Rocket launches in1961

Yuri Gagarin circles the Earth once on a Vostok in April — 108 minutes that permanently change the stakes. The USA answers with Alan Shepard's suborbital Mercury flight in May and Gus Grissom's in July, while the Soviet Union sends Gherman Titov on a full-day Vostok 2 mission in August.

Monthly Cadencecomplete

◇FEB·peak·13 launches↑12%·vs 1960

launches: 124
success · 85/124: 69%
provider: 1

1961 Launch Leaders

Countries

106

USA

02Russia18

Countries

106

USA

02Russia18

Rockets

Atlas

All 1961 Launches

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124 launches


Jan 7, 196117:33:00 UTC	D-3 USA•Scout Blue Scout I	-	Scout Blue Scout I	Success
Jan 14, 196116:15:00 UTC	Unnamed flight Russia•R-7 A	-	R-7 A	Success
Jan 20, 196120:53:00 UTCFailure	Mk.4 REV USA•Titan I	-	Titan I	Failure
Jan 23, 196121:02:00 UTC	ICBM test USA•Atlas D	-	Atlas D	Success
Jan 24, 196121:55:00 UTCFailure	ICBM test USA•Atlas E	-	Atlas E	Failure
Jan 31, 196116:55:00 UTCPartial failure	Mercury-Redstone 2 USA•Mercury-Redstone	-	Mercury-Redstone	partial failure
Jan 31, 196120:21:00 UTC	Samos 2 USA•Atlas Agena A LV-3	-	Atlas Agena A LV-3	Success
Feb 4, 196101:18:00 UTCFailure	Sputnik 7 Russia•Molniya	-	Molniya	Failure
Feb 10, 196105:55:00 UTC	Mk.4 REV USA•Titan I	-	Titan I	Success
Feb 12, 196100:34:00 UTC	Venera 1 Russia•Molniya	-	Molniya	Success
Feb 13, 196104:39:00 UTC	I1-3T Russia•R-7 A	-	R-7 A	Success
Feb 16, 196113:05:00 UTC	Explorer 9 USA•Scout X-1	-	Scout X-1	Success
Feb 17, 196120:25:00 UTC	Discoverer 20 USA•Thor DM-21 Agena-B	-	Thor DM-21 Agena-B	Success
Feb 18, 196122:58:00 UTC	Discoverer 21 USA•Thor DM-21 Agena-B	-	Thor DM-21 Agena-B	Success
Feb 20, 196100:00:00 UTC	Mk.4 REV USA•Titan I	-	Titan I	Success
Feb 21, 196114:12:00 UTC	Mercury-Atlas 2 USA•Atlas D	-	Atlas D	Success
Feb 22, 196103:45:00 UTC	Transit 3B USA•Thor DM-21 Ablestar	-	Thor DM-21 Ablestar	Success
Feb 24, 196118:29:00 UTC	ICBM test USA•Atlas E	-	Atlas E	Success
Feb 25, 196100:00:00 UTCFailure	Explorer 10 USA•Juno II	-	Juno II	Failure
Feb 27, 196100:52:00 UTC	L2-1 Russia•R-7	-	R-7	Success
Mar 3, 196100:00:00 UTCFailure	Mk.4 REV USA•Titan I	-	Titan I	Failure
Mar 3, 196116:02:00 UTC	D-4 USA•Scout Blue Scout II	-	Scout Blue Scout II	Success
Mar 9, 196106:29:00 UTC	Sputnik 9 Russia•Vostok K	-	Vostok K	Success
Mar 14, 196104:17:00 UTCFailure	ICBM test USA•Atlas E	-	Atlas E	Failure
Mar 24, 196117:30:00 UTC	Mercury-Redstone BD USA•Mercury-Redstone	-	Mercury-Redstone	Success
Mar 25, 196101:49:00 UTCPartial failure	ICBM test USA•Atlas E	-	Atlas E	partial failure
