2006 in spaceflight

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Contents 1 Launches 2 Orbital launch summary 2.1 By country 2.2 By rocket 2.3 By orbit 3 Deep Space Rendezvous in 2006 4 References

Launches

This is a list of spaceflights launched in 2006.

Date/Time (GMT)	Rocket	Site	LSP	Payload	Operator	Orbit	Function	Decay (GMT)	Outcome	Remarks
19 January, 19:00 GMT	Atlas V (551)	LC-41, Cape Canaveral	/ILS	New Horizons	NASA	Solar Escape	Flyby of Pluto and other KBOs	N/A	Successful so far	First probe to visit Pluto
24 January, 01:33 GMT	H-IIA	Tanegashima	JAXA[citation needed]	Daichi (ALOS)	JAXA	SSO	Observation satellite	Still in Orbit	Partial failure, still in operation	Poor quality images returned due to attitude control and noise problems[1] was resolved by software adjustment.[2]
15 February, 23:35 GMT	Zenit-3SL	Ocean Odyssey Pacific Ocean	Sea Launch	EchoStar 10	EchoStar	Geosynchronous	Comsat	Still in Orbit	Successful so far
16 February, 08:01 GMT	Minuteman III	LF-10, Vandenberg AFB	USAF	Mk. 21 re-entry vehicle	USAF	Sub-orbital	ICBM test launch	16 February 2006	Successful
18 February, 06:27 GMT	H-IIA	Tanegashima	RSC[3]	MTSAT-2	Japanese Government	Geosynchronous	ATC and weather satellite	Still in orbit	Successful so far
21 February, 21:28 GMT	M-V	Uchinoura	JAXA	Akari (ASTRO-F)	JAXA	SSO	Infrared astronomy	Still in orbit	Successful so far
				Cute-1.7+APD	Tokyo Institute of Technology	Amateur comsat	LEO	Still in orbit	Successful so far	Double CubeSat
28 February, 20:10 GMT	Proton-M/Briz-M	Baikonur	/ILS	ARABSAT 4A	ARABSAT	Intended: Geosynchronous Achieved: MEO	Comsat	2007	Failure	Upper stage malfunction.
11 March, 22:33 GMT	Ariane 5ECA	ELA-3, CSG (Kourou)	Arianespace	SPAINSAT	Spanish Government	Geosynchronous	Military comsat	Still in Orbit	Successful so far
				Hot Bird 7A	Eutelsat	Geosynchronous	Comsat	Still in Orbit	Successful so far
22 March, 14:03 GMT	Pegasus-XL	L-1011, Vandenberg AFB	OSC	ST-5A	NASA	LEO	Study Earth's Magnetosphere.	Still in orbit	Successful so far
				ST-5B	NASA	LEO	Study Earth's Magnetosphere.	Still in orbit	Successful so far
				ST-5C	NASA	LEO	Study Earth's Magnetosphere.	Still in orbit	Successful so far
24 March, 22:30 GMT	Falcon 1	Omelek	SpaceX	FalconSat 2	USAF Academy	Intended: LEO	Plasma research satellite.	T+60 seconds	Failure	Rocket lost power shortly after launch due to engine fire.
