🚀 Complete Launch Archive
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Orbital Launches in 1961
7,332 orbital launches since 1957
Search, filter and explore every orbital launch ever attempted — cross-linked to the satellites they deployed, the rockets that flew them and the operators behind them. Built on GCAT & Launch Library 2.
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7,332
Total launches
149
This year
92.8%
Success rate
159
Crewed
1957
Since
Orbital Radar lists 50 every orbital launch in 1961, part of 7,332 orbital launches catalogued since 1957. Every entry links to the rocket, the operator and the satellites it deployed.
Featured & milestone launches
| Date | Mission | Vehicle | Operator | Launch site | Payloads | Orbit | Outcome |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1961-12-22 | Samos E-51961 A LAM | Atlas Agena B | US Space Force | Pt Arguello | — | LEO | success |
| 1961-12-21 | DS-1 No. 21961-F15 | Kosmos 63S1 | Soviet Rocket Forces | Kapustin Yar | — | LEO | failure |
| 1961-12-12 | CORONA C'''-51961 A KAP | Thor Agena B | US Space Force | Vandenberg SFB | — | LEO | success |
| 1961-12-11 | Zenit-2 No. 11961-F14 | Vostok 8K72 K | Soviet Rocket Forces | Baikonur Cosmodrome | — | LEO | failure |
| 1961-11-29 | Mercury SC91961 A IOT | Atlas D | AFSSD/STGL | Cape Canaveral | — | LEO | success |
| 1961-11-22 | Samos 4 (E-5)1961-F13 | Atlas Agena B | US Space Force | Pt Arguello | — | LEO | failure |
| 1961-11-18 | NASA P-331961 A THE | Atlas Agena B | MSFC/AFSSD | Cape Canaveral | — | LEO | failure |
| 1961-11-15 | Transit 4B1961 A ETA | Thor Ablestar | US Space Force | Cape Canaveral | — | LEO | success |
| 1961-11-15 | CORONA C'-101961 A ZET | Thor Agena B | US Space Force | Vandenberg SFB | — | LEO | success |
| 1961-11-05 | CORONA C'-91961 A EPS | Thor Agena B | US Space Force | Vandenberg SFB | — | LEO | success |
| 1961-11-01 | Mercury MS-11961-F12 | Blue Scout II | US Space Force | Cape Canaveral | — | LEO | failure |
| 1961-10-27 | DS-1 No. 11961-F11 | Kosmos 63S1 | Soviet Rocket Forces | Kapustin Yar | — | LEO | failure |
| 1961-10-23 | CORONA C'-81961-F10 | Thor Agena B | US Space Force | Vandenberg SFB | — | LEO | failure |
| 1961-10-21 | Midas ETS-II F21961 A DEL | Atlas Agena B | US Space Force | Pt Arguello | — | MEO | success |
| 1961-10-13 | CORONA C'''-41961 A GAM | Thor Agena B | US Space Force | Vandenberg SFB | — | LEO | success |
| 1961-09-17 | CORONA C'''-31961 A BET | Thor Agena B | US Space Force | Vandenberg SFB | — | LEO | success |
| 1961-09-13 | Mercury SC8A1961 A ALP | Atlas D | AFSSD/STGL | Cape Canaveral | — | LEO | success |
| 1961-09-12 | CORONA C'''-21961 OME | Thor Agena B | US Space Force | Vandenberg SFB | — | LEO | success |
| 1961-09-09 | SAMOS E-21961-F09 | Atlas Agena B | US Space Force | Pt Arguello | — | LEO | failure |
| 1961-08-30 | CORONA C'''-11961 PSI | Thor Agena B | US Space Force | Vandenberg SFB | — | LEO | success |
| 1961-08-25 | NASA S-55A1961 CHI | Scout X-1 | NASA | Wallops Island | — | LEO | success |
| 1961-08-23 | NASA P-321961 PHI | Atlas Agena B | MSFC/AFSSD | Cape Canaveral | — | LEO | failure |
| 1961-08-16 | NASA S-31961 UPS | Thor Delta | NASA | Cape Canaveral | — | HEO | success |
| 1961-08-06 | Vostok-3A No. 41961 TAU | Vostok 8K72 K | Soviet Rocket Forces | Baikonur Cosmodrome | — | LEO | success |
| 1961-08-04 | CORONA C'-71961-F08 | Thor Agena B | US Space Force | Vandenberg SFB | — | LEO | failure |
| 1961-07-21 | ARGON 41961-F07 | Thor Agena B | US Space Force | Vandenberg SFB | — | LEO | failure |
| 1961-07-12 | NASA A-31961 RHO | Thor Delta | NASA | Cape Canaveral | — | LEO | success |
| 1961-07-12 | Midas ETS-II F11961 SIG | Atlas Agena B | US Space Force | Pt Arguello | — | MEO | success |
| 1961-07-07 | CORONA C'-61961 PI | Thor Agena B | US Space Force | Vandenberg SFB | — | LEO | success |
| 1961-06-30 | NASA S-551961-F06 | Scout X-1 | NASA | Wallops Island | — | LEO | failure |