Mar 25, 196105:54:00 UTC	Sputnik 10 Russia•Vostok K	-	Vostok K	Success
Mar 25, 196115:17:04 UTC	Explorer 10 USA•Delta Thor DM-19 Delta	-	Delta Thor DM-19 Delta	Success
Mar 28, 196100:00:00 UTC	Mk.4 REV USA•Titan I	-	Titan I	Success
Mar 30, 196105:13:43 UTC	Missile test USA•Thor DM-18A	-	Thor DM-18A	Success
Mar 30, 196120:34:43 UTCFailure	Discoverer 22 USA•Thor DM-21 Agena-B	-	Thor DM-21 Agena-B	Failure
Mar 31, 196119:42:00 UTCFailure	Mk.4 REV USA•Titan I	-	Titan I	Failure
Apr 8, 196119:21:00 UTC	Discoverer 23 USA•Thor DM-21 Agena-B	-	Thor DM-21 Agena-B	Success
Apr 12, 196106:07:00 UTC	Vostok 1 Russia•Vostok K	-	Vostok K	Success
Apr 12, 196106:07:00 UTC	D-5 USA•Scout Blue Scout II	-	Scout Blue Scout II	Success
Apr 14, 196119:24:00 UTCFailure	Unnamed flight Russia•R-7 A	-	R-7 A	Failure
Apr 22, 196100:00:00 UTC	CM-209 USA•Jupiter	-	Jupiter	Success
Apr 25, 196116:15:00 UTCFailure	Mercury-Atlas 3 USA•Atlas D	-	Atlas D	Failure
Apr 27, 196100:00:00 UTC	Explorer 11 USA•Juno II	-	Juno II	Success
May 3, 196100:00:00 UTC	VS-1 USA•Titan I	-	Titan I	Success
May 5, 196114:34:13 UTC	Mercury-Redstone 3 / Freedom 7 USA•Mercury-Redstone	-	Mercury-Redstone	Success
May 9, 196116:00:00 UTC	D-6 USA•Scout Blue Scout I	-	Scout Blue Scout I	Success
May 13, 196102:00:00 UTC	ICBM test USA•Atlas E	-	Atlas E	Success
May 23, 196100:00:00 UTC	Mk.4 REV USA•Titan I	-	Titan I	Success
May 24, 196100:00:00 UTCFailure	Explorer 12 USA•Juno II	-	Juno II	Failure
May 24, 196121:50:00 UTC	ICBM test USA•Atlas D	-	Atlas D	Success
May 26, 196102:26:00 UTC	ICBM test USA•Atlas E	-	Atlas E	Success
Jun 7, 196121:13:00 UTCFailure	ICBM test USA•Atlas E	-	Atlas E	Failure
Jun 8, 196121:16:00 UTCFailure	Discoverer 24 USA•Thor DM-21 Agena-B	-	Thor DM-21 Agena-B	Failure
Jun 15, 196105:45:00 UTC	E15001-06 Russia•R-7 A	-	R-7 A	Success
Jun 16, 196123:02:00 UTC	Discoverer 25 USA•Thor DM-21 Agena-B	-	Thor DM-21 Agena-B	Success
Jun 20, 196123:54:00 UTC	Missile test USA•Thor DM-18A	-	Thor DM-18A	Success
Jun 23, 196103:00:00 UTCFailure	ICBM test USA•Atlas E	-	Atlas E	Failure
Jun 24, 196103:28:00 UTCFailure	Mk.4 REV USA•Titan I	-	Titan I	Failure
Jun 29, 196104:22:00 UTC	Transit 4A USA•Thor DM-21 Ablestar	-	Thor DM-21 Ablestar	Success
Jun 30, 196117:09:00 UTCFailure	Explorer S-55 USA•Scout X-1	-	Scout X-1	Failure
Jul 4, 196104:00:00 UTC	I2-4 Russia•R-7 A	-	R-7 A	Success
Jul 4, 196120:20:00 UTC	I2-2 Russia•R-7 A	-	R-7 A	Success
Jul 7, 196104:51:00 UTC	ICBM test USA•Atlas E	-	Atlas E	Success
