesat	1 kg	Failure
		P-Pod-C	HAUSat 1	South Korea	Technology	Hankuk Av. Un.	Hankuk Av. Un.	Cubesat	1 kg	Failure
		P-Pod-C	Ncube 1	Norway	Technology	Norsk Romsenter	Norsk Romsenter	Cubesat	1 kg	Failure
		P-Pod-D	Merope	U.S.	Technology	Montana St. Un.	Montana St. Un.	Cubesat	1 kg	Failure
		P-Pod-D	AeroCube 1	U.S.	Technology	AeroSpace Corp.	AeroSpace Corp.	Cubesat	1 kg	Failure
		P-Pod-D	PolySat 2	U.S.	Technology	Cal Poly	Cal Poly	Cubesat	1 kg	Failure
		P-Pod-E	PolySat 1	U.S.	Technology	Cal Poly	Cal Poly	Cubesat	1 kg	Failure
		P-Pod-E	ICEcube 2	U.S.	Science	Cornell Univ.	Cornell Univ.	Cubesat	1 kg	Failure
		P-Pod-E	Voyager	U.S.	Technology	Un. Hawaii	Un. Hawaii	Cubesat	1 kg	Failure
28	Plesetsk	Rokot KM	Kompsat 2	South Korea	Remote Sensing	KARI	Astrium	AstroSat 500	798 kg	SSO
August
Date	Site	Launcher	Payload	Country	Mission	Operator	Prime	Platform	Mass	Orbit
03	Plesetsk	Topol	[Dummy Warhead]	Russia	ICBM	RVSN	n.a.	–	n.a.	Suborbital
04	Baykonur	Proton M	Hot Bird 8	Europe	Communications	Eutelsat	Astrium	ES-3000	4,875 kg	GTO
11	Kourou	Ariane 5ECA	JCSAT-10	Japan	Communications	JSAT	Lockheed Martin	A2100AX	4,048 kg	GTO
			Syracuse 3B	France	Communications	DGA	Alcatel Alenia Space	SB-4000B3	3,750 kg	GTO
22	Pacific	Zenit 3SL	Koreasat 5	South Korea	Communications	KT	Alcatel Alenia Space	SB-4000C1	4,465 kg	GTO
September
Date	Site	Launcher	Payload	Country	Mission	Operator	Prime	Platform	Mass	Orbit
01	Kodiak	Polaris/STARS	IFT-15?	U.S.	Technology	MDA	Sandia	n.a.	n.a.	Suborbital
01	Vandenberg	OBV	FT-2	U.S.	Technology	MDA	n.a.	n.a.	n.a.	Suborbital
05	Wuzhai	DF-31	[Dummy Warhead]	China	ICBM	PLA	n.a.	–	n.a.	Suborbital
07	White Sea	Bulava	[Dummy Warhead]	Russia	SLBM	Russian Navy	n.a.	–	n.a.	Failure
09	Jiuquan	CZ-2C	Shi Jian 8	China	Sciences	CASC	SAST?	FSW-2?	3,000 kg?	LEO
09	Kennedy	Atlantis	STS-115	U.S.	Manned	NASA/JSC	Boeing	OV-104	122,400 kg	LEO/ISS
			ITS-P3/P4	U.S.	ISS Element	NASA/JSC	Boeing	–	15,824 kg	LEO/ISS
11	Tanegashima	H-2A/202	IGS-Optical 2	Japan	Observation	JAXA/CSICE	Melco	n.a.	850 kg?	SSO
12	Xichang	CZ-3A	Zhongxing 22A	China	Communications	CTBSC? Costind?	CAST?	DFH-3?	2,300 kg?	GTO
14	Baykonur	Soyuz U	Kosmos 2423	Russia	Observation	VKS	TsSKB-Progress	Yantar 6K	6,750 kg	LEO
18	Baykonur	Soyuz FG	Soyuz TMA-9	Russia, U.S.	ISS Manned	Roskosmos, NASA	RKK Energiya	7K-M	7,250 kg	LEO/ISS
22	Kagoshima	M-5	Solar B	Japan	Science	JAXA	Melco	–	870 kg	SSO
			Hitsat	Japan	Technology	Hokkaido Space	Hokkaido IT	Cubesat	1 kg	SSO
			SSSat	Japan	Technology	JAXA	n.a.	–	1 kg	SSO
25	Cape Canaveral	Delta 2/7925	Navstar 2R-15 (M)	U.S.	Navigation	U.S. Air Force	Lockheed Martin	LM-4000	2,032 kg	MEO
October
Date	Site	Launcher	Payload	Country	Mission	Operator	Prime	Platform	Mass	Orbit
13	Kourou	Ariane 5ECA	DirecTV-9S	U.S.	Communications	DirecTV	SS/Loral	LS-1300	5,535 kg	GTO
			Optus D1	Australia	Communications	Optus	OSC	Star 2.4	2,299 kg	GTO
			LDREX-2	Japan	Technology	JAXA	NEC Toshiba	–	211 kg	GTO
19	Baykonur	Soyuz 2.1a	MetOp A	Europe	Meteorology	Eumetsat	Astrium	Spot Mk3/P	4,175 kg	SSO