30 March, 02:30 GMT	Soyuz-FG	LC-1/5, Baikonur	RKA	Soyuz TMA-8 3 Cosmonauts	RKA	LEO, docked to ISS	Manned orbital flight	29 September 2006	Successful	ISS Expedition 13 First Brazilian in Space
7 April, 13:00 GMT	Minuteman III	LF-26, Vandenberg AFB	USAF	Mk. 21 re-entry vehicle	USAF	Sub-orbital	ICBM test	7 April 2006	Successful
12 April, 23:30 GMT	Zenit-3SL	Ocean Odyssey	Sea Launch	JCSAT-9	JCSAT	Geosynchronous	Comsat	Still in orbit	Successful so far
14 April, 01:40 GMT	Minotaur	SLC-8, Vandenberg AFB	Orbital	/COSMIC-1 (FORMOSAT-3A)	NASA/NSPO	LEO	Study atmosphere	Still in orbit	Successful so far
				/COSMIC-2 (FORMOSAT-3B)	NASA/NSPO	LEO	Study atmosphere	Still in orbit	Successful so far
				/COSMIC-3 (FORMOSAT-3C)	NASA/NSPO	LEO	Study atmosphere	Still in orbit	Successful so far
				/COSMIC-4 (FORMOSAT-3D)	NASA/NSPO	LEO	Study atmosphere	Still in orbit	Successful so far
				/COSMIC-5 (FORMOSAT-3E)	NASA/NSPO	LEO	Study atmosphere	Still in orbit	Successful so far
20 April, 20:27 GMT	Atlas V (411)	LC-41, Cape Canaveral	/ILS	Astra 1KR	SES Astra	Geosynchronous	Comsat	Still in orbit	Successful so far	Final ILS Atlas launch
24 April, 16:03 GMT	Soyuz-U (R-7 11A511U)	LC-1/5, Baikonur	RFSA	Progress 21P	RFSA	LEO, docked to ISS	Resupply ISS	18 September 2006	Successful
25 April, 16:47 GMT	Start-1	LC-5, Svobodniy	United Start	EROS-B	ImageSat	LEO, polar	Civilian imaging satellite	Still in orbit	Successful so far
26 April, 22:48 GMT	Long March 4C (CZ-4C)	Taiyuan	CAST	Yaogan 1	CAST	LEO	Imaging Satellite	Still in orbit	Successful so far	Maiden flight of Long March 4C. Designated Long March 4B-II at time of launch, redesignated in November 2007
28 April, 10:02 GMT	Delta II	SLC-2W, Vandenberg AFB	Boeing IDS	CALIPSO	NASA	LEO (A-Train)	Study aerosols	Still in orbit	Successful so far
				CloudSat	NASA	LEO (A-Train)	Study clouds	Still in orbit	Successful so far
3 May, 17:38 GMT	Soyuz-U (R-7 11A511U)	LC-16, Plesetsk	RKA	Kosmos 2420	Russian Government	LEO	Spy Satellite	Still in orbit	Successful so far
24 May, 22:11 GMT	Delta IV	LC-37B, Cape Canaveral	Boeing IDS	GOES-13 (GOES-N)	NASA/NOAA	Geostationary	Weather satellite	Still in orbit	Successful so far
26 May, 18:50 GMT	Shtil (Volna)	Submarine in Barents Sea	VMF	Kompass 2	RKA	LEO	Earthquake detection	Still in orbit	Partial failure	Control and power problems made satellite unusable. Written off on 29 May 2006. Problems cleared by November, and satellite re-activated.[4]
27 May, 21:09 GMT	Ariane 5ECA	ELA-3, CSG (Kourou)	Arianespace	SATMEX 6	Satellites Mexicanas	Geosynchronous	Comsat	Still in orbit	Successful so far	Record for heaviest dual-payload to geosynchronous transfer orbit, stood until May 2007
				THAICOM 5	Shin Satellite	Geosynchronous	Comsat	Still in orbit	Successful so far
14 June, 14:08:22 GMT	Minuteman III	LF-04, Vandenberg AFB	USAF	3 x Mk. 21 re-entry vehicle	USAF	Sub-orbital	ICBM test launch	14 June 2006	Successful
15 June, 08:00 GMT	Soyuz-U (R-7 11A511U)	LC-1/5, Baikonur	RKA	Resurs	RKA	LEO	Remote Sensing Spacecraft	Still in orbit	Successful so far
18 June, 07:50 GMT	Zenit 3SL	Ocean Odyssey	Sea Launch	Galaxy 16	PanAmSat	Geosynchronous	Comsat	Still in orbit	Successful so far
18 June, 22:44 GMT	Proton-K/DM-2	LC-200/39, Baikonur	Khrunichev	KazSat-1	Government of Kazakhstan	Geosynchronous	Comsat	Still in orbit	Successful so far	First Kazakh satellite
21 June, 22:15 GMT	Delta II	LC-17A, Cape Canaveral	Boeing IDS	MITEX-A (USA-187)	DARPA	Geostationary	Experimental military satellite	Still in orbit	Successful so far
				MITEX-B (USA-188)	DARPA	Geostationary	Experimental military satellite	Still in orbit	Successful so far
				MITEX Carrier (USA-189)	DARPA	Geostationary	Experimental military satellite	Still in orbit	Successful so far
24 June, 15:08 GMT	Soyuz-U (R-7 11A511U)	LC-1/5, Baikonur	RKA	Progress 22P	RKA	LEO, docked to ISS	Resupply ISS	17 January 2007	Successful
25 June, 04:00 GMT	Tsyklon-2	LC-90, Baikonur	VKS	Kosmos 2421 (US-PU)	Russian Navy	LEO	SIGINT	20 March 2008 (destroyed in orbit)	Partial failure	Final flight of Tsyklon-2 rocket. One of satellite's solar panels failed to deploy[5], ceased operations in February 2008.