Jul 7, 196123:29:48 UTC	Discoverer 26 USA•Thor DM-21 Agena-B	-	Thor DM-21 Agena-B	Success
Jul 12, 196110:25:06 UTC	TIROS-3 USA•Delta Thor DM-19 Delta	-	Delta Thor DM-19 Delta	Success
Jul 12, 196115:11:00 UTC	Midas 3 USA•Atlas Agena A LV-3	-	Atlas Agena A LV-3	Success
Jul 21, 196102:00:00 UTC	Mk.4 REV USA•Titan I	-	Titan I	Success
Jul 21, 196112:20:36 UTC	Mercury-Redstone 4 / Liberty Bell 7 USA•Mercury-Redstone	-	Mercury-Redstone	Success
Jul 21, 196122:35:00 UTCFailure	Discoverer 27 USA•Thor DM-21 Agena-B	-	Thor DM-21 Agena-B	Failure
Jul 25, 196119:05:00 UTC	Mk.4 REV USA•Titan I	-	Titan I	Success
Jul 31, 196121:32:00 UTC	ICBM test USA•Atlas E	-	Atlas E	Success
Aug 4, 196100:00:00 UTC	Mk.4 REV USA•Titan I	-	Titan I	Success
Aug 4, 196100:01:00 UTCFailure	Discoverer 28 USA•Thor DM-21 Agena-B	-	Thor DM-21 Agena-B	Failure
Aug 5, 196100:00:00 UTC	CM-218 USA•Jupiter	-	Jupiter	Success
Aug 6, 196106:00:00 UTC	Vostok 2 Russia•Vostok K	-	Vostok K	Success
Aug 9, 196104:31:00 UTC	ICBM test USA•Atlas F	-	Atlas F	Success
Aug 16, 196103:21:05 UTC	Explorer 12 USA•Delta Thor DM-19 Delta	-	Delta Thor DM-19 Delta	Success
Aug 23, 196104:31:00 UTC	ICBM test USA•Atlas D	-	Atlas D	Success
Aug 23, 196110:04:00 UTCFailure	Ranger 1 USA•Atlas Agena B LV-3	-	Atlas Agena B LV-3	Failure
Aug 25, 196118:29:00 UTCPartial failure	Explorer 13 USA•Scout X-1	-	Scout X-1	partial failure
Aug 30, 196120:00:00 UTC	Discoverer 29 USA•Thor DM-21 Agena-B	-	Thor DM-21 Agena-B	Success
Sep 6, 196122:30:00 UTC	Missile test USA•Thor DM-18A	-	Thor DM-18A	Success
Sep 7, 196101:30:00 UTC	Mk.4 REV USA•Titan I	-	Titan I	Success
Sep 8, 196119:05:00 UTC	Mk.4 REV USA•Titan I	-	Titan I	Success
Sep 9, 196101:42:00 UTCFailure	ICBM test USA•Atlas E	-	Atlas E	Failure
Sep 9, 196119:28:00 UTCFailure	Samos 3 USA•Atlas Agena B LV-3	-	Atlas Agena B LV-3	Failure
Sep 12, 196119:59:00 UTC	Discoverer 30 USA•Thor DM-21 Agena-B	-	Thor DM-21 Agena-B	Success
Sep 13, 196114:04:00 UTC	Mercury-Atlas 4 USA•Atlas D	-	Atlas D	Success
Sep 17, 196121:00:00 UTC	Discoverer 31 USA•Thor DM-21 Agena-B	-	Thor DM-21 Agena-B	Success
Sep 21, 196116:30:00 UTC	E15003-03 Russia•R-7 A	-	R-7 A	Success
Sep 23, 196120:36:00 UTCPartial failure	SM-2 USA•Titan I	-	Titan I	partial failure
Sep 29, 196101:52:00 UTC	Mk.4 REV USA•Titan I	-	Titan I	Success
Oct 2, 196118:23:00 UTC	ICBM test USA•Atlas E	-	Atlas E	Success
Oct 5, 196113:42:00 UTC	ICBM test USA•Atlas E	-	Atlas E	Success
Oct 7, 196101:30:00 UTC	Mk.4 REV USA•Titan I	-	Titan I	Success
Oct 13, 196119:22:00 UTC	Discoverer 32 USA•Thor DM-21 Agena-B	-	Thor DM-21 Agena-B	Success
