🚀 Complete Launch Archive
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Orbital Launches in 1981
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 126 every orbital launch in 1981, 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1981-12-23 | Molniya-1 11F658 No. 551981-123 | Molniya 8K78M ML | Soviet Rocket Forces | Baikonur Cosmodrome | 3 payloads ↗ | HEO | success |
| 1981-12-20 | Marecs A1981-122 | Ariane 1 | ESA | Guiana Space Centre | 2 payloads ↗ | HEO | success |
| 1981-12-19 | Feniks No. 9521981-121 | Soyuz-U | Soviet Rocket Forces | Baikonur Cosmodrome | — | LEO | success |
| 1981-12-19 | Navstar GPS SVN 71981-F03 | Atlas E/SVS | US Air Force | Vandenberg SFB | — | LEO | failure |
| 1981-12-17 | RS-31981-120 | Kosmos 11K65M | Soviet Rocket Forces | Plesetsk Cosmodrome | 19 payloads ↗ | LEO | success |
| 1981-12-15 | INTELSAT V F31981-119 | Atlas SLV-3D Centaur | NASA | Cape Canaveral | 2 payloads ↗ | GEO | success |
| 1981-12-04 | Zenit-61981-118 | Soyuz-U | Soviet Rocket Forces | Baikonur Cosmodrome | — | LEO | success |
| 1981-12-03 | Tselina-D1981-117 | Tsiklon-3 | Soviet Rocket Forces | Plesetsk Cosmodrome | 2 payloads ↗ | LEO | success |
| 1981-11-28 | Strela-1M1981-116 | Kosmos 11K65M | Soviet Rocket Forces | Plesetsk Cosmodrome | 9 payloads ↗ | LEO | success |
| 1981-11-20 | SEO B1981-115 | Kosmos 11K65M | Soviet Rocket Forces | Kapustin Yar | — | LEO | success |
| 1981-11-20 | RCA-D1981-114 | Delta 3910/PAM | NASA | Cape Canaveral | 1 payload ↗ | GEO | success |
| 1981-11-17 | Molniya-11981-113 | Molniya 8K78M ML | Soviet Rocket Forces | Plesetsk Cosmodrome | — | HEO | success |
| 1981-11-13 | Zenit-61981-112 | Soyuz-U | Soviet Rocket Forces | Baikonur Cosmodrome | — | LEO | success |
| 1981-11-12 | OV-102 OFT-21981-111 | Space Shuttle | NASA | Kennedy Space Center | — | LEO | success |
| 1981-11-04 | 4V-1M No. 7611981-110 | Proton-K/D-1 | Soviet Rocket Forces | Baikonur Cosmodrome | — | HEO | success |
| 1981-11-03 | Feniks No. 9441981-109 | Soyuz-U | Soviet Rocket Forces | Plesetsk Cosmodrome | — | LEO | success |
| 1981-10-31 | Oko1981-108 | Molniya 8K78M 2BL | Soviet Rocket Forces | Plesetsk Cosmodrome | 2 payloads ↗ | HEO | success |
| 1981-10-31 | VORTEX 31981-107 | Titan IIIC | US Air Force | Cape Canaveral | 2 payloads ↗ | HEO | success |
| 1981-10-30 | 4V-1M No. 7601981-106 | Proton-K/D-1 | Soviet Rocket Forces | Baikonur Cosmodrome | — | HEO | success |
| 1981-10-17 | Molniya-3 No. 311981-105 | Molniya 8K78M ML | Soviet Rocket Forces | Plesetsk Cosmodrome | — | HEO | success |
| 1981-10-15 | Zenit-61981-104 | Soyuz-U | Soviet Rocket Forces | Baikonur Cosmodrome | — | LEO | success |
| 1981-10-13 | Tselina-D1981-103 | Vostok 8A92M | Soviet Rocket Forces | Plesetsk Cosmodrome | 1 payload ↗ | LEO | success |
| 1981-10-09 | Fram1981-101 | Soyuz-U | Soviet Rocket Forces | Plesetsk Cosmodrome | — | LEO | success |
| 1981-10-09 | Gran' No. 20L1981-102 | Proton-K/DM | Soviet Rocket Forces | Baikonur Cosmodrome | 2 payloads ↗ | HEO | success |