| 1961-06-29 | Transit 4A1961 OMI | Thor Ablestar | US Space Force | Cape Canaveral | — | LEO | success |
| 1961-06-16 | CORONA C'-51961 XI | Thor Agena B | US Space Force | Vandenberg SFB | — | LEO | success |
| 1961-06-08 | ARGON 31961-F05 | Thor Agena B | US Space Force | Vandenberg SFB | — | LEO | failure |
| 1961-05-24 | NASA S-45A1961-F04 | Juno II | NASA | Cape Canaveral | — | LEO | failure |
| 1961-04-27 | NASA S-151961 NU | Juno II | NASA | Cape Canaveral | — | LEO | success |
| 1961-04-25 | Mercury SC81961-F03 | Atlas D | US Space Force | Cape Canaveral | — | LEO | failure |
| 1961-04-12 | Vostok-3A No. 31961 MU | Vostok 8K72 K | Soviet Rocket Forces | Baikonur Cosmodrome | — | LEO | success |
| 1961-04-08 | ARGON 21961 LAM | Thor Agena B | US Space Force | Vandenberg SFB | — | LEO | success |
| 1961-03-30 | CORONA C'-41961-F02 | Thor Agena B | US Air Force | Vandenberg SFB | — | LEO | failure |
| 1961-03-25 | P-141961 KAP | Thor Delta | NASA | Cape Canaveral | — | HEO | success |
| 1961-03-25 | Vostok-3 No. 21961 IOT | Vostok 8K72 K | Soviet Rocket Forces | Baikonur Cosmodrome | — | LEO | success |
| 1961-03-09 | Vostok-3 No. 11961 THE | Vostok 8K72 K | Soviet Rocket Forces | Baikonur Cosmodrome | — | LEO | success |
| 1961-02-25 | NASA S-451961-F01 | Juno II | NASA | Cape Canaveral | — | LEO | failure |
| 1961-02-22 | Transit 3B1961 ETA | Thor Ablestar | US Air Force | Cape Canaveral | — | LEO | success |
| 1961-02-18 | CORONA RM-21961 ZET | Thor Agena B | US Air Force | Vandenberg SFB | — | LEO | success |
| 1961-02-17 | ARGON 11961 EPS | Thor Agena B | US Air Force | Vandenberg SFB | — | LEO | success |
| 1961-02-16 | NASA S-56A1961 DEL | Scout X-1 | NASA | Wallops Island | — | MEO | success |
| 1961-02-12 | 1VA No. 21961 GAM | Molniya 8K78 | Soviet Rocket Forces | Baikonur Cosmodrome | — | HEO | success |
| 1961-02-04 | 1VA No. 11961 BET | Molniya 8K78 | Soviet Rocket Forces | Baikonur Cosmodrome | — | LEO | failure |
| 1961-01-31 | SAMOS F-11961 ALP | Atlas Agena A | US Air Force | Pt Arguello | — | LEO | success |
Launch cadence · 1957 → 2026
Annual orbital launch attempts worldwide. The modern surge is reshaping the record.
19572026
About this database
Every orbital launch since 1957 — 7,332 in total, 159 of them crewed — cross-linked to the rockets, operators and satellites involved. The historical record is built on GCAT and enriched with Launch Library 2, then matched to our live satellite catalogue.
Browse the database
crawlable facet hubs · each its own indexable pageFull launch index (50 launches)
Samos E-5 (1961-12-22)DS-1 No. 2 (1961-12-21)CORONA C'''-5 (1961-12-12)Zenit-2 No. 1 (1961-12-11)Mercury SC9 (1961-11-29)Samos 4 (E-5) (1961-11-22)NASA P-33 (1961-11-18)Transit 4B (1961-11-15)CORONA C'-10 (1961-11-15)CORONA C'-9 (1961-11-05)Mercury MS-1 (1961-11-01)DS-1 No. 1 (1961-10-27)CORONA C'-8 (1961-10-23)Midas ETS-II F2 (1961-10-21)CORONA C'''-4 (1961-10-13)CORONA C'''-3 (1961-09-17)Mercury SC8A (1961-09-13)CORONA C'''-2 (1961-09-12)SAMOS E-2 (1961-09-09)CORONA C'''-1 (1961-08-30)NASA S-55A (1961-08-25)NASA P-32 (1961-08-23)NASA S-3 (1961-08-16)Vostok-3A No. 4 (1961-08-06)CORONA C'-7 (1961-08-04)ARGON 4 (1961-07-21)NASA A-3 (1961-07-12)Midas ETS-II F1 (1961-07-12)CORONA C'-6 (1961-07-07)NASA S-55 (1961-06-30)Transit 4A (1961-06-29)CORONA C'-5 (1961-06-16)ARGON 3 (1961-06-08)NASA S-45A (1961-05-24)NASA S-15 (1961-04-27)Mercury SC8 (1961-04-25)Vostok-3A No. 3 (1961-04-12)ARGON 2 (1961-04-08)CORONA C'-4 (1961-03-30)Vostok-3 No. 2 (1961-03-25)P-14 (1961-03-25)Vostok-3 No. 1 (1961-03-09)NASA S-45 (1961-02-25)Transit 3B (1961-02-22)CORONA RM-2 (1961-02-18)ARGON 1 (1961-02-17)NASA S-56A (1961-02-16)1VA No. 2 (1961-02-12)1VA No. 1 (1961-02-04)SAMOS F-1 (1961-01-31)
Last updated 2026-06-21 · Data: GCAT (J. McDowell, planet4589.org) · Launch Library 2 / The Space Devs — enriched & cross-linked by Orbital Radar.