Oct 19, 196117:38:00 UTC	P-21 USA•Scout X-1	-	Scout X-1	Success
Oct 21, 196113:53:00 UTCPartial failure	Midas 4 USA•Atlas Agena B LV-3	-	Atlas Agena B LV-3	partial failure
Oct 23, 196119:23:00 UTCFailure	Discoverer 33 USA•Thor DM-21 Agena-B	-	Thor DM-21 Agena-B	Failure
Oct 24, 196123:28:00 UTC	Mk.4 REV USA•Titan I	-	Titan I	Success
Oct 27, 196100:00:00 UTCFailure	Kosmos 1a Russia•Kosmos	-	Kosmos	Failure
Oct 27, 196115:06:04 UTC	Saturn-Apollo 1 USA•Saturn I	-	Saturn I	Success
Nov 1, 196115:32:00 UTCFailure	Mercury-Scout 1 USA•Scout Blue Scout II	-	Scout Blue Scout II	Failure
Nov 5, 196120:00:00 UTCFailure	Discoverer 34 USA•Thor DM-21 Agena-B	-	Thor DM-21 Agena-B	Failure
Nov 10, 196114:55:00 UTCFailure	Biological nose cone w/ squirrel monkey USA•Atlas E	-	Atlas E	Failure
Nov 15, 196121:23:00 UTC	Discoverer 35 USA•Thor DM-21 Agena-B	-	Thor DM-21 Agena-B	Success
Nov 15, 196122:26:00 UTC	Transit 4B USA•Thor DM-21 Ablestar	-	Thor DM-21 Ablestar	Success
Nov 18, 196108:12:00 UTCFailure	Ranger 2 USA•Atlas Agena B LV-3	-	Atlas Agena B LV-3	Failure
Nov 22, 196100:30:00 UTC	Mk.4 REV USA•Titan I	-	Titan I	Success
Nov 22, 196120:45:00 UTCFailure	Samos 4 USA•Atlas Agena B LV-3	-	Atlas Agena B LV-3	Failure
Nov 22, 196121:04:00 UTC	ICBM test USA•Atlas F	-	Atlas F	Success
Nov 29, 196108:15:00 UTC	Unnamed flight Russia•R-7 A	-	R-7 A	Success
Nov 29, 196115:08:00 UTC	Mercury-Atlas 5 USA•Atlas D	-	Atlas D	Success
Nov 29, 196119:05:00 UTC	Mk.4 REV USA•Titan I	-	Titan I	Success
Nov 29, 196123:01:00 UTC	ICBM test USA•Atlas D	-	Atlas D	Success
Dec 1, 196120:40:00 UTC	ICBM test USA•Atlas E	-	Atlas E	Success
Dec 6, 196100:00:00 UTC	CM-115 USA•Jupiter	-	Jupiter	Success
Dec 6, 196101:30:00 UTC	Missile test USA•Thor DM-18A	-	Thor DM-18A	Success
Dec 7, 196121:18:00 UTC	ICBM test USA•Atlas D	-	Atlas D	Success
Dec 11, 196109:39:00 UTCFailure	Zenit-2 Russia•Vostok K	-	Vostok K	Failure
Dec 12, 196120:16:00 UTCPartial failure	ICBM test USA•Atlas F	-	Atlas F	partial failure
Dec 12, 196120:40:00 UTC	Discoverer 36 USA•Thor DM-21 Agena-B	-	Thor DM-21 Agena-B	Success
Dec 13, 196100:00:00 UTC	Mk.4 REV USA•Titan I	-	Titan I	Success
Dec 15, 196100:00:00 UTCFailure	Mk.4 REV USA•Titan I	-	Titan I	Failure
Dec 20, 196103:32:00 UTC	ICBM test USA•Atlas E	-	Atlas E	Success
Dec 21, 196100:00:00 UTCFailure	Kosmos 1c Russia•Kosmos	-	Kosmos	Failure
Dec 21, 196103:35:00 UTCFailure	Biological nose cone w/ rhesus monkey USA•Atlas F	-	Atlas F	Failure
Dec 22, 196119:12:00 UTCPartial failure	Samos 5 USA•Atlas Agena B LV-3	-	Atlas Agena B LV-3	partial failure