23	Baykonur	Soyuz U	Progress M-58	Russia	ISS Cargo	Roskosmos	RKK Energiya	7K-TGM	7,250 kg	LEO/ISS
23	Taiyuan	CZ-4B	Shi Jian 6/2A	China	Intelligence?	Costind?	n.a.	n.a.	n.a.	LEO
			Shi Jian 6/2B	China	Intelligence?	Costind?	n.a.	n.a.	n.a.	LEO
26	Cape Canaveral	Delta 2/7925	Stereo Ahead	U.S.	Science	NASA/GSFC	JHU-APL	–	620 kg	Escape
			Stereo Behind	U.S.	Science	NASA/GSFC	JHU-APL	–	620 kg	Escape
28	Xichang	CZ-3B	Sinosat 2	China	Communications	SinoSatCom	CAST	DFH-4	5,100 kg	GTO
30	Pacific	Zenit 3SL	XM-4	U.S.	Communications	XM Radio	Boeing	BSS-702	4,682 kg	GTO
November
Date	Site	Launcher	Payload	Country	Mission	Operator	Prime	Platform	Mass	Orbit
04	Vandenberg	Delta 4M	DMSP-5D3-F17	U.S.	Meteorology	U.S. Air Force	Lockheed Martin	Tiros N	1,154 kg	SSO
08	Baykonur	Proton M	Badr 4	Arab League	Communications	Arabsat	Astrium	ES-2000+	3,280 kg	GTO
10	Biscarosse	M51	[Dummy Warhead]	France	SLBM	DGA	Astrium	–	n.a.	Suborbital
16	Tilla?	Ghauri	[Dummy Warhead]	Pakistan	MRBM	Pak. Mil. Forces	n.a.	–	n.a.	Suborbital
17	Cape Canaveral	Delta 2/7925	Navstar 2R-16 (M)	U.S.	Navigation	U.S. Air Force	Lockheed Martin	LM-4000	2,032 kg	MEO
December
Date	Site	Launcher	Payload	Country	Mission	Operator	Prime	Platform	Mass	Orbit
08	Xichang	CZ-3A	Feng Yun 2D	China	Meteorology	CSMA	SISE	FY-2	1,380 kg	GTO
08	Kourou	Ariane 5ECA	WildBlue 1	U.S.	Communications	WildBlue	SS/Loral	LS-1300	4,735 kg	GTO
			AMC-18	U.S.	Communications	SES Americom	Lockheed Martin	A2100A	2,080 kg	GTO
10	Kennedy	Discovery	STS-116	U.S., Europe	Manned	NASA/JSC	Boeing	OV-103	120,415 kg	LEO/ISS
			SpaceHab LSM	U.S.	Manned	NASA/JSC	Boeing	–	5,899 kg	LEO/ISS
			ITS-P5	U.S.	ISS Element	NASA/JSC	Boeing	–	1,864 kg	LEO/ISS
			MEPSI-2A/2B	U.S.	Technology	DARPA	Aerospace Corp.	Cubesat	3 kg	LEO
			RAFT1	U.S.	Calibration	US Naval Academy	US Naval Academy	Cubesat	4 kg	LEO
			MARScom	U.S.	Calibration	US Naval Academy	US Naval Academy	Cubesat	3 kg	LEO
			ANDE-MAA	U.S.	Technology	US Naval Academy	US Naval Academy	–	50 kg	LEO
			ANDE-FCal	U.S.	Technology	US Naval Academy	US Naval Academy	–	75 kg	LEO
11	Baykonur	Proton M	Measat 3	Malaysia	Communications	Measat	Boeing	BSS-601HP	4,765 kg	GTO
14	Vandenberg	Delta 2/7920	USA-193	U.S.	Intelligence?	NRO	n.a.	n.a.	n.a.	n.a.
16	Wallops	Minotaur 1	TacSat 2	U.S.	Technology	U.S. AFRL	U.S. AFRL	NGMB	110 kg	LEO
			GeneSat	U.S.	Science	NASA/ARC	NASA/ARC	Cubesat x 3	4.5 kg	LEO
16	Tanegashima	H-2A/204	ETS-8	Japan	Technology	JAXA	Melco	DS-2000	6,000 kg	GTO
19	Plesetsk	Kosmos 3M	SAR-Lupe 1	Germany	Remote Sensing	BWB	OHB-System	–	770 kg	SSO
24	Plesetsk	Soyuz 2.1a	Meridian 1	Russia	Communications	VKS	NPO-PM?	Meridian	2,000 kg?	HEO
25	Baykonur	Proton K	Kosmos 2424	Russia	Navigation	KNITs	NPO-PM	Uragan M	1,480 kg	MEO
			Kosmos 2425	Russia	Navigation	KNITs	NPO-PM	Uragan M	1,480 kg	MEO
			Kosmos 2426	Russia	Navigation	KNITs	NPO-PM	Uragan M	1,480 kg	MEO
27	Baykonur	Soyuz 2.1b	CoRoT	France	Science	CNES	Alcatel Alenia Space	Proteus	630 kg	LEO