| 1981-10-06 | Solar Mesosphere Explore1981-100 | Delta 2310 | NASA | Vandenberg SFB | 1 payload ↗ | MEO | success |
| 1981-10-01 | Zenit-61981-099 | Soyuz-U | Soviet Rocket Forces | Baikonur Cosmodrome | — | LEO | success |
| 1981-09-30 | Musson No. 121981-098 | Tsiklon-3 | Soviet Rocket Forces | Plesetsk Cosmodrome | 2 payloads ↗ | LEO | success |
| 1981-09-28 | Romb1981-097 | Kosmos 11K65M | Soviet Rocket Forces | Plesetsk Cosmodrome | — | LEO | success |
| 1981-09-24 | SBS 21981-096 | Delta 3910/PAM | NASA | Cape Canaveral | 1 payload ↗ | HEO | success |
| 1981-09-23 | Vektor1981-095 | Kosmos 11K65M | Soviet Rocket Forces | Plesetsk Cosmodrome | — | LEO | success |
| 1981-09-21 | AUOS-Z 401 M-A-IK1981-094 | Tsiklon-3 | Soviet Rocket Forces | Plesetsk Cosmodrome | 2 payloads ↗ | LEO | success |
| 1981-09-19 | shijian erhao B xing1981-093 | Feng Bao 1 | CASC | Jiuquan | — | LEO | success |
| 1981-09-18 | Orion1981-092 | Soyuz-U | Soviet Rocket Forces | Plesetsk Cosmodrome | — | LEO | success |
| 1981-09-18 | Parus1981-091 | Kosmos 11K65M | Soviet Rocket Forces | Plesetsk Cosmodrome | 2 payloads ↗ | LEO | success |
| 1981-09-15 | Zenit-61981-090 | Soyuz-U | Soviet Rocket Forces | Plesetsk Cosmodrome | — | LEO | success |
| 1981-09-14 | US-PM1981-089 | Tsiklon-2 | Soviet Rocket Forces | Baikonur Cosmodrome | — | LEO | success |
| 1981-09-11 | Molniya-3 No. 281981-088 | Molniya 8K78M ML | Soviet Rocket Forces | Plesetsk Cosmodrome | 5 payloads ↗ | MEO | success |
| 1981-09-04 | Tsikada1981-087 | Kosmos 11K65M | Soviet Rocket Forces | Plesetsk Cosmodrome | 2 payloads ↗ | LEO | success |
| 1981-09-04 | Zenit-61981-086 | Soyuz-U | Soviet Rocket Forces | Baikonur Cosmodrome | — | LEO | success |
| 1981-09-03 | KH11-4 KENNAN1981-085 | Titan IIID | US Air Force | Vandenberg SFB | — | LEO | success |
| 1981-08-28 | Strela-2M1981-084 | Kosmos 11K65M | Soviet Rocket Forces | Plesetsk Cosmodrome | 4 payloads ↗ | LEO | success |
| 1981-08-27 | Resurs-F1 17F41 No. 161981-083 | Soyuz-U | Soviet Rocket Forces | Plesetsk Cosmodrome | — | LEO | success |
| 1981-08-24 | Tselina-D1981-082 | Tsiklon-3 | Soviet Rocket Forces | Plesetsk Cosmodrome | 1 payload ↗ | LEO | success |
| 1981-08-24 | US-A reactor1981-081 | Tsiklon-2 | Soviet Rocket Forces | Baikonur Cosmodrome | 2 payloads ↗ | LEO | success |
| 1981-08-21 | Yantar'-4K21981-080 | Soyuz-U | Soviet Rocket Forces | Baikonur Cosmodrome | — | LEO | success |
| 1981-08-18 | Zenit-61981-079 | Soyuz-U | Soviet Rocket Forces | Plesetsk Cosmodrome | — | LEO | success |
| 1981-08-13 | Feniks No. 9431981-078 | Soyuz-U | Soviet Rocket Forces | Plesetsk Cosmodrome | — | LEO | success |
| 1981-08-12 | Parus1981-077 | Kosmos 11K65M | Soviet Rocket Forces | Plesetsk Cosmodrome | 2 payloads ↗ | LEO | success |
| 1981-08-10 | GMS 21981-076 | N-2 | NASDA | Tanegashima | 1 payload ↗ | HEO | success |
| 1981-08-07 | IK Bulgaria-13001981-075 | Vostok 8A92M | Soviet Rocket Forces | Plesetsk Cosmodrome | 2 payloads ↗ | 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 (126 launches)