27 June, 03:30 GMT	Delta IV	SLC-6, Vandenberg AFB	Boeing IDS	NRO L-22 (USA-184, Trumpet)	US National Reconnaissance Office	Molniya	Classified	Still in orbit	Successful so far	First EELV launch from Vandenberg AFB
4 July, 18:38 GMT	Space Shuttle Discovery	LC-39B, Kennedy	USA	STS-121, 7 astronauts	NASA	LEO, docked to ISS	Manned Orbital Flight	17 July 2006, 13:14 GMT	Successful	Return to flight test, visit ISS
				Leonardo MPLM	NASA/ESA	LEO, docked to ISS	Resupply ISS		Successful
10 July, 12:38 GMT	GSLV	Satish Dhawan	ISRO	INSAT 4C	ISRO	Intended: GSO	Comsat	T+60 seconds	Failure	Loss of control due to LRB engine failure. Self-destructed 60 seconds into flight
12 July, 15:53 GMT	Dnepr	Dombarovskiy	ISC Kosmotras	Genesis I	Bigelow Aerospace	LEO	Experimental inflatable Space Station	Still in orbit	Successful so far	First commercial space station (uninhabitable prototype)
20 July, 10:14 GMT	Minuteman III	LF-09, Vandenberg AFB	USAF	3 Mk. 21 re-entry vehicles	USAF	Sub-orbital	ICBM test launch	20 July 2006	Successful
21 July, 04:20 GMT	Molniya-M	LC-16, Plesetsk	VKS	Kosmos 2422 (Oko)	VKS	Molniya	Early warning missile defence	Still in orbit	Successful so far
26 July, 19:43 GMT	Dnepr	LC-109, Baikonur	ISC Kosmotras	BelKA	National Academy of Sciences of Republic of Belarus	LEO	Earth Observation Satellite	T+74 seconds	Failure	First-stage engine hydraulic pump failure caused emergency shutdown
				Unisat-4	University of Rome La Sapienza	Intended:LEO	Technology demonstration satellite
				Baumanets	MGTU/RKA	Intended:LEO	Earth observation and amateur radio satellite
				PICPOT	Politecnico di Torino	Intended:LEO	Earth observation satellite
				SACRED	University of Arizona	Intended:LEO	Cubesat
				ION	University of Illinois	Intended:LEO	Double Cubesat
				Rincon 1	University of Arizona	Intended:LEO	Cubesat
				ICECube1	Cornell	Intended:LEO	Cubesat
				KUTESat Pathfinder	University of Kansas	Intended:LEO	Cubesat
				SEEDS	Nihon University	Intended:LEO	Cubesat
				nCube 1	Government of Norway	Intended:LEO	Cubesat
				HAUSAT-1	Government of South Korea	Intended:LEO	Cubesat
				MEROPE	University of Montana	Intended:LEO	Cubesat
				CP2	CalPoly	Intended:LEO	Cubesat
				AeroCube-1	AerospaceCorp	Intended:LEO	Cubesat
				CP1	CalPoly	Intended:LEO	Cubesat
				Voyager	University of Hawaii	Intended:LEO	Cubesat
				ICECube2	Cornell	Intended:LEO	Cubesat
28 July, 07:05 GMT	Rockot	LC-133, Plesetsk	/Eurockot	KOMPSAT 2	KARI	LEO	Earth Observation satellite	Still in orbit	Successful so far
4 August, 21:48 GMT	Proton	Baikonur	/ILS	Hot Bird 8	Eutelsat	Geosynchronous	Comsat	Still in orbit	Successful so far
11 August, 22:15 GMT	Ariane 5 ECA	ELA-3, CSG (Kourou)	Arianespace	JCSat 10		Geosynchronous	Comsat	Still in orbit	Successful so far
				Syracuse 3B		Geosynchronous	Comsat	Still in orbit	Successful so far
22 August, 03:27 GMT	Zenit 3SL	Ocean Odyssey	Sea Launch	Koreasat 5	KT Corporation/Agency for Defence Development	Geosynchronous	Comsat	Still in orbit	Successful so far
9 September, 07:00 GMT	Lonc March 2C	Jiquan	CASC	Shi Jian 8	CASC	LEO	Investigate exposure of seeds to microgravity and radiation	24 September 2006, 02:43 GMT	Successful
9 September, 15:15 GMT	Space Shuttle Atlantis