Molniya-1 11F658 No. 55 (1981-12-23)Marecs A (1981-12-20)Navstar GPS SVN 7 (1981-12-19)Feniks No. 952 (1981-12-19)RS-3 (1981-12-17)INTELSAT V F3 (1981-12-15)Zenit-6 (1981-12-04)Tselina-D (1981-12-03)Strela-1M (1981-11-28)RCA-D (1981-11-20)SEO B (1981-11-20)Molniya-1 (1981-11-17)Zenit-6 (1981-11-13)OV-102 OFT-2 (1981-11-12)4V-1M No. 761 (1981-11-04)Feniks No. 944 (1981-11-03)VORTEX 3 (1981-10-31)Oko (1981-10-31)4V-1M No. 760 (1981-10-30)Molniya-3 No. 31 (1981-10-17)Zenit-6 (1981-10-15)Tselina-D (1981-10-13)Gran' No. 20L (1981-10-09)Fram (1981-10-09)Solar Mesosphere Explore (1981-10-06)Zenit-6 (1981-10-01)Musson No. 12 (1981-09-30)Romb (1981-09-28)SBS 2 (1981-09-24)Vektor (1981-09-23)AUOS-Z 401 M-A-IK (1981-09-21)shijian erhao B xing (1981-09-19)Orion (1981-09-18)Parus (1981-09-18)Zenit-6 (1981-09-15)US-PM (1981-09-14)Molniya-3 No. 28 (1981-09-11)Tsikada (1981-09-04)Zenit-6 (1981-09-04)KH11-4 KENNAN (1981-09-03)Strela-2M (1981-08-28)Resurs-F1 17F41 No. 16 (1981-08-27)US-A reactor (1981-08-24)Tselina-D (1981-08-24)Yantar'-4K2 (1981-08-21)Zenit-6 (1981-08-18)Feniks No. 943 (1981-08-13)Parus (1981-08-12)GMS 2 (1981-08-10)IK Bulgaria-1300 (1981-08-07)FLTSATCOM F5 (1981-08-06)Strela-1M (1981-08-06)Oko (1981-08-04)US-PM1 (1981-08-04)DE A (1981-08-03)Gran' No. 19L (1981-07-30)Zenit-6 (1981-07-29)Zenit-6 (1981-07-17)Feniks No. 951 (1981-07-15)Meteor-Priroda No. 2-4 (1981-07-10)Zenit-6 (1981-07-07)Resurs-F1 17F41 No. 15 (1981-07-02)Zenit-6 (1981-07-01)Ekran No. 21L (1981-06-25)Molniya-1 (1981-06-24)NOAA C (1981-06-23)Meteosat F2 (1981-06-19)Zenit-6 (1981-06-17)Fram (1981-06-16)Molniya-3 No. 30 (1981-06-09)Parus (1981-06-04)Feniks No. 942 (1981-06-03)Rohini RS-D-1 (1981-05-31)INTELSAT V F1 (1981-05-23)GOES E (1981-05-22)Fram (1981-05-22)Zenit-6 (1981-05-21)Tselina-D (1981-05-19)Feniks No. 980 (1981-05-18)Nova 1 (1981-05-15)Meteor-2 No. 8 (1981-05-14)Soyuz 7K-T No. 56 (1981-05-14)Strela-2M (1981-05-07)Zenit-6 (1981-04-28)TKS No. 16301 (1981-04-25)Jumpseat 6 (1981-04-24)US-A reactor (1981-04-21)Zenit-6 (1981-04-16)Zenit-6 (1981-04-15)OV-102 OFT-1 (1981-04-12)Vektor (1981-04-09)Zenit-6 (1981-04-07)Oko (1981-03-31)Feniks No. 979 (1981-03-28)Molniya-3 No. 24 (1981-03-24)Soyuz 7K-T No. 55 (1981-03-22)US-P (1981-03-20)Gran' No. 18L (1981-03-18)Zenit-6 (1981-03-17)DSP 10 (1981-03-16)Soyuz 7K-ST No. 10L (1981-03-12)Strela-1M (1981-03-06)US-A reactor (1981-03-05)Feniks No. 940 (1981-03-05)GAMBIT-3 Mission 4351 (1981-02-28)Comstar D-4 (1981-02-21)ASTRO-A (1981-02-21)Oko (1981-02-19)Siluet No. 1 (1981-02-18)Zenit-6 (1981-02-13)Parus (1981-02-12)ETS-4 (1981-02-11)AUOS-Z R-P-IK (1981-02-06)Molniya-1 (1981-01-30)Tselina-D (1981-01-27)Progress 7K-TG No. 113 (1981-01-24)Musson No. 11 (1981-01-23)Lira (1981-01-21)Feniks No. 975 (1981-01-20)Orion (1981-01-16)Vektor (1981-01-16)Molniya-3 No. 25 (1981-01-09)Zenit-6 (1981-01-06)
Last updated 2026-06-21 · Data: GCAT (J. McDowell, planet4589.org) · Launch Library 2 / The Space Devs — enriched & cross-linked by Orbital Radar.